"Here in the forest, dark and deep, I offer you eternal sleep."

-The Poor Little Rich Girl by Elenor Gates

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I.

THE LAW OF CLUB AND FANG

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This part of Kaz Brekker's story begins with one word:

Fear.

It consumed him, clouding his mind and making his blood sing in his veins as he thrashed and writhed, lashing out at his attackers, who managed to slip through his fingers like they were made of the shadows in which they fought.

It was as black as pitch inside of Kaz's cave, Kaz's home, and there was nothing to see by anymore as the group of Ghezen-knows-how-many people blocked the mouth of the cave, smothering the moonlight that usually filtered inside. The darkness should've given Kaz the advantage, should've helped Kaz win, but he was still delirious from sleep and was crowded into a corner by an uncountable amount of enemies. The cave had been made for just one person, and it was no place to fight, the risk of smacking his head on the ceiling or crashing into a wall all too imminent as he struggled in the dark.

People grabbed at him- at the animal skins he wore as clothes, at his limbs, at his horns- anything to get a handhold on and somehow use to pin him down. Kaz could see a bit better than they could, but they were still just faceless silhouettes lunging for him with their fingers contorting as if they were claws.

The sharp tang of blood permeated the air as he slashed someone across the face, shrinking back at the guttural shout that ensued, and the assembled humans clamored in a harsh, grating tongue as the injured man was dragged out of the cave so he could be more easily assisted.

That meant that there were more outside.

Kaz was already growing weary, and he had no idea how long he'd be able to last before he collapsed from exhaustion, and fighting while crouched down was not a position he'd like to be in.

He was so distracted that he missed the shadow lunging in from his right, and he let out a cry of alarm as he was pinned to the ground by an enormous man, who bore down on him with all of his weight to keep Kaz flattened on the floor. His head was ground into the tightly-packed dirt, his wings crushed against his back- the bones contorting to the point where they threatened to break- and Kaz felt tears spring to his eyes at the agony of it.

"Don't touch me!" Kaz screeched as his heart jackhammered against his ribcage and his breath sawed in and out of his lungs. "Get off!"

They ignored his pleas or simply didn't understand, grunting to each other in that odd language of theirs as they swarmed him, growing brave as they found that Kaz was being crushed against the ground. As soon as he realized that he had aid, the man on top of Kaz rolled off, and he nearly sobbed with relief as the pressure was taken off of his wings.

Almost as soon as that happened, though, there were hands all over him. He yelped and thrashed, but he was hopelessly outnumbered, and pretty soon there was a length of cloth being tied around his eyes, effectively taking away what little advantage he had over them. He couldn't see a thing, and maybe there were people screaming but it didn't matter because he was also screaming and he felt so helpless and terrified as he writhed like a man possessed.

Kaz let out a shriek and struck out with his claws, but his wrists were immediately seized and bound at the small of his back with a thick rope. The more he struggled, the more they chafed and dug into his skin, and Kaz only became more frenzied when the noticeable stench of his blood joined that of the others'. He beat his wings wildly, bludgeoning his attackers and trying to shake them off, but it wasn't long before they were seized and tightly pinioned against his back.

The struggle continued for what could only be hours, and the group effectively immobilized Kaz once his feet were tied. After that, Kaz didn't see the point in fighting any longer, and he slumped as if boneless, breathing raggedly while his eyes fluttered against the blindfold. He was almost sodden with sweat, the furs that clothed him clinging to his damp skin, and he could do nothing more than growl when they strapped a cage around his mouth to keep his wickedly long incisors at bay.

He was hauled out of the cave, judging from the midsummer night's wind that battered him, and dumped into the back of a carriage, with guards surrounding him on all sides. The horses were restless, according to what little he could hear over the howl of the wind, and all Kaz could really think about was how exhausted he was. He refused to let the false blackness the blindfold provided to lull him to sleep, however, because he had no idea what these men were going to do to him.

Humans were fickle creatures, with a wide variety of motives and an even wider sense that everything belonged to them and them alone. That was probably the reason why they trekked all the way to one of the highest points in the Sikurzoi to retrieve him, because they couldn't stand the fact that their world had to be shared. Then again, they could also be a group looking for the firebird- like that one with the white-haired Grisha- and had just stumbled across him instead.

The guards sat around him while he lay completely helpless at the floor by their feet, the carriage bumping around and jostling him as it rumbled down the steep path and back to the human nest.

Kaz tried to stay awake and alert, just so that he would know if the humans tried to do anything to him, but eventually the exhaustion got the best of him, dragging him down into a deep sleep that was plagued by nightmares.

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Kaz woke to find himself lying on the floor of a sandy arena

At first, he had no idea what was going on, and he staggered to his feet, his heart in his throat and his lungs begging for air despite the fact that they had plenty.

Where was the cool, crisp mountain air? Where were the cries of the eagles and the rush of the wind? Where was that sharp cold that seeped into his bones whenever the sun was hidden by clouds?

Lights blinded him, the sound of fire crackling in his ears, and Kaz let out a whimper as he raised his hand up to shield his eyes. There was very little sunlight in the Sikurzoi, its peak usually shrouded in cloud cover, and Kaz trembled a bit under the scrutiny of the blazing light.

He blinked rapidly, trying to adjust, and looked down at himself to find that his furs were gone, replaced by an odd material that was as white as the snow that lingered during the winter months. Kaz, belatedly, wondered if it was the fur of some sort of mountain hare- whose coat turned white during the winter as camouflage- but the cold season had come and gone long ago, and the hare's fur would've long since turned brown again.

Besides, it felt strange on Kaz's skin, too strange for it to be the fur of a hare- or any animal, for that matter.

Kaz spread his wings, allowing for them to unfurl behind him as his heart jackhammered away in his chest. Never before had he been so bewildered and terrified.

"Demjin."

The noise startled Kaz, and he whirled around, dropping into a crouch as his wings snapped open into a menacing display and he regarded the human who he was pretty sure hadn't been there a few moments before.

Come any closer and I will kill you, they said.

The human didn't understand, unsurprisingly, and continued strolling towards Kaz, who- despite what his wings were saying- was more afraid of this man than this man was of him.

"Where am I?" Kaz demanded. It came out as a bestial roar.

The human balked a bit, and that's when Kaz noticed the large stick in his hands. It was rounded at the end, and would prove quite useful for survival in the wild; however, this human was clearly meaning to use it as a weapon, perhaps to strike Kaz, and that made the winged being all the more fearful.

He was a big man, with broad shoulders and thick, beefy muscles, which were big enough for Kaz to know that this man was a formidable adversary. Kaz would most certainly never win in a contest of brute force with this human, and he backed up warily, his eyes zeroed in on the blunt stick.

"There now, there's no need to be frightened," the man rumbled, and Kaz's wings beat exasperatedly at the foreign words. The noises coming out of this man's mouth were daunting to say the least, and Kaz's muscles coiled and bunched, ready to spring if needed. "My name is Pekka Rollins."

Kaz frowned as the man pointed to himself and kept saying that first word over and over again.

Pekka. Pekka. Pekka. Pekka. Pekka.

Kaz's brows knit together, as his bare feet sunk into the sand, which felt odd on his fingers and toes, and hesitantly repeated, "Pekka."

The man seemed shocked, but his surprised expression immediately melted into a smile-one that didn't reach his eyes at all. "Good. I'm Pekka."

"Pekka," Kaz parroted, hoping that if he said it enough, the man would release him. "Pekka. Pekka."

"You catch on quickly, don't you?" the man rumbled, and once more Kaz was baffled by the alien words. He could only assume that this was how humans communicated, and he had no idea how to tell this man that he had no idea what he was saying. "Listen, Demjin, I'm going to lay down some rules."

Kaz leapt back as the man- Kaz decided to call him Pekka since that seemed to be his favorite word- took another step forwards, encroaching on the five foot radius that Kaz usually laid out for strangers, and the man raised his hands up defensively, the stick still at the center of Kaz's attention.

"You hit me, I hit back twice. You attack me, I'll make you wish you were never born, got it?"

Kaz let out another whimper, his wings lowering as Pekka's voice took on a menacing tone, though they still hovered above the ground: this man was not Kaz's alpha, and he would not allow a human to be his alpha, much less submit to one.

Pekka raised his arm, gesturing to the arena around them. "This is where you'll be performing and training. You'll spend most of your time in here and in the training field that we made just for you, because the people in the other acts are too nervous to perform in the rink with you."

Kaz looked up and found nothing but colored walls around him. He was trapped inside some sort of colored cave, a cave that most likely belonged to Pekka; however, as he really concentrated on it, he saw it rippling.

So it was some sort of animal skin, then? This came as a shock to Kaz, who'd never left the Sikurzoi. Were there really gigantic red and yellow beasts that roamed the land outside of the mountains? Ones whose skins were large enough to make a cave such as this one?

Kaz knew that his horns could pierce through the hide or skin of any animal, even ones with huge red and yellow pelts, so perhaps he could fly up and burst through it.

Pekka continued to approach at that painstaking and menacing pace of his, and Kaz decided that it was high time to bolt, lest he be backed into a corner with no escape. With a mighty beat of his wings, he launched himself into the air, and Pekka let out a cry of alarm as Kaz soared over his head and straight towards the red and yellow beast pelt.

Higher.

Higher.

Higher.

Kaz let out a shriek as he collided with something. Hard.

His vision blacked out as he fell to the earth, stunned and discombobulated, and it took Pekka's shouting to jolt him back to his senses enough to make sure that he didn't break his neck upon impact. It was not a soft landing, though, and it only served to jar Kaz even more as his bones rattled and his tongue was almost bitten clean off. Despite the collision and the fact that black spots were dancing in his vision, Kaz still staggered to his feet, his wings beating madly to help him stay upright.

"A metal barrier can do that to you," Pekka sounded beyond amused, and through his blurring and tilting vision, Kaz could make out the sadistic gleam in his eyes. "What, do you think we were stupid enough not to put a cage between you and the audience? Fool."

Kaz's fear bled into rage at the mocking tone in Pekka's voice, and though he couldn't understand the words, he knew that they did not mean well toward him. He bellowed at the human, his wings arching up and over his head, demanding submission.

He was the one in charge here, not Pekka. He wasn't stuck in this cave with Pekka, Pekka was stuck in this cave with him, and Kaz vowed to make sure that this human's fate would not be a kind one.

He roared, bristling, and for a moment fear flitted across Pekka's face, but it was gone as soon as it had come, replaced by a darker expression.

"Remember what I said, Demjin. You so much as touch a hair on my head and I will beat you within an inch of your life," he warned, but all Kaz could see was red.

He roared again, louder this time, but instead of that fear that Kaz saw before, Pekka was smirking at him like a cat that caught the canary. It was off-putting and enraging at the same time, and Kaz tossed his head, baring his teeth.

"My, how positively frightening," Pekka taunted, and Kaz beat his wings angrily. The human spread his arms, the blunt stick polished to perfection as it reflected the unnatural sunlight-but-not-sunlight that emulated within the cave. "Give me your best shot."

Kaz bellowed, all common sense leaving him as he shot forward faster than any human would be able to comprehend. His blood was roaring in his ears, his heart slamming against his ribcage, and he was determined to get out of this cave. If getting out meant killing Pekka and stripping the meat from his bones, so be it.

Kaz never asked to be here.

He'd never bothered any humans as far as he could tell, and the mere fact that they'd captured him unprovoked made his blood boil even more.

Kaz's horns were just about to collide with Pekka's chest- a blow that would most likely implode his ribcage- when he suddenly heard something whistling through the air. Before he could slow himself down enough to leap away, a force connected with his side, sending him sprawling.

Dazed, Kaz scrambled to his hands and knees, his wings flaring as his gaze traveled up to regard Pekka, who was running his fingers over the blunt and rounded stick.

"How's it like to get a taste of the club, Demjin?" Pekka sneered, and Kaz shrank back a bit, whimpering slightly as he lifted up the weird fur-not-fur and applied pressure to the area to check for wounds. Thankfully, other than the bruise that was forming and hurt something awful, there were no broken bones.

"C'mon, boy, all bark and no bite?" Pekka scoffed, waving the club in the air as Kaz continued to gingerly poke at the tender, bruising flesh.

Kaz had no idea what Pekka was saying, but the human's tone made it quite clear that he was mocking him. With a snarl, he hauled himself to his feet, narrowing his eyes at the human, who didn't seem at all daunted.

The sheer lack of fright riled Kaz up more than a bull with a red flag in front of him, and he charged again, sailing through the air, but- once again- the club slammed into him, this time colliding with his shoulder, and Kaz yelped, skittering backwards. There was no real damage, but the impact still made his whole body shudder and his shoulder burn like liquid fire was running through the veins there.

Bloodlust overwhelmed any fear that he had of Pekka, and Kaz rushed him once more, this time swerving at the last second in hopes of slamming his horns into the man's side. Kaz's horns had only barely grazed the man's finely made- but oddly smooth- furs before a blow smacked him in between his shoulder blades.

Kaz went down- completely thrown off balance- and sand plumed around him as he fell, making him cough and splutter. His body had barely touched the ground before he sprang back to his feet, just as invigorated as before.

He circled Pekka warily, eying the club. Without it, Pekka was just a human, and Kaz could take on one measly human. He leapt forward, a big cat pouncing on its prey, but Pekka must've been getting annoyed at his willpower.

The other blows Kaz had received were mere tickles compared to the one that slammed into his cheek, and the sound of the bone cracking echoed throughout the cave. Kaz cried out and quickly dove out of the way before Pekka could land another hit, putting distance between them as he cradled the side of his face in his hands.

His cheek was on fire. His side was burning. His back ached.

Kaz had never felt such pain- he'd been at the top of the food chain up in the Sikurzoi and had never had to worry much about injury- and it only drove him mad with rage and fear.

Fear, Kaz would later decide, made people- even himself- foolish.

Again and again he rushed Pekka, trying different tactics to bring him down, and time after time he was smacked around with the club as if he were some sort of punching bag.

Kaz didn't have endless energy, though, and he hadn't eaten since before he'd gone to sleep last night. How long ago had that been?

His resolve was still going strong, though, and even if his energy was wearing thin, Kaz knew that he had to kill Pekka if he was going to get out of here.

But what if you don't kill Pekka? a little voice at the back of his mind asked. What if you have to spend the rest of your days in this cave made of the hide of a yellow and red beast?

The thought was so terrifying that it made Kaz's eyes a bit wet.

"Is the Demjin gonna cry?" Pekka spat, and Kaz let out a bloodcurdling screech in response, pacing around him and looking for any openings.

Whenever Kaz changed position, Pekka turned to face him, his back never towards Kaz at any given moment, and he snarled in frustration, his wings thrashing angrily. He was too scared to try and fly again, out of fear that he would crash into the barrier once more, and his lips curled in his annoyance and vexation.

The human was making taunting faces at Kaz, and he roared at him in response, though Pekka mimicked it and riled Kaz up even more. He sprang forward as Pekka was in the middle of making a rather twisted and ridiculous face, hoping to catch the human off-guard, but it was in vain as the club smacked Kaz across the face again.

He stumbled as pain exploded in his already damaged cheek, and he whined softly as the agony seemed to split his face in half. His whole body ached from the blows, and he was limping slightly after he'd landed wrong on his foot and twisted it. The bone may have been broken for all he knew, but whether it was a sprain or a breakage it didn't matter; all that mattered was the fact that he was limping and limping was weakness.

Pekka was still going strong, not even attempting to hide the fact that he thought this whole thing to be more tiresome than challenging, and it's what gave Kaz enough rage to lunge again. The club smashed into his other side mercilessly, and he wailed, returning to circling around the pedestal cautiously.

"I haven't got all day, Demjin," Pekka chided and checked his watch nonchalantly, but Kaz wasn't about to be reckless. He was smart about it now, tensing as if to lunge and getting Pekka on high alert, but then returning to his circling. This was making the human nervous, and he could smell the anxiety, no matter how little, seeping off of him. Now that Kaz was faking all of these attacks, he wasn't sure when there'd be a real one.

Unlike Pekka, Kaz could be patient, and he had several lifetimes to wait, so he continued his circling around the human, since it was obvious that Pekka couldn't leave the arena until something happened with Kaz, though he had no idea what that could be.

Finally, after what seemed like hours, Kaz began to rush him, using his last ounce of energy to charge over and over and over and over again. Pekka was unprepared for the barrage of attacks and began to swing the club around frantically, but Kaz was everywhere at once. He managed to dart around the flailing weapon, even though every part of him was screaming, and finally managed to smack Pekka in the jaw while the human was winding he club back for another hit.

He stumbled, and Kaz shrieked in triumph as he darted in for the kill.

Then it happened.

Pekka wasn't as shaken as he'd appeared, and with a mighty swing the club slammed into the back of Kaz's head. All at once his energy left him, and he fell limply at the human's feet despite the fact that that was the last thing that he wanted to do.

The world was spinning, and black spots danced in his vision whenever he dared to open his eyes. All of the resolve and anger that was keeping him going abandoned him, and he slumped, his wings finally falling to the ground in submission.

Though it was far from accepting Pekka as the alpha, it was a white flag being waved. Kaz would stay in this cave made of the hide of the yellow and red beast with Pekka until the human released him or killed him, because he knew now that the man with the club was the man in charge.

He was not the alpha- since Kaz had no respect for him whatsoever- but he was a superior to be recognized…and feared.

Perhaps since Pekka knew that Kaz knew this, Kaz would finally get to sleep.

Only, that wasn't the case.

Suddenly, blow after blow began to rain down on Kaz's spent body, despite the fact that Kaz had clearly surrendered. The winged being was so exhausted that it took a few hits to jog his brain and remind him that the blows hurt. That he was in pain.

He let out a low whine and tried to scramble away, but a strong foot ground his head into the sand, suffocating him and making his cheek light up with anguish. Kaz's mind spun as the club beat him over and over again, hard enough to be agony but controlled enough not to break bones.

This was so foreign to him. Among his kind, no one would hurt someone who was already down, even during the most violent parts of the mating season (which Kaz was loath to participate in, despite the temptations).

Indeed, it was foreign, but it was also torture.

Pekka started pummeling Kaz's back and sides with the club, but eventually made his way down, whacking his flank a few times before landing bruising hits onto his thighs and calves.

For the first few agonizing minutes, Kaz had struggled helplessly, his wings flailing and his body writhing in pain, but he eventually went limp and just took it.

He was so tired and hungry and worn-out, and this pain was nothing like anything he'd ever experienced.

So great was his suffering and so terrible the blows that he retreated inside of himself, seeking refuge from the torment. He could hear the sickening thumping as the club connected with his body over and over and over again. But it was far off. Distant. He was so, so tired…

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(A/N) I hope you all like it so far! This is going to be my first multi-chapter fic in the fandom, and I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

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Chapter titles from the song "Puttin' on the Ritz", fic title from the hit Broadway musical Finding Neverland

Disclaimer: Grishaverse is the property of Leigh Bardugo