The ship was ready to go. It was almost ten bells, and Inej knew they would have to leave in a few minutes if they hoped to catch the tide. She was getting The Wraith ready alongside her new crew, and nervousness started to creep inside her. Her first trip at sea as captain of her own ship. It was a good thing their first trip would be more of a trial, a trip to Ravka to bring her parents home, and a good chance for her to get used to working with her crew.

Nearly two months had passed since that day in Fifth Harbor when Kaz had offered her The Wraith. Since she'd seen her parents across the Harbor and felt a weight she hadn't known she bore lifting from her chest. Two months, and yet it seemed so little time to say goodbye to her friends, organize and get acquainted with her crew, and invest some of her money into safe stocks that Wylan would manage for her. Too little time to get used to the idea that she was actually leaving. Too little time to enjoy a life in Ketterdam where she wasn't owned by anybody but herself. And now she was ready to go at last, to see her parents safely back at home before she went on with her actual goal, hunting slavers and getting justice for people that had been mistreated like she had been.

Throwing her braided hair back behind her shoulder, Inej bent down to pick up a large roll of rope and bring it to the stern of the ship, where she found her father tidying some things around while looking at the city. He looked up when he heard her coming, and she smiled, once again feeling like she was in a dream, like it was impossible for her father to actually be here with her. He moved over to help her with the rope, and as they prepared the ship, Inej thought back of the first night they'd spent in the city, the night she had told them everything that had happened to her, and everything she had done for the Dregs. She hadn't held anything back, needing for them to know who their daughter had become, even if it meant losing them again. She had expected them to be horrified by her actions, but all they had been was grateful that their daughter had survived, and the night had finished with Inej falling asleep between both her parents.

"We don't have a lot of time before we leave," her father said, interrupting her thoughts, "you should go say farewell."

"I said my farewell yesterday, Papa, I had dinner at Wylan and Jesper's." She didn't want to talk more about it, about who hadn't shown up at the dinner, who she hadn't said goodbye to. Who she'd been aching to see, staying up all night hesitant to go to the Slats and see him.

"Well, I think there is someone who wants to see you one last time," her father insisted, and she wondered how he could know, when she followed his gaze and spotted Kaz in the shadow of a dark alley.

"Oh."

"You should go say farewell, before we absolutely have to leave."

Refusing to acknowledge the knowing smile on her father's face, Inej nodded and jumped over the hull to get down on the quay. She walked over to where Kaz was standing, and stopped in front of him, her arms crossed. They didn't talk for a while, staring into each other's eyes. Finally, Inej couldn't take it anymore.

"You didn't come last night."

"I had more important matters to attend to at the Club."

"More important matters?"

"Yes."

"Alright. Have a good, productive day then," she said as she turned around to go back to the ship, in an attempt to hide the hurt in her eyes. She was walking when she felt a hand on her shoulder. A bare hand. She turned back to find him standing tall close to her, his glove in his other hand.

"Inej, wait."

"For what, Kaz? For you to tell me you have more important matters than taking an hour out of your day to say goodbye to me?"

"I'm here now, aren't I?"
"Great, when I have barely five minutes before I have to leave, you decide to show up. I shouldn't be surprised." She hadn't expected to sound so bitter, but then again Kaz had a way of getting under her skin. He had been sending her so many mixed signals in the last months. The intimate moment they'd shared in the hotel bathroom had been followed by weeks of cold ignorance on his part, and he had barely talked to her after the day of her parents' arrival. Now he'd missed her farewell dinner but showed up right before she had to leave, not giving them any time to talk.

But right now, Kaz still had his hand on her shoulder and he seemed determined not to move away, his eyes the color of strong tea under the sun of the morning.

"Do you have something you want to say to me?"

"I'm sorry about yesterday. I wasn't ready to … say goodbye yet." Of all the things he could've said, she hadn't been expecting that. An actual apology from Kaz Brekker, something she hadn't thought he'd ever give to her. She felt her lips curl up slightly. But he wasn't done speaking. "You told me you weren't done with Ketterdam yet. Do you know when you'll come back?" And after a second, he added "I need to know when to expect the stocks of the Menagerie are going to go down."

She almost laughed at his attempt to throw her off. As if he would ever buy stocks from the Menagerie. But she didn't laugh, she smiled and answered his question. "I don't know, I'm off to Ravka first to get my parents home and see my family, and then it'll probably be a few months before I'm back here."

Silence fell again, and Inej was starting to think of the right word to tell him when he spoke again.

"Can I … Can I hug you?"

She was so taken aback by his words that she was incapable of speaking, so she simply nodded. He swallowed with difficulty, and then his other hand, still gloved, was on her shoulder, and then slowly, very slowly, he pulled her towards him. A second later, Inej was against his chest, her head pressed on the fabric of his suit, his heart beating hard and fast against her ear. She lifted an arm and passed it around his waist to hug him back. She felt his muscles tense under her gesture, but he didn't let go of her shoulders, so she didn't retreat.

The hug lasted a long time. Or maybe it was only a few seconds. But when Kaz released her shoulders and Inej let go of his waist, when they moved apart, only a step, and when they looked at each other, Inej couldn't help but feel better about leaving. She was leaving, but she wasn't without a home. Ketterdam was her home, Kaz was her home. And she would come back.

Half-an-hour later, as The Wraith was finally leaving Fifth Harbor, Inej looked towards the sea, smiling at the future in front of her, and the promise of a boy waiting for her to return home.