Inej

She hadn't been surprised when Kaz had agreed stay, as she had given him the silent single that he should. Inej had thought that the rain would last for about thirty minutes, an hour at most, then Kaz would leave for the Slat the second it stopped. Instead, it lasted for hours, pouring down harder, and Kaz ended up staying for practically the entire day because of it. Normally, Kaz, as well as herself and the others, could work around the weather to perform jobs. She had run across rain-slick roof tiles many times in the past while she was spying. Kaz had walked down streets slippery with rain droplets countless times while on a heist. A few times, even without his cane. Weather couldn't stop them. But the presence of Inej's parents did. More specifically, Inej's mother. Ever since she was a little girl, her mother had always kept her inside when the weather acted up, claiming that Inej would catch a cold the second she stepped out into it. Clearly, she still thought the same. But what she didn't know was that the Barrel had hardened her daughter, as well as Kaz, in many ways. One of these ways was their resistance to weather. Rain, snow, hail, lightning, they could name it. She had worked in them all, and so had Kaz. A little bit of bad weather doesn't get in the way of the Wraith and Dirtyhands. But her mother didn't know this. So, they remained in the mansion.

Almost halfway through the day, Wylan shot up out of his seat.

"That's it!" he declared. "I can't stand it anymore!"

Jesper, who Wylan had been leaning on previously, had an alarmed and confused look on his face.

"Wylan, what-"

Wylan turned sharply on his heel and marched out of the room, heading for the kitchen. "I'm going to go make cookies. If you want to join me, then do."

Nina jumped out of her chair immediately and eagerly followed him. Jesper joined them too, but after a while, got thrown out of the kitchen for trying to eat the batter over and over again. Inej was curled up comfortably at the end of one of the couches, both of her parents sitting on her left and a book in her hands. While she read, she asked questions directed to her parents about Ravka, avoiding anything that could lead her to talking about herself again. Though she had told them the truth of what had happened to her, she still didn't want it brought up again. Well, it was more of a half-truth anyways. The entire time, Kaz sat in the leather chair across from her near the window. He had taken off his hat and was leaning back into the chair, awake but eyes closed. Inej could tell by the slightest tilt of his head towards the window that he was listening to the rain outside spattering against the window glass. His bad leg was stretched out in front of him, catching the attention of Inej's father.

"Mr. Brekker, if you don't mind me asking, but what happened to your leg?" he asked. Jesper visibly perked up, curious to hear what his boss and friend had to say. No one knew what had happened to Kaz's leg, only rumors and myths surrounded it.

Kaz Brekker's leg is infected with demon blood and he can run faster than any creature alive.

Brekker's leg is actually backwards.

Dirtyhands' cut out most of his leg bones as a sacrifice to dark forces in return for power and wealth.

Of course, none of these were true. The stories surrounding his leg were almost as fantastical as the ones surrounding his hands. Inej only had the faintest idea of what had happened to his leg, though she wanted to know the full story. Kaz slowly opened his eyes and turned his head to her father. Inej realized that she was holding her breath. Kaz's voice came out surprisingly casual.

"An accident at work. Years ago."

Inej's father nodded his head, a bit of sympathy on his face, and started asking Kaz questions about Ketterdam. Unbeknownst to her parents, Inej and Jesper had both stiffened a little when they heard Kaz's answer. An accident at work? Years ago? That meant . . .

Inej didn't know when Kaz joined the Dregs, only that he had been here longer than anyone else. Longer than Nina, longer than Wylan, longer than herself, even longer than Jesper. And from what Jesper had told her once, Kaz had had the cane and bad leg when he met him. That meant Kaz had busted his leg when he was young. Too young. And he had said an accident at work. Did a heist that he had planned go wrong? Did someone pin him down and break his leg while he had screamed? Had he even screamed when it happened? Inej thought of Jan Van Eck's cold face as the mallet lifted. Had he had a similar experience, but there was nothing to stop the mallet from falling? Or had it been a metal pipe? Inej found herself staring at his leg for a moment. She threw a glance at Jesper and saw that he was doing the same. A few minutes later, Wylan and Nina came back into the parlor, each with a plate filled with cinnamon sugar cookies, freshly baked from the oven. Everyone started to eat, save for Kaz. The first cookie that Inej took from a plate was still warm. The first bite had tasted like the heavens were on her tongue. The cinnamon sugar that lightly coated it was delightfully sweet and each bite melted in her mouth. She didn't stop herself from having a few more. While eating her third, she felt some crumbs on the corner of her mouth. She flicked out her tongue and licked them off. It was then that she noticed that Kaz was watching her. His face impassive, as usual, but he looked away when he caught her eye. For the next twenty minutes, it was like that. Them all, except for Kaz, munching on cookies and talking. That was, until, Jesper suddenly sat up straighter.

"I propose that we play a board game!" he announced. Both of her parents, Wylan, and Nina all brightened and wholeheartedly agreed with him, but Inej fought off a frown and forced a fake smile on her face. She had been enjoying the peacefulness of the group just chatting and eating cookies and honestly wasn't in the mood for a board game of any sort. She looked over at Kaz, who had remained silent like her. Inej could tell that he was wanting to growl. Instead, he suppressed it and gave Jesper a lighting quick thwack on the knee with his cane without drawing any attention. He hadn't hit him very hard, not enough to injure him. But it was hard enough for it to hurt. Jesper made a small squeak and everyone turned to look at him. Her mother gave him a concerned look.

"Are you alright?" she asked. Jesper managed a smile.

"Quite alright, thanks."

Nina walked into the room at that moment with a plate full of more cookies.

"Oh, look!" Jesper said, pointing and feigning excitement. "More cookies!"

Everyone turned to see, and the second they did, Jesper grasped his knee with both hands and opened his mouth in a silent scream. He turned his head and glared at Kaz while he did this. Inej bit the inside of her cheek to stifle a giggle when Kaz caught her watching and raised an eyebrow slightly, his mouth twisting into what was a smile for him, containing his own amusement. When everyone else turned back to Jesper with their new cookies, he was back in his normal position and expression, but he did throw another quick glare at Kaz, who had the faintest of smiles playing on his lips and looked out the window. Inej watched him. His armor was on and walls up, but he looked . . . relaxed. Happy, almost.

And she was probably the only one who knew.