Kaz, Jesper, Inej and I were walking through the barrel trying to find people who could possibly know how to cross the fold. Of course, Kaz had asked me first, knowing I came from Ravka, but I told him I took the long way around. We first visited a shu manager at one of the many brothels.

Kaz asked, "Tell us how to safely cross the fold."

She replied, "The fold? If I knew safe passage through that, I'd be wealthier than the whole merchant council."

Inej pressed for information further, "You told me you brought in girls from Os Alta, the other side."

"Yeah. The hard way. Lost a few to those damn volcra too." Her statement made me look away, tears in my eyes at the reminder of how many have lost their lives to my father's creations. I have tried my whole life to find a way to destroy the fold, but like my father, I was unsuccessful.

After our first unsuccessful attempt at information, we followed one of Jesper's leads to a man crouching in the middle of an alley.

He said, "Nah, there's no trick to it, except how it makes people disappear from time to time.

Jesper responded, agitated, "I heard you bragging of a way to make a path!"

After a moments pause, he responded again with, "I was taking kruge from a tourist. A little lie!"

I scoffed and led the group to a lead of my own. The man was a bulky Fjerdan who I had heard went through it.

He told us, "Just go around."

I responded, "It stretches all the way north to the Fjerdan border."

"Ja. So go to Fjerda. March through the permafrost."

Kaz asked, "How long would that take?"

I cut the Fjerdan off and said, "Four, maybe five months. We don't have that kind of time."

He looked at me and said, "You either take your time or take your chances."

Fed up with all the false leads, Jesper gestured for us to leave. We made our way back to the Crow Club and sat at tables overlooking the casino. I sat next to Kaz, with Jesper and Inej at separate tables across from us. Jesper and Inej were making conversation about the history of Ravka, with Kaz occasionally interjecting. I was avoiding the conversation, not wanting to accidentally say something I shouldn't know. Currently, Kaz was deep in thought with his scheming face. We knew not to bother him.

"Here's what I don't get," Jesper said, inquisitively.

"Oh saints. We're going to be here all night." I said, glancing at Inej to see her smiling.

"Rude," Jesper continued sarcastically. "Why haven't they tried going under it? Just dig a tunnel."

I interjected into the conversation once more, this was known Ravkan History.

"Tried that. More than a century ago." While that was the truth, they didn't need to know I in the group trying to make the passageway. Just as I was about to give more information, Kaz cut me off.

"Something heard them digging."

"It was made hundreds of years ago by that crazy Grisha....." My heart jumped when Jesper mentioned my father. I was fighting to keep my calm, mostly because I knew Kaz would notice if I was being obvious.

"The Black Heretic" Inej supplied.

"The one who controls shadow. They've got one in their army now, right? General Kirigan?"

I looked in the only direction that didn't have any of my friends, trying to keep my face void of any emotions.

"Your point?" Inej asked snippily.

"If one of his kind made it, can't he unmake it?"

I answered his question this time, having tried it many times myself, "Have you ever put out fire by adding more fire?"

"Then what's the opposite?"

Inej, being devoted to the Ravkan faith, knew the answer to this question, "The sun summoner."

"Right then, one of those," Jesper said ignorantly.

"Doesn't exist," Kaz interjected, annoyed with the conversation.

"Doesn't exist yet," Inej corrected him.

Kaz became extremely frustrated and snapped.

"Dreesen comes into town, doesn't waste a minute. Sends out for a crew to steal something, but doesn't specify what. Is it heavy, large, worth more than a million on the black market? Maybe he doesn't know."

"We can let this one go, Kaz," I say. I am more than happy for the chance not to purposefully put myself back into the same building as my father.

Jesper takes a swig of his drink and says, "sounds like a trap anyways."

"A trap would have been easy." Ah, Kaz, and your strange mind. "This is something else."

One of the other members of the Dregs comes up to us shouting for Kaz urgently.

"We've intercepted a note from Dreesen." I begin to smirk, as does Jesper.

"Did you, now?"

"It's for the owner of the Orchid. Says they require the services of a heartrender. Tonight."

Everyone at the table turns to look at me as my smile grows. My gifts are hardly needed, but when they are, it is important.

"A heartrender? Why?" Kaz asks. I scoff slightly at his ignorance.

"Doesn't say. Just that they need it before midnight."

I decide it is finally time for me to speak.

"Kaz, you don't bring in a heartrender unless you need an answer out of someone who isn't willing to talk. That or you need to kill someone quietly." Jesper looks at me in question, but Kaz jumps out of his seat. I can hear his heart pattering with excitement.

"That's how we get this job before anyone else. Bring Vik to Dreesen."

The man who brought the information says, "Boss, just one problem. Pekka Rollins knows."

I could hear Kaz mutter, "Damn it." under his breath.