5k reads!? This is insane. Thank you all for the support :) This is a filler chapter, I didn't have much time to write. Ill try to post again this weekend.

The first thing I was aware of was the feeling of being carried in someone's arms. The second was panic because I didn't know where I was or whose arms I was in. My eyes were still closed, and I was too weak to open them all the way. My whole body ached, and there was an excruciating pain coming from my leg. I moved my arm up towards the rest of my body instead of hanging limply, and heard the voice of Jesper coming from above me. So Jesper was the one carrying me.

"Kaz, she's moving!" He called. I could tell we had stopped walking, and Jesper placed me on to something soft, which I realized is a bed. I felt a small hand lightly brush my forehead, feeling my temperature.

"She's burning up. Jesper, go get a cloth. I need to work on her leg," Inej said. I felt hands move up my pant leg, trying to uncover my wound. After a few moments, a cool washcloth was placed on my forehead, and I felt gloved fingers intertwine with my own. I gave the hand a tiny squeeze, as that was all I could manage. I hoped it was enough to let Kaz know I was somewhat conscious.

I felt the pinch of the needle travelling through my wound, but I felt no pain coming from the area. Inej must have done something to numb it. After a while of Inej stitching the various wounds scattered all over my body, I finally felt like I had enough energy to at least open my eyes.

I pulled my eyelids apart a millimetre, and I saw Kaz sitting beside my bed, leaning over me to hold my hand and reassure me he was here. I saw Inej standing at the foot of my bed, praying. I saw Jesper sitting on the other side of my bed, looking at me with worry in his eyes. I couldn't see Arken.

"Kaz," I whispered. My voice sounded like I hadn't talked in a month, it is extremely hoarse and rough. All the heads in the room whipped up to meet my eyes, and everyone began to talk at once. I couldn't understand what everyone was saying, but Kaz spoke the most clearly and loudest.

"What the hell were you thinking Vik? You almost died!" I released my hand from his grip and moved it to my head to massage my temple.

"If I wouldn't have done what I did, we all would have died Kaz. I was protecting my friends." Jesper gave me a small smile, that quickly was wiped when he remembered what I had done.

"So you lied to us about who you were?" He asked, with a hint of betrayal present in his voice. I shook my head yes slightly, it was still very painful to move.

"It's a complicated situation," I looked at Kaz, and gestured for him to come closer. He helped me sit up against the headboard so I could converse in a better position. The cloth was still on my forehead, so I leaned my head against the wall so it would stay.

"Before I tell you both, you must swear you won't tell anyone."

"Both? He knows?" Jesper asked. Inej walked silently to the corner of my bed and sat down.

"Jesper, he's Kaz. Of course he knows." My voice was steadily growing in volume as I used it, but it was still weak.

"A long time ago, my father met a heartrender. He didn't want anything besides one night of fun, but a few months later, she showed up at the doors to the Little Palace with a baby in her arms. She didn't want to take care of me and left me in the care of my father. You've figured out who he is by now, yes?"

Inej nodded slightly, and said, "The darkling." Jesper sat back in his chair, surprised at the news. Kaz stayed as he was, but removed the cloth so I could put my head up.

"I grew up in the Little Palace, my father was around, but my grandmother was really the one who raised me. When I was five, I started to show the darkness summoning. My father was overjoyed with the idea of having another of us on his side, but he didn't know my grandmother had already warned me against doing just that. I listened to him, but I wouldn't do anything if I disagreed with it. My grandma trained me on how to use my powers, and by the time I was eight, I could perform the cut."

Kaz was listening intently, as I was going into my history much more deeply than I did when I told him.

"Not long after, my dad and I got into an argument about what my position in the second army should be, and my heartrender abilities came out. I knocked him out." Jesper chuckled, tickled by the fact that a nine-year-old me knocked out one of the most powerful Grisha in history without even trying.

"As far as we know, I am the only Grisha to ever have more than one aptitude. As I got older, I became my father's second in command in the second army, and we were extremely close. I was more compassionate than him, which made the Grisha we were commanding more likely to listen to me than him. We were quite the power duo for a long time."

"Why did you leave?" Inej questioned.

"He made a decision I disagreed with, and threatened to hurt my friends if I did anything to prevent it from happening. I was able to warn the people closest to me fast enough so they weren't captured, but he tried his hardest to hurt me. He would never kill his daughter, but he uses people to manipulate me into listening. So, I ran. I went to the nearest shipyard and ended up on a boat to Ketterdam. The rest you all know." They were all staring at me after my long explanation, but Jesper eventually lifted the mood, asking about happy things.

"What color was your kefta?" He asked. I smiled, missing the comfort of the protective material.

"It was black with red embroidery."

He smiled back at me, and said, "You've always looked good in red."

"I thought using your power was supposed to strengthen you? Why did it almost kill you?" Kaz asked. I was kind of surprised he didn't know this, but merzost is almost unheard of for all standard Grisha.

"I wasn't using normal Grisha power, Kaz. That was dark. It's called merzost. Instead of drawing from our surroundings, Merzost draws from us. The two things that looked like shadow-people?" I paused, waiting for confirmation before continuing, "I essentially made new lives from a piece of my soul. Only powerful Grisha can even tap into merzost, and it is extremely complicated. It's what my dad used to make the fold." They all looked at me in confusion, but I think I saw a bit of admiration in Inej's eyes. After a moment of silence and everyone digesting the information, Jesper spoke.

"Do we want to go downstairs and get a drink?"

Kaz looked at me in question, and I nodded, indicating I was up for it.

"Let's go get drunk!" Jesper yelled, which made us all laugh, the depressing mood gone.