Crooked Kingdom by Leigh Bardugo Read Free Book Online Page B

getting our money and not about saving Inej. Definitely not about that.”
    â€œIf you don’t care about money, Nina dear, call it by its other names.”
    â€œ Kruge? Scrub? Kaz’s one true love?”
    â€œFreedom, security, retribution.”
    â€œYou can’t put a price on those things.”
    â€œNo? I bet Jesper can. It’s the price of the lien on his father’s farm.” The sharpshooter looked at the toes of his boots. “What about you, Wylan? Can you put a price on the chance to walk away from Ketterdam and live your own life? And Nina, I suspect you and your Fjerdan may want something more to subsist on than patriotism and longing glances. Inej might have a number in mind too. It’s the price of a future, and it’s Van Eck’s turn to pay.”
    Matthias was not fooled. Kaz always spoke logic, but that didn’t mean he always told truth. “The Wraith’s life is worth more than that,” said Matthias. “To all of us.”
    â€œWe get Inej. We get our money. It’s as simple as that.”
    â€œSimple as that,” said Nina. “Did you know I’m next in line for the Fjerdan throne? They call me Princess Ilse of Engelsberg.”
    â€œThere is no princess of Engelsberg,” said Matthias. “It’s a fishing town.”
    Nina shrugged. “If we’re going to lie to ourselves, we might as well be grand about it.”
    Kaz ignored her, spreading a map of the city over the table, and Matthias heard Wylan murmur to Jesper, “Why won’t he just say he wants her back?”
    â€œYou’ve met Kaz, right?”
    â€œBut she’s one of us.”
    Jesper’s brows rose again. “One of us? Does that mean she knows the secret handshake? Does that mean you’re ready to get a tattoo?” He ran a finger up Wylan’s forearm, and Wylan flushed a vibrant pink. Matthias couldn’t help but sympathize with the boy. He knew what it was to be out of your depth, and he sometimes suspected they could forgo all of Kaz’s planning and simply let Jesper and Nina flirt the entirety of Ketterdam into submission.
    Wylan pulled his sleeve down self-consciously. “Inej is part of the crew.”
    â€œJust don’t push it.”
    â€œWhy not?”
    â€œBecause the practical thing would be for Kaz to auction Kuwei to the highest bidder and forget about Inej entirely.”
    â€œHe wouldn’t—” Wylan broke off abruptly, doubt creeping over his features.
    None of them really knew what Kaz would or wouldn’t do. Sometimes Matthias wondered if even Kaz was sure.
    â€œOkay, Kaz,” said Nina, slipping off her shoes and wiggling her toes. “Since this is about the almighty plan, how about you stop meditating over that map and tell us just what we’re in for.”
    â€œI want you focused on what we have to do tomorrow night. After that, you’ll get all the information you want.”
    â€œReally?” asked Nina, tugging at her corset. Pollen from one of the irises had scattered over her bare shoulder. Matthias had the overwhelming urge to brush it away with his lips. It’s probably poisonous , he told himself sternly. Maybe he should take a walk.
    â€œVan Eck promised us thirty million kruge ,” said Kaz. “That’s exactly what we’re going to take. With another one million for interest, expenses, and just because we can.”
    Wylan broke a cracker in two. “My father doesn’t have thirty million kruge lying around. Even if you took all his assets together.”
    â€œYou should leave, then,” said Jesper. “We only associate with the disgraced heirs of the very finest fortunes.”
    Kaz stretched his bad leg out, flexing his foot slightly. “If Van Eck had that kind of money on hand, we would have just robbed him instead of breaking into the Ice Court in the first place. He could only offer a reward that big