Ketterdam is a city where shadows stretch long, where loyalty is a currency and betrayal a way of life. In a world ruled by criminals, Kaz Brekker's name is whispered with fear, a legend of ruthless cunning. But Kaz isn't the only one hiding deadly...
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The night was always where Ella felt most alive. In the silence of the darkened alleys, the thick air of Ketterdam clinging to her skin, she could hear the world, see it, feel it-every pulse, every thought that drifted through the crowd. It was a gift, a curse, and an anchor all at once. The city was full of noise, but it was the hum of the emotions that surrounded her that drew her in like a magnet.
Ella had always been this way. Her powers had come in the early years-softer at first, like a whisper, the occasional flicker of someone's emotion rippling through her thoughts. Her mother had never understood it. Her father had never cared. Her family had kept their distance, assuming it was some strange ailment, some phase that would pass. But it never did.
And so, Ella had learned to adapt. She had honed the skill, turning it into something more than just a quirk of her mind. She could feel the deep ache of sorrow in a stranger, the sharp, biting rage in the heart of a criminal. She could sense the loneliness that pervaded the depths of Ketterdam's underbelly, feel the guilt and shame crawling beneath every whispered word, every act of betrayal.
At first, she had fought it. Tried to push it down, to silence the voices of others that were constantly, relentlessly swirling in her mind. It was a constant battle to keep herself grounded. But with time, she had learned to embrace it, to control it. To use it.
She had learned how to manipulate those emotions, too. It was a dangerous power-one that could change the course of a conversation, sway the direction of a plan, or break a person entirely. Ella could make someone feel as though they were drowning in their own fear, or make them fall asleep, peacefully, in the midst of a chaotic storm. But there was a fine line. The more she pushed, the more her own mind felt the strain. The more she manipulated, the more it took out of her.
But with Kaz Brekker... it was different.
Kaz was an enigma. To most, he was a shadow-a cold, calculating leader of the Dregs, a name that inspired fear and respect in equal measure. But Ella could feel him. She had known from the first moment she met him that there was something more beneath the surface. She had felt the sharp edges of his mind, the walls he had built so high that no one could touch him, and she had sensed the deep well of pain he carried with him, though he would never let it show.
The first time she had truly used her powers on him was not because she had wanted to-no, it had been a necessity. A job had gone wrong, and Kaz had retreated into himself, his emotions a storm of rage and loss that he couldn't control. She had known he was unraveling before he did.
She had found him alone, pacing the floor of their hideout, the weight of his thoughts pulling him under like an anchor. His anger was a tangible thing, crackling in the air, suffocating everything around him.
"Kaz," Ella had said softly, her voice barely above a whisper.
He hadn't turned to look at her, his mind too caught up in the chaos he was trying to suppress. But Ella had stepped closer, her presence undeniable, her power weaving through the space between them like a thread.
"I know you don't want to feel this," she had said, her eyes locking onto his. "But you need to."
For a moment, there had been nothing but silence. Kaz had stared at her, his dark eyes full of suspicion and guardedness, but he didn't pull away. He let her in, just for a moment.
Ella had reached out, a delicate touch on his shoulder, and in that instant, she had done what she had never done before. She had amplified the emotions he had buried deep inside-the guilt, the grief, the rage-and then, with a careful push, she had tempered them.
She had made him feel peace. A fleeting calm.
The change had been subtle at first. Kaz had stiffened, his posture changing, his breath evening out. The storm inside him quieted. The icy barrier he kept between himself and the world had cracked, just for a moment, enough for him to breathe.
But when it was over, when she stepped back, his eyes had returned to their usual coldness. The walls were back in place. He hadn't thanked her. He hadn't said a word. But Ella knew. She could feel it-the subtle shift in him, the faint thread of something resembling gratitude.
It had been a risk, using her powers on him. Kaz was not someone who liked to be controlled, even indirectly. But Ella had understood something that few did: Kaz needed control not just over others, but over himself. His entire life had been shaped by the need to never show weakness, to never let anyone see the cracks in his armor. But Ella could see them. She could feel them.
And she had learned something else: Kaz might not trust anyone, but he trusted her.
Ella was not like the others in the Dregs. She wasn't a soldier like Inej, a sharpshooter like Jesper, or a thief like Kaz. She was something different. She was a tool, yes, but a tool that could be used for much more than he cared to admit.
But it was that very thing that made Ella feel like an outsider, too.
She had always been different. Her powers set her apart from the others, made her both invaluable and alien. She had joined the Dregs because of Kaz, because she had seen in him something she recognized in herself-someone who had been broken, who had learned to use that brokenness to survive. She understood that. She understood Kaz in a way that no one else did.
But that understanding also meant that Ella was not entirely a part of the group. She had her place, yes, but she was always on the edge, never fully included.
She had tried to connect with the others, to form bonds, but it was always complicated. Inej's quiet strength was something Ella respected, but there was a distance there, an unspoken rule that kept them from truly getting close. Jesper was kind, charming even, but he wore his own pain like a mask, and Ella could feel the layers of uncertainty beneath his smiles.
As for Kaz... Well, Kaz was Kaz. His heart was locked away behind iron bars, and Ella was one of the few who could feel the tremors beneath them. She had seen the way he treated the others, the way he pushed them, used them-but she also knew that deep down, Kaz was fiercely protective of his own. He would sacrifice anything, anyone, for the people he considered his, and that was something Ella both admired and feared.
And that was why, despite everything, she never asked Kaz about their bond. Never questioned why he trusted her when he trusted no one else. Because she knew that he didn't do it because of anything she had done. He did it because she was useful, and because in some way, she understood him.
But that understanding was a double-edged sword.
In the quiet moments, when Kaz and Ella stood together, watching the city around them, they didn't need to speak to communicate. They knew each other in ways that no one else ever would. Ella could feel Kaz's restraint, the way he held himself back from feeling too much, from giving in to the emotions that would only weaken him. She had seen him break-seen the way he clung to his past, to his anger, like a shield-and it was then that she wondered, not for the first time, how much longer Kaz could carry that weight without breaking entirely.
And perhaps, deep down, she wondered the same about herself.
