of this.” Miserably, keenly, hungrily aware.
“And I’m sorry to inform you, but you’re not proper either.”
His gaze dropped to her now. “I—”
“How many rules have you broken since you met me? How many laws? They won’t be the last. Nothing about us will ever be proper,” she said. She tilted her face up to his. So close now it was as if they were already touching. “Not the way we met. Not the life we lead. And not the way we kiss.”
She went up on tiptoe, and that easily, her mouth was against his. It was barely a kiss—just a quick, startling press of her lips.
Before she could even think of moving away, he had hold of her. He knew he was probably doing everything wrong, but he couldn’t bring himself to worry, because she was in his arms, her lips were parting, her hands were twining around his neck, and sweet Djel, her tongue was in his mouth. No wonder Fjerdans were so cautious about courtship. If Matthias could be kissing Nina, feeling her nip at his lip with her clever teeth, feel her body fitted against his own, hear her release that little sigh in the back of her throat, why would he ever bother doing anything else? Why would anyone?
“Matthias,” Nina said breathlessly, and then they were kissing again.
She was sweet as the first rain, lush as new meadows. His hands curled along her back, tracing her shape, the line of her spine, the emphatic flare of her hips.
“Matthias ,” she said more insistently, pulling away.
He opened his eyes, certain he’d made some horrible mistake. Nina was biting her lower lip—it was pink and swollen. But she was smiling, and her eyes sparkled. “Did I do something wrong?”
“Not at all, you glorious babink , but—”
Zoya cleared her throat. “I’m glad you two found a way to spend the time while you waited.”
Her expression was pure disgust, but next to her, Genya looked like she was about to burst with glee.
“Perhaps you should put me down?” suggested Nina.
Reality crashed in on Matthias—the guards’ knowing looks, Zoya and Genya in the doorway, and the fact that in the course of kissing Nina Zenik with a year’s worth of pent-up desire, he had lifted her clear off her feet.
A tide of embarrassment flooded through him. What Fjerdan did such a thing? Gently, he released his hold on her magnificent thighs and let her slide to the ground.
“Shameless ,” Nina whispered, and he felt his cheeks go red.
Zoya rolled her eyes. “We’re making a deal with a pair of love-struck teenagers.”
Matthias felt another wave of heat in his face, but Nina just adjusted her wig and said, “So you’ll accept our help?”
It took them a short time to work out the logistics of how the night would go. Since it might not be safe for Nina to return to the tavern, once she had information on where and when to board Van Eck’s ship, she would get a message to the embassy—probably via Inej, since the Wraith could come and go without being seen. The refugees would remain in hiding as long as possible; then Genya and Zoya would get them to the harbor.
“Be prepared for a fight,” Matthias said. “The Shu will be watching this sector of town. They haven’t had the temerity to attack the embassy or the marketplace yet, but it’s only a matter of time.”
“We’ll be ready, Fjerdan,” said Zoya, and in her gaze he saw the steel of a born commander.
On their way out of the embassy, Nina found the golden-eyed Heartrender who had been part of the ambush at the tavern. She was Shu, with a short crop of black hair, and wore a pair of slender silver axes at her hips. Nina had told him she was the only Corporalnik among the Grisha refugees and diplomats.
“Tamar?” Nina said tentatively. “If the Kherguud come, you mustn’t allow yourself to be taken. A Heartrender in Shu possession and under the influence of parem could irrevocably tip the scales in their favor. You cannot imagine the power of this drug.”
“No one will take me alive,” said the girl. She slid a tiny, pale yellow tablet from her pocket, displaying it between her fingers.
“Poison?”
“Genya’s own creation. It kills instantly. We all have them.” She handed it to Nina. “Take it. Just in case. I have another.”
“Nina—” Matthias said.
But Nina didn’t hesitate. She slipped the pill into the pocket of her skirt before Matthias could speak another word of