Arrivals

                                    

                                          
Nina
Nina watched as the wind rolled across the lake, creating small waves that rippled towards the shore, petering out just before they reached her feet. She and Hanne had arrived in Os Alta the night before, and whether it was the cries of Ravkan children preparing for the upcoming wedding, the night air–not warm, necessarily, but colder still than it was in Fjerda–or simply the feel of an unfamiliar mattress beneath her back, she found it surprisingly difficult to fall asleep at night.  
Once Hanne had drifted off, Nina had silently slipped out of bed and crept down the halls of the Little Palace, stealing from shadow to shadow until she finally stepped outside onto the palace grounds. The only sounds were that of the lake as it lapped against the shore and the steady rise and fall of her own breathing.
Nina couldn't put into words how she felt about returning to Ravka. It was nice, she supposed, to be back in the country where she had grown up, surrounded by familiar faces. But Nina herself was so changed. Not just the person she was, but the very body she was in. They had been in Os Alta for less than two days and already she'd seen countless old friends who, after she called their names in excitement, had only stared at her as if she were insane. 
     They probably think I am. To them, Nina Zenik was still the Heartrender who had disappeared years ago, first on a mission to the Wandering Isle, and again on a job in Fjerda. She was Mila Jandersdat now, the corpsewitch, queen of Fjerda. It had been years and still she struggled to reconcile the different pieces of herself. And if even I can't, why should I feel so surprised that no one else can either? 
They were the sort of thoughts she had been able to push off for years while living in Fjerda, but were impossible to ignore now that she was back in Ravka. Nina felt as if someone had taken a hammer to her heart and crushed it into three equal pieces: one for Ravka, the country of her birth, one for Kerch, the country of her past, one for Fjerda, the country of her future.
All Nina wanted was to take Hanne and sail to Ketterdam, introduce them to her friends, share waffles with Inej, tease Kaz about his hair. She wanted to split herself in two, let Mila Jandersdat return to Fjerda, while Nina Zenik traveled the world. 
Nina gave a bitter laugh. Who was she? A romantic and a dreamer. A girl who had tried to change the world and couldn't handle the consequences. What if Matthias could see her now? He'd told Nina to show mercy to his country, and that she had. She had given up a part of herself to fulfill Matthias' dying wish.
Nina could only hope it wasn't the part of herself that had made Matthias fall in love with her.

Wylan
Wylan glanced frantically across the airship's dashboard, not entirely sure what he was even looking for. Beside him, Kaz was doing the same. Wylan felt something brush against his shoulder, and suddenly Jesper was next to him.
Through the window, Wylan could see the small lake that sat on the grounds of the Little Palace, reflecting the light of the moon. He pointed. "Our best bet is to try and land there."
"I'm still rather confused on how we're going to go about that," Jesper responded. Though his tone was light, Wylan detected a hint of fear under the surface. He took Jesper's hand in his and gave it a short squeeze, before returning both hands to the steering wheel.
They were almost directly above the lake now. Wylan recalled when they'd first entered the airship at Rentveer, how he'd pulled the lever and they'd lifted just a foot off the ground, before crashing back down, how Kaz had had to push down on the pedal underneath the control panel before they'd been able to lift off. Now, Wylan glanced at Kaz and could see he'd had the same thought.