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Kaz Brekker, the cunning leader of the Dregs gang, is fixated on exacting punishment (in this novel, on Van Eck and Rollins) and recouping what he believes is owed to him. This obsession, caused initially by the death of his brother after the two of them arrive in Ketterdam, often sets him apart from others, a distance he intentionally cultivates. Kaz protects himself from deeper connections with other people because his past trauma has made him skeptical that human beings in Ketterdam have the capacity for good. In the absence of an adequate parent, brother, or moral role model, Kaz has forged his own path using his natural cunning, brute strength, and talent for scheming. He has also developed a code of conduct. Despite his ferocity, he refuses to hurt those he deems innocent, saving his rage and violence for those he believes deserve it. As a result, Kaz is a dark Robin Hood figure, stealing from the rich merchers who rule Ketterdam with gilded fists, and giving to the poor (his scrappy gang and their families).
In Crooked Kingdom, Kaz starts to shed some of the physical and emotional armor that allowed him to survive on his own in the Barrel. He begins to make decisions that benefit others, even if they are not directly of value to him. He shows a remote but sincere interest in Wylan, manipulating him into discovering that his mother is alive and coaching him to recognize the corrosive effects of shame. After he calls Jesper by Jordie’s name, he realizes that the grudge he holds against both Jesper and Jordie stems from the fact that both make him feel unsafe and betrayed. This insight helps him extend kindness to Jesper, as shown when he instructs Inej to tell Jesper that he is missed, a gesture Inej understands as akin to a heartfelt hug. This example gives a sense of the different scale of Kaz’s intimacies. He softens the most for Inej, as when he challenges himself to touch her with his gloveless hand despite his profound aversion to the feeling of human flesh. The two do not share the passionate embraces of the novel’s other couples, but for Kaz, standing on the dock and brushing fingers is a great feat of intimacy—a promise to Inej to continue to open himself up to her.
