MY STOMACH LURCHED.ย โWhat?โ
โThere are โฆ there are rumors that he put it to the torch.โ โAlinaโโ Mal said.
โThe students,โ I said, panic creeping in on me. โWhat happened to the students?โ
โWe donโt know,โ said Tamar.
I pressed my hands to my eyes, trying to think. โYour key,โ I said, my breath coming in harsh gasps.
โThereโs no reason to believeโโ
โTheย key,โ I repeated, hearing the quaking edge in my voice. Tamar handed it to me. โThird on the right,โ she said softly.
I took the stairs two at a time. Near the top, I slipped and banged my knee hard on one of the steps. I barely felt it. I stumbled down the hall, counting the doors. My hands were shaking so badly, it took me two tries to fit the key in the lock and get it to turn.
The room was painted in reds and blues, just as cheerful as the rest of the place. I saw Tamarโs jacket thrown over a chair by the tin basin, the two narrow beds pushed together, the rumpled wool blankets. The window was open, and autumn sunlight flooded through. A cool breeze lifted the curtains.
I slammed the door behind me and walked to the window. I gripped the sill, vaguely registering the rickety houses at the edge of the settlement, the spindles in the distance, the mountains beyond. I felt the pull of the wound in my shoulder, the creep of darkness inside me. I launched myself across the tether, seeking him, the only thought in my mind:ย What have you done?
With my next breath, I was standing before him, the room a blur around
me.
โAt last,โ the Darkling said. He turned to me, his beautiful face coming into focus. He was leaning against a scorched mantel. Its outline was sickeningly familiar.
His gray eyes were empty, haunted. Was it Baghraโs death that had left him this way or some horrific crime heโd committed here?
โCome,โ the Darkling said softly. โI want you to see.โ
I was trembling, but I let him take my hand and place it in the crook of his arm. As he did, the blurriness of the vision cleared and the room came to life around me.
We were in what had been the sitting room at Keramzin. The shabby sofas were stained black with soot. Ana Kuyaโs treasured samovar lay on its side, a tarnished hulk. Nothing remained of the walls but a charred and jagged skeleton, the ghosts of doorways. The curving metal staircase that had once led to the music room had buckled from the heat, its steps fusing together. The ceiling was gone. I could see straight through the wreck of the second story. Where the attic should have been, there was only gray sky.
Strange,ย I thought stupidly.ย The sun is shining in Dva Stolba.
โIโve been here for days,โ he said, leading me through the wreckage, over the piles of debris, through what had once been the entry hall, โwaiting for you.โ
The stone steps that led to the front door were smeared with ash but intact. I saw the long, straight gravel drive, the white pillars of the gate, the road that led to town. It had been nearly two years since Iโd seen this view, but it was just as I remembered.
The Darkling placed his hands on my shoulders and turned me slightly.
My legs gave way. I fell to my knees, my hands clasped over my mouth. A sound tore from me, too broken to be called a scream.
The oak Iโd once climbed on a dare still stood, untouched by the fire that had taken Keramzin. Now its branches were full of bodies. The three Grisha instructors hung from the same thick limb, theirย keftaย fluttering slightly in the windโpurple, red, and blue. Beside them, Botkinโs face was nearly black above the rope that had dug into his neck. He was covered in wounds. Heโd died fighting before theyโd strung him up. Next to him, Ana Kuya swayed in her black dress, her heavy key ring at her waist, the toes of her button boots
nearly scraping the ground.
โShe was, I think, the closest thing you had to a mother,โ murmured the Darkling.
The sobs that shook me were like the lashes of a whip. I flinched with each one, bent double, collapsing into myself. The Darkling knelt before me. He took me by the wrists, pulling my hands free from my face, as if he wanted to watch me weep.
โAlina,โ he said. I kept my eyes on the steps, my tears clouding my vision.
I would not look at him. โAlina,โ he repeated.
โWhy?โ The word was a wail, a childโs cry. โWhy would you do this?ย How
can you do this? Donโt you feel any of it?โ
โI have lived a long life, rich in grief. My tears are long since spent. If I still felt as you do, if I ached as you do, I could not have borne this eternity.โ
โI hope Botkin killed twenty of your Grisha,โ I spat at him, โa hundred.โ โHe was an extraordinary man.โ
โWhere are the students?โ I made myself ask, though I wasnโt sure I could bear the answer. โWhat have you done?โ
โWhere areย you, Alina? I felt sure you would come to me when I moved against West Ravka. I thought your conscience would demand it. I could only hope that this would draw you out.โ
โWhere are they?โ I screamed.
โThey are safe. For now. They will be on my skiff when I enter the Fold again.โ
โAs hostages,โ I said dully.
He nodded. โIn case you get any thoughts of attack rather than surrender. In five days, I will return to the Unsea, and you will come to meโyou and the trackerโor I will drive the Fold all the way to West Ravkaโs coast, and I will march those children, one by one, to the mercy of the volcra.โ
โThis place โฆ these people, they were innocent.โ
โI have waited hundreds of years for this moment, for your power, for this chance. I have earned it with loss and with struggle. I will have it, Alina. Whatever the cost.โ
I wanted to claw at him, to tell him Iโd see him torn apart by his own monsters. I wanted to tell him I would bring all the power of Morozovaโs amplifiers down on him, an army of light, born ofย merzost, perfect in its
vengeance. I might be able to do it, too. If Mal gave up his life. โThere will be nothing left,โ I whispered.
โNo,โ he said gently as he folded me in his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of my hair. โI will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no shelter but me.โ
In grief, in horror, I let myself break apart.
* * *
I WAS STILL ON MY KNEES, my hands clutching the windowsill, my forehead pressed against the wooden slats of the boardinghouse wall. Outside, I could hear the faint jingle of prayer bells. Inside, there was no sound but the hitch of my breath, the rasp of my sobs as the whip continued to fall, as I bent my back and wept. That was where they found me.
I didnโt hear the door open, or their steps as they approached. I just felt gentle hands take hold of me. Zoya sat me down on the edge of the bed, and Tamar settled beside me. Nadia took a comb to my hair, carefully working through the tangles. Genya washed first my face, then my hands with a cool cloth sheโd wetted in the basin. It smelled faintly of mint.
We sat there, saying nothing, all of them clustered around me.
โHe has the students,โ I said flatly. โTwenty-three children. He killed the teachers. And Botkin.โ And Ana Kuya, a woman theyโd never known. The woman who had raised me. โMalโโ
โHe told us,โ said Nadia softly.
I think some part of me expected blame, recrimination. Instead, Genya rested her head on my shoulder. Tamar squeezed my hand.
This wasnโt just comfort, I realized. They were leaning on meโas I was leaning on themโfor strength.
I have lived a long life, rich in grief.
Had the Darkling had friends like this? People whom heโd loved, who had fought for him, and cared for him, and made him laugh? People who had become little more than sacrifices to a dream that outlived them?
โHow long do we have?โ Tamar asked. โFive days.โ
A knock came at the door. It was Mal. Tamar made room for him beside me.
โBad?โ he asked.
I nodded. I couldnโt yet stand to tell him what Iโd seen. โI have five days to surrender, or heโll use the Fold again.โ
โHeโll do it anyway,โ said Mal. โYou said so yourself. Heโll find a reason.โ โI might buy us some timeโโ
โAt what cost? You were willing to give up your life,โ he said quietly. โWhy wonโt you let me do the same?โ
โBecause I canโt bear it.โ
His face went hard. He seized my wrist and again I felt that jolt. Light cascaded behind my eyes, as if my whole body were ready to crack open with it. Unspeakable power lay behind that door, and Malโs death would open it.
โYouย willย bear it,โ he said. โOr all of these deaths, all weโve given up, will be for nothing.โ
Genya cleared her throat. โUm. The thing is, you may not have to. David has an idea.โ
* * * โACTUALLY, IT WAS Genyaโs idea,โ David said.
We were crowded around a table beneath an awning, a little way down the street from our boardinghouse. There were no real restaurants in this part of the settlement, but a kind of makeshift tavern had been set up in a burned-out lot. There were lanterns strung over the rickety tables, a wooden keg of sweet fermented milk, and meat roasting in two metal drums like the one weโd seen that first day at the market. The air was thick with the smell of juniper smoke. Two men were shooting dice at a table near the keg while another plucked his way through a shapeless tune on a battered guitar. There was no discernible melody, but Misha seemed satisfied. Heโd taken up an elaborate
dance that apparently required clapping and a great deal of concentration. โWeโll make sure to put Genyaโs name on the plaque,โ said Zoya. โJust get
on with it.โ
โRemember how you disguised theย Bittern?โ David asked. โThe way you bent the light around the ship instead of letting it bounce off of it?โ
โI was thinking,โ said Genya. โWhat if you did that with us?โ I frowned. โYou meanโโ
โItโs the exact same principle,โ said David. โItโs a greater challenge
because there are more variables than just blue sky, but curving light around a soldier is no different than curving light around an object.โ
โWait a minute,โ said Harshaw. โYou mean weโd be invisible?โ โExactly,โ said Genya.
Adrik leaned forward. โThe Darkling will launch from the drydocks in Kribirsk. We could sneak into his camp. Get the students out that way.โ His fist was clenched, his eyes alight. He knew those children better than any of us. Some of them were probably his friends.
Tolya frowned. โThereโs no way weโd get into camp and free them without being noticed. Some of those kids are younger than Misha.โ
โKribirsk will be too complicated,โ said David. โLots of people, interrupted sight lines. If Alina had more time to practiceโโ
โWe have five days,โ I repeated.
โSo we attack on the Fold,โ said Genya. โAlinaโs light will keep the volcra at bayโโ
I shook my head. โWeโd still have to fight the Darklingโsย nichevoโya.โ โNot if they canโt see us,โ said Genya.
Nadia grinned. โWeโd be hiding in plain sight.โ
โHeโll haveย oprichnikiย and Grisha too,โ said Tolya. โThey wonโt be short on ammunition like we will. Even if they canโt see their targets, they may just open fire and hope they get lucky.โ
โSo we stay out of range.โ Tamar moved her plate to the center of the table. โThis is the glass skiff,โ she said. โWe place marksmen around the perimeter and use them to thin the Darklingโs ranks.ย Thenย we get close enough to sneak onto the skiff, and once we get the kids to safetyโโ
โWe blow it to bits,โ said Harshaw. He was practically salivating at the prospect of the explosion.
โAnd the Darkling with it,โ Genya finished.
I gave Tamarโs plate a turn, considering what the others were suggesting. Without the third amplifier, my power was no match for the Darklingโs in a head-on confrontation. Heโd proved that in no uncertain terms. But what if I came at him unseen, using light for cover the way others used darkness? It was sneaky, even cowardly, but the Darkling and I had left honor behind long ago. Heโd been in my head, waged war on my heart. I wasnโt interested in a fair fight, not if there was a chance I could save Malโs life.
As if he could read my mind, Mal said, โI donโt like it. Too many things can go wrong.โ
โThis isnโt just your choice,โ said Nadia. โYouโve been fighting beside us and bleeding with us for months now. We deserve the chance to try and save your life.โ
โEven if youโre a uselessย otkazatโsya,โ added Zoya.
โCareful,โ said Harshaw. โYouโre talking to the Darklingโs โฆ wait, what are you? His cousin? His nephew?โ
Mal shuddered. โI have no idea.โ
โAre you going to start wearing black now?โ Mal gave a very firm โNo.โ
โYouโre one of us,โ said Genya, โwhether you like it or not. Besides, if Alina has to kill you, she may go completely crazyย andย sheโll have the three amplifiers. Then it will be up to Misha to stop her with the power of awful dancing.โ
โShe is pretty moody,โ said Harshaw. He tapped his temple. โNot totally
there, if you know what I mean.โ
They were kidding, but they might also have been right.ย You were meant to be my balance.ย What I felt for Mal was messy and stubborn and might leave me heartbroken in the end, but it was also human.
Nadia reached out and nudged Malโs hand. โAt least consider the plan.
And if it all goes wrongโโ
โAlina gets a new bracelet,โ finished Zoya.
I scowled. โHow about I sliceย youย open and see how your bones fit?โ Zoya fluffed her hair. โI bet theyโre just as gorgeous as the rest of me.โ
I gave Tamarโs plate another turn, trying to imagine what this kind of maneuver might require. I wished I had Nikolaiโs mind for strategy. One thing I was sure of. โIt will take more than an explosion to kill the Darkling. He survived the Fold and the destruction of the chapel.โ
โThen what?โ asked Harshaw.
โIt has to be me,โ I said. โIf we can separate him from his shadow soldiers, I can use the Cut.โ The Darkling was powerful, but I doubted even he could bounce back from being torn in half. And though I had no claim to Morozovaโs name, I was the Sun Summoner. Iโd hoped for a grand destiny, but I would settle for a clean kill.
Zoya released a brief, giddy laugh. โThis actually might work.โ
โItโs worth thinking about,โ I said to Mal. โThe Darkling will expect an attack, but he wonโt expect this.โ
Mal was silent for a long moment. โAll right,โ he said. โBut if it does go wrong โฆ we all agree what has to happen.โ
He looked around the table. One by one they nodded. Tolyaโs face was stoic. Genya dropped her gaze. Finally, only I remained.
โI want your word, Alina.โ
I swallowed the lump in my throat. โIโll do it.โ The words tasted like iron on my tongue.
โGood,โ he said. He grabbed my hand. โNow, letโs show Misha how bad dancingโs done.โ
โKill you, dance with you. Any other requests?โ
โNot at the moment,โ he said, pulling me close. โBut Iโm sure Iโll think of something.โ
I tucked my head against Malโs shoulder and breathed in his scent. I knew I shouldnโt let myself believe in this possibility. We didnโt have an army. We didnโt have the resources of a king. We only had this ragged crew.ย I will strip away all that you know, all that you love.ย If he could, I knew the Darkling would use these people against me, but it had never occurred to him that they might be more than liabilities. Maybe heโd underestimated them, and maybe heโd underestimated me too.
It was stupid. It was dangerous. But Ana Kuya used to tell me that hope was tricky like water. Somehow it always found a way in.
* * *
WE STAYED UP LATE that night, talking through the logistics of the plan. The realities of the Fold complicated everythingโwhere and how we would enter, whether or not it was even possible for me to cloak myself, let alone the others, how to isolate the Darkling and get the students clear. We had no blasting powders, so weโd have to make our own. I also wanted to ensure that the others had some way out of the Fold if anything happened to me.
We left early the next morning and crossed back through Dva Stolba to retrieve theย Bitternย from the quarry. It was strange to see it sitting where weโd left it, tucked safely away like a pigeon in the eaves.
โSaints,โ said Adrik as we clambered into the hulls. โIs that my blood?โ
The stain was nearly as big as he was. Weโd all been so tired and beaten after our long escape from the Spinning Wheel that no one had even thought to deal with it.
โYou made the mess,โ said Zoya. โYou clean it up.โ
โNeed two hands to swab,โ Adrik retorted, taking a place at the sails instead.
Adrik seemed to relish Zoyaโs taunts over Nadiaโs constant fussing. Iโd been relieved to learn that he could still summon, though it would take some time for him to be able to control strong currents with just one arm.ย Baghra could teach him.ย The thought came at me before I remembered that was no longer possible. I could almost hear her voice in my head:ย Should I cut off your other arm? Then youโd have something to whine about. Do it again and do it better.ย What would she have made of all of this? What would she have made of Mal? I pushed the thought away. Weโd never know, and there was no time for mourning.
Once we were in the air, the Squallers set a gentle pace and I used the time to practice bending the light as I camouflaged the ship from below.
The journey took only a few hours, and we landed in a marshy pasture west of Caryeva. The town was the site of the summer horse sales every year. It wasnโt known for anything but its racing track and its breeding stables, and even without the war, this late in the year, it would have been all but deserted. The missive to the Apparat had proposed that we meet at the racecourse.
Tamar and Harshaw would scout the track on foot to make sure we werenโt walking into a trap. If anything felt wrong, theyโd circle back to meet us, and weโd decide what to do from there. I didnโt think the Apparat would turn us over to the Darkling, but there was also the possibility that heโd struck some kind of new bargain with the Shu Han or Fjerda.
We were a day early, and the pasture was the perfect place to practice cloaking moving targets. Misha insisted on being first.
โIโm smaller,โ he said. โThat will make it easier.โ He ran out into the center of the field.
I raised my hands, gave a twist of my wrists, and Misha disappeared.
Harshaw gave an appreciative whistle.
โCan you see me?โ Misha shouted. As soon as he started waving, the light
around him rippled and his skinny forearms appeared as if suspended in space.
Focus.ย They vanished.
โMisha,โ instructed Mal, โrun toward us.โ
He appeared, then disappeared again as I adjusted the light.
โI can see him from the side,โ Tolya called from across the pasture.
I blew out a breath. I had to think about this more carefully. Disguising the ship had been easier because Iโd only been altering the reflection of the light from below. Now I had to think about every angle.
โBetter!โ said Tolya.
Zoya yelped. โThat little brat just kicked me.โ โSmart kid,โ said Mal.
I lifted a brow. โSmarter than some.โ He had the good grace to blush.
I spent the rest of the afternoon vanishing one, then two, then five Grisha at a time in the field.
It was a different kind of work, but Baghraโs lessons still applied. If I concentrated too hard on projecting my power, variables overwhelmed me. But if I thought about the light being everywhere, if I didnโt try to prod it and just let it bend, it got much easier.
I thought of the times Iโd seen the Darkling use his power to blind soldiers in a battle, taking on multiple enemies at once. It was easy for him, natural.ย I know things about power that you can barely guess at.
I practiced that night, then started up again the next morning after Tamar and Harshaw set out, but my concentration kept faltering. With more marksmen, our attack on the Darklingโs skiff might actually stand a chance. What would be waiting at the racecourse? The priest himself? No one at all? Iโd imagined a serf army, protected by three amplifiers, marching beneath the banner of the firebird. That wasnโt the war we were waging anymore.
โI can see him!โ Zoya singsonged at me. And sure enough, Tolyaโs big shape was flickering in and out as he jogged to my right.
I dropped my hands. โLetโs break for a bit,โ I suggested.
Nadia and Adrik unfurled one of the sails so she could help him learn to manage updraft, and Zoya sprawled lazily on the deck to offer less than helpful critique.
Meanwhile, David and Genya bent their heads over one of his notebooks, trying to figure out where they could extract the components for a batch ofย lumiya. It turned out Genya didnโt just have a gift for poisons. Her talents had always lain somewhere between Corporalnik and Materialnik, but I wondered what she might have become, what path she might have chosen, if not for the Darklingโs influence. Mal and Misha headed to the far side of the field with arms full of pinecones and set them along the fence as targets so Misha could learn to shoot.
That left me and Tolya with nothing to do but worry and wait. He sat down beside me on one of the hulls, legs dangling over.
โDo you want to practice some more?โ he asked. โI probably should.โ
A long moment passed and then he said, โCan you do it? When the time comes?โ
I was eerily reminded of Mal asking me if I could bring down the firebird. โYou donโt think the plan will work.โ
โI donโt think it matters.โ โYou donโtโโ
โIf you defeat the Darkling, the Fold will remain.โ
I kicked my heels against the hull. โI can deal with the Fold,โ I said. โMy power will make crossings possible. We can eliminate the volcra.โ I didnโt like to think about that. As monstrous as they were, the volcra had once been human. I leaned back and studied Tolyaโs face. โYouโre not convinced.โ
โYou asked me once why I didnโt let you die in the chapel, why I let Mal go to you. Maybe there was a reason you both lived. Maybe this is it.โ
โIt was a supposed Saint who started all of this, Tolya.โ โAnd a Saint will end it.โ
He climbed down from the hull and looked up at me. โI know you donโt share the same faith as Tamar and I,โ he said, โbut regardless of how this ends, Iโm thankful our beliefs led us to you.โ
With that, he walked across the field to join Mal and Misha.
Whether by chance or fate, I was grateful for Tolya and Tamarโs friendship. And if I was honest, I envied their faith. If I could believe in some divine purpose, it might make the tough decisions a bit easier.
I wasnโt sure if our plan would succeed, and even if it did, there were too many uncertainties. If we managed to defeat the Darkling, what would happen to his shadow soldiers? And what of Nikolai? What if killing the Darkling also meant killing him? Should we be trying to capture the Darkling instead? If we survived, Mal would need to go into hiding; his life would be at risk if his true nature was discovered.
The sound of hoofbeats approached. Nadia and I climbed up onto the captainโs platform for a better view, and as the party came into sight, my heart sank.
โMaybe there are more back at the racecourse,โ Nadia suggested.
โMaybe,โ I said, though I didnโt believe it.
I quickly counted twelve soldiers. As they drew nearer, I saw they were all young, most with sun tattoos on their faces. Ruby was among them, her green eyes and blond braid distinctive, and I spotted Vladim with two other bearded men I recognized from the Priestguards.
I hopped down from the platform and went to greet them. When the party spotted me, they slipped from their horses and each dropped to one knee, heads bowed.
โUgh,โ said Zoya. โThis again.โ
I cast her a warning look, though Iโd had the exact same thought. Iโd nearly forgotten how much I dreaded the burden of Sainthood. But I took on the mantle, playing my part.
โRise,โ I said, and when they did, I gestured Vladim forward. โIs this all of you?โ
He nodded.
โAnd what excuse does the Apparat send?โ
He swallowed. โNone. The pilgrims say daily prayers for your safety and for the destruction of the Fold. He claims that your last command was for him to watch over your flock.โ
โAnd my plea for aid?โ
Ruby shook her head. โThe only reason we knew that you and Nikolai Lantsov had requested help was because a monk loyal to you retrieved the message from the Church of Sankt Lukin.โ
โSo how do you come to be here?โ
Vladim smiled and those absurd dimples appeared in his cheeks again. He exchanged a glance with Ruby.
โWe escaped,โ she said.
Iโd known the Apparat wasnโt to be trusted, and yet some part of me had hoped he might offer me more than prayers. But Iโd told him to tend to my followers, to keep them from harm, and they were certainly safer in the White Cathedral than marching into the Fold. The Apparat would do what he did best: wait. When the dust cleared, either I would have defeated the Darkling or found my martyrdom. Either way, men would still take up arms in my name. The Apparatโs empire of the faithful would rise.
I laid my hands on Vladimโs and Rubyโs shoulders. โThank you for your loyalty. I hope you wonโt be sorry for it.โ
They bowed their heads and murmured, โSankta Alina.โ
โLetโs move,โ I said. โYouโre a big enough group that you may have attracted attention, and those tattoos canโt have helped.โ
โWhere are we going?โ asked Ruby, pulling up her scarf to hide her tattoo. โInto the Fold.โ
I saw the new soldiers shift uneasily. โTo fight?โ she asked. โTo travel,โ Mal replied.
No army. No allies. We had only three more days until we were to face the Darkling. We would take our chances, and if we failed, there would be no more options. I would murder the only person Iโd ever loved and who had ever loved me. Iโd dive back into battle wearing his bones.