CHAPTER 7

When we arrived to the Little Palace the Healers were already waiting for us. The Darkling jumped off his horse and I looked around. To my relief everybody who was in the forest was back and non of them looked seriously injured. The Darkling outstretched his hand to help me get down. As I moved my head began to spin and my arm throbbed with pain. Instead of landing on my feet I almost fell down, but he caught me in his arms and led me to the Healers.

Once the Healers did their job and I convinced them that I felt good they let me go. I went to my room and asked the servants to prepare a bath. Slowly I felt my muscles relax in the hot water and the details of what had happened today began to clear in my mind.

I killed a man. Moreover I cut him in half.

I did something I never thought I was capable of and to my shock, apart from the feeling of self-loathing and disgust, there was something else. I remembered how the pure energy of the sun was in every cell of my body. How strong and perfect I felt, how indestructible I was. But that was just a memory now. I looked at my hands and imagined fjerdans blood on my fingers, even thought there never was any.

I got out of the bathtub and put on clean clothes. Even though I was tired, I couldn't make myself go to sleep. Just one thought about closing my eyes brought back the memories of a man cut in half.

The domed hall was almost empty. I sat down near the fireplace and asked a servant to bring me a cup of tea. I stared into the fire, watching the wood burn and my mind traveled somewhere far away. I jumped when somebody put a hand on my shoulder, almost spilling my already cold tea.

When I looked up I was met with the Darkling's concerned look.

"Are you okay?" he said.

"Yes, I'm good," I quickly put the cup on the table and stood up.

He looked at Ivan and said, "Go. I'll meet you there in a minute."

Ivan headed toward the door and I realized that there wasn't anybody else in the room except us.

"I'm on my way to talk with the prisoner, but I'll be back soon," he said and touched my cheek. "Why don't you wait for me in my room?"

I nodded and after looking at me for another few seconds he left.

I went to his room and sat on the couch taking the book with me. As I began to read my mind filled with magical creatures, brave actions and victorious battles. At some point the images became so vivid that I felt like everything was real, like I was that Sun Summoner about whom these legends were written.

I was walking through the city, people smiling and waving at me, because I was their savior. The crowds became bigger and bigger and everybody wanted to touch me, to be blessed with my touch. The pressure of the crowd became unbearable and I ran. Finally I found myself in the dimly lit room. I looked around and realized that the whole floor was covered in blood. I ran through an open door, but the next room was even worse. Men cut in half were all over the floor, eyes focused on me. I turned around but the door behind me was already closed. I began to bang at it and scream, but nothing happened.

Until somebody said my name, "Alina!"

I woke up with a gasp, sweat trickling down my neck. The Darkling was sitting next to me on the bed. How did I get here?

He saw the confusion on my face and said, "You fell asleep on the couch."

"Oh…" was the only thing I could manage. I was still breathing hard from the nightmare.

He took my hand and when the feeling of surety filled me my breathing began to steady. I relaxed and put my head on his shoulder.

"Don't go," I whispered.

"I wasn't planning to, this is my room after all."

The next few days were filled with conversations about my assassination attempt. Grishas were speculating about fjerdan spies in the palace and the incapability of the king to rule Ravka. One of this days the door behind the Darkling's table opened and Ivan, without even bothering to approach me shouted my name. I had no choice but to excuse myself from the table with a sigh. When I entered the war room Ivan closed the door behind me and I saw the Darkling dressed in traveling clothes.

"Are you leaving?" I asked.

"Something came up," he said approaching me. "It's the last piece of the puzzle that will help me to destroy the Fold. My men finally heard more then just rumors about its location. I have to go and get it." He touched my chin and lifted my face up. "Don't leave the palace while I'm away."

"Okay."

He smiled and kissed the corner of my mouth, "And don't miss me too much."

"I'll try," I whispered against his lips.

And I tried to keep that promise. I spent my time studying and training, and in the evening I allowed myself to relax with my friends. But it didn't help. After one month, his absence became almost tangible. Once Genya caught me playing with the bracelet the Darkling gave me and I had to lie that I bought it on the fair. Almost two months after the Darkling had left, the king became very sick. His older son, prince Vasily, decided to intrust himself with the duty to rule the country.

One afternoon, Genya met me near the door to my room, "I've been looking for you everywhere! Come on or you will be late!"

"What happen?" I asked entering my room.

"Prince Vasily arranged a meeting. Somebody must go instead of the Darkling."

"What?! No. I can't go," I protested. "I've been here less that anybody else, besides I-"

"Alina," she interrupted me, "the decision has beed made. You will go and represent Grisha."

"Who made this decision?"

"Everybody. By voting. During the lunch."

"But why me? Send Zoya or-"

"Because you are the only Sun Summoner and if you screw up that Darkling won't send you to Tsibeya. Enough arguing! You will be late!"

I continued protesting all the way to the Grand Place. Genya tried to encourage me, explaining that all I had to do was sit and listen. And at the end she was right. Prince Vasily made a long speech and a couple of generals reported about the situation close to the borders and other problems inside the country and then the meeting was finished.

I was almost at the door, when the Prince said, "Alina, may I have a word?"

"Of course, your majesty," I stopped and waited until everybody left the room.

"I'm so glad to finally meet you. Come here," he motioned me to come closer to the window where he was standing.

I approached slowly and looked outside. From here the view of the city was quite spectacular.

"I hope you do understand how important you are to Ravka," he interrupted my thoughts. I looked at him unsure what to say. "You and I will bring this country back to its glory. We will be saviors of Ravka."

He took a step towards me and automatically I moved backwards, keeping the distance between us.

He smiled, "I am you ally, Alina. And I want us to be friends. I even think we can be more than friends."

My shock was so great that I couldn't move or think. He used this moment to move closer and pushed me against the wall. I gasped when his hand cupped my cheek and the scent of his sweet perfumed washed over me. It was suffocating.

I was trying to figure out how to push him away without offending him, he was a future king after all, when somebody knocked on the door. Vasily turned and ordered them to come in. I didn't listen to their interaction, but at the end the Prince looked at me and said, "I need to deal with it. We will continue this conversation another time."

I almost ran from the Grand Palace, desperate to have some fresh air, but only after passing the wooded tunnel I finally relaxed. Instead of going inside and eager to avoid questions about the meeting I decided to take a walk around the lake

I watched as the clouds reflected in the smooth surface of the water, when I heard a familiar voice behind me, "Alina."

I turned and saw Baghra standing in the shadows of the trees. "It's the first time you called me by my name," I said smiling.

"I lived a very long life. Names come and go. Most of them are not important."

"I thought I was important enough from the beginning, because of my power and the Shadow Fold."

"I don't care about the Shadow Fold, but it seems to me that you are important to my son."

I stared at her unable to say a world. I realized that she new everything, but it was not disapproval that I saw in her eyes, but rather curiosity.

Noticing my discomfort she smiled and motioned me to follow her, "How was the meeting?"

"Uneventful and boring."

She didn't say anything and we walked together in silence until we reached the stables. She stopped near the horse closest to us and stroke the brown mane. "The King's death won't do us any good," she said thoughtful.

I had no idea what to say to that, but it didn't matter, because we were distracted by the noises behind us. I turned and gasped. A group of oprichniki and First army soldiers - trackers - were heading for the stables. I saw Mal among them, but that was not the reason why I stood petrified. A beautiful white stag was with them. The creature was gracious, mesmerizing… Magical.

"The stag," Baghra's whisper brought me back to reality.

"I thought you didn't believe in it," I teased. She turned to me and the dreamy look in her eyes gave way to something fierce and desperate.

"Bring the stag here," her voice was so much like the Darkling's. Oprichniki hesitated, but Baghra voices became even more stern, "The Darkling had ordered you to get the stag for the Sun Summoner. She is right here. Or are you blind?"

"We had orders to leave the stag in the stables until the Darkling returns."

Baghra grabbed my wrist and dragged me with her toward the stag, "And what are you gonna tell him, if somebody kills the animal in the middle of the night?" She looked at Mal then, "Give me your knife."

Mal hesitated for a second, but obeyed her command. She took it and put it into my had.

"Baghra," I swallowed, "maybe we should wait until-"

"Kill it now!" she snapped, and then added softly, so that only I could hear, "Or you will regret it. We all will regret it."

Oprichniki were about to protest, but something rose in me in that moment. Something similar to what rose in the Fold, or when I saw Amanda, or when I did the Cut. Something I couldn't really grasp or understand. Something hidden behind the door. But I knew that the stag was the key to that door. The key to power. The key to more.

I saw oprichniki move and put the knife in the stag.

And everything exploded.