Okay, so another Grisha Trilogy one-shot. Slightly longer than the last. Credit for the title goes to Elena Lantsova-Morozova.
Disclaimer: Darkling and Alina forever. Does that even sound like canon at all?
"You are nothing." The Darkling's voice was a spike driven right into Alina's soul. She knew it was the part of her that had grown up an orphan that hurt at his words, his words that before had always been flattery to her. She would have called that part of her pathetic as it was the part of her that needed the love and feared rebuke.
Alina closed her eyes against the tears that itched to come. She had stabbed Mal. She had nothing, but she repeated over and over to herself that that did not make the Darkling's words true. She was not nothing. She had no powers, but that made her otkazat'sya. Abandoned. Abandoned, but not nothing.
No, she could not believe that, even for a second, one horrible second. She slowly pulled out the dagger, still red and shining with Mal's blood. The Darkling almost smirked, but it was like there was a pit formed inside him, a pit inside him formed by the loss of an equal.
The Darkling stared at the blade, knowing that this assassination attempt would be one he noticed. Something slid up the blade, and both Alina and the Darkling watched it.
Shadows.
Alina readied her blade to plunge it into his heart, but the Darkling reached out and grabbed her wrist. Alina gasped and dropped the dagger. "What are you doing?"
"You can still be something, Alina," the Darkling whispered as he drew the former Sun Summoner towards him. He leaned forward so that his mouth was almost on her ear. Alina tried to jerk back, but the Darkling's strong grip held her in place.
"I am," Alina whispered. She was something, but she had nothing. The power was the only thing that had ever truly been hers and hers alone. She missed it, the one thing that made her feel desirable, useful, worthy.
"You have some of my power still." The Darkling's rasp lingered in her ear, on her skin, hot against the otherwise cool air in what had been the Fold. Alina shivered even though she was not truly taken aback at the possessive edge to the words. Alina opened her mouth to respond, but each of the Darkling's hands were already resting on her cheeks with darkness pooling within them.
The darkness seeped into Alina's skin, flowed into her eyes and mouth. She shivered and gasped, the dark cooling her, but there was no pain. She closed her eyes, the darkness still entering into them. Instinctively, she leaned forward until she was pressed against the Darkling.
He bent down slightly, resting his head on top of Alina's. The power stopped its flow, having finished its course. The Darkling and Alina both stepped back, their breathing ragged.
Alina opened her eyes, blinking a couple of times in the light penetrating the air in the former Unsea. "What did you do?" She swallowed, and her voice was hoarse when she spoke. She drew a deep breath into her lungs.
Silence.
The Darkling gave no response, instead opting to lean down enough so that he could stare into her eyes. Alina could feel Tolya and Tamar's golden eyes on them, but for the moment, she could care less. She needed to figure out what just happened to her.
Again, said she, "What did you do?" The Darkling's laugh was so quiet that only Alina could hear him. She smiled nervously, her teeth digging into her lower lip.
"You were my equal, my balance, Alina. You were the only one like me, and now so you are again." The Darkling's voice raised the hairs on the back of her neck and caused goosebumps to appear all down her arms.
He reached out and grabbed Alina's hands. Alina tried to jerk away, but the Darkling held her in place. She stared up at him, her eyes round and unblinking. Darkness flowed around their fingertips, the connection between them surging like a tsunami.
The Darkling's eyes fell half-shut, open just wide enough that he could study Alina's face in their darkness. Alina could hear his breathing. His mouth was slightly open.
Alina couldn't help but stare. She wasn't sure if it was his face with its perfect angles and hooded grey eyes or the fact that she could feel some of the darkness was coming from her, darkness that was not exhausting her like it had been. Finally, she understood what the Darkling had just done. "You gave me some of your power." It was a statement, not a question.
It was a statement that contradicted everything she thought she knew about the Darkling. The Darkling she thought she knew never would have given up any power. The Darkling she thought she knew only wanted to use her Sun Summoning gifts for his own gain, so what had changed?
"Why?" At Alina's innocent, or maybe no-so-innocent, query, the corners of the Darkling's mouth quirked upwards.
He leaned closer to her so that he was pressed all the way against her. "You were meant to be my equal, Alina. Like calls to like." He caressed her shoulder and arm gently with his hand.
"No, I was your balance. I was supposed to keep you from doing evil. I was supposed to live or die with you," Alina whispered, her voice quiet enough against the Darkling's chest that even he had to strain to listen.
Alina could certainly hear the Darkling's breath catch, and his eyes snapped open. "With me. . .you are not my balance anymore, Alina, but you are still my equal." He released a draw -out breath, and the darkness stopped shielding them from the vision of others. The Darkling stepped back until he was just out of reach of Alina. "I can teach you how to use my powers, Alina."
"I hate you." Perhaps once, the words would have hurt the Darkling when they came from the mouth of this girl. Now, they were the very definition of normal.
"You are my equal, Alina. You could balance me or be my equal or be my partner, or you could sit here and be nothing. The choice is yours." Slowly, the Darkling turned away from Alina and began to walk.
"Wait!" The Darkling and Alina both weren't sure if they should be surprised by the words that flew from Alina's lips. "Unless I agree, there is nothing to keep you from doing this all over again. The Fold, the destruction, the army."
"You will come with me," the Darkling commanded, and Alina nodded once and then again. Alina swallowed, and the Darkling inhaled slowly.
"Yes." Alina stepped over to the Darkling and looked him dead in the eyes. "I will come with you to keep you from doing this all over again. If we do this, we will still fight."
The Darkling swallowed and nodded. "But when we do, let it be quiet and between just us. Do not bring any otkazat'sya between us."
With a deep breath, Alina replied, "Okay."
Finis eocum sum! I hope you enjoyed it and please favorite, follow, and review! Thank you!
~~Elf