Chapter One

Maybe I'm a monster, but I'll let you decide.

I blinked the sunlight from my eyes and pulled myself out of bed with a groggy disposition. Numbly I slid into a casual white tunic with a dark blue cape, secured Volcrendei to my hip, and looked into the mirror. Volcredei had been a gift from Nikolai, meaning "volcra slayer", and I had grown fond of the Grisha Steel that weighs in my palm. Nikolai said that he had the blade specially made, and smelted it with gold and ebony for the handle. He had given it to me for my birthday last year, and I seldom parted with it since then.

I tied my long black hair behind me, still allowing it to flow to between my shoulderblades, but not into my face.

Today I was being tested.

The thought hit me so hard I nearly dropped my brush onto the ivory of my dresser. After years and years of refusal and fear, I was finally being forced to take the test most took early on in life at the age of sixteen. I knew my parents were wary for some reason, they had caved in so quickly in response to my refusal to let the amplifiers near me, to test me for Grisha blood. Even now I had protested, but knew I couldn't stay clear of that chair any longer or Genya might have to tie me down.

I knew I was a Grisha. Even since I was small, I knew I was one. I felt my power whisper to me at night, felt it calling for me to release it. Only when I was alone did I, and I never told a soul.

I pinned the Lantsov double-eagle to my chest, and the sunburst pin I had "borrowed" while exploring Misha's room, then turned to leave. As I walked down the corridors, I began to hear the patter of small feet, just faint enough for me to pick them up. I continued walking for a few steps, then turned and jumped forward. My calico kitten, Najah, leapt up from the floor in terror at being found out, her mismatched eyes wide with fear. I smiled and lifted the frightened kitten from the floor. "Now then, Mother Oncat wouldn't be very proud of you, sneaking up on my heels, would she?" I said in a serious tone, wagging my finger in front of her face. She mewed and I set her on her rightful place perched on my shoulder.

As I trotted to the banister, I could smell the luscious breakfast cooking on the stove, seemingly mocking my senses.

I grinned madly at a familiar figure I could see standing in the doorway below, then jumped to the side of the banister, sliding down the slight spiral with practiced grace.

"Mishaa!" I yelled like a lumberjack. The young soldier turned just before I collided with him. Najah's claws were still embedded in my shoulder because of the sudden undaunted act.

Misha planted a kiss on my forehead happily. "Hey. Never seen you pull that little stunt before."

I flipped a strand of hair from my face. "Oh please. I practice often."

He opened his mouth to speak, but I interrupted, eager to hear his stories. "So what did you do? Did you find any Volcra that escaped the Fold? Did you talk to Nikolai? Did you-"

"Eladis!" Idrenne, the cook, snapped. "The boy just returned, give him some space."

I crossed my arms and jutted out my lip.

"It's alright. I can handle my flamboyant sister on my own." He said, cutting me a scornful look, then playfully rustling my hair. In truth, I wasn't his sister, but I might as well have been considering he was raised by my parents even before they took on the orphanage. I only had one sister, Karylon, but she was away helping some farms in an unnamed village. She was always the favored one.

"Misha," I whispered, deciding to get it out of the way. "My… testing is today." Misha's eyes widened. He had taken the test at age seven, but now the demand for Grisha was less and my parents allowed me to put it off. He was confirmed ozakat'sya, and joined the First Army when he turned eighteen. His fighting skills were really something to marvel at, and he teaches me when he comes home. I asked him where he learned, and he told me that my father had, in a hushed tone.

I don't know what my father has against me, but I suppose I could take a few guesses.

I mostly ignored him, as he did me, but I still longed for his notice. Nikolai had always been an idol to me, the closest thing I had to a father, and he did a pretty good job of it anyways.

Misha nodded and smiled nervously. "Okay.

If you are a… you know, I'll visit you often at the Little Palace."

I grinned. "So very overconfident, as always." Honestly he wasn't overconfident, but he seemed to know that I'd be Grisha.

He shuffled. "No, I mean just on the chance that you-"

I hugged him, cutting off his sentence. I was fairly tall, and was able to pull his shoulders down to me. "Okay."

My mother strode into the room, her platinum hair falling down her back, her paleness ignited by the morning sunlight. She smiled at me and hugged me, her slight frame pressing to mine of the same. "Good morning, Mother." I murmured.

She pulled away and looked into my eyes with her soft, liquid brown ones.

"Good morning." A twinge of softness laced her voice, something I seldom heard in a woman like her.

My father then ebbed in after her, holding his usual regards for me, and having his soldier way.

"Hello, Ehrik." Misha stated respectfully. My father nodded good-naturedly to the boy that he considered to be more of his child than I was. Still I whispered to him silently. "Father."

His blue eyes lingered over me for a moment, then he nodded back.

My mother gave a small nervous smile and I turned, for the Grisha would be here soon and I didn't want to keep them waiting with my hopeless emotions.

The carriage arrived not long after I indulged myself in the joys of a Keramzin orphanage breakfast, sitting with Najah as she toyed with the table-cloth. I was usually up before any of the other orphans, and today was no exception with their lateness. I enjoyed going to the meadow and shooting my bow, but I was hardly ever accompanied.

"There you are!" I heard the familiar squeal behind me.

I stood and turned to the very excited Genya standing in the doorway in the dining hall, her red locks falling around her lovely face. I noted that her eyepatch was now a silvery color, lined with red like her kefta. I grinned and went to her, and she put her arms around me, then pulled pack, holding my head in her hands. She made a clicking sound. "Such a lovely face, Elaid. Like your mother, or like her if she'd actually cared to let me help. Such a scrawny and hornery thing."

I just chuckled. "Yes, I believe that was mentioned on more than one occasion."

Genya gave me a dazzling smile and pulled me from the room by the hand. "We're waiting in here."

The study was lit at the hearth, and a cushioned chair sat at a safe distance away. A few children had just exited, having been through the testing already. A boy with dark brown hair sighed. "None this time. Not like there were very many orphans, or that we get many Grisha anyways."

I frowned. I knew it was true that Grisha were rare, but had the bloodlines dwindled?

Genya sat me on the chair with an 'oof' and trotted happily away.

The boy with dark hair stepped forward. "Okay, so you might feel something strange, and if you do, don't hold it back." I nodded, watching as his purple kefta reflected the firelight. He took my bare forearm and ran his fingers over it, then placed his hand firmly. I could feel something calling, a wild thing trying to claw or tear it's way from my body.

I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath and prepared myself to show the abilities I only have seen myself. Light poured from me.

I heard Genya gasp, but didn't stop. I let the light overcome me, and then… darkness. It was a different kind of power, a different kind of achieved bliss that radiated from my skin. The darkness was so pure, so frightening, but I made the void deeper than anyone could have imagined. I forced myself to stop, and diluted the darkness a little.

Eventually there was nothing, not even the feeling of his hand on my arm.

"Eladis." I heard my name, cold and clear. Genya grabbed my arm and my eyes flew open. "Hush." She hissed. "That caused quite a commotion, I'm going to tell your parents… the news."

I swallowed hard.

I saw my mother trying to look over Genya at me, and my father looking at the ground in silence. "Ali- I mean Anika! Calm down, I have news. Don't crowd her!" Reluctantly my mother shrank back into the other room. They didn't close the door all the way, and I could hear inside decidedly well.

"She's a Sun Summoner." Genya said hurriedly. I could hear a small sigh of relief.

"And a Darkling." She murmured. Of course I already knew, and had read enough books to know what a horrible mistake it was, but there have been Grisha with more than one ability. Namely Morozova, sometimes Sankta Alina and The Darkling in books. I couldn't take this anymore. I stood and walked into the room. They turned to me, eyes wide.

"I knew it." My father spat, his blue eyes focusing on the ground. "Ehrik," Mother consoled, placing a gentle hand on his shoulder. "No." He said. "I still hoped that…" He trailed off.

My mother looked at the ground. "I know. I did too."

"When can I leave?" I blurted. They all turned to me. "If I am what you say I am, I'm ready to go to Os Alta." The amplifier boy who had tested me gave a small bow.

"Yes, Moi Soverenyi." He stuttered, and I recoiled in surprise.

Mother looked at me with hurt in her eyes. "You don't have to leave, you know." I looked at my father, who said nothing.

"No." I say, the ferocity in my voice surprising me. "I'm leaving." And then I turned away, to go the place in the dark where I could once again read about Sun Summoners…

and Darklings.