i.

Kissing Ivan did not require taking another arrow to the shoulder. As it turned out, getting shot had actually been sort of a requirement for that to happen at all - not only had it prompted him to do it in the first place, but it had forced her to admit that she needed more of a guard. And who better to spend most of his time defending her than a Corporalki prodigy?

Two Corporalki prodigies, apparently. But Fedyor was respectful, the type to turn his face away politely when she stole a quick kiss from Ivan, rather than to take notes for later gossip.

Or reporting back to anyone.

"Do you think he'll tell?" Alina murmured, tugging Ivan behind a convenient tree. The past few days had been an exercise in finding hiding spots in the middle of camp. She was getting quite good at it, if she did say so herself.

Ivan wrangled his hands from hers, settling them on her waist instead. His hold on her was firm, almost possessive. She hadn't yet decided if she liked that, so she let him keep doing it in the hopes she'd figure it out.

"Who, Fedyor?" He snorted, stepping in close until her back hit the tree. "Man keeps to himself. And if he decided not to, I'd teach him otherwise."

"My hero," Alina said dryly, pushing herself up onto her toes. Her lips pressed to his cheek, once, briefly. "So you think he won't tell anyone?"

There was a pause. She waited for him to kiss her back, but he pulled away instead, frowning at her.

"Who are you worried about finding out?"

"No one!" She covered his hands with hers, in case he wanted to pull those away as well.

"Alina." His fingers twitched, but only to tighten his grip on her. "Is it him?"

Him. There was only one him that could be. Alina knew she couldn't keep this from the Darkling forever, but - she wanted to. If not forever, then for as long as she could. She wanted to have something for her, something he couldn't get his hands on. Something he couldn't give his own personal touch to.

Maybe Genya hadn't been a lesson. Maybe that situation didn't have anything to do with her. That didn't mean she wanted to see it happen again, to someone else important to her. So she laughed, pressing her lips to his this time.

"I'm not some interesting pet who can't do anything without his permission, you know. I have kissed other people before, you think he cared about them?"

Strangely, that didn't make Ivan look any less grumpy. "Are you saying I'm the same as all the other people you've kissed?"

"No. They kissed me back."

He took the hint.

ii.

"It's late, Alina."

Strange shadows flickered on the pale gold of her tent walls. She was causing them, her body glowing softly. It was easier than lighting lamps, as she sat cross-legged on the ground, bent over a map.

"You're welcome to sleep, if you're tired," she told the Darkling, not looking up. Even if his voice wasn't as intimately familiar to her as her own, there was only one person who entered her presence unannounced.

"I rarely am."

A smile tugged at her mouth, even as her finger traced a line across her map. "Somewhere in this country, peasants are telling tales about the monster Darkling who never sleeps."

"Not just this country."

She did look up then, smiling at him, gratified to find a faint uptick of his own mouth. "Will there be tales like that about me, do you think?"

"About the monster in the light?"

"No, I - yes? I don't know. Anything."

There was a rustle of clothing as he sat down opposite her, mirroring her posture. In the flickering light of her power, he seemed otherwordly and too normal at the same time. She ran her gaze over his form, as though looking at him would somehow help her understand him.

"The word they use for you will not be monster."

Then what? But she didn't ask, looking back down at her map instead.

"I have a question."

He said nothing, waiting. Taking a breath, she retraced her line on the map.

"The attack on me came from here. We have outposts here-" She pointed, "and here. The terrain - it's not impassable, but if you don't know it, it'd be difficult to pass. Why would a group of Fjerdan's be familiar with the area?"

"They have scouts as well, Alina."

"Exactly! Where were our scouts? How did a group like this get so close to us? How did they even know to get close?"

Pale fingers reached out to turn the map around, and she watched him bend over it in the same way she had, not moments before. There was an intensity to his grey gaze that made her shiver as it followed the invisible line her finger had drawn.

"You have been riding with me," he offered as an explanation. "Information spreads. And not every otkazat'sya is as grateful as they should be."

"I know." She felt something in her chest constrict, faced with another of her ideas being discarded without much consideration. And here she thought they'd been making progress, before the attack. "It just - seems like too many coincidences. Like it was arranged."

The silence stretched on for so long that she began to regret speaking up at all. She fought the urge to snatch at her words, wrap then back up in her tongue like they'd never escaped. Something was off, she knew it.

"I will...look into it."

He drew the words out. It was difficult to see in the dim light her body cast, but the lines of his face seemed to be drawn into something resembling pride.

She couldn't help it. She sat up straighter. "You think it's worth that?"

"I think," he said, and there was no mistaking the pleasure in his tone now, "that it is time I started listening to your intuition, as well as mine."

The tent around them brightened considerably. Amusement laced his features as he tipped his face up to the ceiling.

"Except when it comes to stealth missions."

iii.

Alina had dreamed for years of being invited to the Darkling's strategy meetings with his Corporalki. Those dreams had consisted of a lot of her talking, and other people agreeing - especially the Darkling - that her ideas were great, and should be implemented immediately.

The reality was, she barely uttered a word. She might have been the Sun Summoner, but one look at the faces in the Darkling's command tent told her that these Grisha only cared about that to the extent that the Darkling required. And he had required that her offensive abilities were strictly off the table, which made her vastly less interesting than she might have been.

Probably the most surprising part of the situation was that Alina found she didn't mind. She had taken classes, of course, but this was real life. Territory taken or lost altered the very shape of Ravka. Pegs moved on maps indicated actual forces, actual people. She was ready to do what was required of her in warfare, but actually taking responsibility for that?

For the time being, at least, she was happy to let the more experienced Grisha cover that side of it.

"Moi soverenyi." The Grisha who spoke seemed older in some way, for all that she looked like a fresh faced twenty-something year old. The hesitancy in her voice was careful, but not - like some of the other, younger Corporalki - afraid, and the Darkling inclined his head at her. "The Sun Summoner has shown herself to be an effective weapon. Now that she has recovered from her injury, might we take that into consideration when preparing our defenses?"

It was a masterful question. Alina almost wanted to applaud at the way the blond woman managed to mix just the right amounts of deference and confidence. The final decision would be in the hands of the Darkling, but she had proven that he care for the wellbeing of the Second Army overtook and shock and awe being in his presence might provide.

Alina, very abruptly, wanted to be her. But that was a confidence that came only with experience, and she did her best not to look too attentively at the Darkling to see if he would follow through on allowing her to get it. He had said she could be involved in the defenses, but the things that the Darkling said had a tendency to change depending on his needs.

And. That was before she had gotten shot. She had to resist the urge to rub her shoulder, even though Grisha Healers had ensured that not even a twinge remained.

"It would do the general populace good to see her at work," Fedyor added, now that someone else had brought the subject up. He had more deference than confidence, but he still spoke the words. "Our people have reported a more...positive sentiment than usual towards Grisha in the surrounding villages, since the attack on the Sun Summoner."

The Darkling regarded his advisors evenly. He didn't, Alina noted, let the silence extend uncomfortably as he did when he was displeased, and she wondered if the others in the command tent recognised that.

Finally, his gaze flickered over to her. "What do you think, Alina?"

That, she hadn't expected, and she fervently thanked the saints for her upbringing in the Little Palace for allowing her to keep the surprise off her face. She couldn't manage a blank face, but it wasn't too hard to force her features into thoughtfulness. Judging by the dark look that flickered over Ivan's face, she pulled it off.

"If support from the locals is an issue, we should camp forward of them. My understanding is that we're well-prepared to take the raider settlements in this area, but if they should get around the initial assault, those of us seeing to defense can mop up without enticing them to go through the village."

The Darkling steepled his fingers in front of him. "If both defense and propaganda is what we're aiming for here, why not billet with the villagers? It would save us resources, and free up more Grisha for the attack. If you were hit by raiders, you would have more solid defenses, and give the villagers the opportunity to see you in action."

For a moment, Alina was stumped. She wrestled with the flush that fought to rise in her cheeks, sifting a little desperately through her training. Except, it wasn't the instructive tones of any of her trainers that filtered through the sudden panic clouding her brain, but something older. More primal.

Ana Kuya's quietly obvious distaste for the Second Army whispered through the back of her mind, and Alina found herself reaching for it, a little desperately. Aware that all eyes were on her, she focussed solely on the Darkling, his mutely enquiring expression.

He wasn't trying to embarrass her. He genuinely wanted to see what she would come up with, and she wasn't going to let him down.

"We might not be hit," she said slowly. "And forcing villagers to billet soldiers of any kind, but especially ones that frighten them, doesn't engender positive feeling. Seeing what I can do might counter that, but if the opportunity doesn't present itself, they'll just feel put upon and resentful. From what I've heard this morning, the danger doesn't seem drastic enough to risk the backlash for a sliver of extra defence."

He didn't smile. He barely seemed to react at all, other than folding his hands down from their steeple, sitting back slightly. But he spoke, and Alina knew he was pleased with her.

"We camp here." He slid a marker across the map in front of them, pinning a place forward from the village. "The Sun Summoner will head the defense of both camp and village."

The conversation continued, and Alina did her utmost best to pay attention. if part of that attention was diverted to swallowing a triumphant smile, she didn't think anyone could blame her.

iv.

Ivan wasn't happy. And honestly? Alina couldn't find it in herself to care all that much. Maybe that made her a terrible girlfriend, or whatever she was to him, but the truth was that she had wanted this opportunity for a lot longer than she had wanted him.

The chance to prove herself and her abilities? She wouldn't give that up for the world.

"I seem to remember that you were only sixteen when the Darkling recruited you," she pointed out that evening.

"That was different."

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"I had at least graduated!"

"Barely."

He gritted his teeth at her, but she only crossed her arms back at him. A beat passed, two, before he softened abruptly and looked away.

"You were just shot not a week ago. That doesn't entitle me to concern?"

"You can be as concerned as you like. What you can't do is look at me like that's supposed to make me not do this."

His mouth curled, his blatant distaste pinching at her. She forgot, sometimes, what an ass he could be.

"I'm the Sun Summoner. What did you think I was going to do, Ivan, stay safe in camp and not summon? Saints, I'm only running defense. What are you going to be like when I head the field?"

He twitched. He didn't even try to hide it. Apparently it was all very well to draw promises out of her, but when it came to filling them, he would rather she didn't.

"You are the most frustrating person I have ever dealt with," he muttered, one hand curling into a fist before he forced it to relax.

"Don't be ridiculous. You've met Zoya."

Alina wished she could say she wasn't holding her breath. But the truth was, no matter how right she happened to be, she didn't want Ivan being angry. It was with a quiet startlement that she realised she couldn't remember the last time someone had been truly mad at her.

Zoya didn't count.

An irritated sigh tugged her from thoughts as Ivan tugged on her hand. After a moment of resistance, she uncrossed her arms and allowed him to reel her in, accepting his apologetic kiss.

"If you get shot again, I will kill you."

"If I get shot again, I'll deserve it."

v.

She was assured that they likely wouldn't come. She had sat in the command tent and seen the perfect plan unfold, the staggered lines of offense and defense, the perfectly orchestrated gaps to allow any wounded to get back to the Healers.

She was completely unsurprised when that all went to hell. Alina was a good student, after all. And the first lesson of war was to never rely on the plan.

There was something else as well, but Alina had resolved to get through this situation first before she tackled it. She was confident enough in her abilities, but there was no sense tempting fate with distractions.

She felt their shadows first, disturbing the dappled light she'd laid carefully around the camp. A smirk tugged her lips with a rush of exhilaration - not bad, from a little girl who had been too afraid of losing her powers to learn the gentle techniques. Her light had been so soft, so subtle, it was almost indistinguishable from the sun.

Alina remembered the next part in pieces. Alert her Grisha, the few left to the defense. Order them in place. Step out in full view of the enemy as they attempt to creep up on the camp.

Immolate.

They screamed. She regretted that, that she wasn't fast enough to be instantaneous yet. But Alina Starkov's first kills went almost unnoticed by her conscience, as a sudden cheer broke the startled silence, half shout and half laughter as a ripple of awareness raced through the camp.

A thing was done that day which had never been done before. And as she left the charred remains to return to her post, she imagined that she had also kindled something like hope.

vi.

There was a celebration that night, kegs cracked open, bottles of kvas passed around. They had annihilated the enemy completely, and the entire Grisha company was high on the thought of Ravka ascendant. If there was one thing practitioners of the Small Science knew how to do, it was throw a party.

Alina grabbed Ivan's hand in the chaos and dragged him into her tent. He gazed at her like she was the sun itself, and she spared half a second for basking in it before she pressed flush against him, kissing him hard and fast and smug.

"I told you so," she panted into his mouth. Her fingers curled into his hair and tightened, pulling a satisfied hiss from him. "Are you convinced I'm not some delicate flower, yet?"

He was no less gentle with her, and she decided that in this moment, at least, she definitely enjoyed his harsh grip on her waist. "I may require more evidence," he growled. The sound shivered straight through her.

She liked his hands in other places too, she discovered that night.

vii.

"You were missing for some time."

Midway through pulling pins out of her hair - Ivan had not been allowed to muss that too badly - Alina glanced over her shoulder at the Darkling and smirked.

"I was gone a half hour," she corrected, tossing the diamond encrusted pin into a bowl on the folding table in front of her. "I know the importance of being seen, you know. I've only been watching you half my life."

She could see his dark form approaching in the reflection of her portable mirror, but it wasn't until his fingers brushed a loose curl that she realised what he planned. Abruptly, Alina found her breath catching in her throat. She watched, eyes wide, as his reflection carefully eased the next pin from her hair, and then the next after that.

"Who knew you were so talented with women's accessories?" she managed after a moment, doing her best not to make it sound like an accusation. What would she even be accusing him of?

He just smiled at her, the expression faint and offering no answer at all. Alina closed her eyes, finding it less confusing to not watch him.

"You've done well today," he said, when he had carefully set the last pin in the bowl. "Other than your disappearance this evening."

She rolled her eyes. Her fingers drummed on the table once, twice, before she lifted her gaze to meet his in the mirror. No matter how pleasing she found his words, she had something to address with this man.

"So. Does that mean I pass?"

"Pass?"

"I'm not eight anymore, Darkling." Alina turned to face him properly, lifting her chin. "I told Genya when I first heard of your return to Os Alta that either something disastrous had occurred, or you were testing me. And nothing disastrous has occurred."

It was something that had niggled at her ever since she'd pointed out the problem to him on the map after she was shot. He had done a convincing job of acting as though he was outraged at the thought of treachery, but it hadn't bypassed her notice that he had never followed up the way he said he would. After sitting in on the command tent - well. She supposed it was still possible that the enemy could have broken through, but she doubted it. Not without advanced notice from the other Grisha.

"You think this was a set up?" he said finally, the merest hint of curiosity colouring his tone.

"No." She crossed her arms at him. She was doing that a lot with the men in her life lately. "I know it was a set up. I know you never would have thrown me in the path of an army on my own until you were absolutely sure of my capabilities. That isn't how you function."

"Then how do I function, Alina?"

Saints, but he had a terrible way of saying her name. Not for the first time, Alina wished for a mentor who was a little less...attractive. Attracting. Maybe if he grew a moustache, she would have less trouble.

"However you need to."

She wondered if he'd give her another question for that, another probing comment. She wondered if the testing would ever end.

"You're right," he said finally.

She blinked.

"There is too much at stake for me to act otherwise. We must all do what must be done. And you cannot be risked in open warfare. Not until I am sure you can handle yourself, and those around you."

"Erik got hurt because of what you did."

"You got shot," he replied levelly. "Believe me when I say one of these things is more concerning than the other. The oprichniki serve however they are required to."

Once, she might have objected to that. The oprichniki were still people, after all, still had families and lives and hopes and dreams of her own. But she remembered the first moment of that attack, the instant of shock before the pain had swamped her, before she had been able to think through it and fend off the ambush.

She had not been prepared. She had not been ready. Now she was, and while she didn't like that Erik had gotten hurt from a danger that had never truly existed - no wonder the Darkling had been so close at hand - she understood the necessity.

For Ravka, she had told Ivan, when they had spoken of killing. She thought of the charred remains of men who might otherwise have lived, if the Darkling had not carefully orchestrated their attack on her.

"For Ravka." She echoed her own thoughts, pinning the man with her gaze. "We must all do what must be done for Ravka."

He smiled.

Hi guys, long time no see! I super hoped you enjoyed this chapter, and I want to give a big sorry for those reviewers whose messages I haven't been able to return yet - your words have been so lovely, and I'm really glad you're enjoying the story. Thank you so much for leaving feedback, and i will do my best about being better with replying.

Also if anyone was interested, i did successfully complete nanaowrimo, which means 50,000 words in one month. it was terrible, it was great, i will do it again next year. one day i might even finished a novel.