You tailor her features to be sharp, sharper than they are. You apply eyeshadow to her eyes, contour her face, put her hair up. She sits, prim and proper, eyes cold. The Lantsov emerald shines in the low light of the queen-to-be's bedroom, as if it were a reminder of everything that happened, as if it were the anchor that stops her from floating away and disappearing.

He looked around the little market. Statues of saints littered the place, and Aleksander wanted to sneer.

Even the most powerful were not immune to retribution. As he lay dying on the sands of a forgotten Fold, Aleksander Morozova came to understand just what the price of Merzost truly cost. Never had the Science been more of an apt and brutal teacher than in his last moments. Power which ran unchecked was dangerous; it appeared he was finally being brought to heel.

Alina figured that a dead man did not need all the bones he once had.

Alina seeks out Genya to help with her hair but they both end up with more than they expected.

'This is exactly why Ravka can't have nice things, Nazyalensky.' Nikolai's face darkened. 'They always get broken.' 'We all have to break, Nikolai, so we can see what we're made of on the inside.' / Set after the bell tower scene in KoS. Nikolai is injured and refuses help. This is the punishment he deserves, for hurting Zoya, for endangering Ravka, for all of it. KoS spoilers.

They've been together for - too long, he supposes. Through royalty and revolutions and centuries. Sometimes they go apart from each other, but not for long: never for long. There's a pull between the two, and Aleksander likes to follow it. Sometimes.

She's not supposed to hate customers, and yet, there he is, the asshole with black eyes and bitter laughs.

She would follow it, one foot in front of the other with no hesitation when it became visible. A red string wrapped around her wrists and connected only once in a woven string ring around her ring finger. Only she could see where it truly ended, for it was only meant for her. And she would always remember the man connected at the very end.

[Recueil de drabbles sur Grisha] 1. La guerre est terminée, le Darkling n'est plus - pourtant, Alina ne peut pas oublier les évènements de l'année passée.

Thunder roared in her ears as she descended the staircase, holding a ball of light in her palm to guide her way. It wasn't necessary, though; Alina knew the palace like the back of her hand, at this point. It was simply the comfort of not being stuck in darkness, alone and without knowing if someone would appear.

"The plague of 758 was a very serious issue, made worse by the Fold, Alina. Supplies were so hard to reach to the other side of the country…" "Wipe that smile off your face before talking about a plague that was made worse by your actions, then." (modern au, sun summoner alina)

Alina stared at the Darkling, looking at her hands and then back at him. There was still blood underneath her nails. Alina couldn't remember when it had gotten there.

The weirdest thing about knowing a saint, Tamar thinks, praying and waiting for the sun to rise, is that saints rarely have needs in the stories. Not the human kind of needs, at least: only the most holy, above earthly needs ones.

Lo percibes con cada vez más intensidad. Ese cosquilleo que te eriza el vello y ese peso al fondo del estómago, rugiendo por ser liberado. Sé que tienes miedo, pero también sé que se te pasará. Porque eres como yo, siempre lo has sido.

Alina stared at the newcomer on the farm, teaching him the ins and outs of picking apples straight from the trees, offering him one of the fruits that were ready for picking.

Alina usually appeared to Aleksander every day punctually at eleven.

The Darkling had left his kefta behind.

Nikolai woke up screaming again.

"How is this supposed to work?" "It's not."

Aleksander had been alive for too long, in his opinion, staring bleakly at the Fold he created, seeing without seeing.

The Darkling, as usual, was in a terrible mood.

Nikolai put it back. The two watched the sandwich sadly deflate, and then Nikolai's eyes turned to Alina. Modern AU.

A "missing" training scene.

She looked back at the shadow of the palace in Os Alta, illuminated by the high moon, and shivered with the sudden cold, feeling the first snowflake fall. Then, turning her back to the palace, Alina went on her way.