The Present: I gasp awake only to hear "Hold. Your collar bone is fractured."
I panic not seeing Mal "Mal! The Tracker! Where is he!" I ask the healer kneeled down next to me.
"First Army goes to medical."
Yeah bitch I know that. I am First Army. I'm asking if he was next to me when we returned. I give her a dirty look which she ignores.
"My ribs."I moan when my back arches as a result of her fixing my collarbone.
"Bring her to the General's tent." The Squaller that I just keep crossing paths with orders.
"But I'm not done yet."
"You can go with her." the Squaller says as if it's the most obvious thing ever and walks off.
I'm forcibly escorted by two of the General's personal guards with the healer trailing behind me pass a bunch of Grisha into a tent with even more Grisha.
"Bring her closer." Kirigan orders even though he had yet to even turn around.
The guards push me forward and Kirigan turns. He's handsome an aura of entitlement around him that most mistake for power.
"Closer."
I step forward.
"Well." He probes
"Well, what? Sir."
"What are you." He asks simply.
I don't answer.
He looks around the room "Did anyone see what happened?"
No one answers.
"Zoya." Kirigan calls to the Squaller that seems to be everywhere I go "You were manning the main sail. What did you see?"
"We were attacked barely two markers in. The blue light went out-"
"Whichever Fabrikator overlooked that flaw needs to be demoted like immediately."
"-the volcra went after our Inferni-"
"Who I saved before she went and got herself killed you're welcome."
"-and their riflemen first."
She's getting annoyed with me interrupting her. Well than she should've kept her mouth shut.
"When suddenly there was a searing burst of light in the sky-."
"The brains way of comforting the dying and about it be dead. Nothing more."
"It was her." a man from somewhere behind me pipes up.
"Who asked you?" I shoot back angrily.
"Hmm" he looks back at me "Tell me." He begins "Where'd you grow up and were you ever tested."
And at that I go back to being silent.
"Well I suppose I'll have to administer a test myself." He says walking toward me moving the sharp metal finger claw thing from his pinky to his thumb.
Why would he have something like that on hand.
He pushes the sleeve of my tunic up shadows emitting from all around him. A tactic to force my powers to come out and makes a small incision.
It bleeds red.
"Satisfied." I yank my arm from his grasp.
"Not in the slightest."He lowers his voice "But no matter I have other ways to get the truth out of you " he turns and begins to walk away "Escort her to the Little Palace I'll be along shortly as soon as I finish up here."
Ignoring my body's reaction to his words I say in outrage "But I failed the test." jerking away from the guards attempting to take me "That proves I'm not what you think I am."
"You remained hidden for so long." He explains "How can I be certain you haven't developed some sort of way to render it's finding negative."
"Oh by all means believe the word of a bunch of people who would love nothing more for the Sun Summoner be real and for me to be it just to make their lives easier instead of your own eyes." I storm out the tent.
Again I jerk away from his guards when they try to keep me from straying from the path they set "I'm a map maker. I have a very good sense of direction. Thank you."
A heartrender opens the carriage door "Get in."
"No. Not until I see if my unit survived the attack."
The heartrender steps close "As understandable as that is what you did in The Fold was seen for miles it won't be long before our enemies come for you which is why we must get you to Os Alta and behind palace walls as quickly and quietly as possible."
"It wasn't me. Everyone's mistaken. Your General is making a mistake."
"The General doesn't make mistakes. Now get in." He forcibly puts me in and slams the door only for the other side to open a moment later for him and another heartrender to get in "Here." He shoves a red kefta at me "Put this on."
"Go to hell." I throw the kefta aside "I rather be shot than wear slave garb ever again."
We start to move and thinking fuck it move the curtain aside at exactly the right time "Mal!" I yell out to him.
"Alina!" He jumps up running as best he can with an injured leg to catch up with the carriage "Alina!"
"Mal!" I bang on the glass switching to looking out the back.
I look on helplessly watching him struggle to keep up. I want so badly to tell him I love him and that I'd find my way back to him, but I am in front of the enemy everything I say or do from now on will affect how I make it out of this. Even this is me telling them too much. I stay looking at him until we're out of sight.
Where then I wipe my tears turn around and try my hardest not to just give in to the urge I have to curl up into the seat.
"This is Fedyor." the first heartrender says about the second when the second taps him for an introduction.
I look from him to Fedyor.
"Pleasure to meet you." Fedyor bows his head.
Knowing I won't be able to say anything without an attitude at the moment and not wanting to ruin what clearly has been a dream for him I choose to look down and remain silent rubbing the scar on my hand for comfort.
"You really should put the kefta on. It'll protect you."
"Being who I was within the First Army protected me."
He hesitates "Why is that? You can summon pure sunlight. Your type of Etherealki has only ever been a theory. A picture in a story book. You're very special girl. So." He pauses "How has no one ever looked twice at you before."
"If I were what you and everyone else thinks me to be I would say by design. Because as you said you believe me to be very special so will others. Others who would use the power of sun for their own gain."
That ends this conversation to bad I really wanted to get into how the Little Palace is a prison and it's occupants slaves to it's architect just as I was once a slave to the architect of mine. Only difference is in their tactics to get their prisoners to stay put.
We abruptly stop and with a quick look between the two after hearing Fjerdan the heartrenders both move to leave.
"Stay here.Don't leave." The still nameless Heartrender orders stepping out.
"He means well" Fedyor attempts to excuse his attitude and follows behind him.
Do I stay? Do I go? The anticipation of what's about to happen and that I'm a sitting duck out in the open like this is giving me anxiety.
Shouts in warning of the Druskelle, gun fire, more shouting and then arrows being shot into carriage has me curl up on the floor with the kefta over me. I squeeze my eyes close hands over my ears waiting for it to stop.
Of course it doesn't I smell a smoke bomb and brace myself for what's about to come.
The carriage door is thrown open a druskelle loudly claims witch in Fjerdan dragging me by my feet from the carriage and into the woods.
"Please! Wait! I'm not Grisha. I'm a mapmaker."
The Druskelle warrior flips me over I kick out knocking him back he punches me hard disorienting me pulling an axe kneeling over me and says "A witch is what you are." in Fjerdan.
I feel him before I see or hear of his arrival like a suffocating sludge reserved only for his enemies my head falls to the side and with blurry vision I see a dark silhouette manipulate the shadows he brought with him and send it outward. I follow the trajectory and gasp wide awake now that blood splatters on my face and I'm traumatized from seeing a man fall to pieces before me.
The General walks closer and becomes clearer.
"Are you hurt?" He questions.
I shake my head honestly terrified wondering if this is a person I want to be playing games with "No. Not really."
"The others will have fled now that they know I'm here." He offers me his hand "You ride with me."
Despite my body stinging from being dragged and still disoriented from being punched I force myself up and to his horse without any assistance from him. He joins me soon after and we ride off leaving the dead and injured behind.
"Can we stop. My body needs a minute." I ask when I can no longer take the pain and can't risk healing myself so close to him.
We stop and after a minute of me standing far enough away in a grassy field to safely use my healing ability to heal my internal wounds but keep the external appearance I turn and freeze when I see he had begun to make his way silently through the tall grass
He wordlessly holds out a black silk handkerchief. I snatch it from him and wipe my face.
"Hard to believe what they say about you caring so much for your people is true when you just leave them injured and alone easy pickings for the Drüskelle."
"Our people understand you are far more important. That's why I'm taking you the rest of the way."
"You took from my people." I correct him making my way pass "The Drüskelle are that afraid of you Huh."
"I think they're more afraid of you."
With good reason. As a former member I have information about their comings and goings.
"And do you really detest what you are that much."
"I love who I am. I detest that people would abuse that for their own gain. Like what you did in the tent back there. If we had been alone I would have most certainly have tried to kill you."
"Well we are now." He counters.
"You saved my life I spare yours. Call us even."
I hop back on the horse "Now come on daylight won't last forever."
He rejoins me and we set off again. Riding the rest of the way to the Little Palace. It's grand I'll give him that.
"You'll be safe here. The palace is the most secure building in the whole country. I made sure of it." He motions me to the left toward the entrance.
"Take her vezda suite." He orders the two black dressed guards on either side of the door.
He departs neither of us saying anything to other. It isn't my business where's he's going and I don't need to ask what I already know.
They escort me to the suite and show me inside closing the door after I've entered. Being so close to sundown there's limited light outside so I pull on my internal connection to the sun to get a better look at my surroundings.
There's a desk, a table, a vanity, an armoire, a bed and what appears to be a claw foot tub behind some see through curtains in the next room over.
Two very spacious rooms with everything I could ever need inside them, but it's not for free though is it. It comes with stipulation of my compliance. At that I begin to wail falling to my knees clutching my stomach in devastation at being back to this again.