"You mean that you're descended from the Black Heretic," Alina heard herself saying. It was a fact that everyone knew. There was only family lineage which produced Shadow Summoners. Kirigan had been the Black General for… well, for a portion of time that Alina hadn't bothered to get an exact date on because it hadn't mattered. Her best guess right now was that rough hundred year span that he had implied earlier in their trip.

That was just a known fact. Grisha lived for a longer time than otkazat'sya, but none had lived for much longer than a century or so. Alina found herself frowning. If Kirigan was already over a hundred years old but still only looked the age that he did, did that mean the texts were wrong and Grisha could live for even longer?

Kirigan shook his head. "I mean precisely what I said. I am the Black Heretic," he said firmly.

One eyebrow lifting incredulously, Alina could only stare at him. "The Black Heretic created the Fold five hundred years ago."

"And?"

That made Alina sputter. "And? And what? That can't have been you," she insisted.

It was his turn to give her an incredulous look. "Why not?"

"Because… because that can't be true. There have been a handful of Shadow Summoners since then. Like the one that founded the Second Army," Alina recounted. "And whoever your father was, I suppose."

"My father was a heartrender. And he certainly never led the Second Army," Kirigan rattled off. "It didn't exist until I created it during one of the regencies because I had to wait for the bastard king - not literal, unfortunately he was purebred Lantsov of the worst kind - to run foul of his Apparat. Of course that still relied on his son's regent finally being receptive to the advantages of not having the 'witches' in hiding within his court replacing him with another noble. But it was still very much my work and not anyone else's."

Alina was too blindsided by it all to interrupt or even absorb any of the details of what he was saying. At some point she had dropped his hand in favor of staring openly at him. The sketch of the stag had been pushed to the side as well, far less important than this revelation.

Kirigan had his hands clasped on the bend of his knee, a carefully controlled posture compared to Alina's gaping. She hadn't wrangled her thoughts on how best to protest against his claims.

"It has been necessary to maintain several falsehoods, but that doesn't mean that I am not telling you the truth here and now. Much as I'm sure it sounds unbelievable. And distasteful," Kirigan said slowly.

" Everyone knows that the Black Heretic is dead," Alina retorted. It was her only counterpoint to the details he had thrown out effortlessly. She was no expert on Second Army history, but she was cursorily aware that King Alexei the Fourth had indeed run afoul of court politics. His son was the one credited with making an accord with Ravka's Grisha originally to form the Second Army. Still, that accord couldn't have been with Kirigan. It just couldn't have been.

"How did he die? If everyone knows, then that should be a simple question."

She scoffed and then wracked her childhood history lessons along with the little details that she had come across in her piles of assigned reading. "I don't know, but someone has to know. The Black Heretic is dead and gone. I think he even got swallowed by the Fold. Fate's retribution," Alina finally grumbled. "It's not possible that you're him."

"Fate has indeed repaid me in spades with the consequences of my actions, but the Fold did not kill me. Perhaps it would have been better if it had," he said. His voice was whisper-quiet, and he had dropped his eyes to his hands. He was looking past them into some far flung memory. After a long minute, Kirigan shook his head and blinked rapidly to focus on Alina once more. She hadn't conjured up a response other than flat-out denial that he was wrong, actually.

"Do you think that I would claim such a thing recklessly? I've spent a very long time constructing safeguards - such as they are - from being accused of this fact," he asked.

"You don't know what it's like to hold on to a secret, do you? To cling to it. Nurture it. Protect it as though your life depends on it - because perhaps it does. To agonize over what may happen if you let it go. The repercussions for your life, your relationships. How someone will look at you. If they will ever look at you again." There was a thread of loss that was palpable in Kirigan's explanation. It was the only thing that made her consider believing him.

"By the Saints, why would you choose to tell me of all people?" Alina shot back. "All I asked… You could have just lied again. It wasn't that important of a question."

"Of course it was important," Kirigan said with a snort. "How long have I been holding out hope for a Sun Summoner to stand with me to right those wrongs? From the moment I reached for the merzost and lost control of everything. Since I stood in that field with the king's men and only anger and pain to hold on to. When I realized that the only thing I could bring to protect my Grisha was darkness.

"I hoped that there would be something more out there. Someone else out there. Like me, but… not cursed with darkness. My opposite, my equal."

Alina drew her lip between her teeth and her knees to her chest. "I don't think that's me," she whispered. She didn't see herself anywhere near the general's skill level. And now she certainly wouldn't claim to be anywhere near Kirigan's equal. Alina may not have known much about merzost, but it had to be far beyond what she was capable of. Beyond what she would ever be capable of, even.

He laughed, the sound hollow but not quite as bitter as she expected. "Maybe you don't think so yet, but you'll see it one day. When we get the stag and we can finally do something about the Fold. Together, you and I. You'll see then," Kirigan said.

"If it was really you who made the Fold, why did you do it?" Alina blurted out. She wasn't quite certain that it was sinking in, his admission and the sheer magnitude of it all, but she could at least tell herself that Kirigan was definitely not lying to her right now. There was simply no reason for it, even if it was baffling.

His expression turned mournful. Yet his response was simple. "I was angry," he said.

Alina continued to stare openly at him. "That's not an answer," she replied. He lifted one shoulder, not disagreeing.

"I wasn't trying to create it. But it still happened, regardless of the why. It still rests on my shoulders to deal with it. To figure out what good might still be salvaged with the help of a Sun Summoner."

"There's nothing good that can come from the Fold." Alina thought of the volcra with their horrible fangs and talons and of the screams that still rang out in her worst nightmares. She had seen the memorials to families lost to the crossings in Kribirsk and knew there were more to be had on the opposite side, never mind the nameless forgotten who hadn't left behind anyone to mourn them.

Saints, this whole snowball of events which had dropped her in this tiny inn had started from her own foolish need to follow Mal through the Fold. And her selfish actions had led to the deaths of her entire regiment. Alina's arms tightened around her knees. No, there was nothing good there.

Kirigan shook his head. "Not in the Fold itself. But…" He hesitated before continuing. Alina spied the familiar set of his shoulders and cant of his head from back at his war table when they were maneuvering wooden soldiers about.

"At present, the Fold is a shackle to Ravka's industry, its supplies, and its people. Because it tears the country asunder," Kirigan said slowly.

"That's why we need to bring it down," Alina shot back. This had been the task laid out before her, silently by some and outright by none other than the King himself. She frowned as disagreement flickered across Kirigan's face.

"We need it to no longer divide our nation," Kirigan countered. It was similar but not the same as the King's mandate.

Opening her mouth, Alina started to press back once more. Then she thought once more of her maps with the hazy boundaries and the blue-grey lands around them, perfect and unblemished around the wounded Ravka. His wording gave her pause. "You're thinking… if Ravka was no longer split but instead it was Fjerda or Shu Han, then that would change the course of the war almost instantly," Alina mused.

Kirigan's eyes took on a new spark of life. The carefully controlled posture was slipping back to one that was more relaxed. "Or if it made up our borders," Kirigan offered. "Rather than being forced to watch the West withdraw from the East, we could unify Ravka once more and protect her from further harm."

She thought of their camp at night with its ring of shadows that kept them safe. Alina finally let go of her legs and edged once more next to Kirigan. This was all, frankly, a bit much to take in a single conversation. There were questions and missing threads all rattling around in her head but none came together in a coherent, pressing need. Other than one. She knocked her knee next to his.

"We're still going to tear a hole through between the East and the West though, right?"

Kirigan blinked. "Of course. I always intended to do so. We need the ports. We just don't want to lose the one nigh impregnable barrier that exists on the continent," he replied.

"Would we really be able to do that? Not just cut through the Fold but move it?" she wondered.

He lifted his hand to draw together a band of shadow in his palm. Kirigan gave her an expectant look. Alina wiped her hands on her knees before bringing them up as well.

Calling a pinprick of light from the nearby window was simple. She pushed it into Kirigan's shadow, marveling at how quickly the little snake of darkness reacted to split and swim around her sunlight. When she moved her orb to try and catch up, the threads were already darting once more in a cautious dance. Where she pulled back, the shadow moved to chase as though it was unwilling to readily part from its opposite.

"I have the utmost faith in the two of us together, Alina," Kirigan answered. "If you can trust me. I know that I am asking a lot of you."

She once again was being left with the choice and the power. Alina opened her mouth to try and conjure some kind of response. The ramifications of everything that he had told her had yet to sink in fully, between his identity to the suggestion that they might not eliminate the Fold completely.

The best that she could summon for now was simple: "I'm willing to try."

By the time they had actually finished talking, their late lunch plans had shifted into dinner instead. Alina managed to conduct herself in a thoroughly appropriate, if slightly dazed, manner throughout. It wasn't as stressful as the two luncheons that Genya had dragged Alina to in order to entertain Tsarina Tatiana where there had been more pieces of silverware at a single setting than on some of the tables at the orphanage. But it ranked up there nonetheless until the wine arrived and took the edge off.

Even with Kirigan's revelation about who he was, Alina still just saw the same man who had supported her in the King's court and who had agreed to her inane demands. She tried to see something else, something that she had been missing. She came up with nothing, both before and after the wine. The key part that Alina took some pride in was that, regardless of everything, she hadn't felt the urge to run off like Kirigan had feared. It felt like a victory.

Now the sun had set, they had walked back to the inn, and Kirigan had even stopped to verify that the farrier was in fact back from the dairy. Alina still needed to fully process everything that they'd gone through in the past day. It was just a lot easier to sit at one of the tables in the inn, work on another sketch - this time of the main street through the window - and watch Kirigan slowly win back his rubles from the innkeeper's nephew who thought himself a card player.

It was lazy. Comfortable. Relaxing. Alina could hardly remember the last time that she was content like this, world-shattering revelations aside.

She also couldn't believe it when the lanterns were being turned down and the innkeeper's family was bidding them good night. Compared to the long, slow evenings around the campfire with assigned watches and not much else, the night had disappeared in a flash. Alina felt a pang of disappointment.

This was going to be the last evening here. They had only been playing this role for just over a day and already Alina was going to miss it. As much as she had complained and worried earlier about not knowing how to reach for more than what she thought she was and even with her copious dragging of her feet, this had been an enjoyable - and enlightening - experience overall.

She ducked into the wash room to wash her face and scrub some of the dirt from under her nails that she'd missed the previous night. Making the effort to fully enjoy the little luxuries that they were being afforded, Alina even took the time to plait her hair into a neat braid. Who knew the next time she would be able to use a proper mirror?

Then she re-entered their shared room with all her mind's focus set on returning to her claimed bedroll. She once again made herself ignore the completely at-ease Kirigan who was lounging in the bed with a small book and his shirt sleeves and collar undone. Alina tucked her sketches back into her bag and gathered up the folded laundry that had been delivered while they ate. That was when she realized tied up neatly next to her bag was the bedroll.

She turned on her heel and realized belatedly that, yes, the floor was once again clear. Alina crossed her arms over her chest and brought herself to look at Kirigan. He had a pen in hand - apparently the book was a journal? - but his eyes had been following her around the room.

"So it's going to be like that," Alina said.

"Like what?" Kirigan said. He had the audacity to tip his head to one side and let the corner of his mouth twitch in a poorly concealed grin.

Alina scoffed and shook her head. "Never mind." She was still in the nicer overshirt from earlier which had been selected to try and look somewhat put together. Last night she had slept in the oprichniki attire and that had been all well and good, but it wasn't terribly comfortable with the stiff collar and buttoned sleeves. And if Kirigan was going to play it like this, well, she was just keeping up, right?

She yanked off her tunic and added it to her bag with the other clean clothes. Underneath she had her usual shift on which was certainly covering anything that needed to be and was much more comfortable to sleep in. Her loose pants would have to suffice, though she missed the long, soft nightgowns that were back in her closet at the Little Palace.

"If you hog the covers, I'm going to have to issue a formal complaint," Alina grumbled as she moved to the other side of the bed.

"I'll try to remember that," Kirigan replied. He pulled back the blanket to allow her to get in.

Then it was just the pair of them laying next to one another. Alina fidgeted with the sheets and the blankets while Kirigan continued to scratch the occasional note or sentence in his journal. "Is the light bothering you?" he asked once. Alina shook her head. She wasn't certain that she was actually going to be able to fall asleep for a long while, but her pride and stubbornness wasn't going to allow herself to back down now.

"It's fine. I don't mind since you're using it. But it's kind of funny. I actually miss the shadows," she admitted.

"Really?"

Alina rolled onto her side to face Kirigan. His expression was earnestly surprised. She nodded in confirmation, pulling the blanket up to her chin. It had turned into a comfort throughout the night to see the ring of shadows whether she was on watch or if it was her turn to sleep. All of her fidgeting last night might have been dissuaded by the familiar presence.

"Is it weird if they make things feel safer?" Alina asked quietly. Without the bustle of the daytime she felt more paranoid about talking about summoning as loudly as they had in the afternoon. Or maybe she was just nervous about saying the wrong thing about Kirigan's summoning. After all that she'd learned and all that was said about Shadow Summoners - which was to say just Kirigan - it seemed intimate, almost, to talk about his abilities as such.

"I could say the same about a certain Sun Summoner's talents," he murmured in response. Alina reacted instinctively with a face.

"Sure you could," Alina scoffed. "Because everyone feels better having a walking lamp around. Extremely helpful for… nighttime picnics." Other than the singular task of dealing with the Fold or maybe to help when a lamp burned out, Alina still couldn't see much value in her own abilities.

Kirigan capped his pen and placed it and the journal aside. He turned to mirror her, laying on his side with his head propped up on one hand. "That does sound quite helpful. A whole new world of opportunity for midnight snacks," he said.

Alina lifted an eyebrow. "The Black Heretic is partial to midnight snacks?" she said, her voice deadpan.

"Who isn't?" There was some small mercy that Kirigan was amused by her very-much-too-soon joke. Then Alina bolted upright in the bed and scrambled to her bag.

"We weren't supposed to eat dessert at the restoratsiya!" she cried. Her original protests had been overrun by the delightful haze from good food and company as well as the waitstaff coming over with a tray of pastries that had looked just too good not to taste. But there had been a reason for her original thought, one that Alina had only now recalled.

Kirigan stared from the pillows with abject confusion. Alina procured a white bag from a front pocket that she had tucked it into to prevent the delicate foodstuffs inside from being crushed. Then she dropped back onto the bed and passed the paper bag to a baffled Kirigan.

"I had already bought these. And I forgot. They're not going to travel well, so…" she trailed off.

Kirigan opened the bag slowly, the crease of his forehead smoothing when he pulled out the first confection. Alina waved her fingers as she got the blankets pulled up over her lap again. "Ta-da," she said weakly.

"You bought zefir?" Kirigan turned the marshmallow over in his hand while Alina nodded. Then he looked back at her with an eyebrow arched. "You're stealing from my playbook. Bribery. I'm flattered, but to quote a friend, I'm not as easily swayed as Harbinger by sweets," he said.

Alina laughed and picked up the bag to get her own. "Fine, then I'll have the rest if it isn't going to work," she teased. Before she could reach inside, Kirigan had stolen it back.

"No, no. No one said that it wasn't working. Let me see - you even got chocolate on them. I didn't see those before."

"Yes, those were going to be mine," Alina protested. Kirigan made a tut sound before relenting and holding the bag out to her.

"If you insist. But I believe that I was promised sunlight to go along with this." To cut off her protest before she had begun he even leaned over and turned down the lamp on the side table. They were left in the dark. The curtains had been drawn to keep out prying eyes and the majority of the moonlight. Alina still eyed them with suspicion.

She grumbled about sunlight being more noticeable than the oil lamp. It did little to dissuade Kirigan who, with the hand that still held the zefir, called shadows to obscure both the window and the door frame to the main room.

Alina sighed. "You're relentless, you know?" she said. Alina wasn't going to try to copy him and just trust one hand would work for her summoning. Thankfully the motions that Baghra had drilled into her had not fallen out of her memory quite yet; she brought to life a sphere of sunlight that hung readily in the air in front of her.

She could have stopped there. The little bubble was bright enough to shine over the pair of them. Alina spied the now-familiar expression from Kirigan as soon as the light had bloomed. He held a blend of hunger and awe on his face. It only served to reinforce what he'd said about her summoning. And it nudged her to tug her lip between her teeth and bring her hands through into another twist that was much newer.

The sphere split, both orbs spiraling lazily around one another as they slowly moved away from the other. If she was feeling like showing off, Alina might have split them into another pair to tuck into each corner of the room but her control wasn't that great yet. All she needed would be to either blind them both by mistake or, worse, burn through Kirigan's shadows and get them caught.

For now she settled for another quiet "ta-da" and to drop her head back down onto the pillows. Kirigan could marvel at the little lights. She had zefir to eat. The chocolate-coated marshmallow that she fished out from the paper bag was a little flatter than when she had bought them, but the first bite was just as good as she had hoped.

The chocolate was slow to melt but even still she was going to end up having to not-so-delicately lick her thumb and fingers clean. Having these zefir was an indulgence, and Alina was not the type to waste a bit.

There was a stretch of quiet between the two as Alina made her way through her first sweet. She held the bag with the second one to Kirigan. "I'm not actually going to eat both of these. I got one of each on purpose. Here," she said.

"If the lady insists," Kirigan replied.

"She does." Alina tugged one of the spheres back towards the center of the room after it had drifted a touch too far. She let out a contented sigh before rolling back onto her side. There was one final plain zefir waiting in the bag. Very quickly it disappeared to join its chocolate-coated fellow between her lips. Even without the chocolate it was still sweet, fluffy, and delicious. If only they were more portable. And cheaper. What a marvel it was to actually enjoy things.

Eyeing the man next to her, Alina debated her next move. Her already minimal tiredness from before had been pushed to the side with food and the minor rush that came from summoning. "Can I ask you something about the stag?"

He lifted an eyebrow as he finished the last bite of his zefir. "The stag that doesn't exist?" Kirigan replied.

If Alina rolled her eyes, she would just be giving him what he wanted. Still, that was also what she wanted, so she did. "I'm beginning to think that it's perhaps more your fault than mine that I ran off from the palace to get away from your ridicule. Yes, that stag," Alina said, shaking her head.

"Ask away." He moved the paper bag to the side table before settling back on his side of the bed.

"It's more about the amplifier part," Alina admitted.

"Oh?"

"Assuming it's real and that we're not setting ourselves up for a big disappointment," Alina said. "What would taking an amplifier like Morozova's stag even be like?" Her fingers were sketching random patterns on the mattress between them like a fresh page, restless energy needing to go somewhere.

Kirigan's forehead creased briefly before smoothing out. "I don't really know," he admitted honestly. Alina nodded, disappointment swelling inside before she managed to squelch the feeling. Of course he wouldn't really know. Kirigan was an amplifier himself; even with his centuries of experience he would never have this one.

"Do you want to talk through the process? I have been party to my fair share of them," he offered none-the-less. Alina tipped her head indecisively. "Is there something specific that has you worried?" Kirigan tried as an alternative.

"Have there been… does anyone else have a deer or a stag as their amplifier? Just a boring, normal one," Alina asked.

She remembered Fedyor talking about the bear claws that Ivan had, and of course she and Kirigan had spoken about Zoya's tiger teeth. Neither Nadia or Marie had amplifiers, and Alina struggled to think what Genya would benefit from by having one, though that didn't eliminate the possibility that the Tailor had simply omitted sharing that with her. Beyond those few friends and acquaintances - a generous term at best for some - Alina only had her books for reference.

Once again Kirigan paused to give her question thought before answering. "I would not say that it's impossible for there to have been the occasional reindeer that was tracked and found to be an amplifier. Particularly prior to Grisha knowledge being more widely taught in Ravka," Kirigan mused. "But it's definitely not common practice now. Remember, since you can only claim one amplifier-"

"You want it to count," Alina finished for him with a sigh. "Darn."

He lifted an eyebrow. "Darn?"

Alina paused to flip her pillow and settle down into a more comfortable position. Her feet and knees seemed to constantly end up brushing against the figure next to her. Her hands moved under the pillow to keep from tapping on the shrinking distance between them.

She shrugged one shoulder once she had gathered her thoughts. "I wanted an idea about what it might look like," she admitted. "If it's like… a hoof that I have to keep around my wrist all the time I think that might be a little less intimidating than the claws or fangs. And deer teeth are just sort of weird looking."

On the opposite pillow Kirigan chuckled. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that the mythical creature of previously unseen power might not be aesthetically pleasing enough."

Alina swiped at his chest with the back of her hand, just enough to get him to stop laughing. That was her mistake because it was too easy to let him trap it between his palm and his rumpled shirt. "I thought that the answer might be obvious, actually," he remarked. "The most notable feature of Morozova's stag is hardly his feet."

That was certainly something Alina could agree with. "You think the antlers would make sense?"

"Wouldn't they?" Kirigan countered.

Alina shrugged again. This was more a matter of not knowing what she didn't know. Wildly speculating was rather difficult when she didn't fully understand the topic at hand. "I thought it might just end up being, you know, the bones. Like the relics in church," she said.

"Amplifiers don't have to be actual bone. It's a common misconception though. As long as the Durast knows what they're doing, it just has to be a sturdy material. Vanya's bear claws are keratin, not bone for example," Kirigan corrected gently.

Lifting one of her trapped fingers, Alina tipped her head. "We're coming back to that in a moment. First though, Vanya?" she asked, aghast.

"Jealousy over my second in command doesn't suit you."

"I'm not jealous," Alina spat a little too quickly. "Just baffled. He lets you call him that? Stern Ivan?"

"He's just a man like anyone else. I promise you, he means well. Even if it leaves him stern," Kirigan said.

Alina huffed. "I'll believe it when I see it." She shook her head in disbelief. It took her another long minute before she got her thoughts back on topic. In part she was distracted by the hand that was still trapped in Kirigan's grasp; he had not relented by letting it go even after she was no longer rolling her eyes at him.

"So," she asked warily, "the antlers then?"

"Yes, the antlers. Plenty of material for a Durast to work with. No field dressing needed to get to a rib or a femur in the middle of Tsibeya. It makes sense," Kirigan explained.

"Seems like a lot of antler for a little bracelet or pendant." Again Alina felt a pang of guilt. They were talking about killing a massive creature for the sake of some keratin that would normally be shed once the deep of winter hit.

Kirigan's eyes seemed to glint in the faux sunlight for a brief moment. He tipped his head and Alina felt his loose grip on her hand shift. "Now I don't want you to fault me for having more time to consider this than you have," Kirigan said, "but I was thinking of something with a bit more… presence than a simple cuff or pendant. As you said, there is quite a lot of material. I'm certain that Kostyk will be able to find the right pieces to shape along here instead."

Two fingertips moved to trail along Alina's collar in a slow, deliberate arc. When they reached the end of one collarbone, one finger then the other shifted to the opposite rise of bone to mirror the circuit there. Alina hardly wanted to breathe for fear that she would somehow disturb the motions there.

"Or something like that. What do you think?" Kirigan murmured. Alina was vaguely aware that the two lights she had summoned were starting to flare brighter. Her eyelids fluttered closed as she made the conscious effort to shut out the impact from Kirigan's amplification. Even just the light touch he was using now was powerful. It was too easy to let the floodgates open when she felt him. But she also didn't want him to stop.

Would this be what it would feel like with a permanent amplifier from the stag? Alina couldn't imagine that it would be more powerful than Kirigan, but what if it was? Coping with this feeling every day seemed unimaginable.

"Alinochka?"

She opened her eyes again. He hadn't pulled away. Her lights had gone out, leaving them in the deep darkness from his shadows. She could still feel his hand resting along her neckline. There was a very different feeling in the air between them.

Her lips parted and she intended to tell him that sounded fine. A necklace of not-quite-bone that would no doubt do exactly what Kirigan had promised - lift her right out and above what she thought she deserved - and she would find a way to be okay with that. So long as it was still for Ravka and not just for herself. She couldn't lose sight of what mattered. What everyone, Kirigan included, needed from her.

"If there's no stag and it's just you and I, are we still going to break through the Fold?" Alina asked instead.

"There is a stag, and he will be yours," Kirigan replied firmly.

She shook her head. "Stag or no stag, I need to know if we're at least going to try." Belatedly, she realized that she had gripped his shirt in her own hand. She uncurled her fingers and smoothed the fabric back into place. "For my own sanity," Alina added quietly.

Deep down, she knew this fresh wave of concern and paranoia had nothing to do with amplifiers and everything to do with his admission earlier. It was one thing for Alina to have decided to finally trust in General Kirigan. Now she had to also get to trusting in Aleksander, the Black Heretic, who had confided in her and her alone.

He let out a sigh, though not a beleaguered one. It was more of a quiet reservation. Alina smiled when he lifted his hand from her neck to gently caress her cheek just as he had this afternoon in the stables.

"Did you know that they sent a skiff out after your failed trip?" Kirigan asked. Alina shook her head. She hadn't been told anything about the goings on at Kribirsk once she had been swept away to the Little Palace.

"They wanted to corroborate the story, see if your light had made an impact. There's a hole now. Not quite a cut through the Fold, but something. The reports talk about it like it's a bowl or a bubble just after the second marker. From you. From your summoning."

Alina had to remind herself to breathe once more. She exhaled slowly and let the information wash over her. "I don't know if I could do that again, though," she whispered. The power that had ripped through her in the chaos had been completely unbidden, the result of over a decade of tamping down her abilities. If this was supposed to instill new confidence in her it wasn't working. Not yet. It explained the why of the amplifier even better than Kirigan's arguments before, though.

"Stag or no stag, you and I will stand together. We will pierce the Fold. However long it takes, we know it can be done. And we will do what only we can do to protect Ravka. I swear, Alina," he said.

Alina nodded before reaching across the slim distance that remained between them to press against him in what was intended to be a quick hug. Her head was tucked under his chin and her words were muffled by his chest. "Here's where I would say 'you had better', but I think I do really believe you this time," Alina mumbled.

She meant to pull away, but that required Kirigan not to have looped one arm between her and the mattress and settled the other around her back. His chest rumbled in an unreasonably noticeable fashion underneath her as he hummed. "Good," he said simply. Alina had enough leeway to turn to unbury her face from his shirt. Other than that, she was still held in Kirigan's arms.

Sitting there was comfortable. And that in and of itself was dangerous, especially with the haze of darkness around them.

"Uhm." Alina tapped on his chest with one finger.

He didn't relent his loose grip quite yet. "You didn't answer my question. The amplifier. A necklace. What do you think?" Kirigan asked quietly.

"It sounds..." Different was one answer. Deliberate was another. He had suggested it would have more presence. Alina could feel her heart rate jumping as she tried to find the right words while her thoughts were still focused on what it felt like to be sitting within Kirigan's arms. "Noticeable," Alina finally offered.

Once again Alina could feel him hum in agreement. "And? Do you think you would carry it that way?" he pressed.

She frowned. Then - "Well, a Grisha only gets one amplifier. I suppose there's no reason to be boring with it," Alina said. It felt like she was being offered - and possibly had succeeded over - some new test from Kirigan. She realized his grip wasn't holding her in place any longer. Alina was much more reticent to actually move back to her pillow, though.

That didn't mean that she didn't end up there, but it was a slow process of detangling limbs and a quiet murmured apology that Alina wasn't certain about it's purpose.

"I should let you sleep. We have a long day tomorrow," Kirigan finally relented. Alina frowned even as she knew that she should agree. She made herself nod in response and swallow back some emotion she didn't wish to name that rose up.

"Hey," she blurted. When he turned his head to look back at her, Alina wrangled the last of her impulsiveness for the day. "Good night, Aleksander," she said.

Even in the hazy darkness she could make out the way that he smiled at her.

"Good night, Alinochka," he quietly replied.

A/N: Short housekeeping note: I have to put a brief pause on the weekly updates. For full details, please check my Dreamwidth journal (feckyeslife) in the "Sarah Talks" tag. Thanks!