Disclaimer: I don't own the Grisha Trilogy and its characters – it belongs to Leigh Bardugo. I do not own the Shadow & Bone TV series, which was developed by Eric Heisserer for Netflix and based on Leigh Bardugo's books. Any recognisable dialogue is from the books or TV show – some lines may be included verbatim, others in an amended form.

Set in an AU where Aleksander overthrew the Lantsovs a little while before Alina was discovered.

Rescue

Every night, Mal relives the day he and Alina went into the Fold.

Wonders if there is anything he could have done differently to keep her from getting on that skiff.

The last glimpse he has of her is her shocked expression as light explodes outwards.

By the time he wakes up, she is gone, bundled into a black carriage and on her way to Os Alta.

Not even a month later, he hears the news that she has wed the Black Tsar.

It's been just over two years since that fateful day

The borders might be secure now (the Fold pushed further towards Shu Han and Fjerda) and people given a better chance to live rather than die in a raid or on the battlefield, but it's only a façade hiding a dark underbelly.

The disappearances. The dread of finding a group of unsmiling oprichniki at your door. The knowledge that Novokribirsk is engulfed in shadows for the simple crime of being the base of the rebellious General Zlatan.

Mal searches for help.

He finds the Apparat.

Driven out of Os Alta after managing to narrowly escape execution following the overthrow of the Lantsovs, the Apparat now runs a movement dedicated to liberating the Sun Saint, killing the Black Tsar and destroying the Fold.

The image of Alina as a saint is odd, but Mal's willing to put up with it to accomplish his goals.

His mission is to find a way into the palace and get Alina out so the Apparat's plan can commence.

It's a stroke of luck when they ask for trackers. Who knows what the Black Tsar wants with Morozova's Stag – probably some kind of weird Grisha sacrifice? Mal finds the Stag, sends it to Os Alta and congratulates himself on getting one step closer to the palace.

Another tracking mission follows a few months later, on the True Sea. They travel to Os Kervo and board a boat there. Another ship follows, close behind, and when they find the sea whip it is taken aboard the other ship, presumably to a tank to keep it alive for transportation to the palace.

Other missions follow over time, usually to track particularly stubborn dissidents. Mal hates having to betray good people, but the Apparat tells him to consider the bigger picture and accept there will be martyrs along the way.

A little over two years after he last saw Alina, he's finally made it.

Inside the palace. Face to face with his childhood friend.

She looks so different.

Beautiful, not so frail, dressed in a fancy black kefta with gold thread (his colours – Saints, she must hate it).

There's an odd row of bumps across her collarbone that almost look like bone. She's got a bracelet made of shimmering scales too.

For some reason he remembers the hunt, the sea voyage …

"Mal!" her voice derails his thoughts immediately.

He smiles, "Alina, I'm sorry it took me so long, but I'm here now."
Confusion is painted across her face, "here for what?"

"To rescue you, of course. I've got horses waiting and friends in Poliznaya. With you on our side we'll destroy the Shadow Fold and finally get rid of him. You'll be free, won't need to use your powers anymore. And we'll get that farm we always talked about."

"You talked about the farm," she's suddenly angry, though he's not sure why, "I've never cared about farms."

He shrugs, sure that she'll come around. A farm is his dream, after all, and Alina always said they'd stick together.

"And you want me to give up my powers?" she sneers, and he's baffled because he's here to rescue her and doesn't understand why she's acting this way.

"You know all that Grisha magic is freaky, Alina. Your light is different, it's good, but once the Fold is gone you won't need it."

"So, you want me to go back to sickly little Alina, wasting away because I'm repressing my power? The girl all your friends made fun of. The girl you never saw."

"I'm sure there's a way to make sure you don't get sick," he promises.

Besides, the Apparat says the light is just there to get combat the Fold. Once the Fold's gone, the light will probably vanish too and Alina will be normal again.

"Anyway," he continues, "we have to go. I arranged a distraction to keep the Shadow Man away, but it won't last much longer."

"Or maybe," a cool voice behind him speaks, "it never distracted him in the first place. Perhaps he keeps far closer tabs on irritating little rebel groups than you realise."

Mal steps in front of Alina, determined to protect her from the monstrous man who forced her into marriage.

The Black Tsar raises one eyebrow and then looks behind Mal, to where Alina stands.

She steps around him, turning to face him with a contemptuous look on her face, "you think I need you to keep me safe, Mal. I can cut a dozen men into pieces with one blade of light."

Mal shakes his head. The Apparat warned him this might happen, that her mind might have been clouded by the shadows. He just has to get her away from this place.

"Thank you, Mal, for making this so easy," she tells him.

"What?" he asks.

Alina steps forward and wraps her arms around him, a warm hug just like the ones he remembers.

Then she shifts slightly and shoves a dagger straight into his heart, "this."

"Alina …" he chokes out.

"You found the Stag and sea whip so easily," she murmurs as he slumps to the ground, "Aleksander got curious, looked into your family history. It's you, Mal, you're Morozova's third amplifier, the final piece I need."

She points to her bare wrist, "I'll keep you right here, Mal, with me forever, like we always talked about."

Alina sits by his side as he bleeds out.

As he tries to understand how it came to this.

Her husband hovers behind her, a dark presence with cruel smirks for Mal and a heated gaze for Alina.

She's not his little friend from Keramzin any longer, he realises. She's Ravka's Tsarina, the Black Tsar's willing wife, the woman who just put a knife through his heart as if it was nothing.

When Mal takes his last breath, the world goes bright with blinding light.

Thanks for reading. Hope you enjoyed it.