It was around noon when I left Baghra's hut with a wide smile on my face that I didn't bother hiding. For the first time since I had arrived in the Little Palace, I had enjoyed a lesson with Baghra. I knew she was trying her best not to show her amusement but I could simply see it in her blue eyes –she was amused by the way I used my power even though it had been only a few hours since I started summoning at will.

The more I used my power and the more I summoned at will, the stronger I began to feel. It wasn't hard to understand why the Grisha didn't age much compared to the Otkazat'sya –their power fed them. I was so happy that I went to the Little Palace literally bouncing like a bunny.

I didn't know where to find my friends so I checked out the dining hall at first but they weren't seated around the divans, hence I decided to go to the grounds once again and visit the lake. As I was expecting, I found them there, resting by the lake. When I arrived literally screaming and running towards them, Iwona was using her power to play with the frozen water of the lake.

"I CAN DO IT!" I shouted at the top of my lungs and stopped for a moment to catch my breath upon arriving next to them.

Shura rolled her eyes at me. "You've finally lost your damn mind, Valkyrja." she muttered but Anita hit her shoulder. "Hey!"

Radoslaw was giving me a horrified look, Iwona looked worried, Anita was curious but Leon seemed like he had understood what I meant. With a cry of joy, he stood up from where he was sitting and took me inside his arms. As he made me turn around my own axis, I literally trod on air –my feet weren't touching the ground.

"I knew you had what it takes, Val!" he spoke excitedly as he put me down. "Now show us your moves."

With a wide smile on my lips, I raised my hands on top of my head and shadows gathered between my palms, taking the form of a dark sphere. Then, I threw it high in the air and the sphere exploded into a million shadow pieces, which rained onto us.

In the blink of an eye, everyone other than Shura began to shout happily as they literally jumped onto me to pull me into a group hug. At that moment, nothing seemed important enough to bother me: not my meeting with Evan the following day, nor the truth about my mother's side of the family –nothing.

I was happy, I was with the people who cared about me and most importantly, I felt complete for the very first time in my twenty-two years of life.

We sat by the lake until it was lunchtime –Shura was creating dry places for us on the snow since she was an Inferni. It was quite enjoyable and my new, energetic personality seemed to lift up everyone's mood –I was so happy that I even acted nice to Shura despite all her efforts of trying to upset me.

"What will happen now that you can summon at will?" Anita asked me as we walked towards the dining hall. She was wearing her usual, red kefta with grey embroideries and she had her chestnut hair in a ponytail.

I pushed back a strand of raven hair falling in front of my eyes. "Baghra will teach me how to control and manipulate the shadows skilfully, then the Darkling's going to decide what shall come next." I responded; even though I knew that after my training with Baghra came training with the Darkling's shadows, I didn't want to share this piece of information with anyone.

Anita sent me a small smile, "He must be holding you at a special place since he never takes a close interest in any Grisha's personal progress." she said. I couldn't help myself but smile but I quickly wiped it off my face.

I shrugged, "Well, I'm the only Shadow Summoner other than him, so…" I said before we parted our ways for Anita had to sit with the Corporalki and I sat with the Etherealki. "It should be normal." Anita blew me a kiss and went to her seat next to Leon. I took mine as well and in a few seconds Iwona, Shura and Radoslaw came to the dining.

After I was finished with my lunch, I went to my room to take a bath. Normally, I had to be in the library but I wanted to reward myself for what I had achieved that day, so no library and no possible encounter with that creepy, old man the Apparat.

When Celina literally burst into my room, I was completely naked in the middle of my room except for the towel wrapped around my hair. Relief fell on her beautiful face as she closed the white doors behind herself and heaved a sigh.

"Thank Saints you're alright." she said. "Do you have any idea how worried I was last night?"

I didn't even hear what she told me as I jumped onto her and wrapped my arms around her neck. "Celina, you're not going to believe what happened today!" I shouted, which caused her to push me away.

"Val, for the Saints' sake, wear something on yourself!" she scolded me and rubbed her left ear. "Damn, I think you just did something to my poor ear."

I began to jump in my place like a hyperactive rabbit, which made Celina snort. She tried hard not to laugh but at the end, she threw her head back let out a burst of laughter. I, too, began to laugh as I stopped jumping. We laughed like two maniac best friends for a few minutes, then I decided to get dressed since I was beginning to feel cold.

After wearing my usual clothes –a grey shirt and black trousers –I made Celina sit on one of the armchairs as I stood up in front of her.

"Watch me," I told her and pointed at her with my index finger. "And do not blink."

Celina frowned but she didn't object either. With slow movements, I opened my arms to the sides and then suddenly I closed them in front of me, a clapping sound filled the room the moment my palms met each other. At the same time a wave of shadows was set free from my fingertips and it went through Celina's body before hitting the wall and disappearing.

With excitement in my jade-green eyes, I looked at the blonde-haired young woman in front of me in anticipation. At first she was in pure shock, her mouth was wide open but after processing the situation, she let out a high pitched scream and stood up from the armchair.

"You can summon at will?" Celina asked as she pulled me into a tight hug. I wasn't able to hold back the tears of joy. "This is amazing, Val, I'm so happy for you!"

When we pulled away, I asked her with a small smile on my lips. "Do you have time for a cup of tea?"

Celina nodded as she mirrored my smile. "Of course, darling, let me get us some tea."

[Time Skip]

Celina and I talked almost for an hour as we drank three cups of tea each. At first I told her how I had discovered the key to my problem and how enjoyable my time with Baghra had been. Of course, Celina couldn't believe that I had enjoyed my lesson with Baghra –I had spent countless days complaining about her to the blonde, after all.

Then she asked me whether I wanted to talk about the previous day. I shrugged as I brought the cup to my lips. "I don't know, to be honest." I responded and took a sip from my tea. "Last night was a total mental breakdown for me but I believe if I hadn't seen the lowest point, I wouldn't have been able to reach my powers."

"It was so heart-breaking to see you in such pain, Val but I'm glad to hear that you haven't suffered for nothing." Celina told me as she squeezed my left hand, which was resting on the table. The edge of her lip curled upwards. "So, tell me then: What happened between you and him?"

I averted my gaze away from Celina, "What makes you think that anything happened in the first place?" I responded with a question but I knew I couldn't fool Celina.

She rolled her eyes at me. "Come on Val, I can see the way your green eyes shine whenever one of us mention him." she said, which caused me to giggle like a little girl. "See, I'm right, as always. Now tell me."

"Fine!" I gave up, I could feel my cheeks turning pink. "We got… close in the dark last night."

Celina raised an eyebrow, "In the dark?" she repeated my words. "What does that supposed to mean? How close did you get? I need more details, woman!"

This time a laugh escaped my lips, "Calm down, babbler, I'll tell you everything." I said and took a deep breath. "So, he was the one who opened my eyes about this fear of the dark topic. If he hadn't mentioned something extremely obvious might be keeping my power locked up inside me, I guess I could never really figure it out myself."

Celina laughed as well. "So the Darkling was the real hero all along, eh?"

"You could say that," I said and finished the remaining tea in my cup. "He told me he had an idea that could help me remember the reason why I actually had that fear, then he trapped us inside his shadows."

The naughty look inside Celina's eyes caused me to kick her under the table. "Hey, take it easy on me –I'm not a fighter!" she scolded me and I stuck my tongue out at her.

"Anyway," I said allusively and pushed my hair behind my ear. "It scared the shit out of me, to be honest –if this wasn't enough, he literally snuck up on me and whispered in my ear!"

"And you kick me for giving you that look." Celina rolled her eyes at me once again. "He is clearly teasing you, Val!"

I couldn't help myself but smirk, "Wait till you hear the rest." I told her how he had let me move my fingers around his face, the way he had pulled me against his chest and kissed me on my forehead, and lastly, the things he had whispered in my ear. When I was finished, Celina attacked me with her implicative looks as she moved her eyebrows up and down in a creepy way.

"I have told you," she kept repeating. "He has his eyes on you ever since your arrival, I have told you! There you have it."

I took my head between my hands, "But I don't know what to do, Celina, I'm not ready for him to act… bold around me." I admitted, which caused the implicative look on Celina's face to disappear. "Everything has happened just too fast."

She made her lips into a thin line as she fixed her bun. "You're still thinking about Evan, aren't you?" she asked with a soft voice, only to earn a nod from me. "Val, being stuck in the past will bring nothing to you. I cannot imagine how hard it must be for you, but you should let it go for real now."

I tried to turn my head away but she held me from my chin and made me look at her. "You're a Shadow Summoner, Valkyrja and finally you can reach your power. You do belong here, with the other Grisha and with him." she was talking about the Darkling and I knew that she was absolutely right. "I don't find it odd for him to take a fancy to you –you're the only Grisha that could, one day, become his equal. You're powerful. You're beautiful –you're everything a strong man like the Darkling could wish for."

"But… What if it is just a nine days' wonder, just like it was with Shura?" I asked with a trembling voice, I had given voice to those doubts that I hadn't been able to admit to myself yet. "What if it fades away just as fast as it arrives?"

The look inside Celina's dark eyes was confident and strong. "Then don't let it." she said. "Don't let the Darkling slip away. Hold him within your palm –I know you can do this. I have no idea for what reason but he needs your powers, doesn't he?" she asked and I nodded. "In that case, you are of great importance to him. He cannot risk losing you, Val and you will turn this into your advantage."

[Time Skip]

After talking with Celina, I felt more certain about one thing: I fancied the Darkling, perhaps even more than he fancied me, and I didn't intend to let his interest fade away like an ephemeral flower. If I was to become the second most powerful Grisha around here, then I was going to have the most powerful one within my hands.

Of course, I was aware –this wasn't love. This was nowhere near love, I knew what love was and how it felt like. This was more of a sexual attraction and something based on self-interest. However, I was also aware of the high possibility that something emotional could grow between us and I was almost certain that if it happened, I was going to be the one to develop feelings.

Well, I had already said goodbye to Evan, to my first love, and I was still alive –I believed I could also handle it if my stupid heart, at some point, decided to fall for the Darkling.

When Celina had asked me whether I had informed the Darkling about the good news –me finally summoning at will –I had told her that I wanted to wait for him to find that out himself. However, I had left my bedroom immediately upon hearing that he was, once again, leaving the Little Palace that evening.

Once I realised that I didn't have my black kefta on me, I quickly returned to my room, wore the kefta and then I walked towards the war room with quick steps. I hoped to find him there since he spent ninety per cent of his time in the war room.

I heaved a sigh upon seeing Ivan standing outside the doors of the war room –the Darkling was in there. Keeping my head high, I stood in front of Ivan with a serious look on my face. "I must see him." I told the Heartrender. "Immediately."

Ivan eyed me from head to foot for a while, then he turned back and knocked on the door. It took him a few minutes to leave the war room but when he went out, he held the door open for me to go inside. Once again, my heart was beating fast but this time I was determined and I didn't doubt myself anymore.

"Miss Nørgaard, I wasn't expecting to see you here today." the Darkling spoke, his back was facing me as he looked through some papers, which were piled up on the huge table. "Ivan told me there was something urgent."

I waited for him to face me and he took his time but the moment he turned towards me, I raised my hands on a level with my shoulders. Even before the shadows began to gather around us, I saw the glint inside the Darkling's slate-grey eyes.

I saw the hope I brought him.

The edge of his lip curled upwards, "So you've apparently taken my advice." he said as he extended his right hand into my shadows.

Taking a big step towards him, I nodded. "Yes, I did." I spoke with a low but strong voice. As I moved, my shadows were also moving with me. I saw the Darkling raising an eyebrow at me when I stood right in front of him –our bodies were dangerously close, just like the previous night.

I cupped his face with my hands, which caused my shadows to slowly disappear but the Darkling didn't seem to be aware of it at all. His focus was fully on me as he looked down at me. "I'm ready to be your hope, Aleksander."

In fact, I was intending to be the one to make the first move but the moment he heard those words leaving my lips, I saw a faint shimmer inside his grey eyes. The next, he closed the distance between us as he leant into me and pressed his lips against mine.

The moment our lips met, I felt electric signals being sent to every inch of my body.

The Darkling wrapped his right hand around my waist to pull me closer to him and placed the left one on the right side of my face. I moved one of my hands to his chest and the other one around his neck as I returned the kiss. I couldn't believe what was happening, it didn't feel real at all!

Last night, I had been secretly yearning for him to kiss me and right now, I was inside his arms as we kissed each other like we were trying to capture our next breath.

When I felt him licking my lower lip for me to give him an entrance, I parted my lips and he slid his tongue into my mouth. I could taste the strong flavour of kvas on his tongue, which meant that he had been drinking it prior to my arrival.

His kiss was dazzling and it got me walking on air, I couldn't help myself but want more of him.

However, the knocking on the door caused him to part our lips. For a few seconds we just stood like that, tangled up and breathing heavily, then he planted a small kiss on my lips. "I have to go," he whispered against my skin as I moved my hand to his face and caressed his cheek. "They are waiting for me."

"Don't go," I whispered without even thinking but at that moment, I couldn't really reach my rational side. His effect was worse than that of the alcohol, he got me drunk in mere seconds.

The Darkling took a step back and I found myself already missing feeling his body against mine. "Have patience, moya lyubova." he said and pushed a strand of raven hair behind my ear. "Once I return to the Little Palace, we'll have all the time in the world."

[Translation: moya lyubova = my love (Ravkan)]

THEY KISSED THEY KISSED THEY KISSED

I'm so happy that I finally got to write this chap and I hope you'veenjoyed it!! I'd be glad to read your opinion if you left a review (: