Standing on the edge of a crowded road, I look down into the Tula Valley, getting my first glimpse of the Fold.

A heavy shoulder slammed into me from behind, causing me to use my arms to balance myself, stopping me from falling face-first into the mud.

"Hey!" Shouted the soldier. "Watch yourself!"

"Well, why don't you watch your fat feet? How could I see you if you were behind me? If you didn't, then I guess you're blind." I say to him staring into his eyes, seeing the surprise on his face. This gave me some pleasure as I turned my back on him and went on my way. People, especially men, carrying big rifles, never expect any bite from a female. They're always shocked.

I quickened my pace, looking for the yellow flag of the surveyors' cart, that I lost almost an hour ago lost in thought. I must be far behind. I didn't care to pick up my pace, I would already be counted as late, why torcher myself? As I walk, I take in the comforting smells of the autumn woods, and a soft breeze on my back.

Somewhere in the crowd, I heard someone singing. What idiot is singing on their way to the fold? I look ahead at the dark smudge in the distance. I've only ever seen it in paintings or on maps, never in person. On the maps, it would be either a black slash, a stain, or a black cloud. Then others made it a long, narrow lake, titled "the Unsea," to put soldiers and merchants at ease and encourage crossing.

I was pushed from behind, but not hard enough to have the chance of me falling. "Ugh," I sigh in annoyance. "Again?" I turn around to see Mal. "Oh, it's you."

"What? You disappointed to see me or something?"

"No, that's not it. I got bumped into from behind earlier and this dude had some nerve to blame it on me." I took my eyes. "How would it be my fault? He was the one behind me, I couldn't see him!" I say raising my arms in frustration.

"I see. I can go punch him if you would like."

"I'll think about it."

A pretty blond girl strode by and waved, throwing Mal a flirtatious glance over her shoulder.

"Hey, Ruby," he called. "See you later?"

Ruby giggled and scampered off into the crowd. Mal grinned broadly until he caught my eye roll.

"What? I thought you liked Ruby."

"As it happens, we don't have much to talk about," I say drily. I had liked her—at first. When Mal and I had left the orphanage at Keramzin to train for our military services in Poliznaya, I'd been nervous about meeting new people. But lots of girls had been excited to befriend me, and Ruby had been among the most eager. Those friendships lasted as long as it took for me to figure out they were using me to get close to Mal.

Now I watched him stretch his arms and turn his face to the autumn sky, looking perfectly content. There was even, as I noted with disgust, a little bounce in his step.

"What's wrong with you?" I whispered furiously.

"Nothing," he said, surprised. "I feel great."

"But how can you be so ... so jaunty?"

"Jaunty? I've never been jaunty. I hope to never be jaunty."

"Well, then what's all this?" I ask, waving a hand at him. "You look like your going to a really good dinner instead of your possible death and dismemberment."

Mal laughed. "You worry too much. The King's sent a whole group of Grisha pyros to cover the skiffs and even a few of those creepy Heartrenders. We have our rifles," he said, patting me on the back. "We'll be fine."

"A rifle won't help us if it's a bad enough attack."

Mal gave me a bemused glance. "What's with you lately? You're even grumpier than usual. And you look terrible."

"Thanks," I groused. "One word. Anxiety." My sleep had been worse over the last few days. Saints knew I had plenty of good reasons to dread going into the fold, reasons shared by everyone chosen for the crossing. But there was something else, a deeper feeling of unease as if seeing a tornado on the horizon, knowing something horrible is coming. "I just ... have this feeling."

"Stop worrying so much. Maybe they'll put Mikhale on the skiff. The volcra will take one big look at that big juicy belly of his and leave us alone."

Probably not. I think as a memory comes to me: Mal and I, sitting side by side in a chair in the Duke's library, flipping through the pages of a large leather-bound book. We'd happened on an illustration of a volcra: long, filthy claws; leathery wings; and rows of razor-sharp teeth for feasting on human flesh. They were blind from generations spent living and hunting in the Fold, but legend had it that they could smell human blood from miles away. I pointed to the page and asked, "What's it holding?"

I can still hear Mal's whisper in my ear. "I think—I think it's a foot." We'd slammed the book shut and ran squealing out into the safety of the sunlight ...

Without realizing it, I'd stopped walking, frozen in place, unable to shake the memory from my mind. When Mal realized I wasn't with him, he gave a beleaguered sigh and beached back to me. He rested his hands on my shoulders and gave me a little shake.

"I was kidding. No one's going to eat Mikhael."

"I know. You're hilarious," I say rolling my eyes.

"Alina, come on. We'll be fine."

"You can't know that."

"I know that you're scared, so am I. But we're going to do this and we're going to be fine. We always are. Okay?" He smiled.

Till we're not. I rubbed my thumb over the scar that ran across the palm of my right hand and took a shaky breath. "Okay," I said grudgingly, and I felt myself smiling back.

"Madam's spirits have been restored!" Mal shouted. "The sun can once more shine!"

"Oh, will you shut up?"