I awake to sunlight and the wood of the skiff on my back.

"Mal. Where's Mal?" I say aloud and try to sit up when a sharp pain goes through my body. "Ouch."

"She's awake!" I hear someone in front of me shouts.

That's when I realized there was a gun barrel pointed at me.

"Don't move," the man says to me with fear in his eyes as I'm lying flat on my back on the skiff.

"Dumbass, does it look like I can move?"

"Move out of the way," a female voice says from behind the man.

I recognize the red and gray Kefta, identifying the young lady as a Grisha Healer.

"Your collarbone is broken. I'm going to heal it and you'll feel a tingling feeling, but don't move or it'll mess up the healing," she says as I feel a tingling all over my body. "Done."

I sit up. "Where's Mal?" I ask looking around for him. There is no trace but the puddle of blood next to me. "Where is he?" I ask again more frantically.

"He's getting patched up at the soldiers' medical tent," she says as she sits you up. "Now come on you're going to the Darkling's tent."

"What!" I say as I get up, my body felt as if I had never fought with the volcra. "I thought we were going to the True Sea."

"Yes, you were, but because of the volcra attack, there was a change in plans. And Yes, you heard me come on."

We walked to the tent, multiple gun barrels pointed at me, making me feel as if I were no better than a lousy criminal.

I was pushed to the middle of the tent, the Darkling over by a table in front of me.

"Who saw what happened on the fold?" The Darkling aks.

"I-I did," the Senior Cartographer stutters. "There was this bright burst of light and all the volcra flew off."

"Was this the girl you saw emit the light?"

"I think so ... yes it was. She lights up like the sun!"

Murmurs spread through the tent. "Sun summoner" is the phrase I kept hearing along with some weeping.

"Is this true?"

"Yes," I respond.

"Demonstrate," the Darkling says simply and spreads his shadows around the room.

I reach for a small sliver of light, about the size of a candle flame. "Here."

"Ivan, take her to the palace. Quickest route."

"Yes sir," the man in a red and black kefta, who I assume Ivan, responded. "Come now," he says grabbing onto me.

"Careful with her, she's one of us now," the Darkling says to Ivan giving me a small crooked grin. "Take her in my coach."

Ivan nods and walks me out of the tent.

"Get your hands off me," I say as I brush his hands off me.

"Fine follow me."

•••

When we're on the road I try to look through the slivers uncovered by the gray curtains Ivan draped over the windows.

"What's so special about the Darkling?"

"You didn't know? The Darkling is a living amplifier and can summon shadows," the man next to Ivan says. "Sorry I never introduced myself. I'm Fedyor."

"So people want his bones?"

"Yup."

"Also, why do I have to be escorted?"

"Shu Han and Fjerda want you for their own gain and you don't seem to know how to control your powers," Ivan said as the coach stopped. "What's wrong?"

"A tree's in the middle of the path. We have to move it out of the way," the driver says.

"Alina, stay here," Feydor says as they get out of the coach.