When they exited his chambers, Ivan was nowhere to be seen.

Aleksander kept his hand on her lower back while they were alone, then, when they arrived near the breakfast area, his arm returned to his side.

"I'll leave you here, Alina," he said, looking down into her eyes.

Alina smiled at him. It was not a smirk, nor a grin, but a simple, untainted smile, so pure he couldn't help returning it.

He just felt so happy; he couldn't remember a time he felt so light and young. Alina was his, and after an eternity of loneliness, he felt like he could relax in a way he hadn't since his earliest memories, when he didn't know how the world goes.

Alina's smile seemed to grow.

"See you in the afternoon, then," she said.

"Yes."

There was a moment of silence. Neither of them wanted to leave the other, it was clear.

Alina looked left and right in the corridor and got on her toes to kiss him lightly for just a second, then she turned away, "Have a good day, moi soverenyi."

Aleksander chuckled, his heart beating fast, and went on his way.

Through their bond, she saw Ivan's face, a bit shocked, looking at Aleksander and his chest.

Her own chest was going to explode.

Breakfast was as always, herring and rye bread.

Genya was at the Corporalnik's table to Alina's surprise.

Alina had wanted to talk to Genya privately for a few days. Since they were leaving to hunt the Stag soon, she thought this might be her only chance.

When her plate was empty, she stood and went to Genya's table.

"Genya, can I talk to you?" she asked smiling.

Genya looked at her with a smirk, "Are you in trouble, Alina? Do I need to change you into Zoya?" she joked.

"Saints, never do that!" she said.

"Come," Alina hooked Genya's arm around hers and led her to her room.

"How are you, Alina? You have been glowing lately," Genya said.

"In the literal sense?" Alina teased.

"That too," Genya didn't bat an eye and continued her speech, "I see you smile a lot, you are more relaxed than ever."

"I feel great, my body is healthy and I can keep up with Botkin's lessons," Alina said proudly.

When they entered Alina's room Genya looked at the bed, "Not sleeping in your bed, I see," she said stating the fact.

Alina sat on her bed, "Come here."

Genya sat beside her and took Alina's hands between hers.

"Once, you told me to be wary of powerful men... I listened to you that time, and now I know what you were talking about," Alina paused, "I want to be honest with you because I don't think I can keep it inside anymore."

Genya's delicate face contorted with concern, "Has something happened? Did he do something-"

"No," Alina interrupted her, "I mean, nothing you wouldn't expect."

Silence fell.

"Around a month ago, we discovered that we have a bond, a sort of connection between our minds. It allows us to talk and share emotions even when we are far away. It can be intentional or not, sometimes we share things we don't mean to... but that's not what I wanted to say."

Alina took a deep breath, "It seems I can read his mind at will. And before you ask, I obviously haven't told him. I saw he has lived a really long life, Genya, but you probably expected it. I saw every plan he has made for himself and me, and I know that you reported to him about me and gave him my letters," Alina held Genya's hands tighter, "And I'm not mad at you. You did what you had to, and you even told him you thought it wasn't the best thing to do, to go around my back."

"The thing is that I know he feels something about me, I can feel it, and I...I..."

"You really fell for him," Genya said a bit shocked, "I thought... I don't know... he was too much to handle for you and that you'd give up, or close into yourself, but you are tougher than I thought. I'm sorry I underestimated you, but I warned you and I worried for you because I really care for you."

"I know Genya, I really care for you too," a tear run down her face, "And I was so shocked when I learned what he..."

"Alina, please... Don't pity me," Genya said, knowing what she was getting at.

"I... I pity the girl you were when it first happened, but I don't pity you. You are strong and... Saints, Genya, you are so strong... and I admire you for that but this doesn't mean that I wouldn't give everything I have to make it stop."

Genya caressed her face, "You have such a pure heart, Alina."

"No, I don't, I understand it more and more every day, Genya. Love could make me do anything," she said.

"And you love him," Genya said, but it felt like a question she was supposed to answer.

"And I love him," Alina whispered for the first time, "I don't know how it happened, and I don't want to reduce everything to this bond that we have, that destiny created us to find each other and to provide balance to one another, or at least that's what he thinks. But there isn't a part I don't love about him. Everything he has ever done has been rational, calculated. He's made mistakes, but he has also tried to correct or make up for them and I respect that. And it's not as if he doesn't have emotions, he feels so much I don't understand how he hasn't exploded yet."

"You think loving him is a sin. It's not, Alina. And even if it was... we are not flawless. Saints are not flawless-"

"I'm no saint," Alina said.

Genya caressed her cheek, "I'm so happy to have you in my life, and I'm so happy for you because you have found someone to love. Remember, Alina, loving someone is not just about them, is about you and how you feel around that person, how they make you feel."

"You are such a poet," Alina laughed, "But you are right, he makes me feel like the best version of myself. I feel more confident, worthy and powerful around him, and it's not his presence beside me in front of other people that makes me feel like that, it's those little details in private, the way he cares and looks at me, the way he thinks of me. He is so conflicted about how he feels about me, he wants me but he didn't expect to be attracted to me this much, and my mind can't help but mirror his."

Alina and Genya went on talking about love, the future and grief for the whole morning. They talked about the Darkling, Mal, David, all the important men in their lives.

They were both crying in the end but Genya used her power to make the redness and the puffy eyes go away and they continued the day as if nothing had happened.

In the late afternoon, Alina and the Darkling were in the war room for her lesson.

First things first, he kissed her. She responded tenderly.

Alina almost felt like the war room was their personal space, but she knew about all the war councils, the sleepless hours spent on reports, and all the Grisha losses he dealt with there."

She wrapped her arms around his neck.

"How are you?" He asked.

Understanding what he meant she answered: "A bit sore, but it's nothing too important."

"Good", he caressed her cheek.

"Before our lesson, I wanted to speak to you about something," he said seriously then.

Alina panicked a little. She had not been reading his mind lately so she tried to sense if he had felt her emotional breakdown this morning. Before she could delve into his mind he started to speak.

"This, between us, can't be public. If there are people we trust it's ok. Genya, Fedyor... every Grisha. Ivan knows it already. But you need to understand that the King wouldn't... approve," he found the right word with a frown.

"How so?" She asked.

"He would try to marry you to Vasily. If he hears about our relationship and he had to choose between having a saint in the family and me as General of the second army, he would prefer killing me a merry you to Vasily."

"What?!"

"He would think the two of us together are too powerful," he concluded.

Alina's shoulders slumped down as if under a weight and then she answered with a little mocking smile: "But we are too powerful together."

He grinned.

"What would I do without your... fiery spirit, your authenticity? I haven't been smiling so much in such a long time," he said almost with regret.

"That's why you don't have wrinkles," she joked.

He shook his head still smiling and slowly freed her from his arms, "You need to practice."

Alina nodded.

"This morning we talked about heat. You were able to heat the water in the basin creating a sphere of light. That was a good method to do it, but I think you can do it otherwise."

"How?" She asked.

"You were able to light up your body on some occasions," he smirked, "Mainly because of my amplifying abilities but if you can do it with me, you can do it without me."

It had happened a few times she realized, but she had never done it intentionally. The first time was in the Fold, then when he cut her arm with his ring, and then again in the war room that first night they talked and other times when they were together and touched in a more intimate way. The last had been that same morning...

She nodded and then walked to him and slowly took his hand. She held it like a precious thing between her hands and concentrated on her power.

"Ok," she said, "Ok, I can feel it."

She felt the tug from his power, she felt the warmth of his hand and wanted to replicate it.

His hand slowly became colder in hers which were slightly glowing.

"That's it," he said.

Alina tried to do it without holding his hand. It wasn't more difficult, it was simply different. When she touched him, her power surged to touch his, to reach his, she just thought of what she wanted to do and it happened. When she did it without his help, she had to channel her power, to project the warmth she felt in her heart into something material, in this case, the warmth in her hands.

It took a few seconds but her hands started to heat and glow.

"Try doing it without glowing," he said.

He could be a good teacher, Alina thought. His voice was warm and calming and he encouraged her to do better because he knew she could do better.

Still heated, her glowing hands started to flutter until the light emanating from them was gone.

"Good, Alina, you learn fast," he praised her. But it was the truth. The more she learned about her power, the more she wanted to know and the faster she controlled it.

She tried to heat her hands as much as she could, testing to see if she would feel the burn but she didn't. Despite that, she knew that her hands were scorching hot at that moment so she trailed a hand on an already-ruined part of the map table and marked it leaving a black line behind her finger's path.

"Really good, that will be useful," he hummed in approval.

"For what, writing my initials on a tree bark?" She asked laughing.

"For self-defence," he said matter-of-factly.

Alina felt like an ice bucket had been thrown in her face and she rapidly retracted her arm.

"I would like to have a picnic with you under a tree and watch you burn our names on it, Alina, but we are at war, and you are a primary target for our enemies. I can't promise you'll never need to defend yourself, that you'll never have to hurt or even kill someone," he neared her, his hand hovering near her cheek, sensing whether the skin of her face was burning too.

Alina jerked back. She brought a hand to her face but its temperature was normal.

She hadn't even thought about the possibility of burning him by accident. Panic assailed her but, before she could start rambling about how her powers were dangerous and how she could hurt someone by accident, Aleksander's hand grabbed her chin and tilted her head up, more forcefully than he ever did.

"Look at me," he said firmly, "Don't start losing yourself on ifs and buts, you can control your power, Alina. And this is the first time you are using this side of it intentionally, if you had burned me because you forgot you were still using it I would have praised you more. If your power starts to feel as natural as breathing… and you forget you are using it you are making a step forward, not backward. Do you understand?" He asked in the end while searching her eyes for confirmation.

"Yes," Alina answered under her breath.

She felt reassured. Just when she had started to panic he had interjected and said the exact words she didn't know she needed to hear. She felt understood and cared for. She felt light and she felt in love.

"Yes," she said again looking into his dark eyes and, with only a second of hesitation, she kissed him.

He grunted and kissed her back fiercely, enveloping her waist in his arms.

"What's this kiss for?" He murmured an inch away from her lips.

Alina gulped, mind clouded by his very essence, but answered promptly, like this thought was marked in her mind and she hadn't even to think of it, "I might be the younger one, but I know that you were made for me."

Hey readers!
Do you like how the story is going? What would you like to see?
I think the story will have 10 chapters more tops, and it will be full of events.
Please, reviews motivate me so much!
See you in the next chapter ❤️
-Flora