Yet, I am at peace, in that eerie landscape of suffocating darkness.

The screeches and screams of the animals that dwell,

frightened of the dark, do not scare me.

I am one, one with the shadows…

(Warning - mild gore and violence)

Chapter 1

With Shadows Come the Light

Not yet five minutes into the journey through the Fold, those wretched volcra were already starting to swarm. Must be a nest nearby. A new one, at that, this road has seemed pretty quiet to me, I thought, narrowing my ice blue eyes, pupils ringed with a light-colored golden-brown ring, into the darkness. My brother used to tell me that my eyes were creepy in the dark, seeming to glow like the bright blue light guiding the skiff. But I wouldn't care. He was my brother, he could tease me all he liked, right? At least, that's what our parents told us. Family before everything. Keep each other close, no matter what. My brother had tried too, and once again clumsy, loud, obnoxious Neviah screwed everything up once again.

It had been a cold night. Kiyan had been asleep, snoring softly on the mattress of the small abandoned cottage we were staying in for the night. The Fold was nearby, not in sight, but those loud cracking noises and shrieking of the creatures that dwelled there carried far across the land. I had sat up, awakened by the screams. I curled up in the furs my brother had stolen from a nearby shopkeeper and stepped outside, relishing the cool breeze. I glanced back at the cottage where my brother was still asleep, before walking away slightly, up to the crest of the hill.

The Fold stood there, menacing, full of raging shadows that could eat you whole. I was too entranced in watching those writhing clouds of darkness that I didn't hear the soldiers coming until it was too late. I turned around to see them swarming the cottage, and I dropped to the ground immediately, watching as my brother was dragged, unconscious, from the small building. A laugh had met my ears as Kiyan struggled to wake, only to be whacked in the head once more.

That was the last time I ever saw Kiyan. The soldiers had spoken a language foreign to me, but all I knew was that wherever they were from, they would pay for taking my brother away from me. Even if it really had been my fault for leaving him in the first place.

I shake off the memory, clutching the pistol at my hip for a sense of security as a shadow flaps by the skiff. I slide down to sit against the wall underneath where the Squaller was propelling the skiff forward. I slip it out of its holster as another one of the volcra swoops low, causing everyone out in the out to duck in alarm. Suddenly, a volcra screeches somewhere up above. There's a scream, a snap, and a whoosh as who I assume is the Squaller is snatched up into the air. I stand, adjusting my grip on the pistol, my breath coming rapidly. I see a flash of flame before the Inferni on board is grabbed in the sharp talons of a volcra and conjured away into the darkness. I wince slightly as her screams are cut off with a sickening crunch.

"Passengers, below decks!" Someone shouts an order, but I can't tell who. I let out a grunt as all the passengers scurry into the covered area, scrambling to get below the decks as soon as possible, squishing me against the wall in the process. I stumble out of the covered area as soon as possible, regaining my balance quickly and firing a shot with my pistol into the air towards the vague shape of a volcra.

Shouts and screams meet my ears. A fire had broken out on decks, probably from some dead idiot who had the stupidity to light a lantern. I see someone scramble off the skiff, but I don't have time to think about it before someone is being raised into the air, the young man that I had seen earlier arguing with the woman.

"Mal!" That same woman screams, and she scrambles to pick up a stray rifle laying a few feet away from her. We fire at the same time. Both shots hit their mark and the volcra flies away with a shriek, dropping the man. I stand still, panting, only to feel a pang of dread as freezing cold claws dig into the flesh of my shoulders. I let out a scream of pain as I'm dragged into the air, my fingers frozen and shaking with fear. My trembling hands lose my grip on the pistol, and the volcra's claws dig in deeper.

Then, I feel another grip clutching my limp, shaking hands. I blink, only to see shadows slithering up my arms, their tendrils reaching upwards, crawling up around my face and digging into the scaly skin of the volcra. My shallow breath quickens even more and another scream rips itself from my throat as the volcra explodes from the inside, showering me with blood as I'm sent crashing back down onto the deck of the ship.

The last thing I see before I fall unconscious is a bright light, wreathed with the same tendrils of shadow that had killed the volcra. Then the horror filled landscape before me goes completely dark, the sharp, tangy, slightly sweet metallic scent of the volcra's blood still fresh in my memory.

. . .

When I come to my senses, I'm surrounded by Grisha. I roll my head, my eyes still not focusing completely. I can see blurry shapes, the red kefta of the Corporalki moving around like ghosts.

"She is awake," a voice says, seeming to come from far away. "Sit her up, the General wishes to see them both soon." I'm propped up against a pillow, my gaze finally sharpening until I could see normally. My throat was dry and my lips were cracked, and when I coughed, it felt as if thousands of tiny needles were pricking my throat. I'm hoisted upwards, and when I'm all situated, my gaze turns down to my hands. They're clean, no trace of the volcra's blood anywhere in the sterile tent. Another girl was sitting on the cot across from me, and I recognize her as the one I had seen arguing with the man.

"Ms. Oztkurev," a voice says commandingly, and my head jerks up, my eyes wide and fearful.

"What do you want with me?" I ask, my voice quick and shallow. The sudden panic overwhelms me, and I crawl backwards, almost falling off the other side of the cot in my hurry. "What happened? Where am I?"

"Calm down, please," a more gentle voice cuts in, slicing through my terror. My breath slows and deepens, my heart rate returning to normal. I glance up to see a pretty dark-skinned Grisha, her hands resting softly on my pale ones. Heartrender, I think, and I feel my anxiety trying to push free of the Grisha woman's hold. I snatch my hand away, my gaze flicking from one face to another.

"You're alright, Miss Oztkurev," another woman speaks softly, her voice barely audible. "General Kirigan wishes to speak with you, miss, it's best if you're not late." I nod without thinking, and two Grisha in red keftas walk forward and grab me gruffly.

I'm led to a black tent in the Second Army section, and I stare at it, half awe, half fear. General Kirigan. The Darkling. Descendant of the one who created the Fold. Everyone feared him, no one disobeyed him. Why on Earth would he want to see me, of all people? A spy, a girl from the streets of Ketterdam across the Fold, the one who only works for the highest bidder?

"This is completely absurd!" I blurt out. "What did I do? I promise, I didn't mean to sabotage the ship or anything, I was just trying to get through the Fold to Ketterdam!"

The Grisha clustered around the rim of the dark tent give me strange looks, as if they didn't know what I was talking about.

"Please, at least let me walk myself," I hiss to the Grisha walking me forward. But they only release me when we come to halt in front of a man, standing with his back turned to me, dressed completely in black.

"Do you know why you're here?" The man asks, still not facing me.

"While I'll assume it's because I illegally snuck onto a skiff?" I respond bluntly. "Although I don't know why that would bless me with a meeting with the Darkling." There are several gasps and titters around the room.

"In fact, that is not why," The Darkling finally turns around. I have to grit my teeth together when I see how annoyingly handsome he is. "Do you have any recollection of the attack on the skiff, Miss Oztkurev? Were you ever tested as a child?"

I scoff. "Tested? I was never even at an orphanage. I don't think they test kids who are living in the dirt," I say, before thinking back to the attack. Did I remember anything? I furrow my brow. Nope. Nothing after the fire started. "No, I can't remember anything. Maybe because nothing happened, hm?

"No?" General Kirigin clicks his tongue. "Does anyone else have anything?"

Silence.

"General Kirigan, sir," a voice says. I look around for the speaker, and a Grisha clothed in blue steps forward. "I think I might've seen something before the flash of light."

The Darkling raises his eyebrows and nods for the woman to continue.

"She was grabbed by a volcra," the woman starts. "It seemed like it was trying to fly away, but it couldn't. Like something roped it to the deck. Then these… veins, strings of darkness started coming out of her and into the volcra like they were like to choke it or something." The woman glances at me. "Then it… exploded and there was the burst of light."

I stare back and forth between the Darkling and that woman. That was crazy. Impossible. Dark veins? That's ridiculous. No one has ever heard of dark veins appearing out of a person and exploding something.

But the Darkling doesn't voice my thoughts; he just nods, his face expressionless, and nods to the Grisha on either side of me. They grab my arms once again and exit the tent.

"Wait, wait, wait!" I yell. "I didn't do anything, Darkling! Believe it or not, I'm not lying! You better be letting me go right now or I'll—"

One of the Grisha slaps a gloved hand over my mouth. "Shut up, girl. The Darkling didn't feel the need to test you, which means he's sure. General Kirigin doesn't make mistakes."

I press my lips in a tight line until he removes his hand. "Well, clearly he did with me, because I think I'd know if I was some mystery Grisha or whatever."

The two Grisha ignore me as they shove me into a carriage.