A/N: I just started writing chapter 17! I only have a couple chapter left and I'll be done! Yay! Since I was only planning on writing a 5 chapter story, I'm ready to get back to some of my original works. Hope you enjoy!
Chapter 13
'Alina,' a voice whispered to her. She looked around and only saw darkness. Then her eyes found the Darkling. He was suddenly right next to her. Her brain was fuzzy, but this did not make sense.
'General Kirigan is in the Little Palace,' Alina said firmly. It didn't make sense for him to be next to her in West Ravka.
'Oh, am I? How do you know that?' he mocked her, but did not come any closer. He had a point. She didn't know where he was, but surely he hadn't found her.
'I'm going to run away on my own from the Apparat. I don't need you Kirigan,' she said defiantly.
'You'll run away with your tracker friend?' Then she remembered. She was in bed with Mal. This was a dream.
'Jealous?' she asked.
'Alina, I doubt you will be able to get away from the Apparat on your own. I don't say that to diminish what you can do, but the man has been planning this for a while, and he is a sly devil.'
'We'll be fine.'
'And you cannot trust the tracker either. He can never have you, and once he realizes that he'll betray you. Leave the otkazat'sya. He'll never understand you like I can. Tell me where you are Alina,' he said, stepping closer so they were almost touching.
Alina stared into his dark eyes, felt his pull and wanted to fall into his arms. She breathed in the scent of him and realized she would never feel this way about Mal.
'Alina, say my name,' he said, taking another step closer. 'I'll leave if you wish, but say my name.' Alina felt a moment of weakness. They'd been apart for so long.
'Aleksander, I don't want you to leave,' she whispered. Then he kissed her. Alina closed her eyes. It felt so real. 'Aleksander…'
She suddenly woke up, realizing Mal was kissing her. She shoved him away, and he nearly fell off the bed.
"What are you doing?" Alina asked angrily.
"What am I doing? What are you doing? You were saying his name Alina! You were talking to him weren't you? The Apparat told me that might be possible. Did you tell him where we are? Have you been talking to him this whole time?" Mal asked, sounding betrayed.
"Excuse me, how does me saying the Darkling's name give you the right to kiss me, when I told you I'm not ready for that! And frankly with how you've been treating me lately, I don't think I ever will be!" Alina shouted.
"I've risked everything to help you get away from the Darkling! I've gone along with the Apparat and put up with a lot, but you don't even care. He's completely blinded you. The Apparat didn't get you away soon enough. You say you don't want to be the Darkling's slave, but you already are!" Mal said, then he stormed out of the room.
Alina followed him. She wasn't going to let him have the last word, especially after making those accusations. She saw him go down the stairs and tried to catch up, but he was running down. He slowed slightly once he reached the common room. She finally caught up when they reached the street outside. She was so furious that she didn't care if she made a scene.
"How dare you! I am no one's slave," Alina said, which made Mal finally turn around to stare at her. He glanced around, then took a few steps back towards her so they wouldn't have to shout.
"You said his name, then kissed me Alina. If you aren't his slave, what are you? His slut?" Mal mocked.
Alina slapped him, hard. He stumbled back and looked at her in shock. Then with a furious glare, he turned and walked away.
Alina stared after him, not knowing if she should follow and try to clear up matters, but she had no desire to after their fight. On the other hand, the Apparat would be expecting her to lead an attack of West Ravkan peasants against General Zlatan tomorrow, and she needed to get away. She would just have to manage on her own. She refused to chase after Mal after what he had said to her.
She had been wandering around for a couple hours trying to gather supplies, but Mal had been the one with money. Her search to find trash or things laying around she could use proved fruitless. In this poor area, everything that could be used was already taken. She didn't know how there hadn't been one of the Apparat's men in the common room of the inn or outside guarding it, but she was grateful for the unexpected good fortune.
Perhaps she should just go to the forest and try her hand there. She knew which berries were safe to eat, and a couple edible plants; however, what were her chances of finding those, and she could only survive on berries for so long. She needed another plan.
"Fancy seeing you here," a voice mocked behind her. Alina spun around to see the last person she expected staring back at her.
"Zoya. Why are you here?" Alina asked.
"You know why I'm here. Looking for you. And now it seems I have something to report back to the general, if he still cares about someone as worthless as you. I can't believe you ran away with the Apparat," Zoya said, making a face of disgust.
Of all the grisha who found her, it had to be Zoya. What could she do? It's not like the woman would help her, and by the time her letter got to Kirigan he wouldn't be able to help her either; not that she wanted his help. If she wanted his help, she'd try to contact him through the amplifier.
"Do what you want. I won't be here by the time your general gets your message anyways. So you'll just be passing along useless information. A waste of a trip for you," Alina said.
"Oh don't worry, I'll keep an eye on you. He'll know wherever you run off to with your slimy priest," Zoya said, then walked off. Alina was tempted to call after her, asking if she wanted to help her get away from the slimy priest, but she knew she couldn't trust the woman to help.
In frustration Alina walked back in the direction of the inn. What was she going to do?
Aleksander smiled. He knew that idiot had kissed her, but he had also gotten Alina to say his name, which he knew the tracker heard. He was feeling smug, especially since he felt the man's presence fade away afterwards.
The snugness did not last though as he thought about Alina. She was still in danger, now more than ever he sensed, but he still had no idea where she was. If she would only tell him, then he would take care of the tracker and the Apparat.
"Sir, the reports are in from everyone, but from Zoya. No one has seen Alina. The man Danlin said he noticed a man he didn't recognize in the camp, then the following day the tracker was gone. He had assumed the commander had sent the man on another errand at first, which is why he didn't report it. Do you want me to call him here so you can deal with his failure personally?" Ivan asked. He knew him so well. It was tempting.
"No, keep him there and have him contact us if the tracker returns or there is other suspicious activity in that camp," he said, restraining himself. The man would be more useful where he was.
"Genya also reported that the king's condition is worsening. The healers are skeptical about his recovery," Ivan said.
"Tell Genya to continue to keep a close eye on him and the queen," Kirigan said. If the king died he would have to act quickly to secure the crown. If not, the Apparat would swoop in and claim it for his own.
Zoya should have reached West Ravka the day before, and assuming she took a day or two to gather information, they should hear from her soon. Could Alina be in West Ravka? Surely the Apparat wouldn't take her there. General Zlatan wanted her dead and Alina wasn't ready to take down the fold yet. She could just as well be in Shu Han. His grisha spies there hadn't found anything, but that did not mean the Apparat wasn't hiding her there.
"You can go now Ivan," Kirigan said. Ivan nodded and left immediately.
Grabbing some folders, he left to meet the visiting ambassadors. Since the king was indisposed, he had to appear at all of the meetings with the counsel, lest their enemies view Ravka to be weak and open to attack. The rest of his day would be occupied with this, when all he wanted to do was contact Alina again.
Reigning in his anger was difficult, but he managed it. Most people thought of the Darkling as raging and out of control when angry, but he had had years of practicing control. He would leave it and let it simmer, then he would release his anger on his enemies. He pictured all of the things he would do to torment the Apparat once he was captured. He could turn Mal into a volcra and have him slowly feed on the Apparat, maybe one finger at a time. Yes, that would be satisfying. His anger could wait.
Alina stared at the inn, debating whether she would give in and return to it, or try to somehow find more supplies and flee. The decision to leave the people of West Ravka to the Apparat was starting to eat at her conscience, and that decision was soon taken from her.
"Sankta Alina, you must be starving. The Apparat has prepared a feast for you in your room in preparation for tomorrow's fight. We all must have our strength to defeat General Zlatan and those that are with him in darkness," the fanatic said, gesturing for her to follow him.
She nodded, and with a tight smile followed him to her room. The feast, she supposed it was a feast compared to what she had been given, was not by any means extravagant. There looked to be some chicken with the cheese, a small bunch of grapes and a thin layer of butter on the bread. She looked around, expecting to see the Apparat, but the man was not in her room.
"The Apparat regrets that he cannot join you tonight Santa Alina, but he had a situation arise that he had to oversee. Everything must be seen to before tomorrow. He said to assure you that if you need to contact him, I can bring a message, and he will see you in the morning. He told me to stand outside your door until he gets here tomorrow to ensure your safety," the fanatic said. Then with a quick bow, the man left the room.
Alina shuddered. She was trapped. There was no way for her to get away from the Apparat now. When the Apparat told her to fight, she would refuse, and Mal wasn't around to use as leverage anymore. Could she leave the people of West Ravka to fight alone though? If the Apparat threw weapons at them and set them to fight General Zlatan's military, they would all be slaughtered. If she did fight with them, still many of them would be slaughtered, but perhaps she could save some of them. She knew the Apparat was counting on her compassion, which made her hate the man more.
She could think of only one way out. She shoved some bread in her mouth, as she was starving, then sat on her bed. Closing her eyes, she laid down and concentrated on the amplifier. Then she tried to picture the Darkling and reach through the amplifier to him as he had instructed.
She didn't feel anything.
Trying again, she concentrated harder. Nothing happened and she felt despair start to take over. A couple tears leaked from her eyes, but she refused to give up. She kept trying to reach Kirigan, until sleep claimed her.
