A/N: Enjoy! Again, I have not read the books. I wrote this based off season 1 of the TV show so I hope it is still enjoyable to those of you that read the books. I know my Grisha science ignorance, lol.


Chapter 14

Alina opened her eyes, and felt panic wake her up quickly. How had she fallen asleep! Looking out the window, she saw the first rays of light lightening the sky. Immediately she closed her eyes again and concentrated on Kirigan. She had to reach him.

Suddenly she felt a presence in her head. Had it worked?

'Alina? Are you trying to reach me? I felt you brush my mind,' Kirigan said in her head.

'Kirigan! I need your help! The Apparat is planning an attack today, and thousands of innocent people will die if we don't stop him!' Alina pleaded.

'If you wish me to stop him, you need to tell me where you are,' the Darkling replied, only hesitating for a second.

'I'm in West Ravka.' Alina said. She could feel his rage.

'The Apparat brought you to West Ravka! I told you he doesn't care what happens to you, as long as he can use you! It would be on the other side of the fold…' he trailed off in frustration.

'I need you here now,' she hesitated again, 'I need you here now Aleksander. He plans to use me in a fight against General Zlatan today. He has raised up a revolt here among the poor, and plans to give them weapons and have me lead an attack.' She sensed him moving into action.

'You must avoid the battle. Get free of the Apparat and meet me at the fold. I am leaving now and can be on the east side in hours.'

'Getting free might be difficult, but I will, somehow. But you can't get through the fold. How will you get here to stop the Apparat?'

'I will find a way to get to you, but I'm not fighting the Apparat. We'll bring you back to the Little Palace, and once you are safe, I'll deal with the Apparat,' Kirigan said.

'No! The people of West Ravka will be slaughtered! The Apparat will send them against General Zlatan in my name, even if I'm not there for it! You must come help me stop him,' Alina pleaded.

'Alina, I will not risk you further. Even if I could reach you in time, none of my grisha could. You would want us to barge in without a plan or backup and stop the Apparat? I know you haven't practiced using your new amplified light. Right now you are vulnerable, and I will not have you harmed. You will meet me at the fold, and return with me,' Kirigan said with finality.

'I will stay here then. I won't leave the West Ravkan people to their fate. I will stop this somehow,' She replied. The Darkling paused. He was obviously upset by her response.

'If I come and help you save the people of West Ravka, you will promise me two things. One, when we are done saving them, you will immediately come back to the Little Palace with me. Two, you will agree to stay by my side: no running away, and if you are kidnapped, you WILL tell me where you are. If you swear these things to me, then I will come help you,' Kirigan said.

Alina thought about his proposition. She hated the idea of having no choice in her future, but she couldn't let thousands of innocent people die for her. 'Would it really be so bad being with Aleksander', a traitorous part of her whispered. She didn't have to agree to swear loyalty to him, just be by his side. She could do that if it meant saving all those people.

'I agree. If you come with me to save the people of West Ravka, I'll stay by your side,' Alina promised.

'Fine. I'm leaving now. Meet me at the fold. I'll need your help if I'm to get across in time to stop the Apparat,' Kirigan said. 'I will be there in a few hours. Contact me when you get there or if you get into trouble.'

'Thank you Aleksander,' Alina said and meant it. How was the Darkling the most stable man in her life?

'Your welcome; however, it would have been better if you had told me sooner. This will cost both of us Alina, but I will save the Ravkans for you and take care of the Apparat,' Aleksander said, then he was gone.


Alina spent a little time planning, then set out to put everything in motion. It would be very risky, but it had to work. If she didn't act now, she might not make it to the fold in time, and it was better to move before the Apparat showed up.

Finishing off the food she had left last night, and putting the last bit of bread in her pocket, she opened her door. As promised, there was a man with a white headband standing outside of it.

"Oh good, you are here. The Darkling knows where we are! You need to tell the Apparat immediately!" Alina said. The man looked at her in shock, not seeming to know how to respond.

"You, wait… how do you know that?" the man finally asked. Alina smiled inside. The most believable lie was one that was mostly truth.

"He spoke to me! In my head. We have a connection through the amplifier. I didn't know, until now. He spoke to me, probably now that it's too late to do anything about him coming. You have to tell the Apparat!" Alina said, hoping the man would just run off and leave her.

"Yes, the Apparat must be told! Come with me," the man said, grabbing her hand and tugging her along. He let go once they reached the common room, but frequently glanced behind to make sure she was keeping up. Once they were outside the inn, a man spotted them and met them on the road.

"What is going on? I thought you were supposed to guarding Sankta Alina in her room?" the man said.

"Yes, but the Darkling knows our location and is on his way. We must tell the Apparat."

"Fine, I'll tell him. You take Sankta Alina back to her room. It is dangerous for her out here."

"But he'll want to hear how she found out!" the man next to Alina argued. She wondered if she could sneak away while they were arguing. The street was crowded, but not likely. One of them would notice and it would reveal her intentions.

"I can fetch him. Bring her back to her rooms, and I'll go get the Apparat. He can hear what happened from her and she will be safe."

"Where is Lexi? Wasn't he supposed to be guarding the inn with you?"

"He got reassigned an hour ago to help distribute weapons," he answered. The first man cursed.

"All right. Hurry up and bring the Apparat. We don't need the Darkling's minions finding us here unprotected," the man said, turning back to the inn and gesturing for Alina to follow him.

Alina took a deep breath and followed. She had thought of this possibility. She knew this was one of the ways it could play out. She silently followed the fanatic, biding her time. He entered the room with her, which she had counted on.

"Oh my head," Alina said, swaying next to her nightstand. The man grabbed her arm to steady her, and she reached her other hand for the table, as if to steady herself.

When her hand landed on the metal wash bowl, she closed her eyes and flared her power. The room lit up like the sun, and the fanatic yelped in pain at the light. She took away her light, then immediately swung the bowl at the fanatic, hitting him square in the head.

The man fell to the ground, and Alina stepped over him, paying him no mind. She had limited time, not knowing when the Apparat would show up. She locked the door from the inside, then shut it. Maybe that would buy her time if the man was still passed out when the Apparat got there.

She glanced around briefly as she left the inn, thankful to know that no one was currently watching her leave it. She followed the crowd down the streets for a while. If she headed east she would eventually reach the edge of the city, and the fold. Hopefully that route would not involve going through General Zlatan's encampment.

Alina stopped at one point where the road split to the north and south, and thanked her mapmaking years for giving her clues on where to go. Most of her maps had been of the countryside, but her training had included cities. There was a river flowing, and it would only flow from the well off areas of the city to the poor so she turned south east.

Finally, she reached the main road going through the city, and carefully made her way to the city's edge from there. A couple military men and women brushed past her, but none paid her much mind. She looked like just another poor peasant under her simple, brown cloak.

It took a lot less time then she thought it would, and she realized why as she spotted the fold looming in the near distance. She had assumed since General Zlatan was nearby that she must be in Os Kervo, the capital. The size of the city though, and the proximity to the fold, declared that she was in Novokribirsk.

There was a port to go into the fold from there, which was convenient as she wouldn't have to steal a horse to get there, but she wasn't as far away from the Apparat as she would have liked.

She found a place to hide within view of the fold, and closed her eyes. She needed to reach Aleksander to let me know she was there. It took a couple minutes, but she finally felt his presence.

'Aleksander, I'm at the port in Novokribirsk. I was here all along, not in Os Kervo like I thought.' Alina admitted.

'Good. I will be at the fold within the hour,' Aleksander said. Alina was surprised at his speed, but relieved. She did not want to be there for longer than necessary. Could the Apparat track her in the busy city? She didn't think so, but Mal could. Was Mal with the Apparat? No, he had run off, upset. She sat and worried for what felt like an eternity.

She wasn't foolish enough to stay in one spot, as everyone in the city was in constant motion. She leaned against a wall, exhausted, then bent to tie her shoe, and then pretended to drop something and search for it. It was hard to discreetly look around, without making eye contact with anyone.

'Alina, I'm here,' Aleksander said in her head. She sighed with relief.

'You know, for once I wish you were actually here,' Alina said sarcastically. 'Now what do we do? How are you getting through the fold?'

'If you want me there in time to stop the Apparat, you must be the one to get me through the fold,' the Darkling said, shocking Alina. She had assumed he had some plan, some way to make it work that didn't involve her!

'But I don't know how to do that! I have barely used my light since getting the amplifier! How do you know this will work!' she yelled at him.

'I don't. But it is the only way for me to get to you in time. I told you doing things your way would cost us. However, I do know you are strong enough to be able to create a tunnel of light,' he replied in an infuriating calm voice.

'Let me get this straight. You want me to create a tunnel from here to where you are, and hold it until you are safely thought to this side?' Alina asked in disbelief.

'Almost Alina. The tricky part will be starting it from my side, but I think if we work together, we can do it. Otherwise all of Novokribirsk, including the Apparat and General Zlatan will be aware of our activities.'

'What if I let go of the tunnel when you are in the middle of it? Wouldn't you die? How can you trust me that much?' Alina asked, confused.

'Alina, we have an agreement on what will happen. I will save the people of West Ravka for you and you will come with me. I know you. You wouldn't let thousands of people die to kill me,' he replied. Of course killing him would probably save more lives in the future, but he was right. She would do everything in her power to get him to West Ravka. And they were wasting time.

'What do I do?' she asked.

"I have the antler embedded in the flesh of my hand. I can use your power. I just need you to not fight me. To let me use your light to come to you,' Aleksander said. He could use her light now; he had control over her powers. She shuddered at the thought. She would break free of his control somehow, but for now she would let him use her light.

"Ok, use it. I won't fight you," Alina said. She braced herself, not knowing what to expect. Nothing could have prepared her for the feeling. If she had not been already on the ground, she would have been knocked over. It felt like someone grabbed ahold of her and yanked out her insides. It was not a pleasant feeling. She knew she had given him permission, but it felt somewhat violating as well.

Focusing on the Darkling, she felt his presence, and felt connected in a way she never had before. Her eyes closed, she started to be able to see him riding through the fold on a black stallion, the light providing a narrow tunnel for him to ride through.

'He's so fast,' Alina commented on his horse. It seemed trivial once the words were out of her mouth, but she'd never seen a horse move that fast.

'Its my personal horse. I saved the best to ride on the last leg of my journey, as I knew this would require speed,' Aleksander said offhandedly. His concentration mostly focused on what he was doing.

She didn't know how long she sat huddled in her cloak, leaning against a wall in an alley, but Aleksander had to be more than halfway through by now. She was completely tuned into him, watching his every breath, the way his fingers strained holding the reins, and his hair blew wildly behind him. He had never looked so handsome.

She was about to whisper encouragement to him, when there was another yanking of her insides again, this time her power rebounding back into her as she sat equally stunned. She tried to blink her eyes to make sense of the spinning world around her, but all she noticed before she blacked out was that there were people surrounding her.