Mal scrubbed his hands in the small stream, the icy water freezing his hands so that he couldn't even feel himself rubbing them. Grisha blood stained his hands and as he scrubbed them under the water, the blood trickled away, leaving his skin. His clothes were covered in the stuff along with a splatter along his face.
He and Baghra had been running all night, getting as far away from the ambush as possible. Mal's legs were tired and his feet aching. They hadn't eaten since this morning and Mal was starting to feel the effects of fatigue and hunger on him. With the ambush and the suddenness of running off, he felt all his energy drained from his body. All we wanted to do now was rest but he had a feeling Baghra would want to continue on foot.
Mal had finally rinsed all the blood from his hands and he gathered a cup of water in his palms, splashing the freezing liquid onto his face which gave him a wakeup. He shuddered and shivered, the water trickling down his neck and he rubbed his face, ridding the blood splatter. Mal was in the second army so he was used to death but killing the Heartrender had an effect on him he never thought he'd feel.
If Alina knew he had killed a Grisha, she would be furious. These were her people now. But he was doing it for her own good. This was all for her. those Grisha were helping Kirigan to enslave her and she didn't have a clue. He felt no remorse for killing the guards as they too worked for the general. But what contemplated on his mind was the Baghra, a Grisha herself had attacked her own people. She would now be dubbed a traitor to her country. That and the fact she was trying to take down her own son. Mal wondered if anyone else knew Kirigan was her son.
Mal took a sip of the icy water, a strange bitter taste running through it but swallowed it anyway. The water hit his stomach like a kick to the gut and he coughed as some of it went down the wrong way. He took another quick sip before making his way to where Baghra was seated.
She too looked exhausted and was leaning on her cane, slumped on a rock she shivered underneath her cloak and met Mal's gaze as he came over.
"We should rest for the night… unless they are still following us?" Mal suggested. He wanted to rest and gain for energy for tomorrow but he knew there was no point arguing with Baghra if she thought Kirigan's team were still following them.
"They most probably have headed back to report and seek a healer, once he finds out he'll send a bigger team to look but tonight we rest, we've gotten as far as we can for tonight" she said and Mal sighed in relief, throwing his new rifle on the floor to take a seat.
"Get a fire started" Baghra ordered and Mal huffed.
"You're the one that's cold, you start it" he said back even though he was cold as well. He didn't see why he had to be the one to do all the hard work, he was tracking the stag. Baghra had done nothing but moan and complain. The blood from the Heartrender had soaked through his clothes and was sticky and wet. He desperately wanted a change of clothes but there was no way he would find it in the middle of the permafrost.
"Don't argue back boy just do it" she raised her voice and Mal groaned, stomping up.
"Look I'm getting tired of you bossing me about, we said we would work together on this but this whole time you've done nothing but whine about being cold" Mal glared.
"Oh really, who was it that just saved you from being murdered by Grisha" she said smugly and Mal opened his mouth to strike back but he shut it when he realised, she was right. She had saved him. He was no match against a Heartrender or any Grisha. if he was out here on his own, he would have been arrested and brought to Kirigan. Mal sighed and whipped round, storming to find some firewood.
The sooner we find the stag, the sooner I can get away from her
…
"Rise and shine" Genya pulled back the curtains, the sun shining through and Alina groaned, turning over in her plush bed and pulling the covers over her head, snuggling deeper into her pillow. She was wrapped up like a new born baby, all toasty and she could easily fall back asleep.
"Five more minutes" she mumbled under the covers.
"Come on, you've got a lesson with Botkin at nine" Genya said which made Alina pull back the covers and turn to look at her.
"Oh, I haven't had a lesson with him for ages" she said and Genya came and sat on the edge of the bed.
"Well after what happened yesterday, general Kirigan thought it would be best to just refresh your memory and then after that's he's taking you for your training" she said and Alina sat up in bed, leaning against the headboard. Her hair was a matted mess and she twiddled and few strands around her finger.
"With Manuel?" Alina said and Genya nodded. Alina assumed he had been taken back to his home town. She hoped he was alright. Perhaps he would be able to find help sooner before Alina could help him.
"I don't think he meant any harm; I think he was sick" Alina said and Genya gave a smile.
"You can't be too trusting Alina, there are people out there that feel threatened by you, for all you know he could have been a Fjerdan in disguise or a spy" Genya said.
Genya was right, Alina didn't know anything about Manuel. He didn't look to be a spy or a Fjerdan but like Genya said, you can't be too trusting.
"I guess your right… and it would be good to have a lesson with Botkin, I've spent so much time summoning I think I may have forgotten the basics" Alina said and Genya laughed softly.
"Exactly why you need a lesson, come on, let's get you ready" Genya ordered and moved to get her kit ready.
Training with the other Grisha reminded Alina of her first week at the little palace. She remembered picking Zoya to fight which was one of the biggest mistakes she had made when she first got there however the memory of punching her right in the cheek made her forget the mistake and she saw it as her opportunity to learn and grow.
Alina practiced her defence techniques, taking on one of the tidemakers. She successfully disarmed her and managed to throw and few hits and blows her way but not too hard so that she caused damaged. The tidemaker and Alina got on well by the end of the lesson and practiced a few more times, laughing at each other when one made a silly mistake but made sure that Botkin didn't see. He was a serious man and was not one to joke around.
From the corner of her eye, Alina saw Zoya staring at her all throughout her lesson. She ignored her at first but found she purposely was showing off in front of Alina. ever since Alina had thrown that punch to her, Zoya was showing her up, making out she was the better fighter. Granted she had more experience and had been training longer than Alina but they knew the same techniques and were taught by the same teacher. It didn't matter how many years' experience one had. To Alina, they were on the same wavelength but to Zoya, she was higher.
Of course Zoya was still jealous of Alina and anytime she got, she made sure to grab Alina's attention by overpowering her partner and beating them down. showing off like a snobby student.
The lesson ended and Alina wiped the sweat from her forehead. A whole morning of training had worn her out and she grabbed one of the towels on the side, wiping her face. the training circle cleared and few Grisha were left, including Alina and Zoya.
"Nice fighting there" Zoya said, a smug look on her face as she strolled over to Alina. hands behind her back and Alina turned to her, giving a stiff smile.
"Thanks, you too" Alina said back, making a civilised conversation. She didn't want to argue with Zoya and in fact Alina would much rather just want to get on with Zoya. Yes, she was an arrogant and egotistic squaller but Alina was always taught 'treat others how you would like to be treated'.
"Not that you would need to know I mean you seem to have all the guards at your disposal" Zoya spat back, disgust filling her words and Alina furrowed her brows.
"I don't" she said and Zoya turned her head to look over at Alina's guards who were standing awkwardly by the wall. They had brought her down for her lesson and stayed there the whole time, looking bored and twiddling their thumbs, kicking the dirt about on the floor.
"Looks to me like you do" Zoya said under her breath and Alina sighed, turning to face her fully now. She didn't want to have a petty argument with her. Alina was old enough to know when to just leave things and drop it. Clearly Zoya couldn't let this go.
"Look Zoya, what do you want?" Alina asked and Zoya scoffed.
"You think you have it all don't you, just because your this summoner you have it better than us" Zoya seethed and Alina narrowed her eyes.
"I don't think that at all" Alina exclaimed. The circle had cleared now and it was just the two of them.
"I've worked too damn hard to have some orphan freak from Karemzin show me up" Zoya spat and Alina glared, taking a sharp breath in. her fists clenched beside her and her shoulders tensed. Zoya saw the effect it had on her and smirked, pleased she had riled Alina up.
Alina wanted to punch her square in the face. in fact, she wanted to summon the brightest ball of light and send her all the way across the training circle like she did when she first got here. But instead, Alina pushed that urge down and took a relaxing breath, her shoulders dropping and her fists unclenching.
"I have to go" Alina said quietly, turning quickly to walk away from her. Alina didn't want to indulge in petty and stupid arguments over this. Kirigan was probably waiting for her.
"What, you going to go crying to mommy… oh wait, I forgot, you don't have one" Alina stopped suddenly in her tracks, her eyes widening and mouth turning into a scowl. That was the last straw. That had done it for her. How dare Zoya bring up her mother. She spun around, storming over to Zoya, fire blazing inside her and she reached out with her hand, yanking her hair in her hand and pulling her head to the side.
Zoya screamed, her hands wrapping up in Alina's to pull her off and Zoya glared with fury. She reached up and also wrapped her hand in Alina's locks. The squaller and summoner fought loudly in the circle, tugging at each other and stumbling back and forth as their hands were mangled in each other's hair.
Zoya pulled her hand back, slapping it against Alina's cheek, a sharp snap echoing in the circle and Alina hissed, yelling in pain. Her cheek stung from the impact and Alina pushed Zoya back so she stumbled backwards. Alina sent her foot into Zoya's leg, kicking her back but she didn't go far as their hands were still tangled in each other's hair. Both were boiling with rage and Zoya lifted her fist to throw a punch to Alina but a strong arm forced themselves between each other.
Kirigan stepped in between them, untangling the two woman fighting and pushed them apart. His hand pushed Alina away from Zoya, much like he did when Manuel had been on her, his arm protecting her from any blows Zoya wanted to throw.
"Alright that's enough" he said sternly, turning to glare at Zoya who huffed furiously. Her hair was a mess and she growled with anger.
"She started it, she just can't handle a little bit of the truth" Zoya said quietly but it only angered Alina more and she pushed forward to get to Zoya again but Kirigan held her back, even more angry than the two of them.
"I said enough" he yelled, addressing Zoya who sighed and kept quiet. Kirigan relaxed and dropped his arm from Alina. An awkward silence came over the three of them and Alina shot a hard look a Zoya. If she didn't hate her before, she defiantly did now. Her gaze was pulled away when Kirigan place a hand on her arm gently, turning her away from Zoya.
"Come on" he whispered quietly and placed his hand on the small of her back, pulling her along. Alina stormed off, leading the way and Zoya rolled her eyes, her mouth turning in disgust as she watched Kirigan walk off with Alina.
Hey so I hope you like it, please leave a review and let me know what you think