Alina's eyes fluttered open, her vision blurry and she blinked to clear the smoke clouding it. Her eyes felt heavy and tired, like she had been asleep for weeks. She groaned softly as her body started to come back to life, something hard beneath her. She was lying on a small cot, a ragged mattress with a few holes and a thin blanket.
Darkness evaded the room she was in and as her sight had now cleared, her eyes dashed around it, taking in her new setting. It was less of a room and more of a cell. Bars locked her inside and she was surrounded by three dark walls, each with a small lantern giving a glow. It was cold and quiet, the only sound being the creak of the cot as she lifted herself from it.
As she pushed herself up, a sharp pain struck her in her shoulder, a hiss escaping and she reached up gently to tap the area. as she touched it, that pull tugged on her, a calling for someone but nothing came. She pulled her hand back and she gasped for breath softly.
Memories flooded back to her. The Fold, Mal, dark shadow creatures, David. David… he was dead. Kirigan stabbed him, threw him to the ground like a sack of dirt and disregarded him like he was nothing. So much for protecting his own people, he gladly killed one.
Alina looked across the cell, her eyes meeting a small mirror hanging on the wall and she padded towards it, the reflecting in the mirror staring back at her. she looked exhausted. Bags under her eyes, her skin pale and drained of colour. Her hands creeped up with a shake and she pulled back the collar of her black kefta she wore, her long black hair falling over her collar bone. The stag's collar glared back at her and she grimaced at it. It was a constant reminder of powers imprisonment, a shackle that couldn't be unlocked.
As she pulled the kefta back, she revealed her shoulder and her mouth dropped open. A large black slash accompanied her shoulder, running over it and just on top her collar bone. The slash was open but not bleeding and only showed black underneath the skin. The shadow creature, part of Kirigan's army had done this to her. it was her eternal bond to him.
She was brought away from the mirror when a creak sounded outside the cell, the thud of boots clinking on the floor and she turned to the bars. Two Oprichniki stood guard with their backs to her, standing still and straight. She waited and she saw a dark shadow move forwards, followed by the tall statue of Kirigan as he stood at the cell door.
Alina stared through the bars, making no move to come closer and Kirigan gazed back. His expression wasn't what she expected. It was calm and soft, his mouth pressed together but not in a scowl.
"How are you feeling?" he asked and she blinked in surprise.
Alina swallowed a hard lump in her throat, clearing it as well and she shuffled from her spot at the back of the cell. She didn't want to dignify him with a response.
"Where's Mal" she asked quietly and saw his face tighten but he kept his gaze the same.
"He's here, in another cell, far away" he answered coldly. He wasn't lying and the answer made Alina tense.
She thought back to The Fold, her near escape from a live of slavery. She had almost made it across with David and Mal, hoping to start a new life where she wasn't someone's pet to be used. And then Kirigan found her. she remembered trying to manipulate him in to letting Mal go and then she may be able to overpower him enough to escape. But can you really manipulate the most powerful Grisha and liar in the country.
"You said you'd let him go" she sneered and he scoffed lightly, his mouth turning upwards in a slight smile.
"And you said you would come to me, but look how that turned out" he counteracted.
"Because I knew you'd be lying, you've been lying your whole life" she said.
"Because I've been trying to save us, if it wasn't for me Grisha would be burned at the stake or used for experimentation" he spoke quickly and Alina glared.
"And what about David, did he deserve to be stabbed to death and thrown away" she came closer to the bars this time, anger seething off her. He was much a traitor as David was in his eyes.
"He was a traitor; I will not allow that it my country" he said once again.
"Ravka is not yours, you took it by force, you don't deserve it" she said quietly and Kirigan took a deep breath.
"That's not what everyone else thinks, in fact they are more than happy to see me on that throne. I can bring them what no other king has ever brought… peace" he said calmly and Alina rolled her eyes, shaking her head at him.
"By killing everyone else" she said and Kirigan sighed.
"If they obey our laws then I won't have to" he said quietly.
"Laws?" she asked curiously.
"Yes, the law of Ravka and the other nations will change, they will answer to us and if they oppose there will be consequences" he said all too proudly.
Kirigan was putting a plan in motion to change the laws of how Grisha would be treated. They would be royalty compared to the other nations and if anyone was to break these laws, the threat of The Fold and the shadow army would be involved.
"They won't follow them, they'll rebel, they will try to take over and the war won't stop" Alina was now pleading, trying to make him see sense but what was the use. There was no turning his mind around.
"What's done is done Alina, this is the way it is now, Grisha and Ravka will be in charge and no one will be able to stop that" he said in his deadly calm voice.
"And what about me then, is this how it is for me" Kirigan furrowed his brows at her as if he was confused.
"Mal told me everything, your plan with the Volcra, you captured it to make those creatures and then use it on me, to make me your soulmate forever" she said, her voice just above a whisper. Kirigan stepped closer to the bars and leaned his head slightly forward, his body closer to Alina's. if it weren't for the bars, they would be touching.
"You can lie to me about anything but you can't lie to me about us. You admit that you feel something when we are together, we are what we need, we balance each other" he whispered and Alina stared up at him. She watched as his eyes flickered to her still exposed shoulder and stared at the black mark showing her bond to him.
"We are made for each other Alina and now our bond can never be broken" he pulled up the sleeve of his kefta and showed her his arm. just like her, he had a long black scar running up his arm. Alina gasped softly, staring at the scar and she felt that pull again. the need for him, the want for him. She tried to say in her head it was all one sided, that she didn't want this and he was just using her but the pull so too real for her to dismiss it.
Kirigan reached through the bar, taking her hand gently in his, his thumb rubbing the back of her palm. Alina's head fell forwards, staring down at the sweet gesture. And for that split second, Alina had forgot everything he had done, every evil, manipulative thing he has done since she met him. She believed for that tiny moment that this is how it should be, the two of them together as equals. She felt the pull grow and she found herself reaching for his other hand, taking it through the bars. She pressed herself against the bars and looked up with her doll eyes. Kirigan shuffled as close as he could and he pressed his head further in, his lips inching closer to hers.
But before he could kiss her, Alina pulled away, letting his hands go and a look of hurt fell on his face. He wanted to grab her and pull her back but he didn't. Instead, he waited for her to speak.
Mal… he is what I need
"I want you to let Mal go" she said and Kirigan huffed.
"He is nothing but trouble, he holds you back Alina can't you understand that" his voice rose and Alina glared.
"I understand perfectly, Mal is the one person who has been there no matter what, if it wasn't for you keeping his letters from me, I would have known sooner how he felt" she spat and Kirigan held his head high, chin pointing out.
"He is waste of your space and time; he won't change what we have".
"You mean what you forced me to have, you lied about that making me your soulmate" Kirigan narrowed his eyes at her.
"Not telling you and lying isn't the same thing, I was waiting for the right time but your tracker decided to bust out and complicate things" he gritted.
"So, you would have told me, tell me honestly" Alina demanded.
"Yes" he whispered and Alina watched him for a few seconds. He was a good liar, a master at it but that single yes, he spoke just now was the truth. He had planned to make her his soulmate that night, tell her that he wanted them to be binded forever but Mal escaping had put a spanner in the works.
Alina was shocked and as she stared into his dark eyes, her body relaxed. She reached back through the bars and took his hands, surprising him. It was her turn to rub her thumbs on his hands and it passed over the stag's antler engulfed on the top, the skin bumping and rigid.
"Release Mal, let him go, you don't need him so why are you keeping him, you said he won't change what we have so why keep him" she pleaded softly. If she was going to be his soulmate, she didn't want Mal to be here. Constantly knowing he was just around the corner would only make her want to fight this more. Kirigan gazed at Alina, a deep breath leaving him and he glanced at the hands. It was his turn to surprise her when he pulled away but didn't move from the bars.
"I think you need some time alone, to think about this, think about us. Mal is only going to be a distraction for you and you need to let him go" he whispered and Alina furrowed her brows. And with that, Kirigan stepped back, taking one last glance at her before turning and leaving her alone. Alina stared out the bars, watching as he left her alone in her dark cage and when he was gone, an ache set alight in her chest, her mark tingling.
Hey so I hope you like it, what do you think will happen next, let me know in the reviews.