The carriage was waiting for them as they exited the skiff. It was gold and silver and four white horses were pulling it along. The Shu Han guard opened the door for Kirigan to enter, followed by Alina and Ivan. The two Oprichniki accompanying were given a smaller carriage to ride in.
The ride was silent and awkward. Alina was sat next to Kirigan, fiddling with a loose piece of thread on the cuff of her kefta, her eyes down. She glanced up every once and a while and caught a stare from Ivan, his dull eyes giving her no satisfaction. She never liked him. He would always be on Kirigan's side. Alina was now regretting her decision to not bring down her light and let the Volcra attack. She happily watch Ivan be torn apart by the creatures and see Kirigan helpless without his right hand man.
Alina had no idea what was going to happen once they got to the emperor and how they would react to the new laws they had to abide by. Alina was almost certain there would be an argument and possibly even a death to make an example of what will happen if the Shu Han disobey the laws.
As they rode to the palace, Alina felt Kirigan's arm brushing hers, sending a tingle to her mark and she gripped her fingers around her hand to stop herself from feeling it, focusing on the other pain instead. It wasn't a painful feeling in her shoulder as much, more of an inviting buzz that itched and made her want to dive in more.
The carriage slowed down and came to a stop to which Alina was grateful for. She'd be able to get some space away from Kirigan and ignore her mark. The door opened and Ivan hopped out first. Kirigan made no move to exit the carriage and Alina assumed he wanted her to go first. She stood to follow Ivan but stopped abruptly when Kirigan reached for the door and slammed it shut, leaving the two of them in the carriage.
Alina looked at him confused and Kirigan gave her a silent command with his eyes, gesturing her to sit back down. Alina sunk in the seat opposite him, her eyes fixed on his dark ones, nerves filling inside her.
"You are to stay by my side when we enter the palace and you only speak when spoken to" he said sternly and Alina shot him a glare.
"Afraid I'll say something you don't like" she sneered. It wasn't like there was anything she could say to the Shu Han that would help her. Kirigan had the upper hand here. He had The Fold, his shadow army and his Grisha. The Shu Han were no match for him. She wasn't even sure if they would help her, seeing as she would be by his side.
"I'm not afraid of anything, I just don't want you to get hurt" he said and Alina was even more confused now.
"Why would they hurt me, you have the upper hand here" she said and Kirigan nodded his head to the side.
"Yes, I do but that doesn't mean they won't attempt anything. I already have measures in place if that happens but I don't want to take any risks" he said softly. Alina thought about it for a while. She was his sun summoner and with Kirigan entering their nation and demanding these new laws on them, it was possible the Shu Han would try to retaliate by hurting her. She was the key to expanding The Fold and without her, they would have a fighting chance.
"You only care because if I die, you can't use The Fold on them" she said and Kirigan furrowed his brows.
"I care because you are my soulmate. We are one Alina and if anything was the happen to you, I'd be devasted" he said quietly and Alina stayed silent. Was he lying or was the genuine? Her mark itched once again and she felt that pull inside her, telling her to get closer to him. Alina sighed and realised he was being genuine when he said he cared. Even though at times it made it look like he didn't and all he wanted was to use her, at this moment he didn't and he truly wanted to keep her safe.
"If you're scared of me getting hurt then why not leave me here?" she suggested and Kirigan chuckled softly.
"I may be worried but I'm not stupid" he said and with that he opened the door to the carriage, gesturing for Alina to step out and he followed.
The Shu Han palace was enormous, covered in gold and glitz. The walls were stone marble white and the floor a shiny black. A dark burgundy rug ran up to the throne at the end of the room and stopped at the gold throne sat on the steps. The emperor was sat on the throne, arms resting on the arms and feet crossed over at his ankles. He was dressed in a white and gold uniform with a sash over his shoulder, black leather boots and white trousers. He was old, around the age of fifty and had a dirty beard and thinning hair on the top.
Kirigan, Alina and Ivan were led by the palace guards, waking along the burgundy runner with the Oprichniki behind a few metres. Alina was beside Kirigan as he instructed her to be and as they neared the emperor, she felt slightly sick in her stomach and anxious. Kirigan walked proudly, his chin held high, his cloak wafting behind him. Alina had noticed Ivan carrying a leather wallet which most likely held the new laws.
Once they reached the end of the runner, the stopped and waited for the emperor to rise from his throne and join them. He offered a smile to Kirigan and stood up tall and straight.
"Moi Tsar" the emperor greeted and offered a small bow to him and Kirigan did the same, his own bow only half of what the emperor did. Alina was surprised at his cheerful greeting. She expected the emperor to be cold towards Kirigan but he seemed to be acting friendly. Perhaps it was to get on his side and maybe negotiate.
The emperor turned to Alina and have her a smile which was creepier than reassuring and gave her a short bow as well. Alina went to bow herself but Kirigan caught her wrist, halting her movements. He didn't want her bowing down to him. No Grisha would ever bow down to anyone anymore. They would bow down to them.
"Please, follow me" the emperor turned on his heel and walked to another room where a long table with chairs along the outside sat in a room. There were four palace guards inside, standing still as statues and as the emperor walked inside, the immediately gave a short bow and returned to their stance. The emperor took a seat on one of the chairs and one was pulled out for Kirigan opposite. Kirigan opened up the seat next to him and took Alina's hand in his, gesturing her to sit down and when she did, he pushed her in up to the table, her hands pressed on her lap. Kirigan took his seat beside her and Ivan took the other one. Alina felt his hand grab hers and give it a squeeze, his finger lightly stroking the back of her hand and the tingle came back again.
"I understand you are here to discuss Ravka" the emperor said gently and Kirigan smiled a little.
"Yes… as you know I have taken over the throne now. The old king has perished and no longer rules Ravka…I do" he smirked.
"I'm sure you have heard of what happened to Novokribrisk" Kirigan asked and the emperor nodded stiffly.
"I do indeed, I was surprised to see that happen if I'm honest" the emperor raised his brows and Kirigan gave a dull look. He didn't care about the emperor's opinion on Novokribrisk. He did what needed to be done and he didn't regret it.
"This is not about what you think… this is about what is happening now" Kirigan said sternly and the emperor sat back a little, shocked by the reaction.
"I understand you want to negotiate terms" the emperor placed his hands on the table and clasps his fingers together.
"There is no negotiating, the terms and laws have been finalised and you will obey them" Kirigan held out his hand as Ivan pulled out some documents from the leather wallet. Kirigan pushed them across the wooden table, sliding the papers with ease to the emperor who read them with a concerned look on his face. Alina felt her stomach roll, watching the conversation roll on between Kirigan and the emperor.
"You can't expect people to actually follow these" he argued but Kirigan kept a straight face
"But I do… the laws of Ravka and the other nations are clear. There is to be no more war and no more violence against Grisha or there will be consequences" Kirigan said darkly and the emperor swallowed hard.
"You heard what happened to Novokribrisk, I can easily do the same to Shu Han if you don't obey and that goes for your people. Let it be known that if anyone breaks these laws, they will be banished to The Fold or imprisoned for life. all testing on Grisha will be stopped immediately and anyone caught harming Grisha or using Grisha will be punished" Kirigan stated.
Alina was shocked. She hadn't expected to see the emperor so rattled. He genuinely seemed scared about the new laws of Ravka.
"Everyone will bow down to Ravka and me now. Grisha will no longer be subjected to your tests and they will no longer be prisoners or slaves. You will answer to us and only us".
"You won't be able to stop everyone, they'll take any chance they get at creating a war with you" the emperor spat angrily and Kirigan took a deep breath. Alina could see the look in his eyes and the twitch of his hand and she knew what was coming.
"Perhaps a demonstration then" he said calmly and suddenly the room turned dark. Shadows crept against the walls and the guards looked around nervously, hands reaching for their rifles as the darkness evaded them. Kirigan locked eye with one of the guards and a low rumbled sounded, signalling the birth of one of his shadow creatures. The shadows built up into a shadow solider, it's long arms hanging down and towered behind the guard.
The guard looked around in fear, eyes wide and body shaking and before it could comprehend, the shadow solider grabbed him and sunk it's claws in his arms, a scream erupting and the creature opened its mouth, sharp shadowy teeth protruding out and it sunk its mouth on the guards neck. the guard screamed and gasped for air, clawing at the shadow but his hands just cut through it, unable to grab the shadows himself.
With one final clench of the creatures mouth, the guard fell limp in its arms, instantly dying and as thrown to the ground. The guards stepped back abruptly, shock in their faces at what they had witnessed. The emperor was also shocked, mouth dropped open and gripping on to the chair.
Alina held back her hands to stop her from summoning her light. She badly wanted to have rescued the guard, certain that he didn't deserve such a death but she knew if she did, Kirigan would be furious. The shadows crept away and light was restored in the room. Alina felt her heart slamming against her chest, the whole situation overwhelming for her and she glanced over at Kirigan, seeing a smug smirk on his face.
"I'm sure I don't need to demonstrate again what will happen if you disobey. I will have my guards check that the laws are being obeyed and if they report to me that they are not, then Shu Han will be engulfed by The Fold" Kirigan said and the emperor turned back to face him, gulping hard.
He had no choice but to sign to the rules after seeing that demonstration. Alina watched anxiously as the emperor took the documents and sighed, giving Kirigan once last glance before picking up his feather pen in the bottle of ink and dropping it onto the paper. He scribbled a signature in cursive and handed back the documents.
Kirigan looked pleased and handed the documents to Ivan who tucked them away safely.
"I'll give you to tomorrow to get rid of any testing labs and prisons holding Grisha. If I find any Grisha harmed, those people will be punished" Kirigan stated and the emperor sighed heavily. It was silent in the room and Kirigan stood from the table, taking Alina's hand and pulling her up to leave. The emperor and guards were still in shock and the dead body of the guard was on the floor, his neck adorned by a huge black bite mark, black blood pouring out from the wound.
"I suggest you get started to freeing my Grisha, I'd hate to have to send my army out on the first day" Kirigan said and turned to leave, pulling Alina along with him.
Hey so I hope you like it, let me know in the reviews what you think and what will happen next.