Summary: Orphaned and expendable, half-Shu Alina Starkov knows that her position within Ravka's First Army will always be one that is met with hostility. A chance encounter with a mysterious figure known as the Darkling leads to Alina learning that she is a Sun Summoner – a kind of Grisha that has only been seen in fairy tales. Alina joins the Darkling and others at the Little Palace to learn all that she can about what it means to be Grisha and how to harness her power. But, when attacks against her people become more and more horrific, Alina doesn't hesitate to remind her enemies that she will stop at nothing to protect those she holds dear.

* A complete rewrite of the Shadow and Bone Trilogy *

Rating: Mature

Pairing: Alina Starkov/Aleksander Morozova

Tags: Alternate Universe – Canon Divergence; Half-Shu Alina Starkov; Ravkan Politics; Ravkan Culture & Religion; Bigotry & Prejudice; First Army; Second Army; Grisha History; Mention of Grisha Persecution; The Ravkan War; The Ravkan Monarchy is Corrupt; World-Building; Angst; Plot-focused; POV Third Person Limited.

...

Prologue

A cool autumn breeze swept through the land. The gentle wind was strong enough to pull the last of the orange and red leaves off of their branches and into the grassy meadow.

In the middle of the meadow, hidden amongst the tall grass, Alina lay on her back grinning up at the dull, grey sky.

She dreamt about the sun again last night. She'd felt its warmth dancing across her skin all the way down her arms to the tips of her fingers. She'd dreamt about all the pretty birds, the bugs and flowers that the sun liked to keep safe and warm.

It'd been ages since she'd dreamt of the sun and all its warmth. Not since her mama and papa had died. Not since they left her behind and she was taken away.

Alina scrunched up her nose at the unwelcome reminder.

She didn't like it here at the orphanage. There wasn't anyone else here that was anything like her. Not even Mal, her only friend.

Here at the orphanage, Alina was all alone.

Sighing heavily at her wayward thoughts, Alina stared up at the grey clouds.

Snow would be coming soon. Winter was almost here.

...

...

"Sometimes I dream of the sun," Alina whispered to Mal in the dark as the two of them hid inside an old storage trunk in one of the unused rooms at the orphanage.

The two of them had been hiding since this morning after Alina had attempted to gouge out another boy's eye with her spoon. The boy, Andrei, had tried to push her face into her steaming bowl of porridge, telling her it would make her look 'less Shu'.

The fact that the housekeeper looked the other way when it'd happened, had Alina already counting down the days until she could leave.

One of Mal's knees jabbed into her ribs as he twisted around to face her in the darkness. "The sun?" he hissed. "Like your time in Shu Han and how it's always summer there?"

Alina elbowed Mal hard in his ribs. "No, you idiot. I lived in Dva Stolba before coming here, just like you. I've never been to Shu Han."

"You dream of the sun?"

Sighing, Alina nodded even though Mal couldn't see her. "I do sometimes, yeah. I dream of its warmth." She sniffed. "What about you? What d'you dream about?"

Mal was silent for a long while. So much so that Alina wasn't sure he wasn't going to answer her. "My parents, Alina. I dream of my parents from before they were killed."

...

...

"Took you two long enough!" The housekeeper scowled at Alina and Mal the moment they stepped into the reception area. "They've been waiting for ages."

Alina scowled right back at the cruel woman and tugged at the tight collar of her dress. Saints, she truly hated her. She hated this dress too. "Who has?"

Ana slapped her hand away from her collar and grabbed her chin to force her head back. "The Grisha. You're both to be tested. And if they find that you're one of them, you'll be out of my hair, mutt."

"What if they don't find anything, Miss Ana?" Mal's voice was already shaking, and they'd yet to meet the Grisha.

The housekeeper turned her attention to Mal, and straightened out his shirt. "Then you and the girl will have to start earning your keep, Mister Oretsev." Her lips were pursed as she peered down at both of them. "Having even more mouths to feed this winter will be a struggle for us all, now that Andrei has been drafted."

"Andrei's the size of a bear," Alina argued. "If anything there'll be more food to eat." She thought she heard a muffled chuckle from the adjoining room just as Ana smacked her hard on the back of the head.

...

...

"Any recurring dreams, Miss Starkov?" the young Grisha Healer asked as she scribbled down Alina's full name and age in a thick, old book.

Alina saw Mal tense from the other side of the room. He had just finished his own testing and was waiting for Alina to finish hers.

As Mal turned to face Alina, she noted that he had tears in his eyes. He wasn't Grisha, and he thought she would leave him alone at the orphanage.

Oh, Mal, Alina tried to communicate wordlessly with her only friend. You're such an idiot.

Alina smiled toothily at the Grisha Healer and answered her question. "Not that can I remember, Miss."

The Grisha man — a Heartrender, he'd told them all earlier — tapped his thumb three times on the scuffed tabletop.

Alina raised a challenging brow. The Heartrender might be able to know that she was lying. But, Alina was stubborn. If she wanted to stay with her only friend, she would.

She didn't care what other people thought.

The Healer hummed thoughtfully before holding out her hand for Alina to place hers into. "Your hand, Miss Starkov. We haven't got all day."

Rolling her eyes, Alina slipped her hand into the Grisha Healer's warm grasp.

Almost instantly she could feel a pull within herself. Something deep in her chest seemed to grow bigger and bigger.

Alina grabbed onto whatever it was and tried to push it back down. It was her gift and hers alone.

The Healer frowned in concentration. She roughly tugged a few more times at the gift inside of Alina, before abruptly letting go. Like a fishing line that had suddenly just snapped.

Alina felt her gift crumple in on itself. She stumbled back from the table in searing pain and did everything she could to keep the tears from her eyes while staying standing on her own two feet.