Hey, here's the next chapter! The Darkling starts to open up a little in this one, and I hope you like it! More coming soon! :)

Alina

"Do you want to explain to me what the hell that was?" Tamar demanded.

I shook my head, leaning against the door of my room back at the Little Palace, and rubbed my temples. "I don't know. I don't want to talk about it."

"We have to talk about it!" she argued. She was mad, but there was worry in her face too. "You aren't thinking about what's best for this country anymore, can't you see that?"

"Excuse me?" I asked incredulously. "I will always do what's best for my country. Haven't I proved that during the war?"

"Yeah, during the war," she replied. She rolled her eyes. "But now..." She trailed away with a sigh. "Alina, think about it. How is helping the Darkling the best thing you can do for Ravka?"

An uncomfortable feeling twisted in my stomach. I shrugged. "I never really thought about that."

"Exactly. You're not thinking with your head." She put one hand on my shoulder, sympathy in every movement. "You're thinking with your heart."

A little surge of frustration made me frown at her. "Mal has my heart," I growled. "He always will. Doing this for the Darkling has nothing to do with my feelings for him."

A sad smile curled her lips. "So, you're admitting you have feelings for him?" she asked quietly.

I opened my mouth then closed it again. Had I really said that? Did I mean it? I'd kissed the Darkling only because I wanted to convince him to stay. It had been in the heat of the moment, completely unplanned. I panicked. But it was over now, and I was fine. I loved Mal. Even if he was gone, I loved him. No one else. I lifted my chin. "It was a mistake. I love Mal. I'm doing this because I can't watch someone die when there's a chance they can be saved. All right?"

Tamar didn't seem convinced, but she stopped arguing. "All right. If you're sure." She gave me a long, hard look before she left the room.

I listened to the click of the door closing behind her and buried my face in my hands. Why had I done something so stupid? Kissing the Darkling in front of the King of Ravka was the biggest mistake I'd ever made. I could only imagine what Nikolai had been thinking at the time. Everyone probably thinks you're out of your mind, I thought. And you knows, maybe you are. I inhaled slowly, running my hands back through my hair, then let out a long breath. I stood up straight. I could do this. I could help the Darkling and prove to Tamar that this had nothing to do any lingering feelings for him. It was going to be hard to change someone like him, but I believed there was a way. I glanced over my shoulder at the door Tamar had just disappeared though and tried to muster my courage.

This time, there would be no guards, no Nikolai, and no distractions. Just me and the Darkling.

When I opened the door, the room was no longer dim with candlelight. Lamps had been lit and although their orange glow was comforting, the room would never be truly bright without a window. There was no sign of the Darkling. Swallowing, I closed the door behind me. My heart was skipping from beat to beat and I inwardly ordered it to slow down. He couldn't do anything to me anymore. He had no power. (this meant I also couldn't do anything to defend myself with my power either, but I decided to ignore that fact)

I took a hesitant step into the room. Saints, why was I so nervous? "Um...Aleksander?"

Just then, a door in the wall to my right opened and the Darkling stepped out. He was in the middle of pulling a shirt over his head, his hair damp and tousled from a shower. I caught a glimpse of smooth, defined muscle before he tugged his shirt down and saw me. An unreadable expression passed over his features. "Alina."

Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. I didn't even know where to start. I reminded myself that he was the prisoner, the weaker one. Not me. Unbidden, a question rose to my lips. "Why did you tell Nikolai you'd rather be executed than come back here with me?"

"I already told you," he stated. "I've lost everything. Killing me would've been doing me a favor."

"I understand if that's how you feel, but I thought that if you had some kind of chance to live, you'd take it," I said. I felt hollow inside. He still wanted to die.

"A chance to live?" he scoffed. He gestured at the walls around us. "You're giving me the chance to be a prisoner for the rest of my life. All because of your foolish hope that I can be saved."

"You don't have to be a prisoner," I snapped back. I was getting annoyed now. "I mean, if you can change..."

"What makes you think you can change me?" he demanded. He stood rigidly in icy anger. "Admit it, Alina. This isn't about me. It's about you and your own wants."

I glared at him. "Excuse me?"

One side of his mouth curved, as though he was holding back a mocking smile. "You're only getting angry because you know it's true."

"I'm trying to help you!"

"Only because helping me means you get to keep me."

I gaped at him, unable to form any kind of argument to that. An ugly flush burned my cheeks. He is the prisoner, I reminded myself again. I took one, firm step toward him. "You can't possibly think that I—"

I didn't make it any farther. In one motion, he'd closed the distance between us and forced me back into a wall. His hands were braced on either side of my head and all of my confidence drained away when he leaned in close, deadly serious. There was nothing but a mere sliver of air between us. "Listen to me," he said, an edge of steel to his voice. "The only reason I'm agreeing to go along with this is you." I froze as he went on. "And don't ask me why that is, because I don't understand it myself. But if you think I'm going to let you come in here every day and tell me what I should think, then you're wrong. You can send me to execution right now, because ordering me around like I'm beneath you is not going to get you anywhere." He shifted his weight, pressing in closer. I swore I could feel his body heat seeping into me; his dark, alluring scent was all I could smell and dizziness made my pulse race. "And as for that stunt you pulled in front of Nikolai," he growled, some unknown emotion in his words, "I won't tolerate you pushing me like that again."

I hardly trusted myself to breathe. I was wrong to think I had the upper hand in this situation. He was still stronger than me and still had his pride; I'd pushed it too far. "Aleksander," I started, but he cut me off.

"Don't say my name," he said, almost a plea. A shudder ran through him. "If this is going to work at all, you can't say my name."

It's not going to work at all then! Calling him Aleksander was the only thing that seemed to make him feel anything. I wanted to use that. I gathered a scrap of courage. "Why not?" I asked quietly.

"Because," he replied, and there it was, the tiniest shred of something; some unfamiliar emotion in him, "I don't trust myself when you do."

I lost my breath. Oh, Saints, I was right. He does have feelings for me.

Like he'd heard my thoughts, he abruptly pushed away from me. The space opened between us and it took all my willpower to stay standing. I hadn't anticipated any of this. I watched as he folded his arms over his chest, avoiding my gaze. The bleakness was falling over him again. The only way he would ever change was if he learned to feel again. To care about something. For a split second, I considered using his feelings for me, but I dismissed the idea as soon as it came. I hadn't been lying when I told Tamar I still loved Mal. And the way I reacted to the Darkling scared me; my heart still stuttered with the memory of his scent all around me. I had to find some other way. Something else he cared about.

I swallowed. "I'm going to leave now," I told him. I turned toward the door, and knew that my next question was going to make Tamar so mad if she found out about it. "Do...do you want to come with me? I was just going to walk around the Little Palace a little bit, before it got dark. And, I mean, you must not like it in here..."

His head jerked up and I could tell he hadn't expected this. Then he dipped his head. "Fine."

Please don't let Tamar find out, I prayed, as I shut the door behind us.

Outside the Little Palace, the sun was setting. It sank like a smoldering ember on the horizon, bathing everything in brilliant golden light. It was a beautiful evening with no clouds in the sky. The water of the lake gleamed, reflecting trees, and the little island, and the pastel sky.

The stables were one of the few places I'd never gone to during my training at the Little Palace so long ago. They stood alone at the edge of the forest, complete with a paddock for the horses raised there. The only ones staying there were the elegant black stallions that had once pulled the Darkling's coach. They were milling about the grass when we approached, flicking their long, ebony tails and lowering their heads to graze.

I didn't know why I'd brought the Darkling here that night. It just sort of happened. "Do they have names?" I asked him. I was resting my elbows on the fence. The horse closest to me had his muzzle buried in the long, soft grass.

The Darkling leaned against the fence and watched them. "No," he answered. "They were a gift from the King, back when I'd first led the Second Army. None of them had names and I never gave them any." He stopped as the biggest horse lifted its head, ears tilting toward the sound of his voice. "Well, except one."

I blinked. "Only one?" I asked. He nodded. I looked back at the horses again, their sleek raven fur and liquid eyes. "What'd you name him?"

A half-smile crossed over his face, then was gone. "Eclipse."

I nearly smiled too. During his time as leader of the Second Army, the Darkling's symbol had been the sun in eclipse. I scanned the horses again, looking for one that stood out in some way. "Which one is he?"

Without answering, the Darkling whistled once, a single clear note. One of the stallions raised his head. He shook out his glossy mane and nickered an answer. He trotted across the paddock, muscles rippling beneath his fur, and slowed to a graceful stop when he reached the fence. The Darkling stroked one hand down Eclipse's muzzle. Snorting, Eclipse bumped his nose against the Darkling's chest. I stared in wonder as the Darkling rubbed the horse's neck, murmuring soft words. He glanced at me. "What?"

"Nothing." But this wasn't what I'd expected. Who would've guessed the Darkling had a soft spot for a horse? "So you like horses?" I asked casually.

"I suppose," he answered noncommittally, guessing my thoughts. Then Eclipse nuzzled his shoulder and he added, "I loved to ride."

I took my arms off the fence and joined him next to Eclipse. I ran my hand through his silky mane. "Have you ever just ridden for fun?" I asked after a moment.

"Not that I can remember," the Darkling replied. "There wasn't much time for things like that."

"Maybe you should sometime. If I remember correctly, you hardly ever did anything for fun."

"I did do some things, you know. I wasn't constantly planning wars and serving the King."

"Oh, really?" I asked disbelievingly. Eclipse's coat was smooth under my fingers. "What kind of things?"

The Darkling nearly smiled again. "Sparred with oprichniki and other powerful Grisha. Walked by the lake at night. And everyone who lives at the Little Palace has gone to the banya at least once. I went to a few of the parties at the Grand Palace too." He scratched Eclipse behind the ears. "Those were my favorite," he added, half to himself, like he'd forgotten I was there.

I raised my eyebrows. "You liked going to parties at the Grand Palace? Like, ones where you have to dance?"

"Yeah. And don't look at me like that, I knew how to dance with a girl. Although not many people want to dance with you, when you're the Darkling."

I snorted, trying to imagine him slow-dancing with some wide-eyed, terrified girl. He shot me a dark look, which only made me laugh out loud. Eclipse's ears flicked and he stuck his head between us, as though asking what was so funny.