Thank you all so much for the awesome reviews! They make me so happy every time I read them. This next chapter starts with a bit of a time skip, so both Alina and the Darkling have grown since we've last seen them. There's also a tiny twist coming up that is very important to the plot of this story, and I've also added a scene from the Darkling's point of view. I hope I wrote it well; it's hard to get into his thoughts without messing it up. Reviews are always welcome and wanted :D

Enough from me; enjoy the story! :)

Alina

And that was the way my days went for the next couple weeks. In the morning, I'd talk to Tamar and Tolya, run into a few Grisha in the hallway, and go to meet the Darkling. We walked around the lake, or into the woods, or down to the stables. (once, I convinced him to sneak into the basement of the Little Palace because I'd never seen down there)

While we walked, we talked about horses, hidden trails in the forest that no one knew about, horrid meetings with the old King, the best parties at the Grand Palace, and whether or not we should move him into a room with a window. It took him a while to start talking, of course. Every so often, he'd close up again, suggest we go back inside, or change the subject. It was hard to get him to show emotion. Sometimes, he'd catch himself; he'd look away to hide a smile or stop talking when he thought he'd said too much. The rare times when he laughed were the best.

We only talked about our powers one time. It was a lovely evening. The sun was beginning to set and the sky was stained a pale pink, spilling across the few clouds. The breeze was warm with the promise of summer and the leaves of the forest trees whispered against each other. I had finally convinced Tamar and Tolya to let the Darkling move to a different room; this one had a balcony that overlooked the lake and woods. We were standing on that balcony, leaning against the railing, when I mentioned my powers for the first time.

"I caught myself trying to summon yesterday," I said. The wind blew strands of snow-white hair across my face. I brushed it away. "I do it all the time now. Even though I know there's nothing there."

The Darkling was silent for a moment. "I do it too," he admitted. I stiffened, remembering that he had been power-hungry and ruthless. Then he continued. "It's like missing a part of yourself that was always there before. It's harder at night for me, when its dark and all you see are shadows." He glanced down at the lake beneath us, glittering blue-and-gold in the dying sunlight.

"I miss it when the sun rises and sets," I replied. I fingered the edge of my sleeve. "I miss how the light felt when I called it, the rush you get before it comes."

"I want it back," he confessed. I glanced at him sharply, but I couldn't tell if he meant that he wanted it for its power or the power it gave him over others. We both didn't speak for a long minute. Voices and laughter rose up from the Grisha walking by the lake beneath us. I listened to them, content to stand silently for a while. There was nothing more to say.

A foolish, meaningless question had been lingering at the back of my mind, and I decided to ask it. "You mentioned before that you danced at parties at the Grand Palace," I began. "Do you still know how?"

The corners of his mouth turned up. "Yes," he replied. Then he looked at me. "Do you want me to show you?"

What about Mal? a tiny voice in my mind asked. It almost felt like a betrayal of some sort. I felt immediately uneasy. But I nodded anyway. The Darkling straightened up and held one hand out to me. "Come here." Suddenly shy, I took his hand. His fingers were long and cool. "Put your other hand here." He lifted my other hand to his shoulder, causing me to step closer to him. He was taller than me but not quite as tall as I'd thought he'd be. Still holding one of my hands in the air, he slipped an arm lightly around my waist with a politeness that caught me off-guard. "Now, you just move like I do." He took a step and I mirrored it, following his movements until I had them memorized.

It started out choppy, awkward, and a little clumsy, but eventually, it became something else entirely. It was smooth, and flowing, and graceful. I began to understand why the Darkling liked to dance. The sky was turning to flame above us with the sunset, and with the soft wind and faint voices beneath us as music, we danced as though we'd been doing it all our lives. After a couple minutes, we stopped, but he still held me to him and I didn't move away.

"I can't believe all those girls were too scared to dance with you," I laughed, smiling up at him.

One side of his mouth curved into a half-smile. "Believe it or not, I wasn't the best person to be around back then," he said, playfulness flickering in his gray eyes.

"You're not like that anymore though," I pointed out. I was half-joking, no longer afraid to say such things to him.

He blinked, as though this had just occurred to him. "No. I'm not."

For some reason, my heart skipped a beat. We were standing very close together, his arm still wrapped around me, his hand still in mine. The summer breeze caught in his black hair and tugged at our clothes. Up close, I realized that there was more than one shade of gray in his eyes; there were pale, wintry grays and flecks the color of stormclouds. His skin was touched to gold from the setting sun. Part of me, the part that could think this without feeling too guilty about Mal, admitted that the Darkling was still undeniably handsome, even with the faint lines of the scars on the side of his face.

Feeling the slightest bit of daring, I turned our hands until our fingers laced together. His palm was soft on mine, his fingers featherlight on my skin. "Can I ask you something?" I asked. I felt like if I talked too loudly, the spell would break and he'd become guarded once more.

"Go ahead."

I took a breath. "During the war, when you put the collar on my neck, and when you said all those things about...us being the only ones... Did you ever have any feelings for me at all? Did you care about what you did to me?"

His eyes closed. I knew it had been a horrible question, even before I asked it. I opened my mouth to tell him he didn't have to answer, when he took a breath. "I didn't know what I felt for you," he murmured. "I knew what I wanted and what needed to be done. I didn't think past that. But things started to bother me. Stupid things that made no sense. I wanted to kill the tracker when you chose him. I caught myself thinking about you for no reason. Then you would say you hated me and it made me want to—" He broke off.

I wasn't sure what to say. This felt dangerous, like standing too close to the edge of a canyon, looking down. Too close, much too close. I slid my hand over his shoulder to the bare skin of his neck. "I think that means you did feel something," I whispered.

He started. "Don't. Alina..."

I inched forward until the toes of our shoes touched. "Is it so hard to believe that you might have feelings? That you actually care about me?"

"I was a monster. I didn't feel anything."

"Then what do you feel now?"

His gaze locked onto mine. There was nothing but an inch of space between us. His words echoed through me: I won't tolerate you pushing me like that again. I wouldn't push him this time. Whatever happened next was up to him. My breath caught when he leaned in ever so slightly.

The sound of a door swinging shut made us jump away from each other. Tamar appeared, her gaze flicking suspiciously from me to the Darkling and back again. "Alina, it's getting late," she said. "I wanted to tell you something before you went back to your room, so I came to find you."

The chilly afternoon air flooded over me, bringing me back to my senses. A small part of my mind wondered what would've happened if Tamar hadn't showed up. "Okay," I replied. "I'll walk back with you and you can tell me on the way there."

"All right," she agreed. She tossed a last, troubled glance at the Darkling and then she left us there on the balcony. The silence was uncomfortably heavy.

I snuck a glance at him. His hair was still ruffled from the wind, but he wouldn't look at me now. A shadow had crossed over his face, closing him off again. I couldn't think of what to say. I don't want the side of you that's the Darkling. I want Aleksander. "I guess I shouldn't keep Tamar waiting," I began tentatively.

"You're probably right," he agreed tonelessly. Any feeling he'd shown earlier was gone, buried somewhere deep inside. He gave me a small half-smile. "Good night, Alina."

"Good night," I managed. Disappointment tinged my words. Startled, I realized I had wanted him to say no, don't go. I want you to stay. I walked away from him with a hollow feeling in my chest.

Tamar was waiting out in the hallway when I stepped outside. Her face blank, she bobbed her head toward the Darkling's closed door. "What was that?" she asked. A veiled threat rolled beneath the surface of her question.

"Nothing," I answered firmly. "We were just talking." I pushed on, not letting her ask me what we'd been talking about. "What was it you wanted to tell me?"

"Oh, actually, I didn't need to tell you anything." She pointed at something over my shoulder, the hint of a smile touching her lips. "She wants to talk to you."

I turned around and came face-to-face with a smiling Grisha girl, with cascading hair the color of flame and her one good eyes shining like amber. "Miss me?" she asked, her voice like tinkling bells.

"Genya!" She pulled me into a hug and I hugged her back. It had been a while since I'd seen her. The other Grisha had been told by servants and guards to steer clear of the Little Palace during the Darkling's stay. But it appeared that the rules had bent enough to allow them to come back. When I glimpsed Genya's face, my happiness faltered a bit. The scars from the Darkling's nichevo'ya marred her otherwise-flawless skin and her eyepatch reminded me of the price she'd paid to help me in the war. And you're trying to save the one who did this to her, a voice in the back of my mind said.

"What're you doing here?" I asked.

"I had to come back for the party!" Genya replied brightly. "I wouldn't miss it for the world. Plus, I had to see you again. It's been way too long." She deflated then, and rested a hand on my shoulder. "I heard about Mal. I'm so sorry."

"It's okay," I said, swallowing a wave of grief. "I'm doing better now, honestly. Now, what party are you talking about?"

"You didn't hear? Oh my gosh..." She bounced up and down happily. "It's the first one in ages. The Queen suddenly decided that she has to thank the Grisha somehow for their work in the war. About time, if you ask me. Not that she ever notices anything we do, unless her life is threatened." She paused to snort in disgust. Genya had never gotten along well with the Queen. But she brightened soon enough. "Anyway, she's insisting that we hold a party right here in the Little Palace. Oh, it's going to be great. I love parties, all those beautiful dresses, and music, and dancing."

I suddenly agreed with her, thinking of the Darkling holding me close while we danced on the balcony. Would he come? Would he be allowed? Would he even want to? I decided to ignore these questions for now. "That's great, Genya, but why're you telling me this?"

"Because you have to come!" she exclaimed. "It's going to be wonderful, Alina. I know you'll love it. I can help you pick out your dress and get ready, if you want." Her good eye sparkled hopefully. She'd missed me and this was a chance for us to do something together again. Besides, she loved doing my makeup and fixing my hair.

"Oh, I don't know, Genya. I don't think I have time for something like that. When is it, anyway?"

"Tomorrow night! Oh, please come. I'll feel so guilty leaving you here while David and I are dancing."

"David's coming?" I asked. It was very hard to imagine the hardworking, no-nonsense Fabrikator dancing with Genya at a party.

Genya blew a strand of hair out of her face. "Well, I'm still trying to convince him," she confessed. "But I'm sure he'll come around eventually. But you and I can have some fun in the meantime. I saw this amazing dress the other day that would look so good on you."

"Um...I'm not sure..."

"If you don't come, I will sit outside your room all night and sing every annoying, catchy song I know."

My mouth dropped open in mock horror. "You wouldn't dare."

"Try me," she taunted, tossing her fiery hair over one shoulder.

I laughed. I didn't realize until that moment how much I'd missed Genya and my other friends from the war. I'd been so caught up in dealing with Tamar and Tolya and the Darkling that I hadn't had a chance to find out if everyone was doing okay. Maybe this party could be a chance to catch up with them. Or at least get dressed up with Genya and have a good time for one night. I grinned at her. "Okay, okay," I conceded. "I'll come."

"Great!" she beamed. She grabbed my arm to steer me down the hallway, practically skipping, she was so happy. "Now let's go get you a dress!"

The Darkling

I rested my elbows on the railing of the balcony and looked out over the lake. It gradually darkened as the sky overhead did the same, turning a deep, shadowed blue studded with the first stars. The conversations of the people beneath the palace grew fainter until they disappeared entirely. No one wanted to stay out too long in the cold night air, in the gathering darkness that muffled everything.

I welcomed it.

It slipped over me like a caress, falling as smoothly as ink does into water. This was what it had felt like to summon, languid and irresistible. Merzost felt even better, if you could bear the constricting pain that comes with it. I'd never felt anything like it and I would never feel it again. Had Alina ever felt that? The hunger for something more?

My eyes closed involuntarily. Alina. I'd thought she was a fool. Foolish for trying to save me, stubborn for arguing with me, and weak for wanting me. There were many things I'd hated about her: her stubbornness, her bravery, her infuriating resistance at every turn. What a waste of a Sun Summoner, I'd thought.

I no longer thought any of those things.

Truthfully, I had no idea what I felt for Alina, and it frustrated me. I was the Darkling. I had once ruled Ravka and planned countless battles, but I knew nothing about my feelings for a simple girl.

Well, not exactly nothing. I knew that when she laughed, everything around her seemed to light up. I knew that when she touched me, it sent tiny shocks down my skin. I knew that when I heard her clear, quiet voice shape my name, it caused a part of me to come undone. I knew all these things and more. But I didn't understand them. I wanted to know why a girl who had taken everything from me was trying so hard to save me. And why I was letting her.

I opened my eyes and gave a small sigh. How can you do this to me? I wanted to ask her. How can you make me want to be a better man? She took away my power and lost hers. We were both nothing. But she had been meant to be a being like me, the only one in the world whose powers would match my own. She understood me in a way no one else did because she'd known what it was to be alone and empty. I wasn't supposed to respond to that now. I was supposed to hate her for what she did to me. I should be planning some kind of revenge and use the feelings I knew she had for me. She would be crushed. I could easily break her heart.

But, inexplicably, I didn't want to.

The truth was this: I wanted Alina Starkov's heart. I wanted her to fall in love with me. I wanted to make her mine.

At that moment, I didn't know that she already owned me, my heart, my thoughts, everything.

I almost didn't know until it was too late.