Hey guys! So happy you liked the story, even if the last chapter ended a bit cruel. Here it is though, another chapter for Alina and Aleksander. Hope you like this one :)

Light & Dark

On the deck of a sandskiff, not so long ago, a boy and a girl had thought their lives were ending. The boy had lain on his back, the deck slick with blood beneath him. The girl had bent over him, prepared to give her life to save his. As they waited for the volcra to strike, the boy whispered something to the girl, a secret shared between them that no one else knew. She knew then that she loved him. It had reached some lost, forgotten thing inside of her and awakened it. She had become the Sun Summoner.

That night, the crowd of terrified Grisha gathered outside the Little Palace, a blaze of fire reflecting in their eyes. They wept and watched as their home burned to the ground. The Tailor was shoving to the front of the mob, tears soaking her face as she realized that her best friend hadn't made it out. She closed her one remaining eye as the palace let out an ugly rumble. Part of the ceiling was about to cave in. The Inferni and Tidemakers were close, and would be able to save much of the Little Palace. But it was too late to save the people trapped inside.

On either side of a closed door, the girl and the boy who had once been the Darkling rested their foreheads against the smooth wood. The girl was slumping downward, losing consciousness. But before she did, she heard a whisper come to her, a secret shared in the flames. She whispered it back. It was only a few words, a secret she had heard and said before, but that had changed her every time. This time was no exception.

The Grisha screamed in horror as a huge section of the domed ceiling began to fold inward.

And then, suddenly, the windows of the palace exploded into color.

Light burst from the glass, blindingly white, the power of a thousand suns. It scorched the air even more than the fires did, intense and glimmering. The simmering whiteness was shot through with twisting tongues of black ink, living darkness that shifted and spun. It tumbled from the windows and curled into dark ribbons. The Little Palace was ablaze with light and dark, the two twisting around each other and becoming something incredible. The onlookers gasped and shrieked, exclaiming at what this could mean. The Tailor was speechless, a flutter of hope in her heart.

The extraordinary sunlight faded away as a massive boom thundered at the wall of the palace. Wood and stone splintered. A cloud of dust and debris billowed outward as a gaping slash of a hole was cut into the wall from the inside. The Grisha froze, peering through the spinning smoke. A blurry figure appeared, lopsided-looking because of the person held in his arms. The Tailor cried out and rushed forward as the boy dropped to his knees, holding the girl close. He had never left her side.

Aleksander

Alina's eyes were closed and her breaths came in rattling bursts. She suddenly felt so fragile in my arms, her shining white hair falling across her face. She was still beautiful and she was still mine. I refused to let her go, after being with her through so much.

"Oh my gosh! Alina!" Genya raced toward me, her kefta flapping wildly behind her. Tear tracks marked her face and there was a desperate glint in her eye when she saw her best friend limp and unconscious. She skidded to a halt a foot away. "What happened to her?"

"I found her like this," I rasped, my throat scorched by the smoke. I glanced down at the fallen angel curled against my chest. I won't let you go.

Genya knelt down in front of me, her eye flitting over Alina's immobile form. "Here," she said. "I know what to do." She reached her hands for Alina, ready to take her. Without meaning to, I shrank back, cradling Alina protectively against my chest. Genya touched my arm in a comforting gesture. "It's okay. I need to heal her, that's all. You can trust me, moi soverenyi." The title came with difficulty and I knew she'd seen the moment when my power had returned to me.

I studied her, this girl who was Alina's best friend, and who had been the only Grisha to accept me. She had stood up for me when the Heartrenders had attacked me. I hadn't understood the kind of strength Genya had. I glanced over her shoulder, but the other Grisha were hanging back, giving us a wide berth. I turned Alina's body toward Genya. "Aleksander," I said quietly. Her head jerked up. "I'm not your leader, Genya. Call me Aleksander."

She was stunned, her lips parted slightly. But she soon nodded and stretched her hands out over Alina's chest. Much like a Healer would, her fingers roved an inch over Alina's body, her brow furrowed in concentration. She was seeking out inner injuries, coaxing the toxic smoke out of her friend's lungs. I watched her with my heart in my throat. I had gotten Alina out of the palace, just as I said I would. She couldn't give up now. Genya gave a low growl of frustration and bent closer to Alina.

Alina's body tensed as Genya emptied her lungs, then gave a pitiful-sounding cough, weak and feeble. A little groan of pain came from her throat. Careful to avoid Genya's work, I bent down and rested my forehead against Alina's. "Please open your eyes," I whispered. "I'm right here. You'll be okay, Alina, you're stronger than this. Please, open your eyes and look at me."

As if she had heard me, Alina's eyelids fluttered once and then opened. I straightened up again as she looked first at Genya. Genya was gazing down at her, relief and happiness glowing in her honey-colored eye. Without a word, she smiled warmly. Alina drew a shaky breath. "Thank you, Genya," she croaked.

Genya shrugged with one shoulder, but her radiant smile widened. "That's what friends are for," she replied.

Alina looked at me then and devotion blossomed in her gaze. "Aleksander," she murmured. I couldn't help but sigh when her voice slid over me, forming my name. I blinked when she caught me by the back of my neck and dragged me into a kiss. The exclamations from the watching Grisha drifted into the background. I had forgotten about what came with our power; the connection between us opened like unfurling flower petals, flowing into my veins with an intoxicating, blissful rush. It was too much and not enough at the same time. Knowing that we had an audience, I bit down a gasp of pleasure and broke the kiss. Alina gazed up at me, cheeks and lips flushed. "You stayed with me," she said, in a questioning way.

I brushed a strand of hair from her cheek. "Of course I did," I murmured. "I said I would never leave you, even if I could have all of my power again. You still mean more to me than that. You always will."

Her eyes glistened. With a little sob, she buried her face in my chest, her arms around my neck. I held her close as the flames slowly died behind us, and knew that I had been right: she would make me a better man.

I had expected her to be my balance.

But I hadn't expected any of this, this beautiful thing that she had given me.