He held my gaze for several seconds then he continued walking, looking ahead as if he hadn't seen me. My eyes followed him and I took in my surroundings as he moved. His black boots were slightly muffled as they tapped along the rocky ground.

Several Grisha lined the walls of the large room. I couldn't make out their faces as he passed them. It was like I was submerged under dim water, unable to clearly see anything but him. I reluctantly followed behind him like an injured dog. What other choice did I have?

We turned left into a long, rounded hallway. Torches lined the uneven wall, casting deep shadows on the ground. He didn't acknowledge me as he opened a large wooden door and went through. I quickly slipped through before he could close the door. It took me a moment to realize we were in his bedroom.

Black tapestries and cloth adorned the walls and furniture. His symbol, the sun in eclipse, was visible everywhere I looked. I was taken aback by the extent of the decoration. It was as if this was his permanent home, not just a place to sleep until he and his army attacked Os Alta once more. How long was he planning on waiting it out? Months? Years? Lifetimes?

I watched him as he rolled up papers that were strewn about his room. He stored them in a dark wooden cabinet, adjacent to his large bed. Remembering everything he had done to me and the people I cared for, it was still so jarring to be reminded that he was just a man. A man with the need for comfort and a pillow to rest his head on at night.

As I watched him move as if I wasn't there, wondering if my presence was fading in my weakened state. What if he saw me as a ghost? A transparent, hollowed out, pale ghost. What if he believed I was a hallucination, like I thought of him so many months ago?

"I don't have long," I whispered.

He didn't acknowledge my words as he moved about the blurry room. I didn't understand what game he was playing. I walked towards him, scrutinizing his indifferent expression. Was I wrong to believe, if only a little, that he cared for me?

"Do you only wish to speak to me when it's on your terms?" I asked. My words had no fire. They were limp and weak, barely escaping my mouth. "I don't understand what's happening to me."

The Darkling finally turned and looked at me. It wasn't the same calculated expression that I had grown used to. No, it was something different, something I had never seen on him before. It almost felt like a look of sympathy. Or pity.

"You let your fear take control of you," he said simply. "And it's eating you alive."

"It's not my fear, but your power. It's killing me," I managed. "You're killing me."

"You don't fear me, Alina?"

Seeing the Darkling standing before me, radiant and certain like when I saw him for the first time—it made me ill. Why was he so powerful and I so weak?

"I wouldn't have sought out your help if I did."

He shrugged. "People become desperate when they're close to death. There's something about it that shakes the soul, causing them to act without thought."

I looked down at the floor. My bare feet contrasted against the blurry stone.

"Are you going to let me die?" I asked. "After all that you've done, your lifetimes of waiting, you're going to let me wither away like this?"

He remained silent for a few minutes, assessing me. Every interaction between us was a game, a power struggle of light versus dark.

"I can't help you from here, Alina," he finally said.

"Well then tell me what to do so I can help myself."

He ran his fingers through his midnight black hair, looking slightly frustrated.

"It's not that simple," he said. "The darkness inside of you won't simply evaporate by sheer power of will. It has to be transferred to something else or it will consume you."

"Transferred? Like creating nichevo'ya?"

"Not quite."

He stepped closer to me. I could faintly make out the remnant of the scar that had nearly taken his eye. But overall, his visible scars had faded. It frightened me that I still considered him beautiful after everything he had done.

"I gave you this darkness," he said as he reached out his hand and glided it along my shoulder. I flinched as he hovered over the nichevo'ya scar. "I can take it away, if you let me."

His words sent an alarm through me. I took an instinctual step back from him, suddenly realizing that this had been his plan all along. He knew that this would happen. He knew that I wouldn't leave the darkness alone and it would destroy me as a result. But why was I surprised?

"You—you planned this," I stammered. "You wanted this to happen so I would have to rely on you."

"It didn't have to be like this, Alina," He shook his head. "All of this could have been avoided had you stayed by my side."

I stared into his eyes, searching for some sign of humanity. Some sign that I was wrong. I found only an empty boy, hungry for something larger than himself.

"I'd rather die," I spat.

The Darkling smiled coldly at me. "I won't let that happen. Like I've said before, I've been waiting a long time for you, and I'm not going to let your pride—your stubbornness—ruin anything else."

I wanted to scream at him, to hurt him, to use the Cut and permanently remove him from my life, but I didn't move. I didn't say a word. I simply stared at him and thought of my exhausted body at Keramzin. Did he know where I was?

"I am not your enemy, Alina. But I'm not willing to wait an eternity for you to finally understand that."

He turned his back to me and walked towards his bed. With graceful movements, he sat on the edge and slowly removed his boots. He glanced up at me, his eyebrows slightly raised.

"I'll see you soon," was all I heard before I pulled myself back to my room at Keramzin. I stared in the darkness, wondering how much time had passed as all of the candles had burned out.

I cursed myself as I laid there. I cursed myself for succumbing to the temptation of power—power that I knew I had no reason to use. The Darkling's power was infecting me like a slow poison.

Before long, he will find me and he will take from me as I took from him.

Author's Note: Wow, I'm sorry it has been so long since I've updated. I know this is a short chapter but I'm doing a quick post so you guys can have this until I post the rest. (Which will hopefully be later this week.) Thanks for your patience! Please review and let me know what you guys think!