Bullets tore through the air all around them, but his Sun Summoner did not hesitate before throwing up a bright beacon of light, as good as a huge golden arrow pointing down at herself. The Darkling was about to throw himself in front of her as every single Shu rifle in the vicinity trained on her, despite the fact she was encased in her own golden shield; could it withstand that much damage? But before he could move, Alina sent out a blinding flash of light in front of her that earned a chorus of screams from the enemy as their retinas burned; all eyes were on her, after all. That was swiftly followed by a series of wide, sweeping Cuts that each severed multiple soldiers, as their side advanced under her shields.
Despite the fact she was in incredible danger - danger she really should not have been in in the first place - the Darkling could not help a smile spreading across his face as he joined her assault, tendrils of darkness breaking the necks of Shu soldiers, whilst the shadowy blade Cut men in half. More Shu fell at the hands of the Heartrenders and Inferni sweeping along beside them. Their enemies were used to killing Grisha, their technology improving to even the gap, their numbers superior. This would have been more evenly matched in normal circumstances. But they were not used to facing the Darkling nor the Sun Summoner, let alone both at once.
She was magnificent. Deadly, focused and utterly terrifying for those facing them. There would be no question of making her Vasily Lantsov's bride now, not when she could bring their enemies to their knees like this on the battlefield. Whilst Alina had not always been the most diligent student, she outshone all others when it came to combat, and he was more than impressed with how she handled herself in battle.
When they first left for the Shu border, almost a year ago now, the Darkling had attempted to keep her away from the truly dangerous fighting. He had only brought her to the front at all so the king would not marry her to his awful son. It was meant to be a punishment for disobeying him, not a death sentence, not to mention the reckless little fool would likely enjoy fighting for her life too much. However, there had been a reason he'd had to come here himself. As the skirmishes on the Shu Han border intensified, it became harder and harder to keep her away. Especially with the king sending weekly letters from Os Alta, demanding the Sun Summoner does something impressive.
He should not have been so worried. At only seventeen, Alina was formidable, both with her powers and in physical combat, which made him more comfortable knowing she could defend herself if she expended too much energy summoning. She insisted on carrying a gun and several knives. Her powers were invaluable; not only could she shield herself and use the Cut, she could also make up to six people invisible, send out blinding flashes of light, and create vivid illusions to disorientate the enemy.
There was something to be said for her mental determination, too. She had killed people in the past, even actively hunted them, and was used to fighting for her life. But battle was an entirely different experience to small skirmishes, a whole other scale of death and destruction. She got through it all with gritted teeth and that stony expression, eyes glinting in satisfaction, and did not hesitate to do what she had to do. As for nightmares, well he would not know either way; she had learned to silence those years ago, no longer waking up screaming whether she still experienced them or not.
For better or worse, Alina Starkova was building a reputation, and it was not as a holy sankta. More as the Darkling's protege (not his pet, she was delighted to tell him), a ruthless and formidable fighter, someone to be feared rather than the innocent young girl her cultists liked to depict her as. Perhaps next time he would promote her to corporal and give her a small section to command, though that was best left for her second campaign rather than her first.
This was not simply favouritism. As she had done back in Os Alta, the Darkling let Alina (well, ordered her to) sit in on his war councils, both with the Second Army and the First. She knew her place in these meetings and never spoke, but he was gratified to see that she was making notes and listening attentively. She had always seemed to have an interest in strategy, and the logistics of keeping an army moving, and always had something to say afterwards about how she would have dealt with the fools he met with (rather smart observations, too).
It made sense, now he thought of it, for she had always been practically minded, less taken with theory. When she actually wanted to apply herself, she had always succeeded. Her brand of politics would never be the honey-laced, flattering, persuasive type - more blunt, straightforward and slightly threatening - but she was clever and would always much rather be respected than loved. It might have been more beneficial to him to have a Sun Summoner who didn't mind appearing good-natured and kind - his perfect foil - but he could not imagine her any other way.
That didn't mean there weren't distractions, however. Though she clearly missed her troublesome group of friends, that hadn't stopped Alina finding more people to drink with. He wouldn't go so far as to call them her friends; amusements, maybe. There were plenty of young Grisha who were delighted to indulge the Sun Summoner, which was fine. He would rather she didn't insist on such antics, but if he forbade her from that, she would do something stupid like steal a First Army uniform to sneak out and drink with the common otkazat'sya soldiers.
"I forget how young she is when we're in battle," Ivan said from where they both stood a short way away from the large fire in the centre of the Grisha encampment, where many of the soldiers - almost all of the younger ones - were celebrating that day's victory. Someone had brought in an otkazat'sya violinist from the First Army camp, and Alina was dancing with some of the others, the fire glinting off her smile as she spun between partners. Everyone was delighted by the vivid golden animals she sent dancing around with them, and many of the Inferni and Tidemakers hastened to make creatures of their own.
"Are you forgetting all the times we've seen that girl stumble into her chambers in a drunken stupor, Vanya?" Fedyor snorted.
"I should hope we are past that," The Darkling said; there would be hell to pay if she drank to excess here, when they were fighting a war.
"She wouldn't dare in camp," The Heartrender grinned, with confidence he did not share.
"I'd keep an eye on those boys around her," Ivan ground out, nodding at some of the young Grisha who were following Alina's movements with far too much interest.
"Ah, she's seventeen. Let the girl live," Fedyor elbowed his partner in the side. "It can't do any harm. Besides, she shares a tent with the other Summoners, what's going to happen?"
As if people didn't find ways to sleep together in army camps. The Darking disagreed with Fedyor. He hoped those young Grisha had enough sense not to go near Alina like that. He had all but declared her to be his with every time he took her arm, every time he brushed her hair from her face, every time he helped her off her horse.
"I can do it myself," Alina's eyes had narrowed at him, confused, when he offered her a hand to dismount the grey stallion she rode when they first arrived at the camp.
She took his hand regardless though, grudgingly accepting the help because she knew he wouldn't like her showing him up, and he lifted her down with two hands on her waist. She was warm against his front even through her kefta, and she certainly noticed when his hands lingered a moment too long.
"Appears matter, Alina," He had murmured so only she could hear. "You know that,"
"The appearance of what?" She twisted to look up at him with a wicked smile, used to him being this close to her but not in front of so many people. "That you're just a normal old man at heart, lusting after a pretty sixteen year old?"
He hadn't been able to help the huff of laughter that escaped him at that, taking her arm in his and leading her away from the horses. The wretched brat was lucky he was in a good mood.
The Darkling thought of that moment as he watched her spin in the arms of a tall, handsome young Heartrender. It was an ugly feeling that grew in his chest as he saw her stumble against the boy's chest, laughing. Possessiveness, and something he did not care to give a name to.
"Keep an eye on her," He murmured to Ivan, before retiring back to his tent. There were still strategic maps he needed to look at before the next day.
"What is that?" The Darkling asked sharply when Alina entered his tent the next morning, a small but livid purple mark on her neck. It was mostly hidden, though she had obviously forgotten it was there when she brushed her long hair to the side out of habit. He would be having stern words with Ivan later; he had told his second to keep an eye on her, which meant preventing this sort of this from happening.
"Oh," She grimanced, clearly not having wanted him to see. "None of your business,"
"Alina," His tone was a warning.
"What, do you want me to tell you exactly what I did with a handsome Heartrender last night?" Hers was defiant, though she was uneasy, he could tell. "Like I said, it's none of your business,"
"Did you sleep with him?" He anticipated her protest and got there first. "Answer the question,"
"Yes," She scowled at him, the word not a guilty admittance but thrown at him like a weapon. She often did that. "Happy now? Would you like a minute-by-minute report? Why did you have to ask?"
He had not actually thought she would go that far. He was expecting her to indignantly protest that it was simply a kiss behind a tent, that she had returned to her own bed, that she would never dream of letting someone lay hands on her. Because some part of his mind had thought she was too proud for that. Apparently not. The Darkling struggled to restrain the fury building inside him at the idea of any man touching her, claiming her.
"If you are acting irresponsibly then it endangers this entire unit," His tone was icy cold, contrasting with the fire raging him, clawing at his chest.
"Irresponsibly?" She scoffed. "Tell that to half of your soldiers then, because I was far from the only one enjoying some company last night. Avoiding ending up dead in the mud - for today, at least - tends to make you want to enjoy life a little more,"
"You are far more valuable to the war effort than all of them put together. If you end up incapacitated by getting with child - "
"With child? How stupid do you think I am? I take a tonic - this is hardly my first time,"
His anger rose to an almost unbearable level, and the shadows in the room flared. "How many?" He asked through gritted teeth.
"What?"
"You heard me,"
"Again, none of this is any of your business!" She was truly angry now, eyes flashing as she marched around his desk. He stood up to meet her, towering over her, but that did not deter Alina in the slightest. It never had. "Why do you care? You get to control almost every other part of my life, but not this,"
"How many men have fucked you, Alina,"
She hit him in the chest for that crassly-worded question. She had trained in combat for eight years, was quite tall for a woman, and her arms were lean with muscle, not skinny; her blow had enough force to shove him back a step, and the audacity of that gesture alone made his blood boil.
"Who says I wasn't the one fucking them?" Alina bared her teeth in a vicious, rage-filled grin. "And the number is four, you controlling prick, now let it go!"
The Darkling caught her wrists before she could try and hit him again. She stared up at him, lips slightly parted as she breathed heavily, eyes flashing in fury. He could have kissed her there and then, but now, with tempers high, and the subject matter at hand, he held back.
"It is a serious crime in the Second Army to strike your superior,"
She laughed in his face. No one but her had done that in a long, long time, and whoever they were had ended up regretting it. "Is that all you have to say? If it's such a crime, then tie me to a post and have me flogged. Cut off the hand that struck you. Hang me from a makeshift gallows,"
He would not do any of those things, and she knew it. But her whole demeanour infuriated him, and before he knew what he was doing, one of his hands was at her throat, squeezing enough to be a warning. Alina's eyes widened, and she smacked his hand away. He let her. The urge to kiss her was even stronger now.
So he did. Kiss her, that was. Not for long, but it wasn't brief either. His hand moved to the back of her head. She may have kissed back. Yet the moment he pulled away and looked down at her, Alina punched him in the jaw. Not a slap, as was typical of an angry woman, but an actual punch that turned his entire upper body rather than just his face. The worst of it was, he had seen her hit harder than that. She had not used her full strength, though apparently this transgression deserved more than a slap. The liberties she took were... there were no words.
"Don't you dare," She was angry, no, furious, as he straightened up. "Don't you dare do that after the things you just said to me. Was that to prove a point? Make me feel even more of a whore than you think I already should?"
"That wasn't - " He caught himself before he could sound too pathetic, schooling his features into cold and unaffected. That wasn't my intention?
She barely heard him. "Just because I chose to sleep with four others does not mean I'll bend over for the first man who comes asking. I know you're a monster but I thought you had more respect for me than that. Equal, indeed," She scoffed. "If you have the nerve to try to punish me for 'striking my superior', I swear I will take my chances fighting you, with darkness and light,"
He made his lips curl into an unpleasant smile. "Come now, Alina, is the idea of letting me kiss you so repugnant?"
That actually seemed to make her pause; he'd half been expecting (waiting for?) another punch. She stood thinking, breathing heavily, knuckles already reddening. He could feel the bruise forming on his own jaw. She had an answer already, he knew; she was just weighing up what to tell him. "It wouldn't be, if it didn't feel like adding the final link to my own set of chains,"
How his mother's words from years ago, when Alina was a child of ten, came back to haunt him.
"You are mistaken," He said with careful cruelness. "The final link in your chains would me be writing to the king, to say that I accept the betrothal to Vasily for you. After all, I only have your best interests at heart,"
A moment of silence. Alina's eyes flashed dangerously. "You bastard,"
Before he could stop himself, he reached out to grab her wrist. But her cold, flat tone was in contrast to the way she heated her skin to a painful level, so much so that left his hands scorched livid red. She wrenched away from his grip, storming out in a swirl of black kefta and fury.
Her dramatic exit no doubt attracted the attention of every Grisha in the vicinity. It was a genuine struggle, in that moment, to not Cut the entire tent to pieces. And to not run after her; to kill her or kiss her, he was not sure.
I was listening to Venus in Furs by the Velvet Underground while writing this chapter. Look up the lyrics and I'm sure you'll get some of where this came from. The Darkling fully deserved the punch here, not that Alina reacted in the best way, even if she did get the wrong idea. Neither of them come of very well in this chapter but they need to get this clash and nastiness out the way before moving forward. Hope you enjoyed!
