I ᴡᴏᴋᴇ ᴜᴘ somewhere unfamiliar. Golden morning light shined through the curtains. At first, there was blissful forgetfulness, but my memories came flooding back in an instant. My dark blue dress was slung over a chair, and I was clad in a black silken robe. It smelled like him. I was still too groggy to think about how I had gotten in the robe.
I lay in a small bed beneath blankets upon blankets. Even with them, I was still shivering. In Os Alta, it's warm, I thought. Then, the idea clicked. We were somewhere up north by the permafrost. I doubted the Darkling would dare cross into Fjerda, so we were most likely in one of the bordering towns.
The cabin, made almost entirely of golden oak wood, was dusty and unloved as if no one had lived here for a long time. It was old but large in size with a living room next to the bedroom and a loft above it that I could see through the open door. 
I flinched when the Darkling came through that very door a second later. My fingers twitched. It was a habit from when I had my power to protect me. Now, even if I needed them, sunlight wouldn't come. He smirked. "Trying to escape already?" His appearance had faded back to normal, as had mine, though it still didn't make it less shocking to see him. I had watched his body burn. . . Or what I thought was his body. Seeing him was confusing. It was like a punch to the gut, but the sight of him also made my heart flutter. 
"Do you blame me?" I said hoarsely.
He approached the bed and sat next to me. His gaze flickered to my wedding band.
"I understand wanting to be free, but not your motive to run back to your tracker and keep house for him."
"We love each other; something you would never understand."
He just hummed in response, which made me more irritated. 
"If you loved him," he said, "you wouldn't have felt the need to lie about leaving."
I diverted my gaze from his colorless eyes and fiddled with my ring. "I didn't lie," I mumbled.
"Sure." He grinned. "You just didn't tell the truth. For the same reason you haven't told him about me. He doesn't understand you. Not like I do."
I shouldn't have left without telling Mal. Now he had no clue where I was. I had no clue where I was. But the worst part was that I wasn't saddened by the fact that Mal did not know my whereabouts. Part of me was relieved. That feeling scared me—the feeling that my heart was divided, not fully with Mal.
As if the Darkling could sense that, he grabbed my chin and yanked me closer. I fell forward, bracing my hands on his chest to catch myself. One of his arms swooped around me to keep me from retreating. The way he looked into my eyes, the longing and hunger in them, sent a chill up my spine. 
"What are you—"
"Give in, Alina."
I brought my left hand to my heart, displaying my wedding ring. "No," I said harshly. His eyes turned shadowy and cold. "Maybe you aren't loyal to anything but power in your life, but loyalty means something to me."
He barked with spiteful laughter. His grip on my jaw tightened. My eyes narrowed. "Your self-righteous, feigned loyalty didn't extend to me, then? One whisper from Baghra and off you go. If she had told you the same accusations about the tracker, would you have run away just as quickly?"
"I wouldn't believe her because Mal isn't a monster like you."
"I am no monster," he said in a dangerously low voice. "And you don't think that either, or you wouldn't be glad that I am alive." I shrunk back in shame. "Don't think I do not know about that too. I watched you closely all those long months. I watched you stoop over what you thought was my body and weep. You are just too stubborn to admit it." He let go of his fierce grip on my chin and stood abruptly. I rubbed my jaw. "But it's alright. You don't need to admit what is already common knowledge."