HAVE YOU GUYS SEEN THE SEASON 2 S&B TRAILER?! I'm SO excited!
Ps. In this version, since the Darkling doesn't ever fully die, he still has his powers. Keep that in mind as you read. Love you all and enjoy part 2!
"Aleksander," I choked out.
The closer I examined his face, the more I saw the similarities. The sharp jawline. The posture. The facial expressions. It was definitely the Darkling, and I suppose there could still be some Grisha who are loyal to him, a Tailor clearly being one of them. It was unsettling to see him wearing the wrong face.
I tried to speak, but I was still frozen. He guided my hand to his shoulder and the other to his waist. This wasn't a vision or visitation. It was him. Alive and unharmed. "You should be dead," I spat out shakily. "I–I stabbed you. We burned your body."
"Did you?"
We glided across the floor in unison with the other pairs, dancing to the music.
"See, despite how much you try to hide it, you are secretly glad I'm not dead. You've felt empty these past months even at your tracker's side. He wasn't enough. I am the only one who can fill that void. There are no others like us."
I finally gained my composure and retorted, "I am not like you." My voice grew quieter. "At least not anymore. I'm not the Sun Summoner you were obsessed with half a year ago. She's gone."
We continued to glide across the ballroom like we were skating on ice. I kicked myself for thinking about how Aleksander is a good dancer; how he makes it such an effortless exchange, twirling me on time with the other guests spinning their partners in unison.
"We'll see," he purred seductively in my ear. There was a hidden door behind a velvety curtain on a far wall. Before I could question what he meant, he discretely yanked me out of the crowd, through the secret entrance, and plunged us into darkness. It made me remember how well he knew the Grand Palace, all its secrets and inconspicuous corners. It all happened so fast, I had no time to react. I gasped as he trapped my arms under his and put one gentle hand on the nape of my neck. I began to feel shadows intrude my body, infecting my mind, making me slowly but surely shut down. I stumbled, my efforts at escaping him becoming lulled. I fell against his chest and he held me up with one strong arm. "You can't just. . . I won't let you. . . take me—" I mumbled incoherently.
"Shhhhh," the Darkling soothed with pursed lips against the sensitive skin behind my ear. "I'm going to make you powerful again, then everything will be as it should be. Just let the shadows in. Let them put you to sleep."
I was too tired to feel the extent of my horror. My legs gave out, and his arms snaked under my knees and around my back, hoisting me up to his chest before I could fall. I tried to push him away and squirm out of his arms, but the flame of energy within me had already diminished. My vision went blurry, and my head lolled back. The last thing he said was, "Sleep well, Alina." His voice sounded so far away as I slipped into a forced sleep in the shadows.
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."
"What do you want with me?" I asked. "I'm powerless. You have no use for me now."
"Not for long."
Before I could question him, he made his way to the other side of the bedroom, his back turned to me. "See, you aren't the only one I borrowed tonight."
I couldn't seem to find air to breathe. What did he do? It became even harder to breathe when I watched strands of shadows slither from the other room like snakes, and yank something back into the bedroom. I felt nauseous. David was dragged in by the ropes of darkness, terror manifested in his wild eyes. He looked at me for some sort of solution. I had nothing to offer him. It got worse when the Darkling revealed a dagger, holding it loosely by David's neck. He flinched.
"David, here, is going to find a way to bring your power back." Aleksander looked venomously at David as he spoke to me. "He has a bright mind. If anyone will find a way, it's him," the Darkling said, making the underlying threat impossible to miss.
I got up from the bed and approached the Darkling in my silk robe, not fearing him or his knife. He wouldn't hurt me. He had no Healers on standby to attend to any serious injuries, and we both knew he wanted me alive.
One more step and I was standing close enough to see his hesitancy, silently wondering what I planned to do.
His confusion grew when I reached out and cupped his face with my hands. The grip on his knife was steady, but he lowered it from Davids's neck. "Please, Aleksander, don't do this."
"I don't have a choice."
"Yes, you d—"
"No!" he snapped. "I don't. If you lose your ability to summon, you will be like every other otkazat'sya and die as they all do. I can't. . ." He trailed off, licking his lips in irritation, but I knew what he was going to say.
He can't be alone.
He needed me to be the Sun Summoner again because otherwise, he would be alone like never before. He always had his mother, but when she died, all he had to cling onto was me. Now that was all gone, so he was holding onto every possible solution to make me like him again so much so that he was ignoring all logic. The question was what he would do to David when he gets told the inevitable, that his Sun Summoner is gone, and an otkazat'sya girl will forever stand in her place.
Aleksander flicked his hand, and the shadows holding David unraveled. He gulped and approached me, rubbing his hands together nervously.
"Alina?" he whispered. "What do I do?"
The Darkling crossed his arms and gave a stern look.
"Do as he says," I whispered back quietly. He opened his mouth to argue, but I added, "It will give me time to talk to him, and convince him to let you go."
He finally understood my plan and nodded.
If we could stall long enough, it could give me time to talk to him and reason as much as possible.
At the Grand Palace | earlier that night
"Nikolai!" Genya screamed down the hallway. Most of the guests had left the reception because it was getting late. Zoya and Nikolai had retired to their bedroom.
Genya banged on his bedroom door repetitively until Nikolai reluctantly opened it.
"Genya, it is my wedding night. I am a little busy." He held his unbuttoned shirt closed. He was flushed and out of breath.
"We have a problem."
He sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. "There is always a problem. Why can't we pretend like everyone in the world loves each other just for one night? I am sure whatever it is can wait."
Genya slapped Nikolai across the face hard. "David is missing—"
"Have you checked the library," Zoya called from inside the room. "I'm sure he is just alone somewhere with his nose in a book."
"No!" Genya steamed with rage. "He is missing. And so is Alina."
This caught his attention. Nikolai's features grow grim. "Are you sure?"
"Yes."
He exhales deeply and taps his fingers on the doorframe. "Alright. Give me a moment to at least tuck in my shirt before we start the wild goose chase."
As Genya left, Nikolai sighed in thought. There was only one person who would be bold enough to enter the Grand Palace on his wedding night and take Alina and David.
The Darkling was back. Nikolai knew it was bound to happen eventually, but he thought the Darkling would at least have the decency to not act on his wedding night.
Dᴀᴠɪᴅ sʟᴜɴᴋ away to the living area of the abandoned cabin to 'brainstorm ideas' while I wandered back to the bed and plopped down. I patted the spot next to me, inviting the Darkling to sit. He approached with narrow eyes, but sat anyway. He continued to analyze me, trying to see into my thoughts.
"I don't want my power back," I finally blurted out after a long moment of silence. Before he could make his big spiel about the importance of embracing power, I added, "But I understand why you want me to have it back."
"You were born to be the Sun Summoner."
"I was born to be Alina Starkov. Whether I am Grisha or otkazat'sya, it doesn't matter. It's who I am."
His eyes met mine, displaying something like longing. Maybe something even more profound. The Darkling looked like he wanted to say something, but he kept it inside. Instead, he looked down at my hand and held it in his. I let him. He held it in his lap and ran his thumb along my knuckles, lingering over my ring. A look of disgust and what almost seemed like jealousy flashed across his features. "It should be my ring on your finger, not his. He doesn't deserve you."
I raised my brow quizzically. "And you do?"
He chuckled and once again, he fiddled with the golden wedding band. "I suppose not. No one does. It is impossible to hold onto a human ray of sunshine, after all."
I smiled.
He looked down at me with hunger. His eyes fluttered as he leaned forward. Everything inside me was screaming for me to pull away, but I couldn't make myself. Sun Summoner or not, I was still drawn to him.
As his lips grazed mine, a loud bang came from the other room, causing me to jump. The Darkling looked more irritated than anything.
We both got up to see what it was. In the parlor, David had books spread across the table, mostly about Grisha theory that the Darkling must have attained for his research.
The noise had been David dropping a book on the ground. When we got there, he was scrambling to pick up the loose pages that had scattered across the floor.
"What is this?" Aleksander questioned.
"I just dropped my book. Everything is completely fine. Nothing is wrong." He gulped with wide eyes.
"Mhm," the Darkling hummed skeptically.
I observed him closely. He was pale and he wouldn't meet either of our gazes. Especially mine. That was when it hit me. He found something.
Oh, David, you didn't, I sighed internally. Of course, he did. That was exactly why the Darkling picked him. David's downfall was knowledge. If there was a way, he would find it, no matter how dangerous the result could be.
The Darkling was not taking kindly to David's attempt at lying. Shadows bled into the room on command and slithered closer to David. He backed away and hugged the book to his chest for comfort.
"Wait!" I cried, tugging the Darkling's sleeve. He glanced down at me, but the shadows kept advancing. "He doesn't know how to restore my power because there isn't a way. The Sun Summoner is gone!"
". . . Actually," David said hesitantly.
"David shut up," I interjected sharply.
I tried to take a step toward David, but the Darkling turned his shadows on me. They wrapped around my limbs like a boa constrictor, holding me against the wall, and one formed over my mouth, preventing me from yelling at David to keep quiet.
"What have you found David?"
I struggled against the shadows with a muffled cry.
Why was David doing this? He was going to get us all killed. My power is too dangerous to be in the hands of the Darkling. Three years of battles and casualties could not be in vain.
"To get her powers back, it involves you, Sir," David said quietly, still avoiding eye contact with me. "It requires the blood of someone she is connected to, an unbreakable bond, which fortunately is something you have with her because of the Stag. And blood of the person whose power was lost. I'll need a thorn. . ." David found a vase of long-dead roses in the dining room. He plucked a long thorn from the stem and squinted at the sharp point. "This will do just fine." His shoulders squared uncomfortably. "As for the blood. . . I am a bit squeamish when it comes to blood."
The Darkling rolled his eyes. "I'll do it."
He unsheaths his knife and approaches me calmly. I began anew, fighting against his shadows, flailing and struggling as much as I could.
"Relax, my Alina. Everything will be as it should be."
As David ground up some sort of concoction in a stone bowl, the Darkling brought the sharp blade up to my arm and nicked me without warning. I hissed in pain. He did the same to his palm, then let the mixture drop into David's bowl after he was done. It reacted, bubbling and sizzling with the added drops of blood. David nodded solemnly, taking the rose thorn and coating it with the composite.
The Darkling gestured to me. I wriggled relentlessly in the restraints to no avail.
"To. . . connect you two together and restore her summoning," David explained, "the thorn is for you, not her."
He nodded and said, "Do what you must."
I tried to tell at David to stop, but the shadow over my mouth grew tighter, preventing noise from escaping past my lips.
With shaky hands, David approached the Darkling. He was nervous. David pierced the thorn into his palm, breaking it off on the end, so it was unable to fall out of his hand. It absorbed the rest of the way in, the skin healing around it. I cringed at the sight. The Darkling didn't even flinch. He was so consumed with the idea of getting my power back that he would do anything.
As soon as David was done, the shadows restraining me evaporated along with the pools of shadow at the Darkling's feet. Aleksander's brow crinkled as he stared at what David had done. He put his hands up to summon, but nothing happened. "What?" he growled. He tried again. Nothing. "What have you done?"
David backed away as he explained. "In theory, it is possible to take away someone's power. Last time, you created a bond to steal her summoning for your own. It is possible to do the opposite as well, and transfer her lack of power to you, with the blood of the person who you stole power from, and from you who took in the power. It separates the first bond you shared and replaces it with this one."
Aleksander fumed with rage.
I let out a breath which I didn't know I was holding in. "David, you're a genius," I whispered. But now we had a problem. The Darkling may be powerless now, but he was furious and still stronger than both of us.
As I expected, he grabbed his blade and stalked toward David, teeth clenched. "No!" I cried, trying to get him to stop. He captured my wrist and wouldn't let go. As he drew the knife up, the door to the cabin burst open. I jumped.
"Sorry to crash your party," announced a familiar voice.
"Nikolai," I gasped. He entered with ten or so guards.
They surrounded the exit, leaving the Darkling with nowhere to go. Genya appeared at the entrance and ran to David, throwing her arms around him.
The Darkling snarled in utter frustration and pulled me to his chest, pressing the knife to my throat. I swallowed hard. Nikolai, I hope you know what you're doing.
Nikolai put his hands up and said, "I know you don't want to hurt her. Put the weapon down."
He clutched me tighter, but oddly, it was not in a threatening way, but an act of seeking comfort. He was scared. For the first time in centuries, he didn't have power to protect him. He was as vulnerable as if he was standing naked in a plaza. He was stripped of the only thing he has ever known. His shadows.
"Aleksander," I whispered quiet enough for only him to hear. "Let me go."
"Don't let me be alone. I can't be alone," he muttered.
"You won't be. Don't you see? You're finally free. You are not bound by eternity."
All was silent for a long time. Finally, he acknowledged my words. "Free?" he whispered. "Free means nothing if I can't have you with me in this so-called freedom."
"Then, I can come with you. We can go anywhere you'd like."
I felt his chest stop rising and falling, confusion taking over his features. "Why would you do that? Why would you leave everything behind to go with me?"
"Nikolai," I demanded. "Leave us."
"Alina, what are you doing?" he asked desperately. "We have him after years of fighting, we have him!"
"Leave. Us."
"And where will you go?"
I look up at Aleksander's glittering quartz eyes. "Wherever faded saints go when they want a new start." I smiled warmly. The Darkling, no, Aleksander returned my smile; the ice encasing his heart was slowly melting.
Nikolai puffed out a long breath. "I suppose there is nothing I can say that would change your mind on the matter?"
I shook my head.
He gave another sigh. "Well, you heard the retired saint," Nikolai announced to all the men surrounding us. "Move out."
He clapped his hands and they all filtered out of the abandoned cabin with confused and some angry looks. "Nikolai," Genya fretted. "Are you sure—"
"It is her choice. I trust she knows what she wants." He looked over at me and winked. "Goodbye, Alina."
"Goodbye, Nikolai."
As he left and the footsteps faded, Aleksander turned to me and asked again, "Why? Why would you abandon everything for me?"
"Because you are right," I admitted, holding up my left hand and taking off my ring. "If I felt something for Mal. . . It wasn't love." The past few months with Mal have been great, but I couldn't shake the feeling that he wasn't intended to be my happy ending. I knew Aleksander. I knew he loved power, but there was also a scared boy behind the wear of eternity. A boy who just wanted someone by his side who understood him. "I want you to be the end of my story. I have always wanted it to be you."
His icy eyes grew wide. He was so used to deception that he was trying to find it in my words. He wouldn't find any. I was being truthful. I wanted him.
He threaded his fingers through my hair and pulled me closer, his lips crashing against mine. He kissed me long and deep, neither of us wanting to break apart.
Our old connection was broken by David, but as he said, it was replaced with a new one. This one was stronger than before. I could feel a little bit of lingering anger for tricking him into losing his power, but it was mostly overridden by relief. He wasn't shackled to immortality any longer. He could finally be free.
I could also feel his desire for me, which he had long pushed down because we were enemies. Now we could both let go and admit our passion for each other. For the first time, everything felt right.
"So," Aleksander said. "Where do saints go to retire?"
"I hear Novyi Zem is good this time of year."
He smiled. "Wherever you go, I'll follow, my dear Alina." Aleksander leaned forward and kissed my forehead.
The end of this story did end in the Darkling's death—the man worn down by obligation and centuries of defeat. Now, the young mortal who once had a name was shining through, and he was beautiful. His eyes were bright and hopeful, unlike the darkened, jaded ones of the Darkling. Aleksander would need help remembering how to live a life without power, but together, we could do it. We could finally be happy.
And that was exactly what they did. The two faded saints found happiness in each other, holding one another together like glue. For the rest of their days, they were finally free.
Oᴜᴛsɪᴅᴇ, on the way back to the Grand Palace, Nikolai, Genya, and David rode together. Genya stared at Nikolai for the longest time, until finally, she said, "You let the Darkling go."
"Indeed, I did."
"Why?"
"The Darkling is no threat to us without his power. He is just a regular otkazat'sya like me. Well, almost. I have been in the form of a snarling beast, but those are just minor details. We all have David to thank."
Genya sighed and nodded, hugging David a bit tighter.
". . . Not really," David said hesitantly.
Nikolai gave him a dangerous look when he finally understood. "You found a way to restore her power, didn't you?"
He nodded. "About the same time I discovered how to take away the Darkling's."
Nikolai rubbed his chin and said, "Now, I know you are a man of knowledge, but I am asking you to forget this particular discovery."
"Why?"
"Because if you don't, I will bash your head in with those books of yours."
"Don't you want a Sun Summoner? She would be of great value to Ravka."
Nikolai shook his head at David. "Maybe, but then we would be no better than the Darkling. We would be enslaving her to power. They are both powerless and content. I intend to leave it that way."
The conversation and knowledge of being able to restore the Sun Summoner's power never left the carriage, and whether it was expected or unforeseen, everyone finally got the happy ending they deserved.
The End.
___________
Poor David. He always gets dragged into things when he just wants his sweet introvert time and Genya.
I hope you liked it. Let me know if you like these short stories, and I will definitely keep making them if you do.
Love you all, and have a great week! ❤️🌓