𝐠𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭
Her past haunted her. Her future loomed like darkness. She wasn't prepared for all of this. After all, she was just Estelle, the Star Summoner.
(Siege and Storm/Ruin and Rising)(Nikolai Lantsov x oc)(First book in the Sa...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Abomination
"How long will it take us to reach Ketterdam?"
Watching the scene unfold in the Spinning Wheel as the bustle to get ready for lift-off made Estelle uneasy. The Darkling would be there soon, and there was nothing she could do to stop it.
Nikolai answered Alina. They were much less blurry than earlier. "Two to three days, depending on the weather and our squallers. We'll go north, then over the True Sea. It's safer than traveling over Ravka."
"What's it like?"
"Ketterdam?" Nikolai's eyes lit up just as Estelle saw something coming towards them. "It's–"
He never got the chance to finish his sentence. A shadow blurred across Estelle's vision and Nikolai disappeared over the terrace.
Chaos ensued. Nichevo'ya crashed through windows and one grabbed Alina's shoulders. It flapped its unnatural wings, beginning to lift her into the air. Mal lept at her and grabbed her by the waist. Alina twisted in its grasp, sending an arc of golden light that exploded the nichevo'ya.
They toppled into a heap on the floor again, blood already staining Alina's clothes.
Alina was on her feet in seconds, looking around in horror. The air was filled with darting black shapes. "Get the others out," she yelled to Tamar.
"We can't leave you–"
"I won't lose them too!"
"Go!" Mal bellowed at her. He shouldered his rifle, taking shots at the nichevo'ya while Alina lashed out with the Cut. Even Alina seemed to realize it wouldn't do much good.
Then the Darkling appeared, his swarm of monsters covering him and keeping him afloat in the air. Mal and Alina looked up in disbelief.
"Saints," Mal swore. "How did he find us?"
When Alina caught sight of a man held up by two nichevo'ya in a red kefta, she paled. The man was terrified, his lips moving in a silent prayer.
"Shall I spare him, Alina?" the Darkling asked.
"Leave him alone!" she yelled.
"He betrayed you to the first oprichnik he could find. I wonder, will you offer him mercy or justice?"
"I don't want him harmed!" Estelle could see Alina's mind whirring, thinking. Whoever this man was, she didn't expect him to betray her.
Which meant the Darkling didn't need to use Estelle at all to find them. He already knew. He was just fact checking with her.
