"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
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"Dima?"
At the sound of the princess's voice, the soldier at the very front of the battalion dismounted and immediately fell to his knees. All the others soon followed like a wave of people showing their reverence to a monarch or even a Saint.
The Grisha stared on in wonder as the people they thought as their attackers stood down almost instantly at the voice of one of their leaders.
However, Irina did not care about all that. She dismounted from her horse, ignoring the protests of her people as she ran straight for the man who had knelt before her first.
"Your Majest-" The man stood up, only to be crushed into a tight embrace as the princess reached him. Her arms wrapped around him immediately, not even giving him the chance to pull away, not that he wanted to.
"Dima!" Irina exclaimed, burying her head into her friend's chest, tears falling from her eyes at the familiarity and relief she felt from seeing him.
Dima returned her embrace, hugging her tightly as well, as one would a little sister. "Hello, princess Irina."
She wiped away her tears with her arm, smiling up at him with so much joy that it was a wonder how the sun did not turn away from her brightness. "It is so good to see you, my friend."
The Ravkan guard took off his helmet, a playful grin on his face before his eyes narrowed. "You have no idea what we have been through to get to you."
"I miss you too-I what?" Irina smiled, then she realized what he said, placing her hands on her hips and demanding an answer."What on earth is that supposed to mean?"
"Do you know how hard it was to find you, moya tsarevna?" Dima retorted, waving to all the men who were watching on with amused looks on their faces. "We might as well have scoured the whole Ravka for you."
From that whole statement, Irina only registered one thing, her eyes glazing over as her heart warmed. "You were looking for me?"
Dima answered, letting out an overdramatic sigh. "Of course! After you left the Grand Palace, these men came to me and had me lead them to you. The problem was, I didn't even know where you were."
Irina crashed into him once again, wrapping her arms around his armor, whispering with such gratitude. "Thank you."
Dima exhaled, now calm. Internally, he was thanking all the Saints that he had managed to find someone who could not be found by all the soldiers in Ravka. "You're welcome."
Aleksander spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion as he watched the two pull away from the embrace. "Dimitri."
"Lord Kirigan. Or are you General Kirigan now?" Dima chuckled, pulling the other man into a manly embrace, causing the Shadow Summoner to let out a sound of surprise.
