The Phoenix Summoner (ON HOLD)

47

"You look awful." Anya's head snapped behind her and she let out a gasp. Genya stood in front of the entrance of the tent with a kind smile on her face. Anya and Alina stand up from their chairs and rush towards Genya with large smiles adorning their faces. After everything that's happen the last few hours, they were relieved to see a friendly face.

"The Little Palace hasn't been the same without you. Either of you." Genya says pulling away from the girls to examine them.

"Oh, Genya." Alina sighs at her friend. "Please help us. We need to get word to the King about Kirigan."

"The King's been taken ill. His affliction is quite serious. The Apparat's been ruling in his stead." Anya furrowed her eyes in disgust.

"What about the Queen?" Anya asks.

"Confined to her quarters. No one wants her exposed to the King's contagion."

"Right." Anya sighs. Her gaze falls to the kefta adorning Genya. It was red instead of her usual white.

"You were made Corporalnik?" Anya's eyebrows furrow.

"Hmm." Genya hums, looking down at her kefta. "I never did like this color red. It clashes with my hair." She says as she sets her coat down on the chair. Anya looks down at the floor in deep thought. She slowly looks back up meeting Genya's gaze as she turns back to face her.

"You said Kirigan gifted you to the Queen when you were 11. Does that mean..." Anya trails off giving Alina enough time to figure out her thought.

"You were a spy for him." Alina whispers.

"I tried to warn you." Genya states, fidgeting with the collar of her kefta.

"'Be careful of powerful men'"?" Alina hissed.

"You should have included devious women." Anya spat, stepping away from Genya.

"I trusted you. What else have you been lying to us about? Lying to me! You are like a sister to me, how could you do this?" Anya cries her face getting closer to Genya's.

"My letters to Mal, you never sent them. And let me guess, you never sent any letter Anya sent as a child either."

"I had no choice." Genya pleads.

"Except that you did." Anya snapped, her eyes flaring with rage. "And you chose to betray our friendship and my trust."

"I was a whipping girl for the Queen and a Grisha without a color. I..." Genya trails off regaining her composure.

"Choosing friendship over survival was not a luxury I could afford."

"I know what it means to be an outsider struggling to survive and so does Alina. And it's no excuse." Anya spat.

"I used to struggle. I used to try... to fight him off. That never worked in my favor. I waited for years for my chance of revenge. To finally bring him a fight that he cannot...That he cannot fend off. I never expected it to come to this. Here. Wouldn't you have done the same if you were me?"

"The King deserves every bit of your vengeance. But Kirigan does not deserve your loyalty." Anya says running her hands down Genya's arms and shaking her slightly as she was telling her to wake up and see how mad everything truly was.

"He is just as responsible for your position."

"I am his soldier." Genya states after a second of silence. She knew it was wrong to betray the one person who cared for, but she needed this. She needed the closure she had been denied so long.

"We all are. We are his pawns. Nothing more." Alina states sadly. Genya storms out of the tent leaving the two heartbroken girls.

~

Morning came and Anya found herself lying on her back staring at the ceiling. Alina had been taken to a separate tent on Aleksander's orders. He thought that by having them together they would come up with a plan to escape. As soon as dawn broke, Anya sat up from her cot and walked over to the mirror in front of her. She turned her back to the mirror and looked over her shoulder to examine the wings on her back.

Her skin was no longer red and irritated from when Aleksander engraved it into her skin. Instead the outline of the wings was a grey tint. To anyone else it looked like it could be a beautiful tattoo, but Anya knew better to think that. She knew it was his way to mark her as his property. His prize. She had been so engrossed in examining the mark, she didn't even notice a figure clad in dark clothing slip through the flap of the tent.

"Never took you as the tattoo type." Anya froze. Her heart began to feel like it would crawl out of her chest and her face began to grow hot. She whipped around coming face to face with a disguised Kaz. Her breath caught in her throat and she slowly took small steps towards him, him doing the same.

"Saints." She says striding to him. She wraps his arms around his neck while he wraps his around his torso.

"I'm so sorry." She whimpers, pulling away. She cups his face and assesses every inch of his face.

"What are you doing here?" She asks, her voice cracking. She examines every inch of his body, running her hands down his.

"It's not safe." She says meeting his undying gaze. "If he catches you, he'll kill you. What were you thinking?"

"I couldn't just leave you behind." Everything dissolved around her at his words, and in that moment everything was forgotten. Aleksander, the fold. Everything, and it was just them and nothing and no one else.

"Why?" She asks as she runs her thumb on his cheek bone. He reaches up and gently caresses her cheek with his leather clad hand.

"I think you know why." Anya's face grows hot and she feels her knees go weak. She feels tears start to sting her eyes. She did, and she felt the same. For so long she tried to push these feelings away, but seeing Kaz stand in front of her with a small hesitant smile on his face was enough for her to understand her true feelings. He didn't care she was broken for he was just as.

With a determined and tearful look on her face, Anya pulled his face closer and kissed him firmly on the lips. Kaz's eyes widen in surprise before he felt himself give in. He kisses her back more fervently and pulls her body closer to him. They fit perfectly like a puzzle, molding each other. Both their hearts bounced back in forth in their chest furiously. There was no need for spoken words, for this action alone spoke enough. What they had was real and far beyond anything else they've experienced.

Kaz is the first to pull away. He rests his forehead against Anya, staring into her deep brown eyes. Anya lets out a breathy laugh causing him to do the same. He knew he couldn't stay, but he also knew this wouldn't be the last time he saw her.

"I'm getting you out of here. Both of you." A large grin forms on her face and she kisses him one last time, savoring every moment.

"Promise me you'll come back." Kaz grins rubbing her cheek lovingly.

"Always." And with that he snuck out of the tent leaving a still buzzing Anya.

~

IT FINALLY HAPPENED. AFTER 47 CHAPTERS IT FINALLY HAPPENED!!