My Name Is Adela Kirigan (A Shadow and Bone Season 1 Fanfiction)

Chapter 19: Everything At Once

'Thank all Saints I got here in time.' Alina laughed, turning towards the mirror to see the messy hairdo better. 

'I think they tried their best, actually,' she remarked. 

'That's a terrifying thought.' She waved her hand, undoing the messy hairdo, making Alina's black hair spill down her back. Alina sat and Genya handed her a mirror. 'Still nothing from Mal,' the redhead remarked. 

'You don't have to update me anymore. I'm sure you've got enough on your plate.' 

'You have no idea,' Genya said, pulling a dried petal from her kit and using the colour to spread over Alina's lips. She rubbed her lips together, and Genya nodded approvingly. 'The Queen, Her Royal Bossiness, Tatiana, has absolutely no regard for my need to sleep. She woke before dawn and demanded I touch up her face before the rest of her team arrived.' 

'I can accidentally blind her in the demonstration, if you like,' Alina commented drily. Genya chuckled, pulling out a blue beetle. 'What's that for?' 

'Relax your eyebrows.' Alina closed her eyes, and Genya used the colour of the beetle to highlight her eyes in a lovely shade of cerulean blue. 'I don't mind actually. It tends to shift the King's gaze in her direction. At least until nightfall.' She stared again at Alina's eyes and reached forward, erasing the blue colour. She next pulled out a silver ring with diamond studs in it. 

'Let's just say the Fold is gone,' Alina proposed. 'What then? Ravka will be revived, the Second Army won't be as necessary. Grisha will have new opportunities.' She paused, thinking. 'I've always wanted to travel the world. See the True Sea. Visit the library at the University of Ketterdam. Mal always talked about retiring to a farm. I never really liked farms. But perhaps a dacha in Balakirev.'

'Assuming Saints get to retire.' 

'Right. Yeah, there's that.' Then, Genya slid the silver ring onto her finger. 'Oh,' she breathed. 

'I know the general insisted on black for the performance,' Genya said, 'but perhaps after, you could return to blue.' 

'I think I'm going to stick with the black, moving forward. Genya dropped Alina's hand with the ring on it, almost stung by the way she had said that. 

'I like seeing you like this,' Genya said, brushing back a lock of Alina's hair. 'But... I want you to be careful.' 

'Of what?' 

'Powerful men.' Just then there was a knock on the door. 'Come in,' Genya called. The door did open shortly after, and a young man about Genya's height stepped in. 

'Hi,' he said shyly. 

'Uh... this is David Kostyk,' Genya said, blushing slightly. 'Expert resident Fabrikator. He created the blue light we use to cross the Fold.' David stepped forward. 

'Yeah, the general had me make these for your demonstration this evening.' He passed a glove to her, seemingly made of small golden chains interlinked. 

'They're lovely,' Genya offered. 

'What do they do?' Alina asked. 

'They'll make it easier to split one beam into two. Your show of power will determine who remains our ally. They'll help enhance your performance.' Alina slipped the glove on and split one ball into two. 

'Ingenious,' Genya commented. Alina slipped the glove off, then doing the exact same thing with her bare hand. 

'I think I'll be all right on my own,' Alina replied. He made no move to express how rejected he felt by her refusal to wear the glove, if he did feel rejection, he did not show it. 

'Of course.' He left the room, and was about to leave, but then Genya called out, 

'See you at the fete!' He turned, and said nothing, only made eye contact with her. Then he shut the door, leaving the two alone again. 

'What?' Genya asked upon seeing Alina's smirking face. 

'You never compliment anyone to their face,' Alina remarked. 'You like him.' 

'Not a word.' Alina chuckled. 

' "Ingenious",' Alina mocked. Genya threw some powder at her, causing her to squeal. 

Kaz walked the halls, still in his military uniform, as per his disguise for the winter fete. 

'Here's the plan. I'll walk the route our target will take from the ballroom to the dinner event and look for an ambush point.' 

He paused in an alcove, catching his breath, and leaned down to grasp his injured knee. It was more painful now than when he had ever begun to walk with his cane. 

'You should have one of us with you,' Inej said. 

'I'll manage. You can't blow your cover this early, and Jesper needs to plot our escape route. There is a gap in the schedule between events, so they may place her in a room here, away from the crowd, somewhere safe. This is where they'd feel she is most protected and therefore, the best place to grab her. We just need to find a way in.' 

Kaz stopped at the wall and felt for an access point. As he was pushing on the wall, attempting to get a response, an opening of some kind, footsteps sounded. He darted to the other side of the room and hid behind a pillar, watching a woman in a kefta, with two guards, walk forward. The woman easily opened the door, and Kaz watched the three walk in, eyes locking on one of the girls inside the hidden room. 

'That's where we grab her.'