𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐂𝐇𝐄𝐃, aleksander morozova 1

Chapter Thirty

GENYA CAME INTO THE BEDROOM THAT NEXT MORNING BEAMING, I WAS GETTING THE AMPLIFIER today. I didn't know when, but Genya had guessed it was because Aleksander wanted to keep it a surprise. I felt anxious to finally be able to have my amplifier, after months, and years of dreaming of the herd I was finally getting it.

I knew it was with good intentions, but Baghra didn't agree. Since I'd seen her, which was almost weeks ago has denied my presence. She didn't want to train me, and I knew exactly why. She feared that I was being taken over, that Aleksander was using me. At first, I considered it possible, but now every time I was with Aleksander, I knew she was wrong. He would never take advantage of my power for his gaining; I just couldn't see that being true and if it were it would have happened when we first met.

Aleksander was at the Grand Palace meeting with the kings' advisors for the morning, so I didn't have anywhere to be besides training with Boykin, so Genya readied me for the morning and lead me out into the training fields.

✧✦

I trained for about two hours before I was making my way back into my chambers. I didn't think about the amplifier, as much as I was excited about getting it, it hadn't occurred to me how exactly I was being gifted. I didn't know what the amplifier looked like, all I ever knew was that it was a piece of bone from a stag, a strong amplifier, Sankt Ilya stated in one of his texts I remember reading a few days ago. I'd done plenty of research on the animal since Aleksander left to hunt it.

Well technically, two stags, existed in his text. One that at which was meant for me, the other... well I didn't know who the second one belonged to. I'd tried to dig deeper into the history of the stags, but I didn't get much information about them, other than the fact that one was now claimed to be mine.

For a good portion of the afternoon, I stayed back in my chambers and practiced summoning light. It had slowly started to become easier and easier each day that I did, it made me wonder what Baghra would say if she saw the amount of progress that I'd made since I'd last seen her.

A part of me wondered if she would still look unimpressed and tell me I still had a long way to go, or maybe she would tell me I'm almost there, but I doubted that. Nothing good ever came from that woman's mouth when it came to me summoning.

I almost snickered at the thought and realized I was doing better without her here to jab me with the end of her cane and practically insult me or my childhood. I was so much more carefree with summoning both the light and the shadows. Learning new tricks on how I could demand it to form, new hand movements, and shape it to whatever I wanted.

But I knew it wasn't enough, it had to be stronger. My power had limits, and I'd figured them out the first time I'd ever summoned in front of Baghra. I still didn't know what that was, or where it had come from, but it was there. I just couldn't figure out how to manipulate it.

✦✧

It was later that night when Ivan came to escort me to Aleksander's chambers. I didn't know what to expect going in there and quite frankly it now started to sink in that after tonight, my power would be stronger than ever. But just how strong?

I was led through the threshold and into his war room, where maps were scattered out all over the table and pinpoints to connect dots throughout Fjerda. Different escorts through secretive vacant trails and passages, I'd heard of them, but I didn't know whether they existed. 

Aleksander was on the other side of the room, David who I met once was across from him talking to him in hushed whispers. David was a unique Grisha, smarter than anyone I'd met in this part of the country at least, but he was also quite awkward. But who was I to judge? Genya was practically head over heels for him, which shocked me more than ever, I'd expect her to go for someone charming like Aleksander or maybe even Fedyor.