As Vladim moved to turn the locks, I heard Genya whisper. "You definitely owe me a kiss after all this, Don't think I won't hold you to it."
I laughed lightly. "We'll see."
"There is no seeing, you will, if I have to be the one to do it then so be...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
FALL TURNED INTO WINTER, AND COLD WINDS stripped the branches in the palace gardens bare. Our table was laden with fresh fruits and flowers furnished from the Grisha hothouses when they made their weather. But even juicy plums and purple grapes did little to improve my appetite over the past couple of weeks.
Somehow I'd thought that my talk with the darkling weeks ago, might have boosted my confidence. And it did, just not as long as I would have liked it too. I'd wanted to believe him, and standing by the lakeshore, I almost had again. But still, nothing has changed, I still couldn't summon without clutching to Baghra, and even now Zoya was constantly finding the right things to hurt me. I tried to ignore it at first, but each day, passing her alone, or sometimes when I was with Genya or Alina she'd always give me the hell she'd enjoyed.
It was quite miserable, mainly because I didn't know what to do. Sometimes I even considered what the Darkling had offered, If you ever need to talk, you know where to find me.
I did think about it, but I never had the guts to actually do it. Wimp, you've talked to him three times now, face to face, what would make this time any different?
Training with Baghra became insufferable, and I'd only gotten more bruised by each hit of her cane, "You're not even trying anymore!" She yelled, "what are you waiting for girl? Do you even realize what's at stake for this country? Do you not care?"
Alina had started showing up, less and less to training. She'd disappear for hours, sometimes when I would wait up in her bedroom to return and she never would till late in the nights. I didn't know where she was running off to but every time she'd come back and make up an excuse to where.
But I never questioned it, wherever she was, was her business and I respected that.
❂♕
After picking at my breakfast the next morning and training with Boktin. I made my familiar walk to Baghra's cottage. The gravel paths, cleared of snow by Inferni, sparkling beneath the weak winter sun. I savored every step of my walk down path to the lakeside, the air was thick and cold, and I wasn't looking forward to the stuffy, windowless confines of Baghra's hut. But when I climbed the steps to the door, I heard raised voices.
I hesitated before opening the door and descended the steps. The voices had quieted abruptly as I made my presence known. The Darkling was standing by Baghra's tile oven, his face furious.
"Sorry," I said, and began to back away, But Baghra just snapped, "no, you come here." I bowed my head and walked over to the two, "How are you, Freya?" The darkling asked.
