Little Shadow//Shadow & Bone

eight

We head towards the Ravkan border with Fjerda. Were in the permafrost. If Alina is with Mal, I know he's hiding their tracks. I hope he can keep Alina hidden. That they can find the stag before we do.

"Sir, she is close by," David states.

So much for hoping.

It doesn't take long at all to find Alina and Mal. They have the stag. It's real. Not just some Grisha myth. I can see the dome of light coming from Alina as she touches it.

Someone hits the stag with an arrow. Mal loads an arrow into his own bow. Zoya steps up and blows the arrow away.

"That animal's not meant for you," Zoya tells him.

Mal steps up to Zoya and Ivan shoots an arrow into his back.

"Mal!" Alina shouts as she runs towards him.

Alina uses her light to push everyone back. She kneels beside Mal as she pulls the arrow out from Mal. He screams in pain.

"Alina!" I shout as I run towards her. "Are you alright?"

Before she can answer Aleksander steps out of the darkness. I can see him getting ready to perform the Cut. Alina throws herself between him and the stag. She uses her light to create a shield.

I kneel next to Mal. "Don't move," I tell him. I place my hand on his back where the wound is. "Stay still and I can help."

"You can't save them, Alina," Aleksander warns. "You may have the power of light, but not the power to heal. I know the tracker is important to you. Give me the Stag, and I'll have my Healer save him."

"No," Mal tells her.

"Stay still," I tell Mal. "You've lost too much blood."

Mal holds a knife out to Alina. "You have to kill it." Alina shakes her head. "You have to."

Alina drops the shield and runs towards Mal. "No! No! No! No!"

A guard and Zoya grab Mal. Alina is grabbed by Ivan.

"No! You said you wouldn't hurt him!" Alina shouts.

Aleksander uses the Cut to put an end to the stag. "Bring me its antlers."

"Yes, sir," David says as he rushes towards the Stag.

"You murderer!" Alina shouts. "You stupid fool!"

"And the otkazat'sya, sir?" Feliks, a Heartrender, asks.

"I am a man of my word," Aleksander states. "Heal him. He was only protecting Miss Starkov."

With the antlers from the stag, Aleksander is ready to create the amplifier. David holds up a piece of the antlers.

"What are you doing?" Alina asks.

"I'm going to place this around your neck," David explains.

"I meant why? I didn't kill the Stag. It's not my amplifier," Alina insists. "He killed it. He gets its power."

"You asked for this yourself, when we met," Aleksander states. "To transfer your gift to someone who could use it."

"I can use it now," Alina argues.

"You know so little," Aleksander tells her. "You'll learn."

"I know things," Alina insists. "General Kirigan, is it? Or is Aleksander a fake name, too?

"Careful with your words, Alina," Aleksander warns. "Consider whose life is in your hands."

"You said you'd let him go," Alina reminds him.