All Things Must End

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟐 • 𝔸𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕟 𝕆𝕟𝕖, 𝔸𝕥𝕥𝕒𝕔𝕜 𝕠𝕟 𝔸𝕝𝕝

        Another sigh from him makes my anger rise exponentially. He walks toward me as one would approach a hostile species: cautious, slow, and expecting trouble.

"I met with David Kostyk to discuss solutions to this ailment, but his ideas are too far out of reach."

I lose my patience altogether. I know he is hiding something crucial.

"What. Was. It." My jaw is clamped shut as stiff as steel.

He finally says, "I would be required to get rid of my nichevo'ya. My shadow monsters."

        I'm left speechless for a moment, but just for a moment. Then the words, "Are you insane?" slip out of my mouth before I can think better of them.

"At the brink of war, with a country looking to harm you, I can't eliminate our one guaranteed defense. We used to have the Fold as a threat before you destroyed it. Now, our enemies think we are weak without it, and they're right. Without it, we are. But with the nichvo'ya, I can protect you and Amelia. I can create as many as we need—"

        "You're saying," I cut in, "That David's unreasonable solution to cure you is getting rid of those wretched creatures."

"That isn't his solution," Aleksander says. "Just the first step. I can't use merzost while undergoing one of his cures. I cannot afford to banish our one threat against Shu Han. They will take the first opportunity given to hurt us. Hurt you." He takes my hands tenderly, holding them against his chest. Beneath, I can hear the deep pulse of his heart, which I note beats irregularly from time to time, reminding me that it is infected with dark magic, damaging, addicting, and irreversible.

Unless David is able to stumble upon a cure.

"I can handle myself," I argue back. My hand flexes beneath Aleksander's palms, and my cheeks heat up from my frustration, but he refuses to let go.

"That may not be enough," he rasps. "A Shu Han spy poisoned you. In our home. Guised as one of our own, a Ravkan. They want you dead." His deep grey irises seek mine, desperate in their steely gaze. But his desperation does not stem entirely from wanting to save me. Through the bond, in his eyes, there is desperation that belongs to greed. Greed and addiction lay hand in hand. Merzost uses both to enslave its user. I only got a glimpse of magic when I thought I could defeat the Darkling with it, but it is as useful as holding an explosive in your palm, made to go off at any second. It wasn't a good solution then, and it isn't a good solution now.

        "You will stop using merzost, banish your nichevo'ya, and you will let David find a cure! I won't live without you." I stomp my foot like a toddler mid-tantrum. My rosy lips part, another argument on the tip of my tongue, when a high-pitched crash can be heard from downstairs, then a man's cry of pain ringing through the halls. The loud sounds sharply interrupt the familiar serenity of dawn.

        Aleksander and I look at each other with wide eyes. Aleksander is the first to react, letting go of my hands and rushing down the corridor. I don't take long to catch up, trailing shortly behind him while I readjust the tie of my satin robe. Why can't these things happen midday when I'm not just coming from bed half-naked?

       Our footsteps, muted by soft fabric slippers, travel through hall after hall, down the grand staircase, and finally to the kitchen where the source of the noises was. Ivan is by my husband's side in an instant, clearly woken up by the sound, as it is the first time I've seen him without a red kefta on. He only has a pair of long pajama bottoms on and a hastily thrown-on white shirt. His hands are extended in front of him, ready to find a heart to stop.