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" And darling,
IT WAS GOOD
NEVER LOOKING DOWN"
―NIKOLAI WAS ACUTELY AWARE OF TWO THINGS: THE BITTERNESS OF HIS COFFEE, AND THE BITTERNESS OF A CERTAIN YIZHI KIR-TABAN.
At the beginning of the meeting, she'd come in with tear-stained eyes and rosy lips that seemed colour-coordinated with her pale puce gown, poised and guarded in a way she hadn't ever been, not since he'd first met her, and not since she'd first arrived in Os Alta. But he sensed the change all the same, as though the air was formed of prickles and stingers that pinched at him in alarm.
Her mood only seemed to deteriorate from there, and Nikolai suspected Yuri's entire existence didn't help.
"It's impossible to comprehend that I'm in a room created by the Starless One himself," the monk breathed, running a hand over the black marble walls. He touched one of the thick maps. "Is this cowhide?"
"Reindeer, I believe," Nikolai corrected.
"Remarkable!"
"Wait," Zoya interrupted, eyes narrowed. "You said the Starless One himself. Not his ancestors."
Yuri turned away from the map, lips curved into a smug smile that made Nikolai wonder if he should have let Yi get rid of the monk. "Yes, I did. I know there was only one Darkling, one man of great power who faked his death many times. A precaution against small minds who might have feared his extraordinary power and his long life."
"How did you arrive at this theory?" Nikolai asked.
Yuri peered at him. "It's not a theory. I know. The Darkling revealed as much to me in a vision."
Yi shared a look with Zoya before looking over at Nikolai to gauge his reaction. He raised his eyebrows and pressed the tips of his fingers together in a tent. "I see."
Yuri's smile deepened. "I know you think me mad, but I have seen miracles."
"You said something the other day, that the Age of Saints was upon us. What did you mean?"
The monk looked over at Yi in complete earnest, green eyes intense. "Moi soverenyi, certainly you know. The Starless One told me so. We are allies, even if you refuse to believe it."
Yi stilled ever so slightly, something flashing in her eyes that only Nikolai would be able to catch.
"You don't know what you're talking about," she said pleasantly.
