Me and the Devil - a darklina fanfic

Chapter 2

"It concerns me", continued The Darkling, "because your union will sell the fate of my country. If the Lantsov boy is to be crowned king, there's nothing I will be able to do to save Grisha." As he spoke, Alina felt his anger rose, and hers as well. Ravka was not his country. And she told him just as much.

"It might not be mine, but I am the only one who ever tried to save it." The Darkling rarely lost his composure, but in that moment, his voice and tone seemed to hold a burning hatred that Alina was the spark of.

"You tried to save Grisha . But what about all the other civilians. Because they are Otkazat'sya, they deserve to starve and die ?". Alina's anger almost matched The Darklings. "You say that, but there you are, Sankta Alina , commanding an army entirely made out of grisha. You live in the palace I built to protect these people, and yet you have the audacity to insult me because of it?"

At that, Alina fell silent. She hated fighting with him, she knew it was useless. She knew he always won. He had had years to master the art of words, of manipulation. But was it truly manipulative of him to say all of that? Because once again, Alina realized he was telling the truth.

She looked at him. She saw his face go from serious to flirtatious in barely a second. This man and his mood swings. His eyes, as dark as a night sky, were roaming over her figure. She rolled her eyes. Men. "Are you wearing my robe?", said The Darkling, smirking. She looked down at her outfit, remembering that in her haste to go out of her suffocating room, she put on whatever robe she could find."What- oh, I found it in the wardrobe, I didn't know it was yours." She heard him laugh. It was small and soft, but genuine. It had been a while since she has last heard it. In the war room, his lips all over her, hands lifting her up on the table, someone knocking on the door- Alina's train of thoughts was interrupted by his smooth voice "Keep it, it suits you."

It was her turn to smile, but it quickly faded when she heard The Darkling cough. It sounded harsh. Painful. She saw him taking his hand away from his mouth when the coughing fit was over, and her knees almost gave out under her. Black. He had a black liquid splattered all over his hand. Alina shouldn't care. She shouldn't. But still, she found herself asking, with a trembling voice:

"What's wrong with you?" He waited a few seconds to answer. "Merzost ." The word made Alina shiver. Unnatural forces. Abomination.

"Creating my Nichevo'ya had a coast. Everything has a coast. You will come to realize that, My Alina."

"You're dying.", Alina couldn't help but say. She simply whispered the statement, as if its mere idea would kill her. But why was that? She hated that man. She hated him. She hated how he had manipulated her, had lied to her, had used her to expand the fold. She hated how perfect he looked, how special he made her feel. How powerful. She hated how his simple presence made her feel warm, how she felt for him all she ever wished to feel for Mal.

"I still have a few decades if luck is on my side. If not, maybe a few months." He sounded unaffected, but Alina knew better. She felt tears prickle at her eyes, but shoved them down. She didn't have any right to cry for the eventual death of a man who had hurt her and countless people. So she wouldn't. Still, she found herself saying, coldly: "You promised me you wouldn't leave me alone."She hated how weak she sounded.

"Death will not be near enough to do us apart, my Alina .", was the last thing she heard before she felt the connection break.

   _____________________________________________________________________________

The following week, Alina was in the gardens, waiting for Mal to come back from a hunt. She hadn't seen him in a few days, and was glad to reunite with a familiar face. She first heard the heavy steps of horses on gravel before spotting him and the rest of the party on horseback, crossing the gates of the Palace.

She felt a small smile grow on her face, but it was quick to fade. She had had conversations with the enemy behind his back. Behind everyone's back. Was this not an act of treason? Surely they — especially Mal — wouldn't appreciate her making small talk with the Darkling. But truth was, Alina couldn't stop seeking him out. She knew how wrong, how twisted it was; but the tether felt good. It felt safe. Sometimes, at night, when she was restless, Alina would find herself searching for him through their tether. He wouldn't always answer with his presence, but he always sent a soft wave of warmth through the bond. It reassured her. She would fall asleep to the soft caress of this unique connection. In the morning, she would regret it and would  promise herself to stop. But she never did. She couldn't. Because the tether was warm. Safe. It felt like the closest thing to a home Alina had ever had.

Mal hopped down from his horse and made his way to her. He didn't bother to hug her. They hadn't done that in what felt like forever. Strangely, Alina wasn't sure she missed it. Instead, he shot her a smile — that looked a little forced — and simply followed the rest of the party inside.

Dumbfounded that he didn't even say a word to her, Alina gaped before following him. She said his name once. "Mal", he didn't answer. Twice. "Mal!", still no answer. She walked faster until she could reach him to grab his arm. "What's wrong with you ?", she asked, seriously annoyed by his ridiculous behavior. "Oh I'm sorry General, I didn't think you would have time for me on your schedule.", said Mal. Alina stared at him, thoroughly confused.
"What is this about, Mal?". He simply rolled his eyes and ripped his arm out of her grip. "You perfectly know what this is about, Alina." , he said before walking away from her.

At this moment, alone in the corridor, Alina couldn't help but notice how wrong her name felt on Mal's lips. How different from when The Darkling said it.

________________________________________________________________________________________