All Things Must End

𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝟐𝟖 • 𝔸 ℙ𝕖𝕣𝕗𝕖𝕔𝕥, 𝔻𝕖𝕒𝕕𝕝𝕪 𝕎𝕒𝕝𝕥𝕫

        I smirk. "Tell me more about this mysterious woman."

       "Well," he sighs. "She is powerful, beautiful, and infinitely stubborn."

        "Hmm, intriguing."

        "Very much so," he says, leaning his side against the balcony's edge with twinkling eyes. "She always does the opposite of what I think she will do. Perhaps because she is my opposite. My balance."

        "She sounds perfect."I laugh nervously.

        "She is."

        Aleksander bends down and kisses me gently and slow.

        "My Aleksander," I mumble against his lips.

        "My Alina," he returns. "My Universe."

        We stay in each other's arms for another minute, neither of us wanting to move. "Do we have to return to the ball?" I pout.

        "I think we've made our point. I have a few more guests I need to speak to, but you should get some rest. It's been a long night." I nod and he kisses my forehead. "Be sure to take a Heartrender with you when you leave. With our enemies here, it's—"

"Dangerous, I know." It is dangerous wherever I go, not just tonight. Power and peril tend to go hand in hand like a perfect, deadly waltz. "I promise to take someone with me."

He is content with my answer and plants a kiss on my head. Aleksander holds the balcony door for me as we enter back into the ballroom full of chatter and evening dancing. My eyes follow the Darkling's form until he disappears into the sea of people, though I catch him looking back at me once or twice before I leave the ballroom. I make sure he sees me grab a Heartrender to trail me as I resign to my bed chamber. I know he would send one after me anyways if I didn't comply.

The walk is silent and slightly awkward with someone behind me the whole way, but I've grown accustomed to the lack of privacy in this palace. The farther I walk, the quieter it gets. Tonight, no one is authorized in the part of the palace where our chambers are located in, so the only sound is my muted footsteps on the long scarlet rug. It seems eerily quiet.

I linger by Amelia's room. Ivan stands rigidly outside the door, guarding it.

"I'm just going to check on Amelia. I'll go straight to my room after," I tell the Grisha guard. "You can go."

He stands rigidly for a moment, deciding whether he should listen to me or not. His green-eyed gaze falls on Ivan, one of the most skilled Heartrenders in the Army, so his nerves finally settle, and he feels comfortable leaving me. The guard bows and takes off in the other direction.

Ivan stares straight ahead as I pass him as if I don't exist. I just roll my eyes and slip through the door to Amelia's bedroom. I try to close the door quietly, however, Amelia is a heavy sleeper, so it wouldn't wake her anyway.

The room is dark other than a dimly flickering candle on her bedside which only illuminates a short distance around it. When my eyes finally adjust to the room, my entire being turns to ice. My mouth opens in preparation to call out to Ivan.

"I wouldn't scream if I were you. It would be unwise."

        The Shu Han Queen bats her long, dark lashes at me in the shadows. The sliver of moonlight filtering through the curtains illuminates enough of her silhouette and the features of her face to know it's her: the pale makeup, thin nose, shiny black hair with a stripe of grey on each side, and flowing pastel dress. She is sitting on the edge of Amelia's bed, stroking her fingers lightly through my daughter's golden curls.