CHAPTER ELEVEN
Roma and Lev returned a few days after her date with Aleksander. Her sleep had fluctuated between terrible and normal but with their return, she felt at ease. They had come back injured and Roma was nearly on deaths door but they were alive. Liliya was glad that they were and had allowed them to rest for a few days. Both her and Aleksander had agreed that they needed - and deserved - it after the time they had been away from the Little Palace.
From what she had heard from Roma, it wasn't pleasant and Lev had only added to that. They had encountered Isaak more than once from what she had heard but she had to wait for the meeting to get the full details. They were going to sit in Aleksander's office and get the full story. Liliya wasn't exactly looking forward to it but she had no other choice especially if they wanted to kill Isaak.
The morning had been slow. Aleksander had been busy with various other pieces of paperwork but left Liliya lying in the bedroom, staring at the ceiling. Her arm rested across her eyes as she let out a long sigh. She then rolled over onto her stomach and closed her eyes. Letting the silence of the room invade her mind. It helped calm her slightly but all she could think about was the meeting.
Not even training with Arina that morning had stopped her from thinking and overthinking, again and again. Arina had tried her best but there was only so much that the black-haired woman could do. They ended up finishing early and Arina disappeared back to her room. Liliya hadn't really talked to her properly in weeks but she didn't have the energy to either.
All her energy was focused on Alina and Aleksander and getting this plan to be perfect. There was so many things that could go wrong or change and they had to be vigilant. It was causing Liliya a lot more stress than she initially hoped it would but there was nothing she could do.
A knock at the door made her jump and she rolled over off the bed. Her arms stretched above her head, her back arching and walking on her tiptoes as she stretched her body out. Then she fell to her feet normally and pulled the door open. Roma stood on the other side with a smile on his face.
"General is back," Roma said. Liliya nodded and then walked over to the dresser. She snatched up her kefta and pulled it over her shoulders before heading out the door. Roma walked by her side. The silence filling the space between them. Liliya didn't know what to say so just focused on getting to the office and then they could discuss what they actually needed to go through.
When they walked in, Lev was already discussing with Kirigan. The two in conversation and Aleksander's face brightened when he saw Liliya. She looked a little directed and dishevelled from her rolling around in the sheets but Aleksander didn't question it.
"Take a seat, Roma," Kirigan said, gesturing to the seat next to Lev. Roma quickly took it while Liliya strolled across to Kirigan's side of the desk. She grabbed a chair and dragged it over before sitting down. Her hands resting in her lap. Kirigan said nothing and instead leant forward. His arms resting against the desk as he waited for Lev to continue.
"As I was telling Kirigan before you came in, I was on the outskirts of Keramzin when he found me. I barely got out with my life. I don't know why he spared me. The memories are foggy and unclear. I just remember when Roma found me again. He stitched up some of my wounds and then we headed back here. Then we kept encountering him and hearing about him. Everyone seemed to just call him a shadow. Nobody believed he was real. He was a prizrak," Lev explained. Liliya nodded and glanced over at Kirigan. This was never good. If Isaak was everywhere and had gained a nickname among the townsfolk, he was going to be more of a problem than they initially expected.
"That's what they used to call him. The prizrak, a dangerous shadow that killed all that came into its path. Did you ever interact with him? Both of you?" Liliya asked curiously as she tilted her head slightly. It was hard to believe that they had merely heard stories. In the state that Roma had been in, they must have gotten close to him.
"We did," Roma said quickly. Lev nodded and pushed his fingers through his hair before he let out a soft sigh. Kirigan leant back in his chair and waited, curious to what they were going to say. Lev had framed it like it was only one interaction but now he was saying there was more. Aleksander knew that something was wrong but he was willing to hear them out.
"It wasn't far from Os Alta. We were camping out and Roma had gone to hunt. I was sat alone and he came out of nowhere. It went blind. I couldn't see anything. If I'm honest, I thought Liliya had received our message and come to find us. I was wrong. Roma was hurt first and more. He didn't say what he wanted. He just warned us against leaving the Little Palace again. That he wouldn't be found and that you knew what he wanted," Roma explained as he nodded his head towards Liliya at the last bit. The redhead sighed but nodded. She knew exactly what he wanted. Liliya bit her bottom lip and turned her gaze up to the ceiling.
"I do. It's not important to either of you. Just stay in the Little Palace, that's the only way I can ensure you're safe. Any further missions for either of you will be suspended," Liliya said as she looked at the men and then back to Kirigan. He nodded his head in agreement. Liliya smiled and then stood up. She dragged the chair back to its place and adjusted her kefta.
"Is that all you wanted?" Lev asked. Liliya nodded. She didn't need more. All she needed to know was if Isaak was still after her. He was. There was nothing more of an interest for her.
"For me, yes. I need to plan. I'm sure Kirigan has more questions," Liliya said before she disappeared out of the door. Her hands moving to unbutton her kefta. Once she was in the bedroom, she leant over and grabbed her notebook. Her fingers flicking through until she found the page she was looking for. The places she remembered being as a kid with him. Isaak could be using one as an hideout and she had to check them all. If she found him, she could put a stop to this. If she didn't then she at least knew where she didn't have to look.
***
The next day, Liliya already knew what she had to. Leaving the find Isaak was her plan. She just had to tell Alina and sort out any affairs before she disappeared into the Ravkan wilderness. She didn't intend to go for long and Aleksander had barely even let her leave. He wanted to keep her at the Palace, protected. She understood why but she had to know what her father was doing. What he was planning. Whatever he had told her just after they had found Alina wouldn't be true anymore. He was too unpredictable and indecisive for his plans to have stayed the same.
Isaak was clever and he would have come up with something new and better. Liliya just wanted to know what and it had left her distracted. Even as she fought Alina, her mind was only half in the fight. Thoughts, ideas and conversations she could have with Isaak playing over in the back of her mind.
Once they had decided to take a break, Alina finally decided to speak up. She usually didn't mind when Liliya was out of it but it had unsettled her. The redhead had become ruthless in training the past few days but now it was like the switch had been flipped and there was nothing. It was too simple and Alina liked a challenge.
"You are going easy on me today," Alina commented as she moved to sit on the bench in the room. Liliya nodded, tightening her ponytail before she sat down next to Alina on the bench. They were both panting softly. Liliya's face was red. A stark contrast to her usual deathly pale skintone. Alina tilted her head and watched Liliya breathe.
"I know," The redhead said before she smiled, looking back at Alina.
"Why?" The black-haired girl asked, cocking an eyebrow. Liliya shrugged and leant forward. She stretched her legs out straight and reached forward. Her fingertips touching her booted toe, stretching her back.
"I feel like it," The redhead decided as she moved to sit up straight again. Her hands moving to crack her knuckles. Alina cringing at the sound but she focused on Liliya's face instead. The blue eyes that seemed to be swarmed with worry.
"This won't help me improve," Alina mumbled, paraphrasing what Liliya always found herself repeating to the black-haired girl. Liliya chuckled softly and dropped her hands into her lap. Her head tilting to the side again so she could look at Alina.
"Well, I'm not going to be here for a week so I decided to give you a break. Arina won't be as kind," Liliya decided. She knew that Arina would be an easy opponent compared to Liliya but Arina was rigorous in other parts of training that Liliya always fell short in. Liliya found them pointless. Arina saw them as necessary and now Alina was going to get a taste of it.
"A week?" Alina asked, a frown appearing on her lips. Liliya nodded.
"Yes," She confirmed. Alina moved to stand up and paced across the room. Liliya watched as she moved into a fighting stance but she didn't move. She didn't feel like fighting Alina again and just watched with a small smile.
"Where are you going?" Alina asked as she threw a jab at thin air. Liliya could see the power behind it and noticed that Alina's thumb was no longer sticking out. She had gotten out of that habit pretty quickly. Alina had picked up fighting faster than Liliya had expected but she was glad.
"Away from the Little Palace. I have somebody to find," Liliya waved off Alina's curiosity. Alina stopped, her arms dropping to her side. She then looked to Liliya, raising an eyebrow. It seemed that Liliya had actually made her more interested.
"Who are you looking for? Can I help? Are they after me?" Alina questioned. Liliya shook her head and pushed herself to stand up. Her hands burying in the pockets of her pants. Her kefta was left in her room like always. Alina seemed to have done the same with her own.
"No, Alina. You can't do anything. You just need to stay here and keep training. You are here for a reason after all," Liliya said, reaching out to squeeze Alina's arm. The black-haired girl sighed, shaking her head.
"I want to help," She insisted, the annoyance lacing her tone. Liliya sighed and stepped back.
"I know you do but this is someone you can't help with," Liliya responded. Her tone was serious but she knew that Alina would have questions or try to defy her. Alina wanted to help people. It was admirable but foolish. It would be her downfall after all.
"Who is it?" Alina asked.
"I can't tell you," Liliya responded simply. The black-haired girl frowned.
"Why not?" She asked. Liliya turned on her heel and stepped closer to Alina. The two were eye-to-eye, staring into each other's eyes. The brown clashing with blue much like it did when she looked at Aleksander. However, Alina's eyes were a softer brown than Aleksander's.
"Because you knowing would cause you a lot more harm than me keeping it from you," Liliya said. Alina frowned, crossing her arms over her chest. She looked oddly like a grumpy child. It was endearing if not frustrating at the same time.
"I don't like people lying," Alina said. Liliya rolled her eyes. She sounded just like Aleksander.
"Neither do I but I'm not lying. I'm merely keeping the truth from you. It's very different," Liliya shrugged, trying to brush it off. Alina narrowed her eyes before she seemed to realise something. Her frown deepening, the lines forming on her forehead.
"Do they want to kill me?" Alina asked. Liliya shrugged.
"They might. I'm not sure yet," was all the redhead could say. It was the truth after all. She only knew some of Isaak's plan. She didn't know what he wanted or from who. She had no idea what his true motive was and if he just wanted to cause as much fear as possible. Either sounded like an option. Isaak was sadistic at beast.
"What do you mean?" Alina asked, tilting her head. Liliya pulled the tie from her hair, letting her red locks fall over her shoulders.
"They might want to kill you or they might want to kill me. Better yet, they might want us both dead and then we've got a real problem on our hands," Liliya explained. The words fell from her tongue in such a nonchalant manner that Alina recoiled slightly. Her eyebrows pulling together and the worry appearing on her face. It was endearing but Liliya knew that she was probably thinking about herself more than the redhead.
"Are you going alone?" Alina asked. Liliya nodded and walked over to the door. She grabbed the rock and used it as a doorstop. The breeze blowing into the room. It had got too hot and Liliya was still red from the heat of training.
"I can't risk anyone else on this," She explained as she pushed the rock against the wood. Then, she went back to Alina who was sat on the bench again. Her back pressed against the wall and her heels dug into the dirt.
"But you're risking yourself. You're going to get hurt," Alina said as she looked up. Liliya nodded. That was always a possibility especially considering who she was to Kirigan and the powers that she possessed. The Fjerdans would want to put her on trial and the Shu would want to study her more than any other Grisha that they ever came to posses. She was unique in talent and genetics. A Grisha with two distinct abilities was not common.
"It comes with the territory, Alina," Liliya said simply. It was never something worth dwelling on especially in this war.
"Are you going to die?" Alina asked. Liliya shrugged. The question threw her slightly off guard but there was no need to lie. Alina knew the horrors of war even if she had only been a mapmaker. People died from injury or the enemy every day and nothing would change that. Liliya might just be another casuality and she had grown content with that.
"Quite possibly," Liliya said, shrugging. Alina stared at her for a moment. Her mouth slightly agape. She had never met someone who was so willing to accept their death. It was jarring to the young girl even if she was a soldier.
"Then why are you going?" Alina asked after a moment of silence. Liliya sighed but then turned to face Alina. Looking into the girl's eyes.
"Because I have no other choice in this matter. I'd love to stay at the Little Palace and help you, Alina, but I have to deal with this first," Liliya explained. It was the truth. Well, mostly the truth. Liliya had to get rid of Isaak before he ruined their plans or tried to take Alina for himself. Liliya couldn't allow that. She had to deprive Alina of her attention for a little while before enacting her plans. Her and Aleksander's plans.
"I didn't mean to sound selfish," Alina mumbled. She realised too late how her words sounded but Liliya didn't seem to care.
"But you'd love my attention. You'd love to be selfish," Liliya shrugged, a small smirk on her lips. The implication behind her words making Alina's cheeks burn red. Liliya chuckled and tilted her head, admiring the way she blushed, "You're so cute," Liliya mumbled. Alina stared at her for a moment, stunned by the confession and unsure what to do.
"Are we going to study?" Alina asked quickly, trying to distract from the subject. Liliya nodded and then moved to stand up. She smoothed her clothes down and headed towards the door.
"Yes and I'll set you a list for while I'm gone. Arina's terrible with studying," Liliya explained. Alina was quick to follow behind, glancing around the room to check for anything that they had left behind. There was nothing so Alina went after Liliya and was quick to catch up with the redhead even if she walked far too fast.
"Okay," Alina said, nodding her head. Though there was a hint of a frown still etched on her lips. Liliya couldn't quite place why it was there exactly but she knew that she had to try and ease Alina's anxieties. It would make this whole situation easier but maybe allowing her to be anxious would allow Aleksander to gain her trust. Liliya wasn't sure so she just said what came to her mind.
"Don't look so upset. I'll come back alive and just fine. There will be a price to pay if I don't and nobody is willing to pay that," Liliya shrugged. Alina's eyebrows furrowed and she just stared for a moment before Liliya sent her a smile and they walked back to the Little Palace together. Alina wondering what exactly Liliya had meant and Liliya trying to work out how she was going to face Isaak.
***
author's note! hi hi, so another chapter, this is out very late for me (thank you college work!) but it's here and we are setting up the next chapter which is gonna be a FUN ONE! also just more alin and liliya is all i need in my life, they are my loves and i adore them and oF COURSe the return of roma and lev, my babies are thankfully not dead, just not having a fun time but it's OKAY everything is fine and we're getting there, i'm not really sure what to say here so thank you for reading and i hope you enjoyed!! <3