I TᑌᑕK ᗰYSEᒪᖴ away in my bedroom for the rest of the day. Aleksander must have gotten the hint because he hasn't come in. I go to sleep alone, and that's how it stays for half of the night. However, around one in the morning, I feel his presence in the room. My eyes flutter open to see that my presumption is correct. I spot him sitting on the end of the bed, silently observing me.
I roll my eyes and bury my head in the pillow. "You know you look creepy when you do that, right?"
"Do what?" he says innocently.
"Stare at me in the darkness while I sleep."
With my face still smothered in the pillow, I hear his footsteps approach, and the mattress dips down near my waist. He says nothing; he just sits on the edge, observing me.
I roll over to face him and mumble, "Why are you sitting at the end of the bed creepily? You can still sleep here even if I'm mad, you know."
"I figured you didn't want to see me."
It isn't that I do not want to see him, but I guess I am just unsure of what to say to him. That man in the dungeon was not my husband. He was a villain. A murderer.
His words finally sink in, and my eyes grow wider in realization. To be sure, I incircle his wrist with my fingers. There is no amplification, no jolt of reassuring power. He is also still wearing his kefta instead of nightclothes. He isn't here. With three amplifiers, our connection is stronger than ever. It is difficult to tell the difference between reality and the tether.
"You're not really here."
He brushes his thumb over my knuckles gently as he loosely holds my hand. "As I said, I didn't think you wanted to see me."
We sit in silence for the longest time. He is waiting for me to initiate the conversation. I suppose we can't put this off forever.
I sit up, resting my back against the headboard. "Why did you do that to those prisoners, Aleksander?"
"They deserved to die. They committed the highest form of treason. They tried to kill you."
I cup his cheek to calm him down and reply in a soothing voice. "I know what they did. I'm not saying they didn't deserve to be punished. In this case, consequences were necessary."
"Then why are you upset, Alina?"
"It wasn't the fact that you killed them. It was how you killed them. I saw the look in your eyes, Aleksander. You liked it. As a king, you have to put justice before revenge."
"I know that, Alina."
"Do you?" I ask promptly. "You heard the man in the cell. They weren't the only ones that had this crazy idea of the Fold being something to be worshipped and respected. Those people most likely hate me as much as the prisoners did. Promise me that if one of them comes after me again, you won't turn back into—"
"A monster?" he finishes, quirking his brow at me. We both know that's what I meant, even if I wouldn't say it aloud.
"Promise me you won't let all the things you've done to change in this past year be in vain."
He sighs and leans in, pressing a ghost of a kiss on my lips, reminding me that he isn't actually here. "I will do many things to appease you, Alina." I smile, thinking he is about to succumb, but then he says, "however, sacrificing your and Amelia's safety is not one of them." His face hardens. "You are not to leave this room, Alina. We will do a sweep of the Palace to make sure it is safe and test every worker to make sure they have your safety as their top priority. I will bring Amelia to you, and you will both stay here."
I stand up, clenching my fists. "You can't keep me in here!"
"I can, and I did."
Then, there is a click on the other end of the room. It was the lock on our bedroom door. I ran over and yanked on the handle, but it wouldn't budge. I banged on the wood, but there was no answer.
"I am doing this for your own good, Alina. I cannot lose you. You will be safest in here."
I turn to face him, but he is already gone, vanished back to whatever part of the palace he came from.
"Coward!" I yell uselessly into the shadows of our empty chambers.
About ten minutes after our conversation, there is a trail of smoke coming out of my ears as I pace back and forth. It only stops when I hear the lock click again. The door opens only slightly, and Amelia comes running in. As soon as we reunite in a tight embrace, the door slams shut and locks again. A frustrated puff of air leaves my lips as Amelia clings to me tighter.
"Why is padraya <Father> doing this? Did I do something wrong?"
I sink down to my knees to meet her teary eyes. "No, my Amelia. You did nothing to cause this, I promise."
"Then why did he tell me that I can't leave?"
I sigh and explain to her that, "The Darkling is scared. Someone who wasn't supposed to be in the palace tried to hurt me. He is doing the wrong thing with the right intentions."
She nods in a bit of understanding. I wipe the hot tears from her cheeks and kiss her forehead. Then, I carry her to the bed and slide her under the sheets before lying beside her.
It doesn't take her long to fall asleep, but for me, I finally slip into a not-so-peaceful sleep an hour after her. I thought I would have nightmares from all the stress, but I find a more pleasant dream awaiting me. It is more of a memory, really.
The dream starts when Amelia ran off without anyone's knowledge of where she went. Aleks and I searched for her for an hour straight. Once we finally found her outside, playing in the garden, Aleksander asked her where she's been (a bit more forcefully than needed). This was near the beginning of the adoption, so he was still learning how to become less. . . Darkling-like around her.
"Sorry, Sir," she mumbled with her head lowered. "I just wanted to explore the courtyard."
His eyes softened. He approached her and kneeled before her defeated figure. "I'm not angry, Little One. We were just worried about you. We have lots of enemies, you know, and someday, they might try to use you to get to us. We just want you safe." He tilted her chin up. "And you do not have to call me Sir or moi tsar. There is a reason we adopted you, and it would defeat the purpose if you keep calling us by formal titles. I would prefer you call me Father, if you'd like."
She twinkled with a brilliant smile and hugged him tightly. Instead of returning the gesture, he patted her on the head, and I giggled at his unfamiliarity with hugs.
That is when I wake up to a beam of sunlight filtering through the curtains onto my face. My arm is wrapped protectively around Amelia. A blonde curl flutters away from her mouth as she breathes out, and a bit of drool runs from her open lips. I smile before slipping out of bed as quietly as possible to put on a robe over my nightgown.
Still a bit groggy from sleep, I finally recall the events of last night. I thought it was all a dream. Unfortunately, the door is still locked, and my husband is still somewhere thinking he is doing the right thing. But the hard truth is that he is reverting. That is his comfort zone—needing to be in control—and in a time where he can't be, he forces it onto others. In this case, it is Amelia and me.
There is a knock at the door, and it unlocks. Amelia stirs but doesn't wake up. I am prepared to give Aleksander a piece of my mind, but I am surprised to find that it is not the Darkling. It's. . .
"Nikolai?" I whisper.
He winks and closes the door quietly as to not wake the sleeping child.
"Tell me you didn't forget about your favorite top Military Strategist already. I've only been gone for a few months."
"Of course not; I've been awaiting your arrival, worrying about you every hour of every day," I quip. "How did you get in? The door was—"
"A privateer isn't just good at sailing, dear. They can also pick locks faster than you can say 'walking walrus in the Wandering Isle'." He displays a dazzling smile. Nikolai's familiar hazel eyes and blonde hair were once his prominent features. Now it is the black scars and leathery patches of skin covering his body. He is human again, but not the same Nikolai as when I first met him. Yet another thing the Darkling can never take back.
Nikolai brings me into a hug. "I missed you," he says, all joking aside.
"I missed you too."
"And maybe someday, your lovely husband will stop sending me on long trips in order to ignore my existence."
"He'll come around eventually."
"No, he won't," Nikolai grins.
"Speaking of," I say suspiciously. "How did you convince the Darkling to let you come see me?"
The mischievous look on his face answers the question for me.
"He didn't, did he?"
"Picking locks is not needed with permission, love. He has no idea I'm even back from my expedition yet."
I roll my eyes. "He is going to kill you if he finds out you came to see me."
He does his annoying little smirk and says, "That's only if he finds out."
I hear shuffling and then a gasp. "Nikki!" Amelia beams from across the room. She has finally come to. Her curls stick up every which way.
"Ah, there's my favorite small demon child," Nikolai says. He prepares to catch her as she sprints toward him at full speed.
I continue our conversation from before as he is holding Amelia upside down by her legs. "Don't push your luck with my husband. I had to fight for you to get a significant position in his military and steer him away from his alternative option."
"And what was that?" he asks.
"Killing you," I mutter so Amelia can't hear it. She is giggling too much to listen.
"I'd prefer to stay alive, thank you."
"He will take any opportunity he is given to fire you or worse."
"Relax," he rasps, flopping Amelia down onto the fluffy rug. "As long as he doesn't see me here, we won't have a problem.
"Okay," I sigh.
We both freeze when the door handle raddles suddenly. I feel nauseous when I catch a glimpse of a black kefta in the doorway. Aleksander emerges from the hall. A neutral look turns into one of pure fury in the blink of an eye.
Nikolai turns to me with a frown. "Well, now we have a problem."