ᗩᒪEKSᗩᑎᗪEᖇ'S ᖴᗩᑕE contorts into a look of pure fury. If he didn't have enough to be angry about recently, this seems to push him over the edge.
"You'd better have a damn good reason why you are in my bedroom alone with my wife, Lantsov."
"I'm here too!" Amelia interjects. We all give her a grave look. She doesn't understand the full gravity of the situation, but she finally sees the tension in the room. Her smile fades, and she lets go of Nikolai to hide behind me.
My heart is pounding in the tense silence that follows. Nikolai and Aleksander glare at each other. The air crackles between them. I take a deep breath, then, step in between the two before Nikolai can answer.
"He was just stopping by to say hello after his return to the Grand Palace since he has been gone for so long."
"Actually—" Nikolai cuts in firmly, throwing my attempts at salvaging this encounter out the window.
"Nikolai, shut up," I growl.
He ignores me and states the intent of his visit that he hadn't told me yet. "I was coming to check on my friend. I heard rumors while traveling back that you were taking extreme measures after an attempt at Alina's life. I truly hoped all of it was just that—rumors. But it's clear to see they were not all lies." He gestures to the door. "When I got here, Alina's door was locked from the outside. No matter the circumstances, there is no excuse for doing that to her. Who the hell do you think you are to lock her away like a prisoner? "
"I am the King; that's who I am," he says fiercely. "A King who is very close to putting an end to a subordinate who is telling me how to address my wife. So choose your next move very carefully."
Nikolai ruffles at his words. I turn to him and put my hands on his chest to stop him from doing anything rash. "Nikolai," I beg. "Don't. It's not worth it. You will just make everything worse. You should go."
He huffs, clenching his fists until his knuckles turn white. Then, he squares his shoulders and nods solemnly. Nikolai finally comes to the realization that this isn't about him. He would make things worse for Amelia and me. The Darkling is reverting back to his old ways. The only way to keep him from straying too far down that path is by replacing his stress and apprehension with love, just like last time. And right now, Nikolai is certainly not helping the stress factor.
"Fine," he says. Being one who doesn't like losing arguments, he makes sure to kiss my cheek before leaving, which causes the Darkling's glare to deepen.
Nikolai makes way for the door, but Aleksander grabs the collar of his shirt. While looking at me, he says, "If I see you anywhere near Alina or my daughter, you know what I am capable of. I'll leave it up to your imagination to think of what I'll do."
He lets go, allowing Nikolai to leave. Nikolai licks his lips and adjusts the wrinkles of his shirt before storming out. The door shuts, leaving the three of us alone together. If the Darkling had been less caught up in his anger and jealousy, he would have noticed his daughter cowering in fear behind my legs, interlacing her fingers with mine tightly. His eyes grow gentler when he finally takes in the scene.
"Amelia—" he begins but is unable to finish because she flees to the other end of the room and jumps on the bed. She buries herself under the silk sheets. Then, a faint whimper can be heard from under the blankets.
I point a finger at Aleksander harshly and scowl at him, the viciousness of motherhood coming out in its entirety. "Fix this."
He nods and brings my hand to his lips, but I pull away before he can kiss me and motion to the trembling child in our bed.
He ponders for a moment, gauging what to do before making his move. Eventually, he approaches Amelia and sits near the lump in the bed. Then he puffs out a breath before burying himself under the blankets the same way Amelia did. His muffled voice can be heard under the covers as he coaxes Amelia to speak with him.
"I know the boy is your friend." He mutters, "Which makes sense. He made friends his own age." I palm my face. This isn't going well so far. "But," he continues, "I shouldn't have fought him in front of you. He and I don't see eye to eye."
Amelia sniffs. "That doesn't mean you have to kill him."
"That was a threat. . . Mostly."
"I want my padraya back," she whines suddenly. I hear a pause on Aleksander's side.
"I am here, Ameliushka."
"Not really. You're not the same. You are mean and scary. You are keeping us in here, but you won't tell me why, and now you want to hurt Nikki."
He is silent for a moment. Then, he untangles himself and Amelia from the sheets, pulling her up to sit on his lap. He soothes her by combing through her messy curls. She finally relaxes, primarily out of exhaustion, and leans her head on his shoulder. "I am not doing this to be cruel." He glances at me, indicating that he is speaking to both of us. "All I want is for you both to be safe. I will do whatever it takes to make that happen. I might seem like a monster in doing so, but I am willing to play the villain if it means you are protected."
Amelia looks discontented with his conclusion, still not making eye contact. "When can we leave?" she mumbles.
"When it is safe."
I have tried not to intervene, but I can't stand to say nothing. I sit beside Aleksander on the bed and say, "She raises a good question. It is never going to be safe. Not completely. So when are you going to let us leave this room? This palace? You can't make us your prisoners our whole life simply because it isn't safe. The world is a dangerous place. Hiding us away won't change that. You have to let us out."
He looks deeply into my eyes, and I can see that the Darkling doesn't want to do this to us, but I can tell when he is being obstinate, and he thinks this is the only option, so when he says, "I'll think about it," it means no. I growl in frustration and cover my tired eyes with my palms.
He kisses the top of Amelia's head and my cheek, whispering, "I truly am sorry. It's for the best." Then, he gets up and leaves without another word. The lock clicks on the outside of the door. We are once again trapped.
***
The door opens a total of two times the rest of the day. The first is Ivan bringing our lunch. He looks less than thrilled to be playing maid, but he doesn't complain aloud after catching one glimpse at my stormy look. Even better, he says nothing at all. He just leaves the tray of food and exits in less than a second. I hardly eat what was brought.
The next time is Aleksander. He comes in without saying anything, though he carries two items. One is a small wooden box. He places it in front of Amelia, who is fighting her boredom by drawing on a sketch pad.
She is hesitant but opens the box anyway. Her face lights up for the first time today. It is jars of glitter, all different colors. There is still some confusion on her face as she tries to decipher her emotions, wondering why the sudden affection and gift from her father, but she hugs him gratefully nonetheless.
When Amelia runs off to open her new distraction, Aleksander turns his attention to me. I am sitting on the bed, fiddling with my wedding ring, as I've been doing since he left this morning. He joins me, holding a small black box. I look at it, then go back to rotating the ring on my finger.
"You can't bribe me with glitter," I murmur lowly.
"This is adult glitter," he declares, opening the box to reveal a diamond necklace. He takes it out and lifts my hair away to put it on. The weight of it rests on my neck. It is indeed pretty. Pretty but pointless.
"What are you doing?" I ask, unenthused.
"I know a necklace won't make up for the decisions I've had to make recently, but I can't give you what you really want right now. However, this," he traces a finger over the jewelry, "is something I can do."
"You're right. I don't want diamonds, Aleksander. I want to be able to leave my own bedroom. I want Amelia to be able to play outside. I want my husband back." My voice breaks as a tear rolls down my cheek. Aleksander wipes it away gently before placing a feather-light kiss on my forehead.
"A few more days," he whispers against my skin.
"What?" I say. My brow scrunches.
He exhales deeply, then says, "I am making preparations. They may be severe, but this way, you will not have to stay in here. We will be able to trust everyone who works in the Grand Palace."
My eyes grow wide. "Aleks. . . What preparations? What did you do?"
He cups my cheek and says, "You will find out soon enough. Don't be worried, my love. Everything will be alright."
How could I not be worried? If he admits that what he's doing is severe, it can't be good. What could he possibly be doing that would make it safe enough in his eyes for me and Amelia to be let out?
He kisses me again, running his fingers through my hair. Meanwhile, I spot my empty water cup on my nightstand and get an idea—one that definitely has a bad outcome, so of course, I have to go through with it. "Can you get me a glass of water, please?"
He nods. "Of course." Aleksander grabs my glass on the nightstand and leaves to get me some water that I don't need. I only required a distraction to get him away from the room. I'm the Queen of Ravka, so Saints be damned if they think I will stay put. If he won't tell me what he is planning, I'll just have to find out myself.
Once he is gone and the lock clicks into place, I rise from the bed and rush over to the door. Amelia watches me with curiosity from the other end of the chamber. Glitter is scattered over her drawing pad. She traces her finger through it to make patterns, occasionally sprinkling some in her hair. That will be a pain to get out later, I sigh to myself.
I summon a molten hot orb of sunlight between my palms and guide it through the keyhole below the doorknob.
"What are you doing?" Amelia asks.
The light melts the metal lock. I knee the door, pushing my weight onto the wood. The ruined latch gives way, and the door swings open.
"I'm finding out what your father did this time. Stay here. I'll be back before he knows I'm gone."
"He will be mad," Amelia frets. She would be right in this case, but I can handle whatever he throws at me.
I take a deep breath, then step out into the hallway. I close the door behind me and quickly scan the hall for people. No one is there. My feet carry me swiftly through the corridors to search for whatever catastrophe has Aleksander's name on it.
I don't find anything at first glance. In fact, I don't find anything at all. The palace is quiet. Deathly quiet. Where are all the attendants and servants? No hallways are bustling with chatter. No laughter amongst visitors or clatter from chefs preparing silverware for meals. As I move through the palace, I do not come to pass by one living soul. The Grand Palace is lifeless. I shiver at the sound of my footsteps echoing in the silent foyer.
Finally, I find Coraline, my seamstress hobbling down the halls in her long grey dress and bonnet. She gasps.
"My Queen. You aren't supposed to be out here. How did you—"
"Coraline. . . Where is everyone? The workers? The visitors? The servants? They are all gone."
She pulls nervously at the collar of her dress. She is loyal to my husband, so I wasn't sure she would speak. Coraline looks like she wants to flee in the other direction. Her complexion is paler than usual. After some careful thought, she eventually says, "The King is testing everyone who sets foot in the palace. If they don't pass, they are banished from the grounds or. . . worse." She gulps.
"What kind of test?"
"He asks them questions regarding you—if they have ever conspired to hurt you or your daughter. If they would lay down their lives to protect you. If they know of someone who is unloyal to the King and Queen. He always has his Heartrender at his side. If Ivan detects a single lie, they fail, and, well. . . bad things happen when you fail. The screams I've heard from—"
"Hush now. You've said quite enough," says a harsh voice right behind me. I jump and whirl around to see the Darkling hovering behind me. His icy eyes pierce through me. "You may go now, Coraline."
"Moi tsar. Moya tsaritsa." She curtsies deeply, then shuffles away as quickly as she can down the adjacent hallway.
Aleksander takes my elbow and pulls me along down the empty foyers. By the fiery anger in his eyes, I know he wants me to stay quiet, but I won't.
"There were hundreds of workers in the Grand Palace. You can't have found a flaw in every single one of them. You cannot keep doing this and run your country successfully."
"Can't I?" he drones unenthusiastically.
I stop in front of him. "No. You can't. This has to stop, Aleksander. Please."
He doesn't say anything. He just brews in his stubbornness, putting pressure on my back to keep moving through the palace to my prison, which was once a bedroom.
"Aleks, please listen to me!"
Before we turn the last corner, he makes a sudden movement, pulling me close to his chest and caging me against a wall. "What are you—"
He cuts me off by kissing me passionate and slow. My eyes widen, then start to flutter shut, but I catch myself. His mouth trails down my neck, hitting every weak spot I have. It takes all of my willpower to say, "I know what you're doing. You can't distract me with—oh." My voice was strong and confident at first, but now, it is more of a whine. I'm unsure if it was a whine for him to stop or keep going.
He wears a smug smile as he continues to take my breath away in all the ways he knows how. "Can't I?"
I shake my head clear of the traitorous thoughts, and push him away. "No." I point an angry finger at him.
He sighs heavily. "Why must you be so difficult? I am only trying to help you."
"You are trying to manipulate me. There is a big difference."
His eyes turn dark and shadowy as he takes my arm, more roughly this time, and continues to our destination—my gilded prison. "Do we really have to do this again? All of this just for you to make me your villain once more."
"The only one making you into a villain is yourself, Darkling."
He winces at the use of his informal title—the one used to make him less human. The nameless ruler to be feared.
"Fine. Be stubborn," he says. "But you will be thanking me when you and Amelia remain safe and unharmed."
He pushes open the door with a lock burnt to a crisp at my doing. Our fighting ceases as we see the empty room. We both freeze.
"Where is Amelia?"