chapter twenty.
The Rise of a Grisha
DAWN WAS CREEPING OVER KRIBIRSK THAT morning. I sat down on my cot and stared unseeingly at my room. My limbs felt heavy, my mind a blank. I was still sitting there when Genya arrived.
She helped me wash my face and change into the black, gold, and pale blue kefta I'd worn to the winter fete. I looked down at the silk and thought of tearing it to shreds, but somehow I couldn't manage to move. My hands stayed limp at my sides.
Genya steered me into the painted chair. I sat still as she arranged my hair, pulling it back into the same waterfall braids she'd secured with golden pins that hung with golden chains down my back.
When she had finished, she pressed her cheek against mine and led me to Ivan, placing my hand on his arm like a bride. Not a word had passed between us. Ivan led me to the Grisha tent, where I took my place by the Darkling's side, waiting for Alina to arrive.
I knew that my friends were watching me, whispering, wondering what was wrong as tears polled my eyes, but they probably thought I was nervous about entering the Fold. They were wrong. I wasn't nervous or frightened. I wasn't anything anymore.
Alina and the orprichniki arrived a few minutes later. She started blankly up at the Darkling as she walked towards us and took her side opposite of me. She was wearing the same kefta she'd worn to the winter fete as well.
The Grisha followed us in an ordered processional all the way to the dry docks. There, only a select few were permitted to board the sand skiff. It was larger than any I'd seen and equipped with three enormous sails emblazoned with the Darkling's symbol. I scanned the crowds of soldiers and Grisha on the skiff.
I knew Mal must be on board somewhere, but what about Rebecca and Aliya? The Darkling, Alina, and I were escorted to the front of the skiff, where we were introduced to a group of elaborately dressed men with blond beards and piercing blue eyes.
With a start, I realized they were Fjerdan ambassadors. Beside them, In crimson silks, stood a delegation from the Shu Han, and next to them, a group of Kerch tradesmen in short coats with curiously belled sleeves. An envoy of the King stood with them in full military dress, his pale blue sash bearing a golden double eagle, a stern expression on his weathered countenance.
I studied them curiously. This must be why the Darkling had delayed our trip into the Fold. He'd needed time to assemble the proper audience, witnesses who would attest to his newfound power. But just how far did he intend to go? A feeling of foreboding stirred inside of me, disturbing the lovely numbness that had held me in its grip all morning.
The skiff shuddered and began to slide over the grass and into the eerie black mist of the Fold. Three Summoners raised their arms and the great sails snapped forward, swelling with the wind.
I'd never entered the fold before, but its coldness and power radiated In swift tides of air. The stench of death all around, I shrieked back but the Darkling held fast to me, "It's alright." He whispered, "Nothing will harm you."
The Darkling stared ahead, radiating confidence and ease. The sun flickered and began to disappear from view. A moment later, we were in complete darkness away from any source of light.
"Burn." The Darkling's voice rang out. Huge clouds of flames burst from the Inferni on either side of the skiff, briefly illuminating the night sky. The ambassadors and even the guards around us stirred nervously.
The Darkling was announcing our location, calling the Volcra directly towards us. It didn't take long for them to answer, and a tremor ran up my spine as I heard the distant beat of leathery wings. I felt fear spread through the passengers on the skiff and heard the Fjerdans begin to pray in their little tongues. In the flare of Grisha fire, I saw dim shapes of dark bodies flying towards us. The volcras' shriek split the air.
The guards reached for their rifles. Someone began to weep. But still, the Darkling waited as the Volcra drew closer. Baghra had claimed that the Volcra had once been men and women, victims of the unnatural power unleashed by the Darkling's greed. It might have been my mind playing tricks, but I thought I heard something not just horrible, but human in their cries.
When they were almost upon us, the Darkling released me and gripped Alina's elbow. "Now." The shadow fold in an instant was alight, as bright as noon, as if its impenetrable darkness had never been. I saw a long reach of blanched sand, hulks of what looked like shipwrecks doting the dead landscape, and above it all, a teeming flock of Volcra.
They screamed in terror, their writhing gray bodies gruesome in the bright sunlight. This is the truth of him, I thought as I squinted in the dazzling light. Like calls to like. This was his soul-made flesh, the truth of him laid bare in the blazing sun, shorn of mystery and shadows.
This was the truth that was dead and empty space between the stars, a wasteland peopled by frightened monsters. Make a path, he'd said it so simply that the command reverberated and all Alina could do was obey against her will. Her hands went up and the light closed in around us, making a path that channeled all the way to Novosibirsk.
The Volcra fled into the dark, and I could hear them crying in rage and confusion as if from behind an impenetrable curtain. We sped over the colorless sands, the sunlight spreading in glimmering waves before us. Far ahead, I saw a flash of green, and I realized I was seeing the other side of the Shadow Fold.
We were looking into West Ravka, and as we drew closer, I saw their meadows, their dry docks, and the village of Novokribirksk nestled behind it. The towers of Os Kervo gleamed in the distance.
Was it my imagination, or could I smell the salt tang of the True Sea on the air? People were streaming from the village and crowding onto the dry docks, pointing at the light that had split the fold open before them. I saw children playing in the grass. I could hear the dockworkers calling each other.
At a signal from the Darkling, the skiff slowed, and if he lifted his arms. I felt a spike of horror as I understood what was about to happen. "
"They're your own people!" I cried desperately. He ignored me and brought his hands together with a sound like a clap of thunder. It all seemed to happen slowly. Darkness rippled out from his hands. When it met the darkness of the Fold, a rumbling sound rose up out of the dead sands. The black walls of the path Alina had created pulsed and swelled. It's like it's breathing, I thought in terror.
The rumble grew to a roar. The Fold shook and trembled around us and then burst forward in a terrible cascading tide. A frightened wail went up from the crowd on the docks as darkness rushed towards them. They ran, and I saw their fear, and heard their screams as the black fabric of the Fold crashed over the dry docks and the village like a breaking wave.
Darkness enveloped them, and the volcra set upon their new prey. A woman carrying a little boy stumbled, trying to outrun the grasping dark, but it swallowed her, too.
I turned to Alina to see the same horror written all over her face and she turned to look at the Darkling, "What have you done?" She said faintly and terrified.
Then she turned back and brought her hands together and sent the darkness stumbling back away from Novokribirk but the Darkling gripped her wrist, "Ooh no you don't." He said and Alina fell to her knees crying out as he twisted her wrist.
"These people are traitors, they tried to kill you two!" He said, "They deserve to die." He looked between the two of us before standing to his feet.
The Darkling turned to look at the ambassadors and the King's envoy. Their faces were identical masked with horror and shock. Whatever he saw must have satisfied him, because he separated his hands and the darkness stopped pushing forward. The rumbling forward.
I could hear the anguished cries of those lost in the dark, the shrieks of the volcra, and the sound of rifle fire. The dry docks were gone. The village of Novokribirsk was gone. We were staring into the new reaches of the Fold.
The message was clear: Today it had been West Ravka. Tomorrow, the Darkling could just as easily push the fold north to Fjerda, to my home, or south to the Shu Han. It would devour whole countries and drive the Darkling's enemies into the sea. How many deaths had Alina and I just helped to bring about? How many more would we be reserving for?
Close the path, commanded the Darkling. Alina had no choice but to obey. Alina pulled back the light with tears streaming down her face until it rested around the skiff like a glowing dome. If only I could help, I would.
"What have you done?" whispered the envoy, his voice shaking. The Darkling turned to him, "Do you need to see more?"
"You were meant to undo this abomination, not enlarge it! You've slaughtered Ravkans! The King will never stand—" the Darkling let out a dark laugh, "The King will do as he's told, or I'll march the Shadow Fold to the walls of Os Alta itself."
The envoy sputtered, his mouth opening and closing soundlessly. The Darkling turned to the ambassadors. "I think you understand me now. There are no Ravkans, no Fjerdans, no Kerch, no Shu Han. There are no more borders, and there will be no more wars. From now on, there is only the land inside the Fold and outside of it, and there will be peace."
"Peace on your terms," said one of the Shu Han angrily. "It will not stand." blustered a Fjerdan. The Darkling looked over them all and said very calmly, "Peace on my terms. Or your precious mountains and your saints-forsaken tundra will simply cease to exist."
With a crushing certainty, I understand that he meant every word. The ambassadors might hope it was an empty threat and believe that there were limits to his hunger, but they would learn soon enough. The Darkling would not hesitate. He would not grieve. His darkness would consume the world, and he would never waver.
The Darkling turned his back on their stunned and angry expressions and addressed the Grisha and soldiers on the skiff. "Tell the story of what you've seen today. Tell everyone that the days of fear and uncertainty are over. The days of endless fighting are over. Tell them that you saw a new age begin."
A cheer went up from the crowd. I saw a few soldiers muttering to each other. Even some of the Grisha looked unnerved. But most of their faces were eager, triumphant, shining.
They're hungry for this, I realized. Even after they've seen what he can do, even after watching their own people die. The Darkling wasn't just offering them an end to war, but an end to weakness. After all these long years of terror and suffering, he would give them something that had seemed permanently beyond their grasp: victory. And despite their fear, they loved him for it.
The Darkling signaled to Ivan, who stood behind him waiting for orders, "Bring the prisoners."
I and Alina exchanged frightened glances as fear shot through us. Mal, Rebecca, and Aliya were led through the crowd to the railing, their hands bound.
"We return to Ravka," said the Darkling, "but the girls and the traitors stay." Before I and Alina had time to know what was happening, Ivan shoved the three off.
"Rebecca! Aliya!" I shouted as Alina shouted, "Mal!" We scrambled to the railing. Mal was on his side in the sand, still within the protective circle of Alina's light. He spat sand from his mouth and pushed himself up with his bound hands. Rebecca and Aliya did the same but they were faster and looked up to me, "Freya!" They shouted in horror.
Alina turned on Ivan and punched him hard in the jaw. He stumbled back against the railing, stunned, and then he lunged at her. He grabbed her, "Hold," said the Darkling, his voice like ice. Ivan scowled, his face red with embarrassment and anger. He relaxed his grip but didn't let go.
I could see the confusion of the people on the skiff. They didn't know what this show was about, why the Darkling was troubled with a deserter and two innocent girls, or why his two most valued Grisha was standing over by the rail and one just punched his second-in-command.
Pull it back, the Darkling commanded Alina and she looked over her shoulder to him in horror, "No!" She shouted, but she couldn't stop it; the dome of light began to contract. Mal looked up at me as the circle shrank, the look of regret written on his face.
I looked back to Rebecca and Aliya, "No!" I said, "Come here! All of you I can pull you over!" The two girls and Mal shook their heads but Aliya smiled sadly, "It's okay." she whispered, "Don't be afraid." Rebecca whispered after, "We love you."
They were all sitting at the edge of the gleaming circle now. I could see the shapes of the Volcra in the swirling dark, and feel the beat of their wings. They could have ran, could have wept, could have clung to the sides of the skiff until the darkness took them, but they did none of those things. They sat unflinching before the gathering dark.
Only Alina had the power to save them now— and if I did have my sun summoning abilities I would have stopped the darkness— but I couldn't because I was powerless and I couldn't save them. In my next breath, the darkness swallowed them.
I heard Aliya scream first, and then Rebecca but never did I hear Mal scream. I let out a high-pitched painful scream as soon as the two girls' screams quieted. They were dead and I didn't even say I love you back.
I fell to my knees and cried, "No!" I couldn't stop it, memories flashed through my head, the times we spent together before I'd known I was Grisha, the times we spent when I came to Ravka.
Pain and sorrow were all I felt and I didn't know what to do. We were domed, I was powerless against the Darkling.
Alina gasped out and light suddenly flooded through her, power sliding back into her hands. She had taken back what was rightfully hers and she was born again.
Light exploded around us, pure and unwavering, flooding over the dark places where my two friends once sat. Mal shielded his eyes and stumbled back as a Volcra drove away and back into the darkness. The Darkling looked momentarily confused. He narrowed his eyes, trying to gain back control over Alina.
She shrugged it off. It was nothing. He was nothing. "What is this?" He hissed. He raised his hands and skeins of darkness spooled towards us, but Alina flicked it away with her hand, it burned away like mist.
The Darkling advanced on her, his handsome features contoured with fury. My mind was working frantically to help her, but it was too late. I knew he would have liked to kill us where we stood, but he couldn't, not with the Volcra circling outside the light that only Alina could provide.
"Seize them!" he shouted to the guards surrounding us. Ivan reached out.
Alina rose her hands and sent a slash of light at Ivan who flew back and landed with a thud, next were the guards, and she did the same thing. They all flew back, landing close or going over the skiff.
"Stay back!" Alina shouted as she stood in front of me her arms drawn up, ready to lash out. "You aren't a murder, Alina," said the Darkling.
"I think the Ravkans I just helped you slaughter would disagree." Alina snarled. Panic spread through the skiff and then the next moment three people emerged from below the deck along with Zoya who drew her arms out and started slashing at the guards who were on the Darkling's side.
The three people were the people who had tried to kidnap us in Ryevost. I watched as the girl drew knives and lashed them at soldiers, "You saw what he did to those people!" Alina cried out, "Is that the future you want? A world of darkness? A world in his image?" I saw their confusion, their rage, and fear.
"It's not too late to stop him! Help us!" I shouted, "Please, help us." But no one moved. Soldiers and Grisha alike stood frozen, tempted. They were all too afraid, afraid of him and afraid of a world without his protection.
The oprichniki inched closer. We had no choice. We wouldn't have another chance. So be it, I thought. I glanced over my shoulder, hoping Mal understood what was about to happen and he nodded.
I and Alina dove off the skiff the three people from Ryevost and Zoya following close. "Don't let them escape!" Shouted the Darkling.
But it was too late we were already landing on the ground. Alina let the light out as we ran towards Mal. We heard Volcra screeching.
Behind us, we heard the sound of slaughter on the skiff as the Volcra attacked and clouds of Grisha flame exploded in the Darkness. But I still couldn't stop to think about the people we were leaving behind.
A bullet pinged against the sand beside us as we plunged into darkness, "Hold your fire!" I heard the Darkling shouting over the chaos on the skiff, "We need them alive!"
"You can't run from me, Freya and Alina!" The Darkling shouted. We couldn't let him come after us. We couldn't take that chance that he might survive.
"You can't leave us all here to die, Alina!" the Darkling shouted. "If you take this step, you know where it will lead."
Alina let out a hysterical laugh, "You begged me for clemency once," he called over the dead reaches of the fold, over the hungry shrieks of the horrors he had made. "Is this your idea of mercy?"
Another bullet hit the sand, only inches from us, the mercy you taught us. Alina smirked and brought her hands together before sending another blast of light over towards the skiff and it burst into flames.
Alina grabbed Mal's and my hand and threw a dome of light around the small group that had followed around us.
We ran, stumbling into the Darkness, and soon the sounds of battle faded as we left the monsters behind. We were free.
Words Written:
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『Authors note』
Bet you can guess who the three mysterious people are? And Zoya! Who could have guessed *jk*
Enjoy! 🥰 and thanks for 2k readers! In less than a month!
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LETS GO ONLY ONE SHORT CHAPTER LEFT UNTIL ACT II!