"ᒪET ᗰE SEE ᑎIKOᒪᗩI."
I stare at him through the piles of papers on my desk in our shared office. One curtain is opened (on my side) and the other is closed while Aleksander works in the shadows next to the flickering light of a candle.
Aleksander looks up from his work and his mood darkens at the mention of Nikolai's name. Before he can say no, I cut him off.
"I know you have been keeping him from visiting the palace this past month. I'm sure he is worried about me, and knowing him, he is probably plotting a way to get me out of the country right now. Let me at least ease his nerves."
"I've been keeping everyone out since the attempt at your life, not just him."
That may be true, but we both know he is just using it as an excuse to cut Nikolai out of my life entirely, considering they aren't the best of friends. Putting it plainly, they can hardly be in the same room without tearing each other apart.
"Besides," he drawls, "the prince wouldn't attempt such a thing after our last encounter."
"Don't be so sure," I hum with a lilt in my voice. I hand him the current report I've been reading that inspired me to start this conversation. He takes the crinkled parchment with narrowed eyes and it only takes reading halfway through before his face contorts into pure fury.
While he is reading, he mutters incoherent grievances to me or maybe just to himself, I'm not quite sure. "The unit he's leading is supposed to be heading in a straight line to Os Kervo for a military summit with Novyi Zem but scouts say they're backtracking on the Vy."
"Because he's coming back for me," I say quietly. His head snaps up to face me. "Nikolai is my friend. He's worried about me and frankly, I don't blame him. You've put me through hell this past month."
"Not on purpose," he says in a softer tone, his words becoming a near whisper as he is troubled with revivified guilt.
"I know that, and you know that, but Nikolai doesn't. Rumors spread like wildfire around here." I pause in contemplation. "Although without staff at the palace, no one is here to start rumors, unless your nichevo'ya can talk now too," I joke.
Aleksander taps a quill on the desk in thought. A distant memory seems to flicker in Aleksander's mind, making his jaw stiffen. "Yes, well I suppose there is a certain Shu Han delegate that I might have threatened recently. Meanwhile, he now has information that provides kindling for a whole forest fire of rumors. I've released a man with a vendetta." He mutters, "I should have killed him as I initially planned."
"Why didn't you?" I ask nervously, taking a seat on the armrest of his chair. My black and gold kefta rumples beneath me as I sit.
He slowly looks up at me with a thin-lipped smile. "I thought about what you would do. How you would handle it," Aleksander says. "You wouldn't have killed him. You would have let him go. And you would not be happy if I killed him either." Aleksander grabs my waist and guides me down into his lap. I adjust my legs and wrap my arms around his neck, settling into the curve of his body. "That is my main goal. To make you happy."
"As is mine," I return, lifting his hair to plant a kiss on his forehead.
The smile on his face grows to show a small dimple on his left cheek. "You don't have to try hard to gift me with happiness, my Alina. Being here with me, letting me see those caring, warm, brown eyes of yours is enough for me."
I sigh and rest my cheek back onto Aleksander's shoulder. I say, "Nikolai will be looking for a fight with you once he arrives."
"Let him believe he could stand a chance. I could rip him to shreds with the flick of my finger."
I can't help the smirk that forms on my lips as I quip snarkily, "Yet he's still alive after all this time and you've had multiple chances to kill Nikolai which leads me to believe you like him or at the very least, respect him."
He scoffs at me and looks away.
My eyebrows raise in astonishment. "So I am right," I gasp.
"Come here," he rasps, pulling me in for a sudden kiss as a subtle 'shut up,' leaving me unable to tease him further. I grin in victory against his lips.
***
A guard finds me in the hallway as I am passing by and says, "They're here, moya tsaritsa."
I peel back the curtain of a nearby window to find Nikolai leading his unit toward the doors of the Grand Palace. Behind me, I hear the fast-paced steps of my husband approaching me. He does not look pleased, to say the least. No words are spoken between us, and the air turns thick with tension, enough so that it could be cut with a pair of shears. They don't get along as it is, but Nikolai is going to come in wanting answers. He is one of my best friends. Hopefully, Aleksander can recognize that and let me sort everything out because I can't lose another friend. I won't.
Aleksander's hand slips down to my lower back and walks willingly into the storm with me, our boots clomping on the parquet flooring in unison.
We barely get to the doors before they burst open. Nikolai, clad in his decorated military attire, comes in with some confused but acquiescent underlings marching behind him.
Aleksander stands in front of me, seeing that some of the soldiers sport rifles on their backs. I feel merzost creep into the room, waiting to be unleashed in the form of nichevo'ya, but Aleksander controls himself. The shadows slither back into their proper corners.
With fiery hazel eyes, Nikolai shouts, "I demand to see Alina. I am willing to fight you if that's what it takes! You cannot hide her away any longer!"
As protective as always, I think. I can't blame him. His loyalty is what I admire most about him.
He sputters and the words die on his lips when Aleksander steps aside gesturing to me, and I come into Nikolai's line of view, unharmed, patiently waiting for him to finish.
"Alina" he breathes.
"Nikolai."
"Blink twice if you're in trouble."
I roll my eyes. "I'm not in need of saving, I promise."
"But I thought—"
"That's what I need to talk to you about. Come." I motion him forward with my finger to walk with me. He glances warily at the Darkling, expecting him to try something as he walks past, but Aleksander just watches closely. He bites his tongue and his posture stiffens when I put my hand in the crook of Nikolai's elbow and walk out of the Grand Hall, leaving the Darkling and eleven confused soldiers behind us.
We wander the palace aimlessly in silence for a moment, neither of us knowing where to start. Finally, Nikolai speaks up.
"I don't understand, Alina. I've heard from multiple people while I was away, at all different towns, that the Darkling was keeping you prisoner."
"It's complicated, as is everything about our relationship," I laugh nervously. "The point is, I'm alright. Aleksander will not always make the right decision, but the important thing is he made the right one in the end. He fixed it."
He raises a skeptical brow. The healed skin of my wrist itches where the shackle dug in just two days ago. I tug my sleeve down further with unease.
Nikolai licks his lips before saying, "Did he? Is that why there still isn't a soul in this palace besides you and me?" His voice echoes in the empty hallway, accentuating the silence of the dwelling which was once overflowing with life. "Is that why your husband continues to kill himself by creating those shadow monsters?"
I gulp. "I don't know what you mean."
"Alina," he sighs. "Ignoring it won't fix anything. You've had to have noticed his appearance by now."
He's right. Aleksander's appearance has gotten worse the longer he keeps his nichevo'ya around. His face is sharper, eye circles more prominent, his energy depleted easier. A memory plays in my mind of him coughing into a handkerchief. I didn't think anything of it before, but now I'm not so sure it was unrelated.
"That's not all," he adds before I can form a rebuttal. "They say he has been neglecting his duties as King. Ending good alliances with countries, turning down meetings. I presume he hasn't told you any of that."
My cheeks heat with the feeling of betrayal. Why would he keep this from me?
"I don't mean to make you feel this way, Alina. And I know you love him, but I am speaking to you as a past prince instead of a friend when I say I think it's time to put your duties as Queen before anything else. Even love. I know the Darkling sends me off on these longer-than-necessary trips to keep me away and I'm fine with that because I know you have good intentions with Ravka. Promise me I have nothing to worry about if I leave this palace again," he pleads.
I look at him with teary eyes and say, "I promise. Ravka comes first."
"Good." He leans in and kisses my cheek before untwining his arm from mine and strutting in the other direction, leaving me to deal with a non-efficacious King.
___________
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