IT IS ᗩᑕTᑌᗩᒪᒪY QᑌITE impressive how a few words can turn a deadly quiet room into disorder in a split second. Amelia is shooed out of the room by Ivan before things get too disorderly, but that ship might have already sailed. I can barely hear myself think, but I can certainly see Aleksander's irritated glare. I don't blame him. He believes this is an impulsive decision that will change the course of history for grisha, but truthfully, I have been thinking about this for a long time, ever since the Bonesmith mentioned it. And something as momentous as this requires an influential audience. These are Dukes and duchesses, First and Second Army commanders, and ambassadors of Ravka, all in one room. They have powerful voices to spread the word for whoever will listen, and they will listen.
I stand to get their full attention. When the confused chatter continues, I roll my eyes and clap my hands together. Explosive white light shatters all the shadows hiding in corners and crevices of the meeting hall, temporarily blinding everyone for a few seconds before I let my power settle back down within me like a bear in hibernation.
When I am sure I have everyone's attention, I say, "I want to make the Second Army whole. If we continue like this, grisha contending with each other, divided into superior and inferior classes, Ravka will get nowhere. We have three small, weak armies that could easily be put together, but they are divided by something as menial as the color of a fabric."
Chatter starts up again amongst the masses until Ivan speaks over them. "The grisha orders have been in place since the birth of the Second Army. How do you expect to reform what has always been?"
"The world is changing," I respond. "Our country is a dual monarchy now. We may see a shift in alliances, good and bad. If we are to survive, we must change, too."
Some of the men and women act bored, as if they couldn't care less about matters related to the grisha. One of the duchesses even yawns. But others are riled up by the idea and look like they are ready to fight anyone who comes near them.
"Whether you support me or not, this is the best option for our country and the grisha. I will not be like all the previous Queens and sit on my throne looking pretty. I have made an oath to protect and help Ravka's people flourish. I intend to keep that promise."
I push out my chair at the head of the table and make my way through the parting assembly of attendants, dramatically making my exit after my closing speech. Nikolai would be proud. As soon as the heavy oak door swings shut, the air feels much less tense outside the meeting hall. I blow out a long breath and lean against the wall with my eyes closed. I hear the door's hinges squeak and footsteps follow me outside, but I do not bother to open my eyes. I know the sound of my husband's careful steps and the click of his metal-tipped boots. He leans against the wall beside me, brushing his arm against mine.
"You know," he says, "if I had been told a few years ago that a young girl was going to eliminate the Fold and obliterate hundreds of years worth of planning the structure of my army in a single meeting, I would have set out to locate and eliminate her."
"And now?" I mumble, peeling my exhausted eyes open to look him up and down.
"Now?" His right brow raises. "Now, I am married to her. That makes my strategy of maiming you a bit more complicated."
I push off the wall to stand before him, hands folded behind my back. "Well, I am glad you are not considering eliminating me."
"I didn't say that," he says jestingly, but there is a dangerous edge to his voice that also insinuates anger. "You undermined my reputation by proposing something like that without consulting me beforehand. If you hadn't somehow stolen my ability to think logically. . . the things I would do to you. You would be begging at my feet for mercy."
I sigh and reach for his hands, interlocking our fingers. "You're right," I say. His sharp eyes dart to mine. He was expecting me to argue, but he has every right to be furious. "I should have consulted you before I said anything, but I was given a perfect opportunity, and I took it. Isn't that what a good queen should do?"
"Yes, you are a good queen," he admits. "I just wish your plan didn't involve uprooting everything I have built."
"You know we are past due for a change. Also, that stolen ability to think logically; that would be love you are feeling."
"Is it?" he hums. "I might need a reminder of what this particular emotion is."
I grin and close the distance between us, leaning into the planes of his chest. "A reminder like this?" I mutter playfully, tilting his head down to kiss his forehead. "Or like this?" I move to his cheek. "Or this?" I connect our lips, meaning for it to be a short kiss since we are in public, but he threads his fingers through my hair at the base of my neck and draws out the kiss. I am the first to break away for air.
"So you're not mad?" I ask tentatively.
He moves a lock of stray hair behind my ear and sighs heavily. "I am, but I have learned the hard way that when you pursue something, you will achieve it with or without my blessing. And I chose you to be the Queen for a reason. The people trust you, as do I."
A relieved smile appears on my face. He trusts me. That proves how far we have come in the past few months. He finally trusts me and trusts that I will forever choose him. Initially, I tried to push my feelings away, denying their existence entirely, but it became very evident that we were made to balance one another. If I had given up on him, believing he could not be salvaged, I don't know what my life would look like now. Maybe a marriage of convenience to Nikolai. I could have learned to love him beyond friendship, but it wouldn't be true love. Perhaps Mal would still be alive, and I would have run off to live with him on some isolated farm while Ravka continued to perish. I would not have Amelia. Those options seem so far away now, and I couldn't be more relieved. Aleksander has my whole heart. He always has.
"Do you know how long you have held my heart in your hands, Aleksander Morozova?"
"I assure you, you had stolen my heart long before that. In fact, I would not have a heart to give if it weren't for you, Alina Morozova."
I wrap my arms around his core and lean my head against his chest. I can hear every beat of his heart through the shirt's fabric. The longer I listen, the more our pulses synchronize until our hearts eventually beat as one. "Should your heart ever break again, I will be here to put it together again," I hum into his kefta.
"And I you," he returns.
My gaze drifts over to the large paned window at the end of this long hallway. "Aleks?" I ask him. He hums in response. "Isn't it a bit late in the season for snow?"
"Why do you ask?" he looks down at me curiously.
I lift my cheek off his chest and gesture to the window. He follows my gaze, and then, I feel his back straighten with attentiveness. We both give each other a knowing glance before heading in the direction of the courtyard. Just as we suspected, Amelia is running around with a trail of snow left in her path. It seems she has been using chilled wind as well as her Tidemaker powers to mimic snowfall.
Aleksander is the first to approach her. "My little Grisha of the Weather," he says.
She looks unsure of herself, so I decide to play along, directing light into the small flakes of snow. The light reflects off of each frozen fragment, making them look like a million tiny suns. Her insecure face instantly turns into a beaming smile. It becomes a game as we continue to summon together while Aleksander watches us. Ten or so minutes pass before we both plop down in the snow, exhausted.
Another moment passes. I sigh. "I guess we should go back," I tell Aleksander. "We have a lot of work ahead of us."
I stand up and turn to go to the palace when Aleksander catches my wrist. "Wait," he declares. "Not yet. I would like a few more moments before everything changes."
"Alright." I bite my lip. "What do you propose we do instead?"
"Whatever you'd like."
My lips curl into a devious smile, making him instantly regret saying that.
***
I glide with Amelia on the frozen pond. With the help of her amplifier, and a bit of her father's amplifying ability, Amelia was able to freeze the pond at the Little Palace in one attempt. This time, I didn't have to bribe Aleksander to get him to skate with us. And he didn't need to ask why this was the activity I chose. The previous time we went ice skating as a family was the last peaceful moment before everything went badly. However, if the Shu Han queen had never threatened us, Ravka would not be a dual monarchy, and the Shu and Ravka would have remained enemies. Though it was a long, tiring process, the only thing that got me through it was the hope that one day, I would get to spend time with my family again, carefree and happy like when we were skating on the lake, like now.
One of my hands holds Amelia's small one, and the other grasps Aleksander's big hand. We circle the pond, giggling and smiling. The Sun Summoner, Shadow Summoner, and the Grisha of the Weather. I wasn't sure if we could be a normal family, all things considered. The enemies we've faced. The power we've claimed. But my prayers have been answered. I look at the warm smile of my husband and the beaming face of my daughter. This is what a happy ending feels like. I think I've finally found it.
All saints become martyrs. Perhaps because they do not let themselves be happy. But everyone has a happy ending if they fight for it.
All saints become martyrs. All but two.
***
The Grand Palace.
One hundred years later. . .
The Sun Queen looks at herself in the large vanity mirror. The woman who stares back at her is the same one that did last year, and the year before that, and the year before that, but for every year that has passed, she has gained experience and infinite knowledge to compete with her husband. He claims it has made her more stubborn. She says it is just leveling out the playing field.
The Shadow King startles her out of her thoughts by wrapping his long arms around her waist and pulling her into his body. His handsome features and quartz eyes remain the same, but he now has more love-filled years than all of his centuries combined before meeting Alina.
"After all this time, somehow you can still startle me like that," she says, shaking her head.
"After all this time," he hums into her hair. Time has changed many things about them and the world around them, but their love is constant. Its foundation has been tested many times, but each time, it comes out stronger.
"You seem quite happy today," she comments.
"I have you," he smirks at her through the mirror. Alina just rolls her eyes. "A conflict on the Fjerdan border has been resolved. Amelia is coming home soon. I have many reasons to be pleased."
Alina sees the devious glimmer in his eyes before he does anything. "What are you—" She is cut off when he whisks her out of their bedroom and through the halls, snickering like lovesick teenagers. They land at the doors of the old ballroom. A newly built space has replaced this one, but this one served its purpose for many years.
"A century ago today. Do you remember it?" the Shadow King asks.
She snorts. "I hardly remember breakfast."
"Perhaps you will remember now." He sweeps her onto the dusty dance floor, placing one hand on her hip, weaving their fingers together with the other.
"Alina Morozova, may I have this dance?"
Her eyes light up, the memory belonging to the past finally resurrected. "You may, Aleksander Morozova."
He smiles and begins to lead her in circles on the dance floor, just as they did a hundred years ago, each step of the waltz bringing back more of the memory. Eventually, the waltz becomes a slight swaying movement.
"It has always been like this," she says, "You kept your promise."
Aleksander holds her hands to his heart and says, "And I will continue to keep it for as long as I draw breath and forever after. I will love you like this." He kisses the back of her hand. "Like this." He kisses her forehead. "And like this." He connects his lips to hers.
Saints do get a happy ending, after all.
Alina looks up at Aleksander and whispers, "Thank you for being my happy ending."
He returns her smile. "Thank you for showing me I am capable of having a happy ending."
"Always and forever."
The Sun Queen and the Shadow King hold each other in the dusty, forgotten ballroom, though it is far from forgotten to them. If a memory is lost to the constant passing of time, the other will be there to remind them. And that is precisely what they will do. However, the one thing they never need to be reminded of is their love for each other. Their love is forever. It is strong and eternal, like them. Nothing or no one can change that, no matter how hard they try. The Sun Queen and the Shadow King are each other's happy ending.
All things must end, so that we may have a new beginning.
The End.