Nikolai strolled down the Geldstraat towards Fifth Harbour, where his ship was moored. It had been deemed unsafe for him to stay another night with his crew so he had been sent to fetch what he needed from his cabin so he could stay the night at the red-head's mansion. However, apparently there was too much of a risk for him to do that on his own – hence the grumpy Heartrender trailing behind him, sulking in her red kefta.
"Miss Zenik, you do realise it's not my fault Brekker sent you to accompany me?" he said eventually, after a few minutes of leaden silence.
She gave a non-committal grunt.
He sighed. "This journey's going to be rather unpleasant if you remain quiet through the whole of it, and I happen to know that you are exceptionally gifted for talking continuously, Miss Zenik."
"Nina," she said abruptly.
He looked at her askance.
"It's Nina. You keep calling me 'Miss Zenik', but my name's Nina."
"Oh," he said hesitatingly, slightly taken aback, but ever the charismatic privateer, he returned with "So we're on first-name terms, are we? What's next – darling?" and a cheeky wink. I can never resist a little flirt when a pretty face is involved, and it can't do any harm, can it?
She rounded on him. "Shut your mouth, Sturmhond."
"Nikolai."
"To be honest, I don't give a damn."
What have I done to piss her off- oh. Now Nikolai could remember what had happened to the Heartrender after the Ice Court heist: her Fjerdan had gotten shot and she'd brought him to Fjerda to be buried in the Suli girl's ship. No wonder she was annoyed at him for trying to flirt with her when the wound was still so raw. She'd probably taken it as an insult or an attempt to make fun of her. "Sorry... Nina. I... well. Is he at rest?"
"He sleeps under the ice and his spirit runs with the wolves."
"He'd have wanted that."
"I know."
There was a brief silence, which the Heartrender – Nina – broke. "You loved someone, didn't you?"
"I- what??? How did you-"
"My power is death, Lantsov. Loss. I can tell you're mourning someone."
"Not in the way you are. She's... she's still alive, but with someone else."
"Who was she?"
Nikolai didn't know why he wanted to tell her. He didn't know what made him open his mouth and say her name. He didn't know why he gave away one of Ravka's best-kept secrets with one word to a girl who was practically a stranger to him.
But he did.
"Alina," he said.
He watched as her face changed, from pity, to shock, to outright disbelief. "Alina Starkov??? You loved her... and she's still alive???"
"Shut up!!!"
"Sorry if I'm shocked, but- WHAT??? How did you keep that from your country? People worshipped her! My friend worshipped her!" Her green eyes were filled with outrage, and Nikolai couldn't help but think that it was the first time that he'd seen her look truly alive since they'd met. Priorities, Lantsov!
"Look, I don't want to- no, I can't talk about this. Please, for both of our sakes, forget I told you that." He gave a meaningful glance at their surroundings. "Not here. Not now."
"Saints. Saints. This is absolutely insane."
"Nina. Please."
She growled angrily. "Fine. Just for you, Nikolai." She spat his name like it was an insult.
"So," he said, in a completely transparent attempt at changing the subject, "how's your power?"
Nina glared at him.
He met her angry green eyes with cool hazel ones. "Nina."
"My power's good, thanks." She managed to make even that sound rude.
"Saints, at least try to be civil!"
"Unfortunately, that is impossible at this present time."
"Not impossible, improbable," Nikolai smirked.
She rolled her eyes, but he could see the beginnings of a smile stretching the corner of her lips.
"Argh!" he said, throwing up his hands to cover his face in mock surprise. "The sun has come out again!"
"Darling, you don't need to pretend to be blinded by my beauty. It's a natural reaction."
"There- I told you you would call me darling."
"You are impossible!"
"I am improbable," he said, winking.
"How so?" Is she... flirting back?
"Well, people thought it was impossible for someone of my beauty, charm and wit to exist, but here I am, making that into improbable."
"Stop puffing yourself up. You have as much wit in your whole body as I have in my little toe."
They both started laughing for earnest, and Nikolai felt like he was in the company of a whole new person. How could this girl be the same as the sad, angry one he'd left the mansion with?
They reached his ship and boarded it, steps in sync, but the sailors barely looked up from their work. Good men, thought Nikolai.
His cabin was their first stop. He blushed when they walked through the door at the messiness of it all- clothes scattered on the floor, unfinished sketches and scribbled notes littering the desk, and strange knick-knacks from various parts of the world lurking in dusty corners, and quickly crouched down to start collecting what he'd need so he wouldn't have to see Nina's reaction.
She snorted. "Don't worry. My room in the Little Palace was just as messy. What do you need to take?"
Nikolai gave her a quick description and she started rummaging through piles of stuff too.
"So, how does your power actually work?" he asked her.
"I've been thinking about it for a long time. I think it's merzost – because of the parem, it's changed to something that is unnatural. Wrong."
"What are its limits?"
"I don't know yet. To be honest, using it kind of scares me. I'm never completely sure whether the corpses are fully under my control."
"You raise the dead, right?"
"I control them."
"Then how is that merzost?"
"Because I am creating an artificial consciousness for them. Fake life. They do what I tell them to, but it should not be so in a normal world."
They fell silent.
Eventually Nina stood and handed Nikolai a pile of clothes, which he shoved into a bag alongside the ones he'd found. One shirt slipped out of the bag and fell to the floor, and they both reached down to get it, and in doing so, Nina's hand brushed the bare skin of his wrist that had briefly been exposed. She yanked away.
"It's you!" she said accusingly.
"What do you mean?"
"All through the walk to get here, there was something I couldn't quite place. It stank of merzost. I've been trying to find what it was, and now I know. I'm accustomed with death now- I'm used to the unnatural, to merzost. My whole power is basically that. I know the feel of merzost, and your touch reeks of it. You wear gloves like Kaz to hide your hands, you are otkazat'sya but are knowledgeable about things that even Grisha should not know of, and you have the stench of merzost - of an abomination." She stared at him long and hard. "What are you?"
"You forget your place," he said sharply. "I am your king. I will not be questioned in this way."
"And I am and always will be your subject, but for a moment I thought we were speaking as equals."
She turned away from him, her expression filled with contempt, and Nikolai was disgusted at himself. Just when he'd been getting somewhere, he'd ruined it by going all kingly and righteous. What sort of a person was he beneath his kingship? He now knew the answer. He was a coward, who hid behind the shield of authority when it suited him instead of facing his problems like a man. He wore a crown on his head, but he was less honorable than a Barrel street rat.
They left the ship walking side by side, but it felt like a wall had been erected between them that even the Wraith could not climb.
~~~
Above them, unnoticed by both, the slim girl crouched on the rooftop of the house nearest to the harbour. Her grey eyes watched their retreating forms, but she remained motionless, silent as a shadow, the lower half of her face covered with a strip of fabric that masked the conflicting emotions raging inside her.
Alive. The Sun Saint, alive.
What do I do?
Who do I tell?
How do I keep this a secret?
A/N
And on that note...
King of Scars!!! Yaaaaaas!!! The cover looks so beautiful. I can't wait... but a question remains. Who will be Nikolai's love interest? Most people are saying Zoya, but there are rumours circulating that it's Nina...
Of course, that's not the real question. The real question is:
Will Kaz Brekker make a cameo???
Because let's face it - that's all us crows want (plus major Kanej & Wesper and for Matty to live and to be able to live in Ketterdam, but that's irrelevant).
PS
Who likes the pic at the top? It's my fav so far but I want more opinions.