Sun Queen

♛ Sixteen ♛

When I wake, I don't find the Darkling's face up close to mine. Instead, I find a bustling group of legs rushing past me. I groan and cover my face with my hand, stretching out on the couch. When the sleep was gone from my eyes and every bone had cracked, I take a real look around the room.

Dozens of human servants in drab colors of tans and whites are packing up the Darkling's room. They keep their heads to the ground, afraid to look me in the eye. I turn around on the couch to look behind me but the Darkling isn't in the room. I flop back to the cushions with the relief of knowing he isn't here.

"M-Miss Ali-ina?" A young girl with sprigs of bright orange hair falling out of her cap stands suddenly beside me, holding a hand towards me.

"Yes?" I let her help me to my feet, feeling bad for her deeply reddened face.

"There's a bath heated up for you and fresh clothes in the bathroom." She points to a door across from the Darkling's bed.

I can suddenly smell the order that clings to my skin. Sweat, dirt, and the Darkling's stench clog up my nose. I let out an embarrassed chuckle and follow the servant girl to the bathroom.

The girl claps her hands and looks down. "Do.. do you need help bathing?"

"No!" I blurt out. I then cringe at my loud voice. "No, just give me a few minutes."

As soon as the door was closed, I sink into the bath, tossing my dress as far away from me as I could. It was such welcoming feeling when the warm water laps at my skin. Bottles and soaps line the rim of the bath and I giggle, putting five body washes in my hands for fun. I try out a few of the soaps before deciding on a creamy, cinnamon scented bar.

When I get out I almost trip over the pile of lavender towels at my feet. I drape them around me and pad over to the clean pile of clothes on the counter. I pull up the shirt and frown, wrinkling my nose. It was black, of course, with a thick leather belt around the mid section. The rest of it was a dark loose cotton that hangs above my knees and puffs out at the sleeves. A pair of tight black pants accompany it.

There was no way I was wearing this. But a glimpse at my old dress told me I needed to do a little redecorating. I carry the shirt and pants over to the bath and smile to myself, "Okay Aleksander, I'll play your game."

༶•┈┈ ♛ ┈┈•༶

When I leave the bathroom, most of the servants are gone. The Darkling's drawers are open and bare. How long does he plan on leaving?

I fiddle with the belt around my waist, smiling at my handiwork. After looking for a while, I found some cleaning supplies the maids were using under the sink. I bleached out the clothes' black color until it was a light gray. I left the pants as a dark gray, but made the shirt white. It wasn't perfect, but it wasn't black.

I try to stay in the shadows when I exit, shying away from the window's light. I shimmy across the wall and towards the door, pulling it open.

The hallways are even worse than the Darkling's chambers. A mob of servants thrum in the halls and I have to pull myself back into his rooms to keep from getting trampled. I watch as a speck of black moves through the crowd, a bubble of space around it.

I grin and hurry back to the couch. I want to be ready for this surprise. I hear the doors closing behind the Darkling and I peek over the couch for a second. He looks over but I'm already hidden again.

"Alina?" His voice leeches of impatience.

His shoes thud slowly across the floor as he stops at the back of the couch. Muscles feather his jaw with anger when he sees my clothes. His grey eyes darken and I know his hands are making fists. I place my hands below my chin and smile innocently up at him.

"What?" I ask him.

"You're not wearing that." The Darkling's eyes flame again.

I look down, "I think I am wearing it."

He lets a growl, but stalks away. I sigh with the knowledge that I won this battle. Finally a small rush of victory thrills through me. After yesterday's events, I need to do every in my power to undermine him. Mal was right. I can't let him get to me, and that means keeping my temper.

"Are you coming?" The Darkling's voice is steeled, but I take my time meandering over to him.

He pulls me into the crowd and I let him grasp my upper arm with his glove. At least with him I'm guaranteed that no one will run into me. I'm surprised at the large amount of servants and Grisha in the hallways. I try to catch people's eyes, hoping to see what's going on but everyone averts their gaze.

"Why are there so many people?" I whisper into the Darkling's ear.

He looks down at me, anger wiped from his face. The Darkling shrugs smugly, "I thought I would extend our party and our journey a little."

I pull against his grip a little, "What did you do?"

"My Grisha knights and part of my army will be joining us. For safety, of course. Since we'll be traveling to the Grand Palace on our way back."

So he's taking me to visit Nikolai after we attack the Shu. I knew he would pull this card eventually but my stomach somersaults with dread. I keep my eyes emotionless as I stare up at him, ignoring his unspoken threat.

Another part of his sentence sticks out to me. Part of his nichevo'ya army will join us. Maybe I'll finally figure how he's managed to create them.

The Darkling continues, "David will also join us. I want to be sure that the second the amplifiers are done, you'll be there."

Another threat. Fine. I'll have to escape before David finishes. Luckily, we'll be on the road. I'll have more opportunities.

"And along with some talented Grisha, your friends will be included."

At this I wince. The Darkling is not inviting Zoya and Genya out of courtesy to me. He's threatening me with their presence.

We burst into the courtyard and I sink at the immediate sight of his carriage. I forgot about that. The Darkling knows me too well since he smirks expectingly down at me.

I wrench my arm out of his grip and walk up to the carriage, forcing myself to open the door and climb in. I turn back to the Darkling and ask,

"Are you coming?"