Shadows and Stars- A Grishaverse Fanfiction (The DarklingxOC)

.2.

How had he snuck up on us like that? I wondered. I dropped back into line with the others and got into a fighting stance. The others did the same, but were very tense in their positions, unlike they usually were.

"When were you going to tell her?" he questioned. "Were you even going to tell her, or were you just going to kill her?"

I was confused. Kill who? Why would we kill one of our own?

"Well, Estelle, did they tell you they were planning on killing you?"

What? "You're lying," I said, shock painting my voice, but I was becoming unsure of myself. I looked at the other's faces, and they looked guilty. All of them. "Nik, tell me he's lying," I whispered, my voice starting to shake, a feeling I hated. There was dry anger and wet anger. Dry anger was all stony and hard and cold. Wet anger was worse. When your voice trembles and tears prick the corners of your eyes and you have trouble saying the word. This was wet anger.

He looked down at the ground, "It's the only way to save the world. Your life versus the lives of millions of people. It's... there's no..." His voice faded.

"Of course that's what they want to think," Kirigan said, a silky note to his voice. It sang of night and shadows and the darkness where my soul came to life. "They wanted an easy way out, which would be to kill you. There's other ways, but they won't go looking for them because they want it to be over. He's desperate for the throne. She's desperate for power. You know this, you've been the one traveling with them for months."

This couldn't be true, yet it had to be. I knew that he was right, which hurt more than anything.

"Nikolai, please," I said, voice breaking. He turned his back on me. Tears started to form in my eyes. We had made an agreement to never turn our backs on one another a long time ago. And he'd broken it. He'd broken his promise. A cool rage began to bubble inside of me, drowning out the pain. Sadness was a weakness that people could exploit. So was anger, but with anger you're more likely to strike first.

I searched the others's faces for confirmation that he was wrong. They all looked regretful and guilty. I took a step backwards, away from them. And then another. And another and another until I was beside the Darkling. Everything was happening so fast. The other's eyes widened.

Faster than anyone could register, Zoya whipped out a knife and threw it directly at me. I threw out my power, freezing the knife in mid-air. It slowly turned around and pointed back towards her. I released my grip on it and the knife sliced back through the air and plunged into Zoya's thigh. She clutched her leg in pain, a startled scream breaking from her as blood began to rise. Blood. Where things began and ended. The blood you choose voices the blood you were born with. It seems like I had cut ties with both.

"Stel, we can figure this out," Nikolai said slowly, turning back around. "Just calm down and stand down."

My anger flared. Telling me to calm down when I was mad would only make me madder. But in the perfect mask of calmness, I said, "Why should I? You were trying to kill me. I'm only returning the favor," my voice was saccharinely sweet, dripping with false pleasantness.

Nikolai's eyes widened. He knew how dangerous I could be. He knew how ruthless and merciless I could become when mad. "We should go," he said quietly to the others.

"Why? Afraid you can't finish a fight you started?" I asked. They started backing away. "That's the first lesson we learned. Never pick a fight you can't win." And then, I erupted.

]:[

My emotions took over and pure night flowed out of me. Starlight shot through the darkness, lighting it up and solidifying into tiny shards. They shot towards them. The release of power felt amazing, as I had been digging down for days in anticipation of a fight against the General. Never would I've imagined I'd release it against my friends--Well, not my friends anymore.

I felt a hand close around my arm. "We should go while we can," his voice whispered in the dark. I nodded and we made our way back through the forest swiftly, heading straight for the Little Palace. Behind us, the darkness continued on, but started to fade as I got further away. Alina's light shone through a crack, and I knew it wouldn't be long before the bubble of darkness shattered. Quite honestly, I wanted it to shatter. Some part of me knew it was wrong. But most of my mind was on the fact that they'd betrayed me. That they got what was coming for them. But was it right?

We slowed to a walk and entered the gilded gates of the Little Palace. They shut behind us. I could barely keep my composure. Did that really just happen? Did I just do all of that? Eyes stared at me from all sides and I felt like my chest was compressing. The world felt like it was collapsing inwards on me.

"Are you okay?" Kirigan asked once we were inside.

"No," I replied, barely able to summon a reply.

"Do you need anything?" he lifted his hand to call a servant, but I shook my head. "I have work I have to attend to. Nicasa," he waved to a servant lingering nearby. She quickly stood to attention, a simple smile plastered on her face. "Please show Miss Estelle to a room, and then fetch her lunch."

He turned to walk away when I blurted out the main question that had been floating through my head. "Why?"

The General stopped in his tracks. He looked back over his shoulder, "Because, it would be a great waste of life and power to have you dead. You shouldn't be killed just for being. That's what I'm trying to do, keep people from being killed because of their powers. I'm not the villain here."

I was left speechless in the middle of the hallway while General Kirigan exited through large doors. Nicasa cleared her throat and I realized she was waiting on me. I awkwardly followed her through the long halls. Contrary to what I expected, the halls were filled with light. I heard Grisha who had stayed loyal to the Darkling through the various rooms, talking and laughing. Through the windows, I saw training going on in the courtyard. It seemed like everything was fine, not like a civil war was raging on outside of these walls. Why were we trying to bring this down?