Exile |The Darkling|

Chapter 4: Bloody

The string that had been holding the two of you together snapped when Alina went missing. All the cracks had begun to crumble like a volcano erupting over a slumbering city.

Aleksander had flown into a fit of rage when he discovered it was his mother who helped Alina escaped. A feeling so defined that he hadn't felt so defeated in years, yet there was the possibility that she was alive and willing to return–albeit a small, unlikely option.

Baghra had told her the most important aspects of Aleksander's history. She had told Alina the worst parts of him, the worst parts of you, and it was enough to convince her that helping the two of you would be far worse than being captured by the Drüskelle or eaten by the Volcra in the fold. Alina would rather live in the wild, on the run with Mal for the rest of her years if it meant she never had to see either of you again.

But Aleksander was not one to accept failure and neither were you, though, the fractures of your union were complicating the search for both the Sun Summoner and the stag. Hours after he had learned of Alina's disappearance, Aleksander took all of his anger out on you. And unless hell had frozen over, there was no way you were going to let him blame you for everything that happened.

The Darkling flung open the door to the bedroom with such a force that it hit the wall, punctured it, and returned close with a bang. The green of the walls turned black and the stars of night couldn't brighten the emotions that swirled in the dense air of the palace quarters.

"I told you to find her before anyone else!" It was the first words he had spoken and it was blaming you for letting her get away. You hadn't had a sixth sense, so knowing exactly where she had been in that moment was far from something you could do. You also made no effort to focus your attentions on the girl as it was, therefore the idea that you had the ability to pick her out of a crowd of hundreds of people was implausible. Aleksander, well, he didn't see it that way.

"How was I supposed to know where she was? I ran after her but by the time I got to the study she was gone! It is not as if I pushed her to your mother and said 'Alina, go with Baghra and she'll make everything right.'" Aleksander seethed and paced around the smaller room. His fists clenched as tightly as his jaw, and his eyes were as dark as his soul.

"My plan would have worked if you would have let me get close to her. I had her in the palm of my hand, and she would have eaten out of it if given the chance."

"Why is it always someone else's fault? Aleksander, you left her at the fete to drink with me...I did not even ask you to come!"

"You wanted me to yourself! If I would have-" Aleksander let out a groan of frustration and in split second, the armoire split into two, falling to pieces on the floor and clothes scattered across the right side of the room. It was not the first time the man had destroyed fine furniture in his frenzies.

"What is wrong with you!? We already have a lead!" You were being the rational one. You had listened to what Ivan and the others had said about the three from Ketterdam, how Alina was more than likely being transported by them and that once they were spotted, word would be sent for you both to retrieve the thieving crew.

"If I would have followed MY plan none of this would have happened." His voice was low and near groveling.

"You mean if you would have let her kiss you? To have her fall in love with you and you her, just so everything would be easy?"

"Maybe it would have been easy, but it would have been more pleasant than this."

"I am not going to entertain this." You rose from where you were sitting on the bed, shaking you head at his ridiculous behavior before you lost it yourself. There had been so much tension over the last few weeks that it was becoming tiring to even try to fight it out. The realization that hundreds of years of planning was finally coming to fruition brought a heavy burden on you both because it was between the two of you, no one else had lived long enough to witness what you had.