LACUNA [ THE DARKLING ]

023. - i'll protect you

Ravenna has betrayed them.

Alina tried to come down from the shock, she couldn't accept that everything had been a lie with Ravenna. From the start when she stepped into the little palace till now. Did Ravenna even care about her feelings at all? What about their conversation about trying a relationship together? Was it a lie?

"So that's it, you pretended to still be my best friends while trying to lock me up in the little palace?" Alina shouted, she felt her heart shatter into a thousand pieces. "You pretend that you hated him so he could use you to hurt me? Were you lying when you said you wanted everything to go back to the way it was?"

Ravenna shook her head, "I am your best friend, Alina. I never pretended. I just thought you would understand why we have to do this. And I'm not lying when I said I wanted everything to go back, but it will just be too different. We're Grisha, we'll be hunted and I don't want to feel scared anymore. I want you to understand why we have to do this."

"She was never willing to hurt you, Alina," Aleksander said from next to her. "She never lied or pretended to be your best friend. She was just doing this so we could make Ravka safe for Grisha. I thought you would understand as her best friend."

"I will never understand if it was the cause of many people's deaths and oppressions," Alina shook her head.

Ravenna held back her tears, "I guess you never knew me that well, then."

Aleksander saw her expression and he couldn't help but fume at Alina, he would have thought that the sun summoner would be more compassionate towards the person that she loves. Guess her love was not as strong as his.

"It's alright, darling. It's just you and me now. We are all we need, anyway," Aleksander said softly to Ravenna who was looking at Alina with such sadness.

He cradled her head, kissing over her hair and forehead, "Forget about the sun summoner. I'll make sure to put her away so you won't have to see her face and feel sad anymore."

Aleksander stretched his arm to grab Alina's elbow to make her stand, but before he could even touch her, Alina already took his hand and pierced him using the blade Ravenna threw. The blade pierced through his hand which removed the Stag's bone that was embedded there.

Ravenna moved to incapacitate Alina but Mal pulled on her leg which made her fall down. That was such a sneaky move for a good guy.

"Your first words to me were, "What are you?" This is what I am," Alina said to Aleksander.

She used her power to create a new tunnel of light that expanded to the back end of the skiff, killing all the Volcras that were trying to kill the Crows and Zoya.

"How do you claim such power? I am the one who killed the Stag," Aleksander grunted as he took out the blade.

Ravenna stood up and moved next to Aleksander, cradling his bloody hand while staring at Alina with a newfound irritation.