"Crowns topple easily. Thrones crumble like dust. Hearts cease to beat. Thorns draw blood."
In a country torn into two, there should have been no room for mistakes. Especially not at the very core of the royal family. That was what she was. Yes, a...
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"Tell me about them."
Irina looked over at Aleksander, both of them sitting on the ground in front of the lake.
Weeks had passed since the moment of his near-death, neither one of them brought it up and neither one of them brought up the passionate event that had happened afterward.
She understood better than anyone that it was a spur of the moment. She was feeling vulnerable, he almost died, they were bound to do stupid things after. Commanded by their bodies in a way to comfort themselves and at the time, there was only each other.
It didn't make it any less painful though when he showed up the next day, acting as if nothing had happened. Dima had been concerned with the new animosity between them but said nothing. After all, what did he know? What did they all know?
"About what?" He asked, his fingers moving along and she could see shadows playing by the side of the lake.
It wouldn't have been obvious to anyone else but she could see the hint of darkness dancing around. She was glad that he could be comfortable around her.
They were in front of the lake, wasting time as their training had ended but none of them wanted to return to the palace just yet. Dima had left to accomplish some duties, leaving Aleksander and Irina talking about the simplest of things.
"Amplifiers." She answered, before lying down, her back pressed to the green grass.
He gazed down at her, remaining in his seated position. "What does the princess of Ravka know about amplifiers?"
He seemed as if he was hiding something, something he didn't want her to know. Nevertheless, she wouldn't force it out of him.
"You do know that all the stories in the library are about the treacherous nobles of the court. I have never heard of a single story wherein the Grisha are the good people. The Apparat once told me that amplifiers were witch's work." She stated, frowning.
He raised a brow. "And yet you wish to know about them. Why is that?"
She sighed, giving up. "It's been on my mind as of late. I keep thinking of fangs and expanding the reach of my power. Is that unnatural?"
"No, it isn't. Powerful Grishas usually wield amplifiers which is probably why you've begun to dream about it. These amplifiers can be the bones, the teeth, parts of certain animals. These objects can help a Grisha achieve their full potential." He explained, his eyes straying back to the lake.
She lifted her head to look at him. "What's your amplifier?"
"What?" He turned back to her.
She sat back up. "You said that powerful Grishas usually wield amplifiers. What's your amplifier?"
