Darkness Unfold (#3)

Chapter 7: Ravka's Storm

The Darkling was standing in the middle of a forest - alone. He was surrounded by a thin layer of fog that made him feel cold, colder than he had ever felt. He had had practice with eternity to have gotten over this feeling, but this was something different.

There were loud thuds that made him turn around. Instead of finding a herd like he had suspected, he found a lone stag standing in the clearing. The Darkling's eyes widened at the sight of him. He walked slowly towards the majestic creature, who shook the long day's journey from his legs.

The Darkling noticed the dark-coloured eyes of the stag and saw it changing to a slate colour. There was fear in his eyes that was rising every step that the Darkling took towards him. There was a sudden whoosh that entered from the canopy of the trees and hit the stag right in the heart. "No!" The Darkling heard a woman's voice.

The Darkling woke up and sat straight in his bed, sweat covered all over his body. He heard her. He had heard her. "Adaline...." He whispered. He brushed his fingers through his hair while trying to catch his breath. He had heard her.

He didn't know why the handwriting of Alina flashed before his eyes. "I've been dreaming about the Stag again."

"The stag." He realised. "That's it!"

Morozova's Stag!

That was the missing part of the equation.

The stag had helped Adaline in the past. He remembered what the Morana's Chosen had said. The stag will be your downfall when you need it the most, because like all of us, he is also under the Morana's rule.

But that was the only answer that he had at the moment. The Darkling needed to find the stag for Alina if he ever wanted to enter the Fold and get everyone to see who the real power was.

The Darkling thought about the way Alina looked at the tracker at the tent and the way she said that she missed being a part of the First Army. It reminded him of Stefan Lantsov for some reason. He remembered the way Adaline had looked at him. She had looked at the Darkling the same way when she had been everyone but Adaline.

Had he really changed so much over the centuries that even the woman that he loved, the woman that he was destined to be with would hate him until she found her memories?

The Darkling shook the thought away. It was time to live in the present. Although he couldn't let go of the past, he had to at least try to. It had been centuries since then.

He went through the journals of Ilya Morozova to see how he could find the stag, if it ever existed. He was buried in those books for days. He couldn't trust anyone to find the details but he needed skilled trackers for this mission.

The stag was the only answer, and he didn't care if he had to kill it.

The Darkling got regular reports about Alina's training. She wasn't excelling, which was both good and bad. Adaline had passed every test with flying colours. There was a small light at the end of the tunnel where Alina could not be Adaline.

But she was making friends, which seemed different somehow. Alina was starting to trust Genya and she was spending a lot of time with Marie and Nadia. She was beginning to adjust to her life at the Little Palace.

But the latest report made the Darkling furious. He ordered Ivan to call Zoya to his room. It was time to have a word with Ravka's best Squaller.

Zoya entered the room, her hair disheveled and her kefta dirty. The Darkling was glad that he had been seated in his chair when she walked in because he could only imagine the worst for how Alina must be looking at the moment. He knew the extent to Zoya's anger. He had seen it the day she had acquired her amplifier.

"Is it true?"

Zoya couldn't meet his eyes. She was looking at a certain spot on the floor. "Yes."

He stood up and started to make his way around the table. "Did you....use your powers against the only answer that we have to defeat the Fjerdans and the Shu Hans from ever touching another Grisha again?"

She looked him straight in the eye and raised her chin a bit. "She needed to be shown her place and-"

The Darkling slammed his hand on the table....Zoya didn't flinch. "She belongs here at the Little Palace. How dare you use your powers in Botkin's presence? We need her to destroy the Fold. I need her."

"No. You don't."

The Darkling stared at her. "What?"

"You said that you and I were going to change the world. I've been working every minute of every day trying to be capable of that. And now, the little orphan from Keramzin comes and-"

"I can't believe that I ever told you that." The Darkling said, standing straight.

She flinched.

That was it.

He couldn't believe that he ever thought that he saw Adaline in her. But the traces were there. Zoya had the same fierceness that Adaline did. She could have easily been his answer but she did not have the same powers as Alina.

And she never would.

"You will not get close to Alina. If anything happens to her, I will hold you accountable."

She scoffed. "You want me to babysit her?"

"If any harm comes to her," He walked towards her and stood his ground. "I will make sure that you never see your family in Novokribirsk again."

That got to her. That was it.

"You won't do that."

"Zoya? Do not test me. You have every idea of what exactly I'm capable of." She looked him right in the eye. "I'm so disappointed in you."

Zoya gasped very softly before storming out of the room and the Darkling knew that he had made her cry. Her shoulders were stiff and the air in the room seemed thin.

Alina was his first and last priority. He didn't have time to think about anyone else.

Except for her. Except for Adaline, because his heart and thoughts would always belong to her. Everything that he was doing was all for her.

"I'll see you again, my love."

"I hope I can see you soon, Della."