Memoriam ➳ The Darkling

[19]

Soundtrack: Nightwish - Sleeping Sun

    There was one thing I absolutely loved about riding a horse: it made me feel an indescribable kind of freedom. As I felt the wind against my face, as the wind blew in my raven hair, as my body moved on the saddle, as I heard the steady clop of the horse; I felt alive and free.

    The Darkling instructed me for a while before letting me slowly ride the horse, he corrected when I did something wrong, he gave me tips and then he also rode beside me with his own horse. We spend almost an hour like that.

    After leaving the horses in the barn in the Little Palace, the Darkling waited for me outside as I petted my horse for a while longer. Leaving a small kiss on its nose, I walked out of the barn with a wide smile on my lips. "I think he likes me," I said, I was talking about the horse.

    "I think you like him more," the Darkling told me with a soft tone. "Are you hungry?"

    I shrugged, "Not really, I could just have a quick bite of an apple." I said, then I rolled my eyes upon seeing the look the Darkling gave me. "Don't worry, I'm not starving myself –I'll finish everything on my plate during dinner."

    The edge of his lip curled upwards while we were walking to the Little Palace. "I should have Celina by your side during meal times to make sure you properly eat." he teased me.

    "Do I look like a baby to you?" I asked him with a frown on my face but his reply made me burst into laughter.

    "I find this question very much disturbing considering the events of the previous night."

    I didn't know what he had in mind, hence I let him drag me into the Little Palace behind himself. Everyone else was in the dining hall, so the Little Palace was quite empty. As we climbed the stairs, I understood that we were heading to the war room.

    Behind the huge table, which occupied most of the space in the room, stood four wooden chairs around a medium-sized, round table. There was a bottle of kvas, a few glasses and a bowl of fruit on the round table. The Darkling handed me a green apple as he sat down on one of the chairs.

    I took a big bite from the apple after asking. "Why did you bring me here?"

    He motioned me to sit to his parallel so that we faced each other. "You've asked me something earlier today, Valkyrja." he said. "Do you recall it?"

    "The regular Amplifiers," I put an emphasis on the word regular. Then I took another bite from the apple.

    The Darkling nodded, his slate-grey eyes were focused on me. As always, his intense gaze made it hard for me to keep eye contact. "What do you know about them? The Amplifiers?" he asked me. "You said that you've read a lot about them."

    I swallowed the piece of apple in my mouth before talking. "They are objects that increase a Grisha's powers, usually consisting of bones, scales or teeth of animals," I began to explain. "Though I know for a fact that there are also human Amplifiers –you and Baghra."

    "Anything else?"

    "A Grisha can only possess one Amplifier –the bond is mutual. Once the Grisha owns the Amplifier, the Amplifier also owns the Grisha." I was about to mention the Apparat and his implications about Sankt Ilya; however, I doubted whether it was wise to talk about such ambiguous things with the Darkling.

    Of course, my doubt didn't slip beneath his radar. He raised a questioning eyebrow at me as he poured himself a glass of kvas. "I thought you trusted me, Valkyrja."