The Return (Darklina Fanfic)

Chapter 18. Reunited

We rode for hours without stopping. My tailbone started to hurt and exhaustion started to overwhelm me. 

Alina.

His voice was in my mind like a whisper. 

You can't run from me, my Alina.

I looked around for any sight of him, but there was nothing but darkness surrounding us. Nikolai seemed to notice my discomfort and continuously told me it was going to be okay. I just nodded, not really believing him. 

The pitch-black sky above us became lighter. Soon the sun would rise. It would make our journey easier, yet it would also make it easier for the Darkling to find us. 

The tether weakened more and more with each passing hour, making me hopeful. 

''I think it will be safe to stop for a few moments.'' Finally, Nikolai said the words I hoped I would hear for the past three hours. I sighed in relief and nodded. We stopped at a small clearing, a small stream was flowing close by. 

Nikolai helped me off the horse. I smiled gratefully as my feet touched solid ground again. Tolya walked towards the stream and started filling waterskins. 

''Thank you.'' I said to Nikolai, exhaustion audible in my voice. ''For saving me.'' I added. 

Nikolai smiled at me. ''Don't mention it. You saved us first.'' He hugged me, and this time it wasn't rushed. I buried my head in his shoulder. Tears started to flow down my cheeks and my shoulders started to shake. But these were happy tears. Hopeful tears. 

I pulled away and wiped my eyes with the sleeve of my Kefta. I smiled. ''So you're going to be a father?'' I asked Nikolai, who grinned at me in response.

''Yes! Sometime soon, someone as equally handsome as me will be running around.'' He joked. ''Or if it's a girl, as equally beautiful as Zoya.'' He added as an afterthought, still amused.

I laughed. ''Being dethroned has done nothing to your morale, has it?''

Nikolai shrugs. ''We defeated him- correction, you defeated him once. So, we'll do it again.''

My smile faltered. If only it would be that easy. I changed the subject. ''So where are we going?''

In response, Nikolai went to his horse and from the saddlebag he took a rolled up piece of parchment. As he unrolled it, I saw it was a very detailed map of Ravka. Tolya joined us and all three of us bent over it. Nikolai pointed at a dot, just south of Ryevost. ''We've been hiding here in an underground bunker. A very well hidden tunnel will lead us there. If we continue our journey soon, we'll be there before nightfall.'' 

''If we manage to evade the Darkling until then.'' Tolya added. I nodded. I could feel the tether getting just a bit stronger the longer we stayed in one place. 

''Let's hurry then. We'll eat something on the road.'' Nikolai decided, and he took his horse by the reins. He helped me in the saddle first, before seating himself behind me. 

__________________________________

We stopped once more to let the horses rest and to replenish our waterskins. After that we rode on. We rode at the edge of the forest. It was almost sundown now, the sky was turning a light shade of pink and purple. The shadows around us grew larger. Far away in the distance I could see light coming from Ryevost. We were close to our destination.
After a while Nikolai steered his horse towards the trees and we entered the forest again. Nikolai  began counting  the trees. I noticed that the tree he started counting at, had a marking on it. A sun. After counting to twenty-four, he made a turn to the right and started counting again. ''One, two three-'' He muttered softly. I listened and tried to memorize all he said. When he reached the number seventeen, he steered his horse a little to the left. And the counting started all over again. After riding past thirty-four trees, Nikolai stopped his horse.