Blood and Water - The Darkling

Chapter 5: Espionage (1)

*This is the PG version. Skip to the next update for the mature one. They are both the exact same just plus or minus the spicy scene

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𝕬𝖘 I exit Alina's room, Genya nearly collides with me. She's carrying what I assume to be my sister's dinner tray.

"I am so sorry, Genya," I say while I steady her.
She just chuckles and shakes me off, "It's fine, Lana. Really it was my fault."

I smile and change the subject, "If being my twin's maidservant gets old, let me know. I can have a word with Kirigan."

"I may take you up on that, Lana," the redhead replies with a flip of her hair. "I'm too beautiful to be doing manual labor."

My grin almost hurts, "That you are, my friend. But I mean it, we can always have Ivan do this."

Genya's smile loses some luster, "You and I both know that I really am the only person who can do this."

I sigh, "You're right."

She carefully balances the tray in one hand and gives my shoulder a squeeze, "Since you just left her room, is it safe to assume you both finally talked?"

With a nod, I answer, "Yes. We finally cleared the air."

"I'm glad," Genya beams. "Despite that I'm basically also your sister at this point, she's your real one. I'm happy that you both made amends."

I place my palm over hers and smile, "It's like a weight off my shoulders."

"Your sister's dinner is getting cold."

A smirk graces my features as I back away, "My apologies, Genya."

Just before she reaches to close the door, I add one last comment, "By the way, you are my real sister too. Don't forget it, that's an order."

She's even more radiant than ever as she bows jokingly and replies, "Will do, moya soverenaya."

Then she glides into my sister's cabin with more grace than I will ever be able to muster.

My mood is light as I walk back to my own room. Aleksander is sitting at the small table by one of the portholes. I slide into the empty chair and observe the two dinner trays.

"You got me dinner," I say with a raised eyebrow. "How sweet."

He just shakes his head and asks, "Did your talk with Alina go well?"

I nod, "Yes, surprisingly."

We begin to eat and after a few bites the suspicion hits. I place my silverware down with a soft clink, "Why did you ask?"

The Darkling lazily shrugs, "Because I care about your feelings, Lana."

Through our bond I know he's not lying, "But there's more."

He sighs and also places his cutlery down, "Yes."

"Are you going to tell me what it is?"

"I wasn't planning to yet," Aleksander admits. "But you always seem to pull the truth from me, moya zvezda."

I wave my hand for him to get on with it. He does, "Your sister has a tendency to slip from my grasp. If she does so again, I want you to go with her."

Shock jolts through me, "What? Your reasoning is? Must be good considering all your threats to the world if I were taken away from you."

"I can find you easily, more so than Alina," the Darkling elaborates. "Plus, if she decides to fight back against me in any way, you can warn me."