his flower queen (nikolai lantsov)

Broken Hearts

The night before they were to enter Os Alta, they stayed at the dacha of a minor nobleman who lived just a few miles from the city walls. Count Minkoff was apparently known for breeding dwarf fruit trees, and the hallways of the dacha were lined with clever little topiaries that filled the rooms with the sweet scent of peaches and plums. 

At the moment, the four guards: Kaida, Mal, Tamar and Tolya patrolled the grounds instead of dining with everyone else. 

It was unusually quiet, each person dreading to arrive to the Little Palace. The kiss shared between the prince and the Saint infesting Kaida and Mal's minds. 

"How are the both of you doing?" Tamar asked. Mal and Kaida glanced at her, but shrugged it off. Kaida was fiddling with a small white flower. She hadn't the faintest idea of flower names, but she knew she loved those specific flowers. It gave her life. It brought some brightness into the world she was living. 

"I'm fine, still can't stand Prince Perfect, but Alina told me she kicked him after the kiss, so that makes me feel better." Mal answered, much more relaxed than Kaida expected.

If he's not heartbroken about the kiss, then I shouldn't be allowed to be this devastated by it. 

Tamar looked at Kaida, waiting for an answer. 

"I don't get why you keep asking me how I'm doing. It was just a kiss, why should I care?" Kaida responded nonchalantly, plucking the tiny petals of the flower. 

She wanted Tamar to stop asking how she was feeling because the more she thought about it, she was there all over again, watching him yank Alina to his chest and his lips colliding onto hers. Her heart cracked little by little, as she had to deny all the feelings to everyone and herself. It felt like she was going to explode into a million pieces if she kept it all bottled up, but there was no other way round it, except to hold onto it preciously like it was her prized possession. 

"I'm asking because I saw your reaction when it happened, and it looked like someone stole your heart and shattered it to pieces right in front of you," Tamar explained. 

"Well, you saw everything all wrong. Something had gotten into my eye and it was excruciatingly painful, but I didn't want to look like I was crying in front of everyone, so I must've had red eyes and looked uncomfortable," Kaida lied. 

Tamar sighed, "I don't know why you keep lying to yourself," 

"I'm not. I told you before, I'm not interested in anything that needs strong emotions." 

"Whatever," Tamar muttered. 

Mal said that he was going to patrol on a different path to have a moment by himself. So it was just Kaida, Tamar and Tolya left, patrolling the grounds together. 

Instantly, they saw a group of people at the gate demanding entry, wanting to see the Sun Summoner. Tamar went to find Mal, Tolya stayed at the gate to keep things under control while Kaida went to find Nikolai. 

"If we wanted to talk to the King's lackey, we'd be at the doors to the Grand Palace," said an impatient voice. "We came for the Sun Summoner." 

"Show some respect, bloodletter," barked a soldier. "You're addressing a Prince of Ravka and an officer of the First Army." 

Kaida felt Tolya shoulder past her, Alina flanked between him, Mal and Tamar. 

"Fedyor?" Alina said. 

His long face broke into a grin, and he bowed deeply. "Alina Starkov," he said. "I could only hope the rumors were true."

Kaida studied Fedyor warily. He was surrounded by a group of grisha in dust-covered kefta, mostly Corporalki red, some in Etherealki blue, and a smattering of Materialki purple.