his flower queen (nikolai lantsov)

In the Chapel

The sun soldiers plunged into the shadow horde, cutting and thrusting, pushing the nichevo'ya back as the riflemen fired again and again. But despite their ferocity, they were only human, flesh and steel pitted against living shadow. One by one, the nichevo'ya began to pick them off. 

Kaida had caught up with Alina, Mal and the small group of grisha. Only Zoya, Sergei, David, Harshaw, Nadia, Adrik, Stigg and Maxim remained. The rest were dead. 

"Make for the chapel!" Tamar shouted. 

"We'll be trapped!" cried Sergei, running toward Alina. 

"We're already trapped," Mal replied, slinging his rifle onto his back and grabbing Alina's arm. "Let's go!" 

"David!" Alina yelled. "The second bomb!" 

David did as he was told and flung it toward the nichevo'ya. His aim was wild, but Zoya was there to help it along. 

The group dove into the woods, the sun soldiers bringing up the rear. The blast tore through the trees in a gust of white light. 

Lamps had been lit in the chapel and the door stood open. They burst inside, the echoes from their footfalls bouncing up over the pew and off the glazed blue dome. 

"Where do we go?" Sergei cried in panic. 

Already, they could hear the whirring, clicking hum from outside. Tolya slammed the chapel door shut, dropping a heavy wooden bolt into place. The sun soldiers took up positions by the windows, rifles in hand. 

Tamar hurdled over a pew and shot past Alina up the aisle. "Come on!" 

My best friend's gone mad. Where are we supposed to go? 

She tore past the altar and grasped one gilded wood corner of the triptych. Kaida gaped as the water-damaged panel swung open, revealing the dark mouth of a passageway. This was how the sun soldiers had gotten onto the grounds. And how the Apparat had escaped from the Grand Palace when everything started. 

"Where does it go?" asked David. 

"Does it matter?" Zoya shot back. 

The building shook as a loud crack of thunder split the air. The chapel door blew to pieces. Tolya was thrown backward, and darkness flooded through. 

The Darkling came borne on a tide of shadow, held aloft by monsters who set his feet upon the chapel floor with infinite care. 

"Fire!" Tamar shouted. 

Shots rang out. The nichevo'ya writhed and whirled around the Darkling, shifting and re-forming as the bullets struck their bodies, one taking the place of another in a seamless tide of shadow. He didn't even break stride. 

Kaida desperately wanted to use her sun summoning powers, her hands twitched. The want to use it so large, it felt like an itch. But she was definitely not going to be able to scratch the itch away, because there were the sun soldiers who followed the Apparat who started the insane story of Alina being a Saint. She didn't want to be considered a Saint, it was too much pressure and she knew herself that she couldn't be a Saint if they even exist. She'd done things a Saint would never do. Saints would never make the mistakes she had. 

Nichevo'ya were streaming through the chapel door. Tolya was already on his feet and rushing to Alina's side with pistols drawn. Tamar, Kaida and Mal flanking her, the grisha arrayed behind them. Alina raised her hands, summoning the light, bracing for the onslaught. 

"Stand down, Alina," said the Darkling. His cool voice echoed through the chapel, cutting through the noise and chaos. "Stand down, and I will spare them."