his flower queen (nikolai lantsov)

Sankta Alina

They went out the Fold in one of the Darkling's skiffs. Zoya appropriated the battered glass vessel with effortless command, then kept the curious Soldat Sol distracted as Tolya and Tamar went to wake Nikolai up. Kaida loaded Mal and Alina onto the deck, hidden beneath heavy coats and folded kefta. The Darkling's body was wrapped in the blue robes of one of his fallen inferni. Kaida didn't understand why Alina would want to give this man a proper funeral, but she obeyed her wishes anyway. 

The squallers - Zoya, Nadia and Adrik, all of them alive and as whole as they'd been when the battle began - filled the black sails and carried them over the dead sands as fast as their power would allow. 

Kaida sat beside from Mal. He was still in terrible pain, drifting in and out of consciousness. She continued to work on him, checking his pulse and his breathing. 

Somewhere on the skiff, Kaida heard Nikolai talking, his voice husky and damaged by whatever dark thing had used him. Kaida wanted to go to him, see his face, make sure he was all right. But she didn't. She stayed with Mal and Alina, healing the two along with herself. During the battle, she hadn't realised how badly injured she was, so tried to fix herself. Using so much of her powers weren't helping her either. All she felt was drowsiness causing her work to be messy. 

As Alina's eyes began to slide shut, she grabbed Kaida's hand. 

"I died here. Do you understand?" Kaida frowned. She thought Alina was being delirious, but she continued, "This was my martyrdom, Kaida. I died here today." 

Kaida stared at the girl whose eyes shut completely. She didn't have any better answer than to say "Sankta Alina" as she pressed a kiss to her knuckles. She still didn't believe in Saints, but if they were to exist, Alina would definitely be her choice. 

~

They got back to Tomikyana and stashed Mal, Alina and the Darkling in the barn, tucked away with the cider presses in case the Soldat Sol returned. They got Nikolai cleaned up, cut his hair, filled him with sugary tea and stale bread. Genya even found him a First Army uniform. Within hours, he was headed to Kribirsk, flanked by the twins and Kaida, along with Nadia and Zoya, dressed in blue kefta stolen from the dead. 

On the skiff, Zoya and Nadia made it move while the twins and Kaida sat around with Nikolai. Every time Kaida looked at Nikolai, he would turn his face away. He was definitely avoiding her. He'd only talk to the twins, so all she could do was watch him and try not to kiss his kissable lips. 

They talked over what they were going to tell the public what happened to their Saint, Alina and what Nikolai did during the fight. Every time he spoke, he would touch his ribs as he had fractured two, but wouldn't let Kaida heal him. 

When Tamar asked Nikolai if he remembered anything as the beast, his demeanor changed uncomfortably, yet he talked. He said that he remembered too much. Being the monster made him feel trapped and constantly hungry. He couldn't speak or read anything which frustrated him immensely. 

When they made it to Kribirsk, they saw all the grisha students. They looked terrified, not knowing what was going on and where the Fold went. 

Nikolai installed himself in the royal quarters of the military camp and began assembling First Army captains and grisha commanders, and simply started giving orders. He'd mobilized all the remaining units of the army to secure the borders, sent messages to the coast to rally Sturmhond's fleet, and had managed it all on no sleep. No one else would have had the ability, let alone the nerve - certainly not a younger son and rumoured bastard. But Nikolai had been training for this his entire life, and Kaida knew he had a gift for the impossible.