Saints and Sinners

Twelve:

Twelve

When they got back to the apartment, Aleksander dismissed the servants. His whole body had been tense the entire time. He turned and glared at her. "What in the fucking hell were you THINKING?" he roared at her, anger flashing in his eyes.

Alina flinched and backed away from him. "Did you honestly expect me not to at least try and escape? My soulmate is a MURDERER. I am supposed to be a future lawyer. I wasn't going to sit here, and let my life get turned to shadows by you. I had to at least try to save myself."

Aleksander ran his hands over his beard. "If you want to act like a victim, Alina, I will be happy to oblige with making you feel that way. From now on, you will be escorted everywhere by Matthias or Fedyor. You will follow the schedule I have for you, and you will go no where without my permission."

Alina glared. "You can't possibly be serious."

"You are my soulmate, Alina. What happens to you happens to me. You might not care about your life because you are tied to me but I care very much about my life. And if you won't give a fuck about yours, I will."

She scoffed at him. "Why should I give a fuck about my life when the Saints have tied me to a man who so clearly doesn't hold it in high regard enough to stop killing?"

Aleksander stormed towards her, his eyes blazing, and he grabbed her roughly by the shoulders, his fingers digging into her skin making her wince. "Do you want to see what it is like to live with a soulmate who truly does not give a fuck, Alina?"

Alinas heart was pounding against her chest. She knew Aleksander could feel her fear too, and she hated that. "What are you talking about?"

He let her go, aware that his nails were digging into her skin. She imagined he would have the same marks as his shoulders. "Come with me."

Alina swallowed. "Come with you where?"

"I am going to show you what it really looks like when your soulmate is a monster." He reached out, grabbing her hand tightly, and dragged her out of the apartment. Fedyor, somehow, was already there waiting for them. He opened the door for them and Aleksander shoved Alina inside then got in and slammed it shut before him.

At least, she thought vaguely, she knew he wasn't going to kill her. Not at the cost of his own life too.

They road in silence. Aleksander gripped her hand the entire time. She opened her mouth several times, trying to explain her side. Couldn't he understand how terrified she was? She had spent her whole life living a certain kind of way, and now in the blink of an eye, she was expected to change her whole lifestyle and belief system. It didn't matter though what was said. Soulmates, in Ravka, were sacred. And when your soulmate was someone important like him, there was no getting out.

It wasn't like a relationship that was Unblessed. The Unblessed could fuck and marry and do as they pleased, and not worry about being tied to another person. How foolish she had been to think that she couldn't live that kind of simple life. At least they chose who they wanted. Alina was, now and forever, irrevocably tied by the Saints to a man who walked with Sin like it was an old friend.

They stopped, finally, in front of an old, brick building. "Get out," Aleksander told her. Alina got out.

There were flowers in front of it, neatly taken care of. There was a bronze sign that said Morozova Shelter. "Where are we?" Alina asked.

"You'll see," Aleksander replied tersely. He walked ahead of her and pushed open the door.

"Morozova, where are we?" she demanded.

"This is how you bring your soulmate to meet your mother?" There was a tall, intimidating woman that stood at the top of the staircase. She had long, grey hair, wore black slacks, a turtleneck, and carried a cane.

Aleksander smiled. "Hello, mother."

"Hello, boy." The woman Aleksander called 'mother' smiled affectionately at him, and then she made her way down the stairs. "Well, she doesn't look like the demon you described on the phone the other day."

"Baghra," Aleksander hissed, "I told you that in confidence."

Baghra smiled. "And I went through labor with you. Get over it." She glanced at Alina. "Miss Starkov, it is a pleasure to meet you."

Alina forced a smile on her face. "Thank you, Mrs. Morozova."

Baghra laughed. "There's no need to call me Mrs. I was never married. I was not Blessed to have a soulmate like you, Miss Starkov."

Alina bit down on her lip to keep from saying anything. Finally, after a moment she said, "What is this place?"

"A shelter for soulmates that were rejected by theirs. They don't last long, but even those that are sometimes forced with horrible circumstances. There's a stigma around them, and so they end up without places to go. My sister was one of those, so I created this place in her memory."

Alina's face softened a bit. "Mal's mom was rejected by her soulmate?"

Baghra nodded. "It's why Mal ended up in the orphanage. His father's family should have taken care of him, but they didn't want to associate with someone whose Blessing had failed with them."

"So, what happens to them then?"

"They wither and die."

Alina knew the answer. She shouldn't have been surprised, but somehow hearing what had happened to Mal's mom made things a little bit clearer. She was not, by any means, happy with her choice of soulmate. But she couldn't imagine a worse fate than someone actively rejecting you. "Does Mal...."

"Mal knows," said Aleksander, "are you really going to make him go through that, Alina? For both his best friend and his cousin? Because that is what will happen if you keep on this way."

Alina was quiet for a bit. "Fine. I'll play ball."

He smirked at her. "Good. That's what I wanted to hear."