Saints and Sinners

Twenty-three:

Twenty-three:

When Alina was little, there was one winter where the orphanage didn't get their supplies until spring. It was something to do with funding. Ana Kuya, the head of the orphanage, had managed to make it through the winter by feeding the children whatever was in the pantry or relying on donations from neighbors. She didn't remember what they ended up eating but she knew that it had left a bad taste in her mouth after eating it. Alina had heard stories about The Emerald Palace from her wealthier classmates. Genya, for instance, had gone there on her first date with David.

And she knew Kaz and Inej had spent their anniversary there. But Alina had never been. For someone that spent most of her spare time tutoring or volunteering, a place like The Emerald Palace had never been some place she thought she would ever go. "Can I ask you something?" Aleksander said as the two of them were led in by smiling hostess to their seat which was by a window that overlooked Os alta.

Alina looked up at him. "You're asking me permission to do something? I didn't think that was something that Aleksander Morozova did."

He smiled at her. "I've been known to have manners occasionally." He pulled out her chair and then pushed her in.

Aleksander took his seat across from her. Alina could feel his heart racing against her chest. It was a strange feeling, his feelings and hers all at once. He was nervous, which was a feeling that she had yet to experience from him. Alina tilted her head to the side. "Is everything okay?" she asked. "You can't possibly be nervous about us going out on a date. I've already seen you at your worst, Sasha. There's nothing that could make me run now."

He winced. "I wouldn't count on that...but...if it wasn't Mal, who did you think your soulmate was going to be?"

Alina blushed. "I can't tell you that."

Aleksander raised an eyebrow. "Why not? Are we not past the point of having secrets with each other?"

"We barely know each other," she reminded him, "it hasn't even really been that long. But it's too embarrassing, and you know them."

Aleksander smirked. "Jesper?"

Alina laughed. "He wishes. He did flirt something fierce before Wylan showed up. No, not Jesper."

"Brekker? I didn't think he could inspire feelings of love in anyone except for someone who was as deadly as him. It's why him and Inej are such good fits, because she's a weapon."

"Inej is actually really sweet."

"I don't doubt it, but I also happen to know that she's usually one of the deadliest people in the room." Aleksander smirked at her. "Come on. Who was it? It can't be that embarrassing."

She sighed. "You've worked with them before."

"Who?" Aleksander asked.

"Nikolai Lantsov," Alina replied, "and don't tell Zoya because I'm fairly certain she'd kill me. Even if it killed you too."

Aleksander coughed. "Nikolai?"

Alina smirked at him, obviously delighting at watching him squirm. "I told you that you didn't want to know."

He sighed, a ran a hand through his hair. "Well, that wasn't what I expected. Why Nikolai?"

"When I first started law school, Nikolai was kind of everywhere because of a lot of the cases he was working on were high profile. And everyone knows the Lantsov family used to be royals, before their throne was toppled by the current government. And with his father being the President of Os alta, well...it just kind of painted a romantic picture in my head of him. He's very, um, charismatic."

Aleksander smirked. "That is one word for Nikolai. Prat is another. Have you ever met him?"

Alina nodded. "He came to speak at the college once. He's very passionate when he speaks, and he always talks about helping people and doing the right thing. I guess I hoped that my soulmate would want to do the same thing as me. That we could work together to change things."

"I'm sorry," Aleksander said.

"What for?" she asked.

"I'm not that. I'm never going to be that." Aleksander put his head in his hands. "I think I've trapped you."

Alina shook her head. "You're not the one that's responsible for all of this, Sasha. You didn't have a choice either. That's the thing about Blessings. We're not supposed to understand why they're a Blessing, we're just supposed to take them and hope that they provide us with what we need. That's what it means to be a believer, after all. You believe even when you don't understand. I believe...I believe you and I are soulmates for a reason. Maybe we'll understand it. Maybe we won't. And that's okay, as long as we honor them by respecting their Blessing."

"You really think that huh?" he said. "You're not still scared of me?"

Alina locked eyes with him. "What makes you ask that? Why are you in your head so much about this? You were the one that was pushing for me to accept the Blessing. Now you're suddenly having second thoughts?"

"Are you still scared of me?" he asked.

She glared at him. "You know what I feel, Sasha. You feel the same thing as I do. You don't have to ask me that."

He smiled softly at her, and the look in his eyes left her feeling unnerved. He reached out and took her hand. "My mother didn't get Blessed. She had a one-night stand with a man whose name she doesn't even remember. I thought if she had that fate I probably would to. As a young woman, she was very beautiful, and every man that passed through her life thought that they were going to be her soulmate. But mom said there's two types of people, Aleksander. The Blessed and the Damned. The Blessed get smiled upon, and The Damned get spit on. So you'd best learn to make your way in the world because no one else will do it for you."

"Sensible," she replied, "and sad. But she was wrong. You are Blessed, Sasha." She reached out and threaded her hands in his dark hair. "Let's enjoy some of those blessings, hmmm?"

Aleksander smiled. "Yeah. Let's."