Her Balance | Nikolai x Reader x Darkling

~ Chapter 11 ~

Sorry for the disappearance again! There's a little surprise at the end to make up for it. 

:)

Let's get into it.

First Person - Y/n

Sergei left that night.

Nikolai had offered him a place at a quiet way station near Duva, but Sergei had been too anxious to leave.

The next morning, Nikolai and I met with Mal and the twins to figure out the logistics of pursuing the firebird in the southern Sikurzoi.

The rest of the Grisha didn't know the location of the third amplifier, and we intended to keep it that way as long as we could.

Nikolai and I had spent the better part of two nights studying Morozova's journals, and he was just as concerned as I was, convinced that there must be books missing or in the Darkling's possession.

He wanted me to pressure Baghra, but I had to be careful how I approached the subject. If I provoked her, we'd have no new information and she'd stop my lessons.

"It's not just that the books are unfinished," Nikolai said. "Does Morozova strike anyone as a little...eccentric?"

"If by eccentric you mean absolutely out of his mind, then yes," I admitted. "I'm hoping he can be that and right."

"And this is still our only clue?" He asked as he tapped a valley on the southern border. "That's a lot riding on two skinny pieces of rock."

The unmarked valley was Dva Stolba, home to the two rocks that someone had decided were the remnants of two mills.

But we believed they were actually the ruins of an ancient arch, a signpost to the firebird, the last of Ilya Morozova's amplifiers.

"There's an abandoned copper mine located at Murin," said Nikolai. "You can land the Bittern there and enter the valley on foot."

"Why not fly right into the Sikurzoi?" Mal asked.

Tamar shook her head and said, "Could be tricky maneuvering. There are fewer landing sites, and the terrain is a lot more dangerous."

"All right," agreed Mal. "Then we set down in Murin and come over the Jidkova Pass."

"We should have good cover," Tolya said. "Nevsky claims a lot of people are traveling through the border cities, trying to get out of Ravka before winter arrives and the mountains become impossible to cross."

"How long will it take you to find the firebird?" Nikolai asked.

Everyone turned to Mal.

"No way of knowing," he said. "It took me months to find the stag. Hunting the sea whip took less than a week. The Sikurzoi cover a lot of territory. We need to get moving as quickly as possible."

"Have you chosen your crew?" Nikolai asked Tamar.

She had practically broken into a dance when he suggested that she captain the Bittern and had immediately set about getting familiar with the ship and its requirements.

"Zoya isn't great at working in a team," Tamar replied, "but we need Squallers, and she and Nadia are our best options. Stigg's not bad with the lines, and it can't hurt to have at least one Inferni on board. We should be able to do a test run tomorrow."

"You'd move faster with an experienced crew."

"I added one of your Tidemakers and a Fabrikator to the roster," she said. "I'd feel better using our people for the rest."