Coalesce

1

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They'd been travelling for a few weeks now.

At first it had been just Nesta and her father, who had been shocked but delighted to see her alive. But she had been much more shocked to see him. He had large scars on his face and he looked sick.

Now there were more of them and they were heading to Novyi Zem, to get Alina Starkov.

The Ravkan woman didn't understand why. Alina was a Sun Summoner, yes, a powerful one at that, but so was she. She was certain that with a bit more training she could tare down the Fold now that they had shown that her father could expand it. Maybe not all at once, but bit by bit. She'd said as much to the General, but he had immediately said no.

When they had reached Os Kervo about a week ago, she had immediately sent out a letter to Kaz. Even though she decided to stay in Ravka, she needed her husband to know of her survival.

Unfortunately, since they were out on sea, she couldn't get any letters back, so she would have to wait until they reached Ravka again.

Nesta wasn't very fond of her father's newfound powers. She couldn't describe them as anything other than shadow monsters. That was why the Darkling looked so sick. It wasn't natural, no, it was merzost. Magic. She remembered what her grandmother had told her years ago, merzost feeds on Grisha, and her father was a prime example of it.

She'd been forced to stay on the ship while General Kirigan and some of his Grisha went on land. The Ravkan woman wasn't exactly thrilled, but she supposed that trying to get Alina to come with them would've been even more against her wants than this.

After a few hours of sitting on the deck and staring mindlessly towards the open ocean, she was approached by someone.

"Tell me, why is the Darkling so fond of you? From what I've heard he isn't very affectionate, yet he seems to like hugging you."

It was the ship's Captain, Sturmhond. There was something familiar about him, but she couldn't put a finger on what it was for the life of her.

"Well, it seems that he makes an exception for his daughter," Nesta said, turning her head to look at the man.

His eyes widened and looked at her as if she had grown a second head. It wasn't as if her father had kept her a secret, surely any Ravkan knew of her existence. But before he could reply the others returned.

Nesta felt terrible seeing Alina and Mal passed out. She had known of course that they wouldn't come willingly, but that didn't make her feel any better. They were prisoners now, her father's prisoners.

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Nesta had been visiting Alina along with Genya and Ivan. She was worried for the girl. She looked terrible and the constant sleep Ivan put her under couldn't be good for her.

She'd also gone alone a few times, though she knew that the other Sun Summoner couldn't feel her presence. It helped her feel less terrible about herself, about being an accomplice in her imprisonment.

But about a week after Alina and Mal had been dragged onto the ship, her father ordered the girl to be taken upon the deck of the whaler. He knew well enough that slowing her heart down for any longer could end miserably for her.