Blood and Water - The Darkling

Chapter 27: Aleksander

*Unedited

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𝖂𝖊 don't go directly to the royal barracks but take a route that leads us past where the Darkling's silk pavilion stands. I owe it to Nikolai that it wasn't burned down immediately. It was where I was staying on my trips to the Fold, even though Aleksander chose to take up residence in the Lantsov quarters. This fact becomes painfully obvious when we arrive.

The Darkling had hung black banners from the windows and the carving of the double eagle above the doors has been replaced with a sun in eclipse encircling a star. Now workmen are pulling down the black silks and replacing them with Ravkan blue and gold. An awning has been set up to catch plaster as a soldier takes a massive hammer to the stone symbol above the door, shattering it to dust. A cheer echoes from the crowd. I can't share in their excitement. For all his crimes, the Darkling had loved Ravka, and he wanted its love in return. And Aleksander? Aleksander had loved me, and I gave him my love in return.

Alina saunters up to a guard near the entry and asks for Tamar Kir-Bataar. He looks down his nose at her, seeing nothing but a scrawny peasant girl, and for a moment, I hear the Darkling say, She's nothing now. But in the end? Aleksander only cared about losing me. And yet, I ended up lost regardless.

When I notice that the soldier still has not responded, I scoff and slip off my hood. "What exactly are you waiting for?"

The guard blinks, jumps to attention, and bows. A few minutes later, Tamar and Tolya are jogging down the steps to us.

Tolya sweeps Alina up into his huge arms.

Before he can fumble an excuse, I explain to the curious guard, "Childhood friend."

Tamar chuckles and throws an arm around my shoulder as we enter the royal barracks, "Maybe you could work intelligence. Certainly a better explanation than what Tolya would have said."

I smirk, "True. He probably would have said that she's your sister or something."

Tolya grunts and shoots a half-hearted glare my way, "I have better things to do than trade in whispers. Besides, she is our sister. As are you."

Well, now I feel warm and fuzzy and a little bit guilty for my sass.

Alina changes the subject, "Did I come at a bad time?"

Tamar shakes her head. "Nikolai ended meetings early so people could attend the..." she trails off.

We nod.

They lead us down a hall decorated with weapons of war and charts of the Fold. Those maps will need to change now. I wonder if anything will ever grow on those deadened sands.

"Will you stay with him?" Alina asks Tamar.

It's a valid question. Nikolai is desperate for people he can trust around him.

"For a while. Ziva wants to, and there are still some members of the Twenty-Second alive too."

"Nevsky?"

She shakes her head.

"Did Stigg make it out of the Spinning Wheel?"

She shakes her head again. There are others to ask after, casualty lists I despised reading.

"I might stay on," Tolya says. "Depends on—"

"Tolya," Tamar and I interrupt sharply.

Tolya flushes and shrugs. "Just depends."