Swan Song ~ Shadow & Bone

12

I had never been to Fjerda. I had never even been to Tsibeya. Aleksander had never let me go that far north. He had told me something horrible had happened the last time he had let someone he cared about travel through the area and that he refused to allow the same thing to happen to me.

So marching through the permafrost covered in his cloak was a new experience.

Nights had been cold in Kerch, but never so cold as this. This wasn't a welcome chill blown in from the pier and the shining water of the True Sea. This was rough and sharp and unforgiving, like a blade thrown only from the hands of your worst enemy.

"Sir," David called back towards us. "She is close by." Aleksander glanced down at me before gripping my gloved hand tightly and pulling me into his side.

"Stay close," he murmured. "I don't want you out of my sight. These are dangerous lands." I sighed and nodded, and not even ten minutes following, we heard muffled voices. I peered over David's shoulder and saw Alina standing in front of a great white stag, with Mal a few paces behind. Before another word could be said, an oprichnik shot towards the stag, making it roar in agony. Mal went to shoot the animal himself, but Zoya blew the bow out of his hands.

"That animal's not meant for you," she told him. Alina spun towards us, eyes wide, as an arrow flew through the air, impaling itself into Mal's stomach.

"Mal!" she cried. She ran over to him before breaking off the tip of the weapon and pulling it out of his flesh. He screamed in pain, and Aleksander began forming the Cut to strike down the stag. Alina noticed the familiar movements, and her eyes widened. "No!" She ran to the stag, and her hand shot up, covering the three of them in a shimmering silver shield. I sighed.

"You can't save them, Alina," I told her. "You may have the power of light, but not the power to heal." Aleksander took a step forward and nodded.

"We know the tracker is important to you," he said calmly. "Give me the Stag, and I'll have our Healer save him." Mal inched towards his friend, pulling himself across the snow.

"No," he muttered. Her eyes shot to him.

"Stay still. You've lost too much blood." He shook his head.

"You have to kill it." He pulled out a dagger and held it out to her. "You have to." She hesitated but shook her head.

"No." She ran to her friend, leaving the wounded animal behind her. The shield fell, and our oprichniki wasted no time in rushing forward, pulling Mal up off the ground. "No! You said you wouldn't hurt him!" Aleksander smirked and performed the Cut, beheading the stag in an instant. He brushed his hands on his kefta and sighed.

"Bring me its antlers." Alina looked to the corpse, shaking in anger, before looking at us.

"You murderer!" she screamed. "You stupid fool!" An oprichnik walked over.

"And the otkazat'sya?" he asked. Aleksander looked to me, and I tilted my head, wondering what he would tell them. When he got no words from me, he sighed and looked back at the soldier.

"I am a man of my word," he said. "Heal him. He was only protecting Miss Starkov."

🜂

"What are you doing?" We had ridden back to Kribirsk in silence, and David had quickly fashioned the stag's antlers into two separate pieces: a simple piece to fit into Aleksander's hand and a collar to put onto Alina.

"I'm going to place this around your neck," David told her. She frowned.

"I meant why? I didn't kill the Stag. It's not my amplifier." She pointed at Aleksander. "He killed it. He gets its power." He sighed.

"You asked for this yourself, when we met," he said calmly, turning to face her. "To transfer your gift to someone who could use it." She shook her head.

"I can use it now." I scoffed.

"You know so little," I told her. "You'll learn." She chuckled coldly.

"I know things. General Kirigan and Lieutenant Markov, yes? Or are your first names fake, too?" My face turned cold.

"Careful with your words, Alina," I warned. "Consider whose life is in your hands." Her eyes widened a bit.

"You said you'd let him go." Aleksander shook his head.

"We said we would heal him," he said simply. "What happens next is up to you." She shook her head.

"None of this has been up to me!" Aleksander sighed.

"Do you know the only thing more powerful than you or me?" he asked. "The two of us. Together. Together, we can end all wars." I nodded.

"You can protect our people. Is that not what you want?" She sighed.

"Are we destroying the Fold?" Aleksander shrugged.

"We can do anything." He held out a hand to her. "Together." David gulped and stepped up, placing the second piece of the antler on top of Aleks' hand. He closed his eyes and pressed the two pieces of bone into their skin, and Alina's eyes widened.

"What-... What's happening?" she asked. I smiled a bit, and she shook her head. "Wait. I don't understand. What-" Once the amplifiers were fully in place, David removed his hands and stepped back.

"That should, uh..." He trailed off, and Aleks smirked.

"Bridge the gap?" The Durast nodded.

"Yes. You should now have full access to all of her light." He paused. "In theory." Aleksander clasped a hand onto Alina's shoulder, and light spread throughout the tent, brighter than it had ever been when she was in control. I grinned. As soon as he removed his hand, the light rescinded once again.

"This is my power," she said firmly. Aleks smirked down at her.

"But now I control it."