Testament to Time - darklina fanfic

Chapter 6 - Deliverance

It took until dawn to calm Alina enough to allow them to do what had to be done. They couldn't afford to ferry his body back to wherever Aleksander had camped and then to Ravka for a proper burial, nor could they leave any indication of what had happened here and where they might be headed, which is why the bodies had to be burned.

Aleksander had been uncharacteristically gentle, keeping close while the Inferni and Squaller gathered the wood to keep the pyre burning. It would be risky, having the Squaller dissipate the smoke before it could rise and alert anyone of their location, Aleksander hiding any light, but he had kept his face neutral and didn't argue nor disagree when she explained she wouldn't leave his body there. Not like that.

He helped raise the boy's small frame onto the gathered wood and Alina made sure to settle Igor into a comfortable position. Save for the red staining his clothes, he looked as if she'd caught him in a deep slumber as she did so many early mornings when she woke him to get dressed.

Alina placed the ring, or rather the small metal spike he had used to save their lives, on his chest and brushed his hair back leaving him with a soft kiss on the forehead. With the Guards' and the Heartrender's bodies lined beside the boy atop the kindling, the Inferni and the Squaller set to work. She imagined she would have liked someone to watch her through it had it been her with her cold back to the timber, but Alina couldn't bring herself to watch what came next.

Aleksander held her as she sobbed until her body shook, he rubbed circles on her back when she heaved into a nearby bush, all the while the Inferni and Squaller set to scattering the ashes and charred wood, hiding any evidence of what had been done.

They made quick work of it. When they finished she let Aleksander's steady hand at her lower back guide her out of the woods.

She ran her fingers over the surface of the elegant carvings on the vanity before her. Seated on a stool beside hers, Aleksander took her hand into his using a damp cloth to rub out any remnants of blood from her flesh.

Aleksander had taken her to a military camp by The Fold and immediately onto a skiff. It seemed like there was quite a bit of change over time. The skiffs had grown larger to accommodate rooms and hallways inside. Thanks to the blue lanterns posted at every nook and cranny of the skiff, the volcra kept their distance allowing Aleksander to travel unbothered.

She could surmise which Durast he had to thank for such an advancement. Her heart ached at the thought of David, how he would never get to meet Igor and how the latter would not go on to innovate as David had.

Her throat burned and she set her free hand over her sun amulet still dangling from her neck.

"They killed him." She whispered, breaking hours of silence. "They just...killed him."

"Lantsov would have used him against you," he said, not pausing his work as he gently rubbed at the heel of her palm.

"Everyone just dies Aleksander." Her gaze remained focused on the wood so polished she could see the planks in the ceiling reflected. She could hear the other Grisha's footsteps on the deck above, the distant screech of the volcra, and the groan of wood, but the world had never felt so silent. Not since she'd found the estate.

"I know."

Her darkened reflection stared back at her. So many years passed and yet she hardly aged since first meeting him. With Mal there had always been an understanding she would remain unchanged while he grew old, but only now, when she examined herself with care, did she notice she had. The absence of wrinkles gave way to a dull hold in her eyes. Her chest tightened as she recognized such a look, she'd seen it in Aleksander's eyes when he believed her not to be looking.