Find me in the shadows (Darklina fanfic)

Chapter 9

My fingers were drumming on the painted table in the war room. It was the only sound there. As the doors swung open, I braced myself, watching intently as he stepped into the room. His hands were in cuffs, which spreads them, preventing them from summoning. Aleksander glanced around the room with an inconspicuous smile on his lips. He sat in the chair beside me. He leaned closer to me, tilting his head.

"Do you remember the last time we were here together?" He whispered, only for my ears to hear. I twisted my head, gazing at him. I didn't want others to see me blush. A little smirk appeared on Aleksander's face. "I wish I never left this room that night."

For a moment, I felt as if I couldn't remember how to breathe, looking into his deep brown eyes. Like it was no one else there except us. How many times have I thought about what would happen if we weren't interrupted?

I wanted him so much... only him... I still want him.

His breath burnt my bare neck, making me shiver.

I wish you never left this room that night. I wanted to answer but stayed silent. I sucked in a deep breath through my mouth, attempting to elude his scent. Moving my eyes away from him, I noticed that others were watching us.

I'd cleared my throat before I started to talk. "What is the point of this meeting?"

"We need to decide what to do with him," answered Zoya. "I think we should return him to hell." There was an undisguised hatred on her face.

"We need him. And first of all, he must bring back Alina's power," said Nikolai.

"If I knew how." Aleksander shrugged. "I would like to have my shadows back, too. But I know how we exchanged our powers."

"Elizaveta said that your light had turned into darkness after saving Mal with merzost. Why does he have your power?" Zoya asked.

"Maybe because our powers need to be balanced," Aleksander answered.

"There is no light without darkness," I quoted him. Aleksander glimpsed at me. "We needed to find out how to exchange back."

"But without using merzost," he said.

"What a surprise," uttered Zoya, sarcastically clapping her hands.

"I'm done with this dark magic," said Aleksander, ignoring Zoya.

"As you possess my power now, you should go to the public appearance with me today. I will wear special gloves, made by. Durast, which can bend the light. So you will summon a beam of light and send it to my gloves. It will look like I summon it myself."

"Aren't you afraid that someone will recognize him?" Zoya asked.

I met Aleksader's gaze.

"Genya can tailor him, or he can wear a hood," I answered with a shrug.

"I will not touch him," said Genya with aversion. Aleksander dropped his gaze. I could sense his guilt. His fingers squeezed into an armchair.

"I hadn't a chance to apologize," he said, quietly. "Genya, I'm so sorry for everything. For every pain I caused you."

"I don't need your apologies," she shook her head.

"I knew it can change nothing," he continued. "But I need to say this, I need you to know. I never meant to..." He exhaled. "I didn't want David to die. He was a good man."

"Because you never thought about innocent victims of your power greed," said Zoya.

"My power greed?" He raised his head, looking at Zoya. "If it was about the greed of power, I could easily kill all the Lantsovs years ago, and took the crown."