Little Shadow//Shadow & Bone

six

I walk down the hallway towards my room.

"I knew you would try to sneak off."

I sigh as I turn around.

"You're not going back to bed just yet," Nikolai tells me.

"And where else should I be going, Nikolai?" I question. "Your room?"

Nikolai raises an eyebrow. "There will be plenty of time for that later, my dear Rosie." I roll my eyes. "For now, I'd like for you to meet a certain tracker with me."

"I was skimming this again for leads on the Firebird, then I remembered a legend about a sword from Shu Han," Mal tells us.

"Neshyenyer," Tolya states. "The Relentless Blade."

"You know of it?" Mal asks.

"Of course I do," Tolya tells him. "It's a folktale. The Fabrikator Kho created an unkillable army made of cogs and bone..."

"Until the Fabrikator Neyar forged Neshyenyer." Mal starts to read from a book, "'When Neyar fought, her blade flashed so brightly that people watching swore she had lightning in her hands.' A blade so sharp it could cut shadow."

Tolya chuckles. "It's a bedtime story. My culture has the best myths."

"The Sea Whip was a myth," Mal argues. "So was the Stag. And they were real. She killed an unkillable army. This could be the weapon we need against Kirigan's monsters. And this book says it's in a temple in Ahmrat Jen."

Tolya shakes his head. "No, I doubt that. The one on display is widely rumored to be fake. Okay, how do we find the real one?"

"The blade in Ahmrat Jen is indeed a replica," Nikolai informs them. "The original was stolen long ago. I suspect it's never left Shu Han. If it turned up in the wider black market, Sturmhond would've heard about it."

"This could be the only weapon able to kill Kirigan's shadow creatures," Mal stresses. "We need to find it."

"It's a valuable old sword, sure," Nikolai admits. "That doesn't mean the story behind it is true."

"Any chance is better than no chance," Mal insists.

"That's a very Sturmhond thing to say," Nikolai remarks. "Were he here, he would surely commend you."

"It's a little bit unsettling how you talk about him like he's someone else," Mal states.

"And he would suggest that our mutual friends in Ketterdam might be the perfect crew for the job," Nikolai offers.

Nikolai has decided that Zoya and Tolya will be the ones going to Ketterdam to find Kaz Brekker and his crew.

"I should go with them," I tell him.

Nikolai shakes his head. "I need you here."

"Really, Nikolai," I tell him. "I could be of more help..."

Nikolai cuts me off, "You've barely gotten out of bed in days."

"Nikolai..." I start.

"I need you here," Nikolai tells me. "After what you told me about Kirigan I'm not letting you out of my sight, Rosalie."

I take a breath. "I thought it was Alina who wasn't allowed out of your sight." Nikolai looks at me curiously. "I mean she is your fiancé after all. I saw the rather large Lantsov Emerald on her hand."

"You really should get dressed for the party," Nikolai tells me.

"You're deflecting," I state.

"I don't deflect," Nikolai insists.