𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐄 𝐍𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐇 ❧ 𝐬𝐡𝐚𝐝𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐛𝐨𝐧𝐞

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐

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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐅𝐉𝐄𝐑𝐃𝐀𝐍 𝐀𝐓𝐓𝐀𝐂𝐊

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Silence filled the coach as they traveled along the path that would take them back to the Little Palace. Inessa kept her eyes glued to the window to watch the trees pass, not having it within her to look at the girl sitting next to her. Despite knowing that they needed Alina to save their country, the Smirnoff girl felt bad for tearing her away from the life she knew. It reminded the young Heartrender of what happened to her five years ago, making a wave of sorrow wash over her as she thought of Nikolai.

Inessa hasn't seen her cousin since the day she was torn away from him. And it was all because of the Darking keeping her under his watchful eye. The Smirnoff girl was able to sneak off last year to see Nikolai, but she soon discovered that he was no longer living with his family in Os Alta. Instead, he was traveling the world and going on his own adventures. Inessa felt a mixture of emotions after discovering Nikolai had left. She was angry at him for leaving her behind, especially after promising to come for her and take her with him to explore the world. But she was also happy that Nikolai was able to escape royal life, a life he never enjoyed.

The young Heartrender was soon pulled out of her thoughts when someone nudged her leg. Confusion flowed through her veins as she looked at the man sitting across from her, only to find Fedyor staring back at her with a smile on his face. It wasn't long after that when the Kaminsky man gestured toward Alina. Inessa stared at him for a moment longer before letting out a long sigh and looking over at the Sun Summoner.

"Alina, this is Fedyor," Inessa said while gesturing toward the only person in the coach that the Starkov girl hadn't met yet.

"Pleasure to meet you," Fedyor greeted as the smile on his face grew. Alina stared at him for a moment then looked down to mess with her sleeve. The Kaminsky man quickly glanced over at Inessa before his attention returned to the Sun Summoner. "They call this a kefta. It's bulletproof. The uniform of the Second Army."

The Starkov girl kept her head down as she traced over a scar on her hand with her thumb. It wasn't long after that when she lifted her head up to look at the three Heartrenders in the coach with her. "What about the First Army? Back in Kribirsk. A thousand soldiers marching with us. Isn't that safer than this?"

"Slower, not safer. Not really," Ivan said in a bored tone while keeping an emotionless expression on his face.

"If we went back and you left me with the cartography unit, no one would look twice at us."

Silence fell upon the coach once again as soon as Alina finished speaking. Curiosity began flowing through Inessa's veins as she looked over at Fedyor, only to find him already staring back at her. By the look in his eyes, the Smirnoff girl could tell they were thinking the same thing, but only one of them had the courage to ask it.