Deadly Obsession (The Darking x Oc)

Chapter 4 - Moving Up In The World

A.N: Karina is now sixteen years old. Mal and Alina are currently in their first year as part of the First Army. Feydor is nineteen and is already relatively close to the general.

'Dear Karina,

The two of us are being split up, they're sending our units in different directions, although we both wish to stay together. I hope everything is going well, and that you do well in your exams. Maybe once you get assigned your position we'll finally be able to see each other again, that would be wonderful. It's times like these where I miss the three of us being together in Keramzin. Mal's gotten much stronger since I last wrote though, and aced his training, while my trainer was very impressed with the maps I drew of our broken country.

I keep wondering if this is what the rest of our lives will look like, hopping from one fight to the next, never getting a break. It would make everything so much better if I knew that Mal and I were definitely seeing each other again. It would even make me feel better if I knew that we were going to see you.

We may not be beside you, but with every new letter you send, we are more and more proud of you. From everything you've told us, you're growing into a wonderful young woman, and I hope that life is kind to you.

Much love, Alina and Mal.'

I smiled gently, glancing through my most recent letter from Mal and Alina. It was so much harder to send them letters now, seeing as they were always moving around the country with their first army units. I was proud of the pair of them as well. From everything I had heard, they were both doing very well in their fields. Even though I didn't hear from them much, I still felt a connection with them both, as though we had been through something many other children hadn't.

Plus, the letter gave me a break from the constant work that was being forced upon mine and my classmates' shoulders. Our final exams were coming up, and everyone was very worried, knowing that our results would determine which positions we would take up in the army. Although I had been assured many times that I would excel in my tests, I wasn't so sure. Some of the most powerful grisha I knew had performed badly, and placed in much lower positions than they should have been in.

And to make everything worse, I was constantly thinking about Feydor as well. My heartrender friend had been tasked with a mission by the general himself, being asked to accompany Ivan to the frontlines. While I was glad that the stern heartrender would be going with my friend, I couldn't keep thinking about what could happen to them both. The two heartrenders had grown very close to each other in the past three years, and I had been ecstatic when Fey had told me that they were finally together.

I was very proud with how far, and how quickly, Feydor had risen up through the ranks in his three years as part of the Second Army. He was now a commander in his own right, and even though he was young, was getting closer to the General every day. We sent letters back and forth while he was away fighting, but it always made me feel better when I knew he was coming back to the Little Palace.

"Karina! Our class has been summoned! Apparently they have some sort of announcement." Maria, one of my classmates called out, rushing over to me and grabbing the arm of my jacket. I barely had time to fold the letter in my hand, slipping it into my pocket, before being tugged along by the excited girl. "Jeez Maria, slow down. What's so important?" I asked, and the durast simply shrugged before pulling me out of the school and onto the front lawn, where many of our classmates were already waiting, some of our teachers standing in front of everyone, waiting for us all to arrive.

We made our way over to our friends, as I waved a Mila. Everyone whispered amongst themselves, trying to figure out what was going on. Some people thought they were going to ask for volunteers to perform at the next festival, but I pointed out that it would then be odd to ask for everyone to be there, as corporalki almost never did demonstrations, and when they did, it was older grisha, not students.