As Vladim moved to turn the locks, I heard Genya whisper. "You definitely owe me a kiss after all this, Don't think I won't hold you to it."
I laughed lightly. "We'll see."
"There is no seeing, you will, if I have to be the one to do it then so be...
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FEDYOR HAD BEEN SERVING NEAR SIKURSK ON the southeastern border. When word of the destruction of Novokribirsk reached the outpost, the King's soldiers had turned on the Grisha, pulling them from their beds in the middle of the night and mounting sham trials to determine their loyalty.
"We could have killed them all," he said. "Instead, we took our wounded and fled."
Some Grisha hadn't been so forgiving. There had been massacres at Chernast and Ulemsk when the soldiers there had tried to attack members of the Second Army.
Meanwhile, Mal, Alina, and I had been aboard the Verrhader, sailing west, safe from the chaos we'd helped to unleash.
"A few weeks ago," he said. "the stories started circulating that you two returned to Ravka. You can expect more Grisha to seek you out."
"How many?" Alina asked.
"There's no way of knowing."
Like Nikolai, Fedyor believed some Grisha had gone into hiding, waiting for order to be restored. But he suspected that most of them had sought out the Darkling.
"He's strength," said Fedyor. "He's safety. That's what they understand."
Or maybe they just think they've chosen the winning side, I thought bleakly. But I knew it was more than that. I'd felt the pull of the Darkling's power. Wasn't that why the pilgrims flocked to False Saints? Why the First Army still marched for an incompetent king? Sometimes, it was just easier to follow.
When Fedyor finished his tale, I asked that he be brought dinner and advised him that he should be ready to travel to Os Alta at dawn.
"I don't know what kind of reception we can expect," Alina warned him.
"We'll be ready, moi soverenyis," he said, and bowed.
I started at the title. In my mind, it still belonged to the Darkling.
Fedyor..." I began as I walked him to the door. Then I hesitated. I couldn't believe what I was about to say, but apparently, Nikolai was getting through to me—for better or worse.
"I realize you've been traveling, but tidy up a bit before tomorrow. It's important that we make a good impression."
He didn't even blink— just bowed again and replied, "Da, Soverenyi," before disappearing into the night.
