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" Would it be enough?
IF I COULD NEVER GIVE YOU PEACE? "
―"WHILE ZOYA AND I WERE AWAY, THE MONSTER TOOK HOLD OF ME AND I BROKE FREE AT THE DUKE'S ESTATE AND MADE A DELIGHTFUL SOJOURN TO A LOCAL GOOSE FARM," Nikolai stated calmly, taking a sip of his tea.
Yi turned and regarded him. The dark lighting of the Darkling's war room made the angles of his face more defined, the line of his jaw and cheekbones, the arch of his brow. Somehow, he seemed more mature now, and he certainly played the role of it. But his hazel eyes had been just as Yi had remembered, clear and full of evergreens and amber chips. She still didn't know how to feel about him.
She knew she'd loved him long ago, but that feeling felt like a distant memory now, because that was truly what it was. But she couldn't deny that it irked her to have seen him refuse to enter the coach with her, and it bothered her that he seemed so against spending time with her at all.
She didn't want to admit it, but she'd hoped she could fall in love with him again. But with each passing moment, she wondered if he ever truly reciprocated the feeling.
"What about the sleeping tonic?" Genya asked Nikolai.
"The monster is getting stronger."
He said it so calmly that it almost scared Yi. How many nights had he spent living with that dark part of him alone? Was there no one there to comfort him? She felt a pang of remorse and suddenly wished she had never left. It felt as though there was a yawning fissure between them, and she was simply too afraid to cross it.
"David," Genya said, "is that possible? Could it be getting stronger?"
David pushed his brown hair back from his eyes. "It shouldn't be. Not after it was dormant for so long. But the power that created the presence inside the king wasn't ordinary Grisha power. It was merzost. And it could be possible that Yi's arrival may have changed things."
Yi bit her lip. "Wait, so by bringing me here, I could be hurting Nikolai?" She forced her voice not to waver, but still felt a crease appear between her brows. "Saints, this was not a good idea―"
"Nikolai seldom has good ideas anymore, you needn't worry about that," Genya reassured with a soothing smile.
"Are we calling it a presence now?" Nikolai asked, completely ignoring the two. Yi faltered and looked away. "I preferred 'monster.' Or 'demon.' Even 'fiend' has a nice ring."
"We can name it Maribel if it suits you," Zoya deadpanned. "It doesn't matter what we call it, only what it can do."
"It matters if we're misunderstanding its nature," David pointed out. "You've read Grisha theory, Mozova's journals. Grisha power cannot create life or animate matter, only manipulate it. Eveery time those limits are breached, there are repercussions."
