The Price She Paid: Shadow & Bone (Book 2)

Chapter 28: Plans.

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I used the bond to help me track down Alina. I found her in the same storage room we had used to speak with Baghra.

"I feel him," I heard Alina say, her voice quiet.

I stopped in the doorway, hesitating. Alina was sitting on an old crate, a towel pressed up against the back of her head. Baghra had pulled up another crate and was sitting next to her.

I could feel Alina's despair through the bond as if it were my own. I wondered if a part of it was.

"Every time I use my powers, I feel him. I feel him taking control of my power, wielding it as his own. Even after we escaped the Fold and I cut the antler from his hand, I still felt like he was in control," Alina continued. "It was different for Evelynn, the way he sought her out, the way he haunted her. She can feel him too but its different. I told her to ignore it at first, I thought it would dull with time and once I had the Sea Whip, it did. For a second, I felt like we could beat this, beat him and then we crossed the Fold with Nikolai and I saw him again."

"Don't stop, keep going," Baghra urged.

"It was like he stole my power all over again. Like he was the one who was in control."

I stepped into the room, making my presence known.

"He's only in control if we let him be, Baghra was right. We have to seek him out just as much as he seeks us out." I rolled up my sleeve, my fingers absently brushing over his mark. "We're bonded, all of us and the only way to stop him is to finish what we started." Playing with amplifiers was dangerous, but without them, we didn't stand a chance. "We find the Firebird and then we tear down the Fold."

"And then what?" Baghra asked, inquisitively.

I clenched my hands into fists, feeling clarity for the first time in a long time.

"Then we kill him."

Baghra nodded and climbed to her feet.

"Then we better get going."

I starred at her, surprised.

"You'll help us?"

Alina seemed to share my surprise.

"What, no lecture about combing amplifiers?" Alina asked. "No comments about the abomination of it all?"

"No, the only abomination would be not to see this through to the end."

"You know where to find it?"

Baghra shook her head.

"No, but I know where to start."

Alina went to search for Mal, and I found my way back to my room. I was relieved to find it empty. I grabbed an empty pack and started gathering supplies.

I packed some extra clothes, and enough rations to get us through a few days travel. I ruffled through the stocked closet and found a dark coat that would keep me warm in case we got caught by any northern winds.

"Don't go."

I looked up, surprised to see a disheveled Nikolai standing in the open doorway.

"Nikolai—"

"Let Alina, Mal, and Baghra find the firebird. Come with me and the others to rally troops at Zvedya."

"I have to see this through, it's the only way."

He closed the space between us, reaching up to cup my face in his hands.

"I can't lose you." He leaned forward, pressing his forehead against mine. I leaned into him, breathing in his familiar scent. "Promise me you'll come back to me."

I starred into his eyes, wishing yet again that things could be different between us. If he were just a boy, not the King of anything, and if I was just a girl, not a Grisha Saint. There was so much I wanted to say to him, but the words got trapped in my throat.

"I promise," I whispered instead. I reached down and slid the Lantsov emerald off my finger. I placed it in Nikolai's palm. "Here, hold onto this for me until I get back."

The corner of Nikolai's mouth flickered up into a smile.

"How about a trade?"

He reached up, grabbing hold of the chain that held his golden compass. He took care in removing it, taking his time as he lifted it over his head, just to place it over mine. The chain was warm against my skin, the compass a comforting weight.

"Your lucky compass?"

I had never once seen Nikolai without it, not even when he was posing as Sturmhond.

"At least now you have a reason to seek me out again."

I reached for him, wrapping my arms around his neck, and burying my face in his shirt.

"Trust me, I have plenty."