Elementals || Grishaverse

Chapter 36: Confrontation and Contemplation

The situation at the King's Palace was not one that could be known to the people of Ravka under any circumstance. The Grisha were confused by Adaline's absence and the Darkling was furious when none of his best trackers could find her.

In that time, the royals realised that they shouldn't have told Adaline who she was the way that they had. But they couldn't blame Stefan for having rushed into the situation because he wanted his friend back, and they wanted him to be happy in life.

They talked to each other about the possibilities of Adaline's sudden disappearance and hated that she was causing such a fuss after finding the truth out. But they did not know her truth, and sadly, they never would.

While the young Lantsov was walking through the corridors of the Grand Palace while trying to control his anger and confusion, he caught a glimpse of the black kefta, who stood talking to one of the guards. Stefa assumed that he was trying to get information because he was the one who always said that information was power.

Stefan had been meaning to have a talk with him but had never dared to approach him. Until that afternoon. "What did you do to her?"

The Darkling turned around, confused that he was being addressed at. "What?"

"Do not play with me. You may not be who you say you are, but I want to know what you've done to Adaline."

The Darkling stood straighter. "Why would you assume that I had anything to do with her absence?"

"Do you really have to ask me that? She was scared of you." He could see the hurt in the Shadow King's eyes. "That's the truth. She was terrified of you, maybe not in the same way that you have everyone else scared, but she was."

"Be careful about what you accuse me of. I may not be the one giving orders but I will not hesitate either."

Stefan could only hear Adaline's voice. That's because he is a hypocrite. "She is nowhere to be seen for the past week and you haven't provided any possible answers."

"If you care about her so much, you wouldn't have allowed her to leave."

He shook his head slightly. "She wouldn't leave. She couldn't have. Not again."

The Darkling lifted his eyebrows up. Interesting, he thought. "Not again?"

Uh oh, Stefan thought. He had promised Adaline to not bring her into any trouble but his worry got the best of him. He had blurted the truth out to the most dangerous man in all of Ravka, but Stefan wasn't scared of him. Not one bit.

"Yes. Again." He said. "She needed to leave this prison that you had created for her. And I'm glad that I was able to catch her in time. Unlike you."

In the meantime, the wandering trio stalked up extra supplies for their journey when they reached another nearby town. They were sure to pack enough bread and sufficient water for the trip. They could always acquire meat whenever they needed it.