Call Out My Name

In Another Life

Alina followed behind Zoya as she was lead to another room, presumably the room where the Darkling was kept. She was surprised he was not in a basement shackled and all, knowing Zoya's temper.

He deserved it. Whatever Zoya would have done to him would have been too little and not enough, never enough to erase all these memories and pain he had caused her. It must have been that much harder on her and Genya. There was a time his charms and wits blinded them, a time where his sole attention to Alina made Zoya envy her. There was a time of mutual respect and trust, of someone who taught her how to fight, someone who guided her through hardships.

Zoya stepped in front of the room, hand placed on the knob. She took a deep breath before opening it and letting Alina go first.

There was no surprise that the room was dark, with no light on or candles in sight. Figures, Alina thought, where she found comfort under the sun, things looked different for Aleksander. They were polar opposites. Yet, not that different. This darkness was not unfamiliar to her, it was his own, and she has come in contact with it more than once before.

"You can leave us alone," Alina told Zoya without turning around. She was trying to make a silhouette of him, but it was hard for her eyes to adjust.

"No way," Zoya was firm in her decision.

"Please," Alina turned to look at her. "We won't kill each other."

"I am more worried about you than him. You can stab him again for all I care," Zoya huffed. "See if it works this time around."

"I am dead anyways, remember?" There was alarm in Zoya's eyes as Alina spoke out. She giggled at her reaction.

"Don't joke around," Zoya said as she stepped on the outside, ready to close the door behind her. "To the people you mean most to and love you; you are alive. And we'd like to keep you like this for a long time."

Zoya closed the door, and Alina was left all alone in the dark. Even through the window, she could barely see the stars, no moon in sight.

This seemed like a great idea before realizing she hadn't heard anything from him nor seen him. She felt all alone in the room, and yet again, she could feel his familiar presence. The one she felt when they shared that connection, the one he used as a way to her.

"Not so brave now that we are alone, are we?" She heard his voice like a distant whisper. Alina swallowed. She hoped he could not hear her wildly beating heart. She could feel his presence now, as if he was encircling her, ready to swallow her whole into the darkness.

"Show yourself," Alina requested.

"Why?"

"Did you not wish to see me?"

"I see you," Alina let out an exasperated sigh.

"I don't," she reminded him. "I can no longer call out the light. I am no longer special. Have you forgotten?" She was nothing now; she reminded him of his words before he died in her arms.

There was a long silence, and she wondered if he was testing her, if he refused to believe that she was a mere mortal now, a normal human being that would live an average life and eventually die.

She remembered how broken he had been when he realized she was no longer Grisha. He grieved the loss of her power more than she did herself. It was a ruthless wake-up call to him. I am not ancient; I will grow old and die. And you will be left alone to roam the world, just as you have been doing so far, with no one but the darkness by your side.

There was nothing eternal about her anymore.

"Then call out my name," she heard him say. "You can still do that."