Burning Brightly (a grishaverse story )

Chapter 10

Who actually saw what happened?"

Nervously I glanced over at the tired and bloody survivors of the volcra attack.

After the mysterious burst of light the remaining Squallars, Inferni, and soldiers had somehow managed to bring the sand skiffs back to Krisbirk, luckily Darya was with them. Most of the soldiers and Grisha had been killed. We were fortunate to have survived.

The whole camp had been buzzing with rumours about a sun summoner, and even as impossible as that sounded I had to admit that I didn't have any better explanation for what had happened out in the fold. There had been a burst of searing light and the volcra had simply disappeared. Either they had been killed or the light had scared them off, but however it had happened there was no doubt that whatever that unassuming soldier had managed to do would be vital to the future of Ravka.

Everyone who had witnessed the phenomenon had been summoned to the Darkling's tent to give testimony on what had happened.

The girl who I had seen on the skiff was standing in front of the Darkling, her eyes shifting nervously around the tend.

The senior cartographer was telling his account of what had happened in the fold and I found myself nodding along to what he was saying.

"This is absurd," I heard Zoya say from the other side of the tent. Darya had been right. She really was gorgeous. "What are you suggesting old man? That you've found us a sun summoner?"

The crowd burst into argument and I turned to look at Darya who just shrugged. Like me she hadn't seen much of what happened and was much more preoccupied with not getting eaten.

"Silence!" The Darkling's voice cut through the arguments, leaving everyone momentarily speechless. He gestured towards the tracker the girl had saved. "What did you see?"

The tracker started talking about the attack and I tuned him out. I caught Ava's gaze from across the tent and she smiled reassuringly to me. Darya's hand slipped into mine and I squeezed it, grateful for her presence next to me.

The Darkling rose from his chair and descended the steps until he was directly in front of the girl. I watched, interested in what was going to happen.

She seemed to be arguing with him, telling him that what happened must be some kind of mistake. I admired her for standing up for herself but the poor girl was probably going to get herself killed if she went on like this.

"Push up your sleeve," I heard the Darkling say and I froze as I recognized the knife in his hand. It was the same one that he cut me with to summon my powers back in the Little Palace.

"I didn't do anything," the girl said, her voice uncertain and afraid. The Darkling ignored her. "Well," he said, his voice so soft that I had to strain to hear it. "Lets see what you can do."

He brought his hands together and a loud thunderclap noise echoed across the room. Tendrils of darkness streamed from his hands covering the entire tent so that we were all plunged in the dark.

I couldn't see anything, but suddenly a piercing light flooded the tent, expelling the darkness.

The girl had a shocked look on her face as the Darkling gripped her wrist and light poured out of her.

Darya's hand tightened on mine and I saw that same look of realization on her face that mirrored mine. It was real. She was real.

All across the tent I saw similar expressions of shock and disbelief on everyone's faces as they realized what this meant for the Grisha. What it meant for Ravka.

The sun summoner was real and her name was Alina Starkov.

a/n I FINISHED. ITS DONE.

Yeah ok i killed myself trying to write this chapter before the show drops. But yeah in 3 and ½ hours the show is going to go. The rest of the world is going to see the characters we love so much and the fictional world that i love to disappear into is going to be on a screen and i'm going to be able to see it. I'm not ready but i also am and i'm going to DIE when i see my sun summoner and the crows and just asdkfjkdsfd

But thanks for sticking around and reading this absolute trash. I love you all. <3

-mel