The Darkling Dreams

The Darkling dreams: right after the end of season one (Shadow and Bone)

That night, he dreamt of her.

After being thrown into the darkness of the Fold by Alina and her allies, General Kirigan was forced to confront the creatures he once created and somehow won. Not without struggle, not without consequence: when the Darkling finally reached the other side, he had managed to take control of some volcra, but became exhausted.

Walking with difficulty and escorted by the beasts he once feared, he found a place to rest in what was left of the city nearest to the Fold, devastated by his temporary expansion of it. It was a little house with a brick wall, partly broken down by the effect of the expansion, but enough to stay for the night and recover before looking for a Healer.

He commanded the volcra to stay put in the entrance, hoping as his eyes closed that the control over them wouldn't fade in his sleep. Then, like his shadows, all became dark.

First, he heard her laughter as an echo. The same one from the day they first kissed and got relentlessly interrupted by others knocking on the door. If he knew then what was coming, we would've insisted on making the moment last more. The sound came first loud and then dissolved into silence.

Suddenly, a bright light exploded from the darkness and gradually diminished around a center in which a white stag, the same he killed and claimed, was looking directly towards him. If this was the spirit of the animal calling to him, he expected to find anger in his expression, but there was none. The majestic stag observed him without judgment.

The animal's image started to melt in place, like it was made of wax and when it was no longer recognizable, it started to remold itself, gaining new contours. The new form it took was from a young woman in a long white dress with exposed shoulders, her back to him. But even without seeing her face, he knew who she was.

"Starkov", he heard his own voice whispering. In his dream,she could hear him clearly even from afar because when the last syllable of her last name was pronounced she lightly turned her head in reaction.

"Alina", the Darkling continued, now louder, almost shouting. "Sun-summoner". He tried to walk towards her, but his feet wouldn't move.

This last call made her fully turn to him and now they could see each other's faces. Her face was relaxed and neutral, quite different from the last time he saw her in their latest confrontation. And quite beautiful. A miracle.

"You should have listened to me. We could have ended all wars against Ravka, together", he said, trying to convince her even in his dream. A noisy sound came right after he finished his sentence, caws and rattles, as if crows were around, but in a very particular articulation, as though they were mocking him. He clenched his first, angry.

"If this is your spirit calling to me, know I'll forgive you if you cooperate. And you...", his voice faltered, "... you may forgive me too. I may have exceeded myself in my ways to try to get you to the sensible conclusion".

Her mouth opened slightly and she tilted her head at him.

"Please", he asked, lowering his tone. "I have waited for you for so long".

"This much...", Kirigan paused, his eyes becoming darker as his brows narrowed, "has always been true".

Previously stuck at one place, now he could feel his feet released, once again following his commands. Letting out a smirk in satisfaction, he began walking in Alina's direction, interpreting this as a sign to come closer.

"You'll see, Starkov... Big things, we'll accomplish so much together", he said, smiling wider and wider as he walked in her direction through the dark space in which only the two of them could be seen in full light. "We'll rule together, never know of loneliness again, my dear. We'll be like night and day. Complementary, like stars and the sky. Ravka will be just the beginning for us and we...".

He stopped talking when noticed something sticking out of Alina's hair, but continued on walking towards her, squeezing his eyes trying to identify what it was.

It was white, spiky and it grew directly out of her head, fast. There were two such entities, one on each side of the Sun-summoner's head, arising in synchrony. As it happened, her expression did not change, she remained stoic and quiet. When their structures began forming curves and derivations like branches out of each section, it became clear what it was.

Kirigan's eyes widened as he swallowed his own saliva and stopped before reaching her.

"What?...", he began to say, but in a rapid movement, Alina kneed, joining her hands together, as if she was prayings for the saints of Ravka. And in that moment, the full grown, white and sharp, antlers in her head came out at once, and quickly as an arrow pointed directly at him, piercing through his clothes all through his skin, his interior. His heart. The shadow summoner let out a gasp, shrinking. He looked down to his own body, all perforated, dripping blood to his knees, feeling excruciating pain.

And when he looked back at her, her expression had changed. Lips tight together, nostrils flared, brows knitted: rage burning.

This was the last he saw before waking up, raising his back all at once, to warm rays of light touching his skin. The sun had risen.

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The Darkling and all aspects of the Grishaverse do not belong to me, I solely did the plot for this piece of fan-fiction, inspired by it. Please, DO NOT COPY and publish this somewhere else without permission and let me know if you see someone else doing it.

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