1 | cardiac arrest [darkling]

twentynine

"ONCE WE GET ON THOSE SKIFFS we are at war with the Darkling. And he'll probably have some backing from the King." Nikolai points out as they stand in front of the two Skiffs that are being filled with provisions, horses, weapons and soldiers.

"I know. But I want this." Nyx assures, making him nod in acceptance. The past four weeks have been hectic, with the finishing up of the Skiffs, training, strategising and other war preparations. These were all things she had helped Aleksander with, but had never realised that as General it was more tiresome than it seemed.

"Thought you'd say that. So I prepared a gift." He hums, making her raise an eyebrow questioningly. He turns around to one of the wooden boxes that had been behind them and opens it.

He pulls out something that looks like a Kefta and her breath gets stuck at the back of her throat. It was black. The colour of the shadow summoner. His colour. It would finally be hers too. An overwhelming feeling of excitement fills her up and she can feel her eyes burning up with tears.

"I was going to give you a red one, like your old one. But Zoya told me how much the black one meant to you. So, I thought it would please you." He hums as he hands it to her and she can't help the smile from appearing on her lips. She takes the kefta from him and runs her fingers over the black embroidery. "I also got Zoya, David and Adrian ones. They wanted to stick to their Order colours though."

"Thank you. I love it." She says as she grins up at him and he beams, satisfied with her reaction.

"Let me help you put it on." He says as he takes it back and opens it up, helping her put it on. As soon as he's certain it's on, he looks at her with a smirk. "I can't wait to see his reaction of you in it."

"He'll be so mad." She chuckles, before she bites her lip.

"Come on. Let's go show the others before we board the Skiffs." He says, putting a hand on her lower back and leading her ahead. Her heart flutters and she looks down to hide how flustered she is. As she hears the laughter of her friends, she looks up and smiles to see them talking together. Over the past month they'd gotten closer with Tamar and Tolya, growing fond of Tamar's boldness and Tolya's never ending knowledge of poetry. "Ladies and Gentlemen, I present to you. Your General."

"Saints, Nyx. I can't believe you've been the denied this colour. You look beautiful." Zoya breaths out, making Nyx beam happily.

"I feel like a proud son." Adrian says, wiping away a fake tear. Nyx groans at him for making the son joke. "Oh, yeah. David and Zoya told me all about that."

"I hate you all." She grumbles, making them all laugh. She sighs sadly as she looks up at the two Skiffs, unfortunately they'd have to part ways now. "We should get going."

"Yeah. We can't delay any longer." Zoya sighs sadly, giving Nyx a soft smile. The two best friends pull each other in a hug. "Stay safe okay? And don't worry too much about us, focus on the goal. You have to make him pay, alright?"

"Okay. We'll win. I'll make sure of that." Nyx says as she holds on tightly to Zoya, not willing to let go. But after while she pulls away and smiles tightly at the Squaller, before looking at David she pulls him into a hug as well, which he awkwardly returns. "I'm proud of you."

"Thank you." He breaths out, relaxing into her arms. "We'll see each other after this all over, right?"

"Of course. We have to. It's an order." She says as tears roll down her cheeks. She slowly pulls away and looks up at the twins. "Please take care of them and yourselves. Stay safe. All of you."

"You too." Zoya smiles weakly, before looking at Adrian. He seemed to be just as sad to leave his new found friends. "I hate to admit it, but I'll miss you."

"Makes two of us then." He says softly and she smiles, before pulling him into a hug. Nyx steps back to stand next to Nikolai, watching with a happy smile as Adrian says goodbye to them.

"He'll grow up to be a great leader. And with you as his mentor, he'll be unstoppable." Nikolai muses as he crosses his arms over his chest. She looks up at him curiously, before glancing back at Adrian.

Nikolai was not wrong. Adrian had the charisma, the wit and the compassion to become a great leader, better than Aleksander could be. That's when an idea came to her mind and she looks up at Nikolai with a smirk.

"You need a General for the Second Army after all this right?" Nyx asks, making Nikolai look down at her with a knowing smirk. "He's not very experienced, but he learns fast."

"He has the potential. I'll think it through." He hums, making her smile in satisfaction. After the War, she'd live somewhere peacefully, but she couldn't leave Adrian with nothing. She'd make sure he'd have a good future ahead of him, before leaving.