Taya Saadovska spent all her life in the palace. Daughter to one of the most influential families at court, she lived pretty much like a princess. Suddenly however she is pulled into an unforeseen adventure alongside her childhood friend Nikolai. It...
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From that day on, Taya felt strangely on edge. A victory against the Darkling was so close now and with it the revenge she desired so much, but what would happen afterward? She hadn't thought beyond that point really. Would she keep on ruling? She was no Lantsov and nobody had placed her on the throne. They all just accepted her intermediate involvement during the crisis, but would the nobles, the military and the Grisha support her during peaceful times? And more importantly, did she even want that?
She was throwing those questions around in her head that evening, when a knock suddenly caught her attention. She called "Come in!" and then almost jumped up from where she had been sitting on the window still upon seeing Alina enter. Although her return had been announced, Taya had not expected the sun summoner to come and see her. Even though they knew each other through Nikolai and the others, they had never spent any time one on one, Taya realized.
"Can I help you, Alina?", Taya asked, moving to greet the arrival.
Alina gave a small smile, visibly uncertain on how to handle the situation. She was almost fidgety, the Squaller noticed and that's when she spotted the tiny object Alina was pushing back and forth in her hands.
"I wanted to give you this.", Alina revealed when she saw Taya's eyes fixated on her hands. "He wanted you to have it." She held the tiny thing out to Taya, whose eyes went wide. The Lantsov Emerald!
For a second tears threatened to spill out again, but Taya did her best to hold them back. Instead, she forced herself to shake her head. "He gave it to you and he asked me if I was ok with you keeping it as a present. And I am." She didn't even dare reach out for it.
"I know, but he told me to give it to you. As a sign of his affection."
"He told you?"
Alina motioned for the chairs in the room, and after a while of hearing the sun summoner explain about Merzost and Nikolai's transformation, Taya was more than glad to be seated. She felt her entire body tremble, but only one piece of information really stuck out to her.
"So he is alive?"
Alina nodded.
"Can you save him?" This question came far more hesitantly and so did Alina's answer.
"It didn't work for long the first time I tried. But now I have the third amplifier. And perhaps defeating the Darkling will help."
It wasn't much, but it gave Taya hope. Something she hadn't felt for a long time now. "You have my full support for your attack against the Darkling."
"I know, Zoya told me. But I want to take as few people into the fold with me as possible."
It was something Taya could admire about the sun summoner, who had been thrown into this role unwillingly. "Take whoever you want. And I know that Zoya and the council will most likely disagree, but I will be going as well."
