Aleksander Morozova Imagined

Hidden in plain sight part 2

A/N: This is extremely late, but Happy Pride.  Also, a warning this chapter is long, it's about 2,000 words.

Summary: Without further incidents with the Darkling, Pevak has gone back to his normal schedule and is no longer worried, but Adrianna is. She jumps at every sound and is terrified to go anywhere alone at night. Of course, she doesn't mention any of this to Pevak. She hasn't summoned in months and though she does not realize it others are beginning to, *cough Darkling cough*.

Adrianna's POV 

91 days, 13 weeks, 3 months. My last encounter with the Darkling was 3 months ago. Since then I have been crippled by anxiety. My mind is plagued with thoughts of the Darkling. How foolish I was to think it would be exciting to meet the Darkling. I've not even formally met him, still, it was one of the worst encounters of my life. My brother is back to his usually chipper mood. I on the other hand have taken to sleeping with a  candle burning, Pervak thinks I'm being paranoid. Perhaps I am, perhaps I'm reading too much into my interaction with the Darkling, but, Pervak wasn't there. It felt as though he could see right through me as though I was made of glass with my secrets exposed for him to see. My skin crawls every time I think about it. Those grey eyes have become my regular haunts. I see them in my dream, in the walls, in the eyes of others. I feel like I'm being watched. I haven't practiced in months and it's starting to show. 

My cheeks are sunken and there are permanent bags under my eyes as I wake up screaming every night. In my dreams I see Pervak and my mother being torn to shreds by the Darkling. Those cold and calculating eyes watching it all, soaking in my pain as though it was a life source. I would not be surprised if Darklings feed on fear and pain. That one moment has certainly caused me enough of it these past months. The Darkling has taken my ability to visit the library when the moon is at its highest point. The library is quite beautiful while everyone is asleep in their beds, I had no company but the tales of old and the moonlight. There I am free. I spent hours combing through the shelves and reading the old dialects. While the library in the little palace is a marvel, one can only imagine what the library in the grand palace must look like. 

As I wake from yet another nightmare I slip my feet into my boots. The holes in the sole allow the cold to seep into my feet shocking me awake. I can no longer suffer the nightmares. The lack of sleep is starting to affect my efficiency at work. I grab the still burning candle heading toward the library. The moon is high casting scraggly shadows against the walls. I stay in the middle of the hallway, in the vast pools of moonlight, free from the swirling shadows. I am halfway there when I sense it. A lone heartbeat coming closer. I dart into an empty guest room as the dull thud of boots creeps closer. Tiptoeing to the center of the room, careful not to show light under the door, I sit until the footsteps pass and I can no longer feel a heartbeat.  I sigh before exiting the room. As I travel to the library I think I see the shadows writhing from the corner of my eye, but when I turn to look they are perfectly normal shadows. 

I shake my head, it is far too late for my mind to be playing these kinds of tricks on me. The library door swings open soundlessly. I comb through the aisles, hissing as candle wax burns my hand. Dropping the candle with a loud clatter plunging me into darkness. My heart beat races as the once familiar shadows turn menacing. Blaming my panicked state on my inability to feel the person join me in the dark until it was too late. Copper light illuminates the stacks of books, calming my nerves until I turn to see the man behind the light. The irony is not lost on me as the newly burning candle is held by none other than the Darkling. His slate eyes are still cold despite the flush of the warm light. Shadows coil around him as we study each other. 

"You should be careful while wandering on your own. You never know what you'll find," the Darkling whispers. My mouth opens and closes in a way that would give the impression I am doing a marvelous impersonation of a gaping fish. The Darkling speaks again saving me from dying of embarrassment.