Sun and Shadow

Chapter Ten

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Genya asked me, the two of us stood outside the entrance to the palace dungeons.

I nodded "I'm sure" I confirmed. I wanted to be the first to interrogate Mal, Zlatan and his comrades can be handled by Ivan but I deserved answers from the person I used to hold so dear.

We descended into the subterranean stone structure and I found myself fiddling with my ring for comfort, it had become a nervous habit over the past few days. It was my link to Aleksander when he wasn't around.

For years whenever I thought of Mal, I thought of home, I thought of safety. But now? Now when I thought of him, all I could see was the sword jutting out of Alek's chest, the look of pain on his face as he called out my name and all that...

All that blood...

Mal wasn't my safe place anymore.

"Alina! Alina listen to me, Kirigan is trying to use you! You have to get away from him! You have to listen to me!"

I walked up to the yelling soldier, he had been strapped to a chair and was struggling against his restraints to get to me. I stood in front of him then slapped him hard across the face.

Mal stared back at me in shock, his mouth hanging open and a hand print burning crimson on his cheek.

"You have a lot of explaining to do before I can even consider listening to you" I stated icily. "Putting aside everything that we used to have between us, what the hell were you thinking trying to assassinate the Second Army General? Are you insane?!" I accused.

"He- he's evil Alina! He's the Black Heretic! I was trying to free you from him!" Mal defended.

I shook my head, how could he possibly have known about Aleksander? "General Kirigan is not evil" I defended "and I am more free here than I have ever been in my life"

Mal shook his head back at me, disbelief clear on his face "Then... Then these people have you under some kind of Grisha mind trick or something. You can't see what he really is" he denied.

I scoffed "These people?" I echoed "These people are my friends, my family. I am Grisha, Mal" anger radiated from me in the form of sunlight, it surrounded us and further proved my point "these people have made me feel more welcome and at home than anyone I've ever met. They have accepted me with open arms and given me a feeling of love and peace I never knew existed"

"It's a lie, Alina!" Mal argued.

The light exploded out and then sank back into my body as rage boiled over within me. "No! The lie was when you told me you would always care about me, that we would always be best friends. You found out I was Grisha and wanted nothing to do with me!"

Mal frowned "Wh-What are you talking about? Alina, we are friends and I do care about you" he enforced.

"Oh? So all those letters I wrote, those actually meant something to you? What, you just simply forgot to reply to them?" I asked.

He smiled at me then and it made me want to hit him again "I knew it! Alina, I never got your letters. Kirigan must have intercepted them!" He theorised.

"You... you didn't get them?" I questioned, how could that be? It couldn't have been Aleksander, he wouldn't do that to me. I looked back at Genya and she shook her head, confirming my thoughts "He wouldn't-"

"I wrote to you too Alina, I was so worried about you" Mal interrupted. "Then when we got word the General was requesting volunteers to find Morozova's Stag, I saw the drawing and knew it was yours. I remember you reading me that book back in the orphanage over and over until we both knew it by heart"