The Summoners' Heir

Chapter 14: The Sun's Announcement

"General," I acknowledged.

"Join me, Leksi," he said pleasantly.

His demeanour lacked the burden of a summoner. It had been unnerving the first time. It still was. It made him unpredictable - even more so. I was not sure what to make of that.

"Why did you summon me?"

Oooof. Bad pun. Not intentional.

His smirk made it clear that he caught it. I cringed.

"Was that..."

"Nope," I finished for him.

For once in his long life, he showed mercy and moved on.

"The kefta suits you."

"Oh, this old thing? Yes, apparently, I had a one-of-a-kind designer," I declared while pulling off a few poses.

This brought out a laugh from the dark General. Honestly, the sound was still surprising me. It made me wonder if the tsar - General - ever had friends once. You know, like a group of them? Like Mother had with Mal, Genya, Nikolai, David and even Zoya eventually. He never really spoke about his past. Why he was who he was. Would I ever find out? Almost as if he knew what I was thinking, he reached for my hands. The contact was so startling I almost recoiled. I'm glad I didn't.

"Leksi, there is something I'd like you to know."

I didn't know where this was going, but I felt like this was a test. I couldn't afford to fail. I closed my hands around his own, returning the grasp. I nodded for him to continue.

"My name. Will you have it?"

"Why do you want me to..."

"Will you have it?" he insisted. 

I nodded.

"Aleksander. Aleksander Morozova."

I knew what Mother thought. She had told me about the time when he told her. She had said that the name was ordinary. And laughed. That he smiled. I couldn't imagine the Darkling smiling at the time. The concept had been so foreign to me, but I had seen it only seconds ago. The thing was... I already knew this information. It was where my own name came from. Morozova. A powerful history ran in our blood. A Saint lineage that not many people knew. I decided to play dumb. Well... as dumb as possible.

"Morozova," I emphasised.

"As in Ilya Morozova?"

This time it was his turn to be surprised. But not fearful. There was approval in his tone. As if Watson had solved a clue before Sherlock.