As Vladim moved to turn the locks, I heard Genya whisper. "You definitely owe me a kiss after all this, Don't think I won't hold you to it."
I laughed lightly. "We'll see."
"There is no seeing, you will, if I have to be the one to do it then so be...
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AFTER GENYA LEFT THE ROOM TO ATTEND to other duties Alina and I sat down across from one another by the window. Talking like we'd known each other our whole lives.
It was surprising enough, to say the least, my nerves about meeting her got the best of me. I guess some part of me expected her to be arrogant which is ridiculous because she was the complete opposite of my intrusive thoughts. She was gentle, she understood what I'd been facing since I'd discovered these powers, what it was like to be dragged away from the only people I'd ever known and not knowing if they'd still approve of me for my power later, maybe they'd accuse me of knowing from the start and do what the Fjerdans did to their discovered Grisha?
The thought made me sick because if I was still in Fjerda right now, with the power I have, I'd most likely be dead.
"Maybe whenever you start training, you'll be with me," Alina said, gently. "I hope so, but maybe I should warn you about Baghra."
I felt weary when Alina mentioned the woman's name, but I'd found out shortly after that she was in Alina's words 'quite the peach' and that I should be dreading for when the day came when I'd have to meet the woman, but then Alina reassured me that she would be there with me throughout the process, and although I was grateful for the comfort of the words, it didn't necessarily make me feel better.
❂♕
I stayed with Alina for a good half of the afternoon, learning more things about her. I'd learned that she was an orphan from Keramizin, a year older than I was, but strictly we had the same background, besides the fact that she grew up in an orphanage and had someone back in Kribirsk named Mal, that she had a rather close friendship with, being it as they both were from Keramizin.
She talked so easily about being the original Sun Summoner about feeling like she was at home amongst her kind, she told me that once she'd just arrived here in Os Alta, she'd felt out of place, that she didn't belong here. But then she'd made friends and began to accept that she was Grisha.
She told me about being a Cartographer in the first army, about her time in different parts of Ravka since she'd left Keramizin. I'd listened to her rant on about many topics of her past, things that once bothered her, but don't anymore, and things that do bother her today.
I'd recognized throughout our conversations that she had a tendency to rub her wrist, I'd been curious to ask why but I never did.
About an hour before dinner, Alina had asked me to accompany her for a walk around the Little Palace grounds, I'd wanted to refuse at first but then I didn't get the chance because we'd already been outside and walking in the gardens.
