A year after Alina Starkov tears down the Shadow Fold, she is finally able to settle into her peaceful life. There is no more war with Ravka. The Darkling, once her enemy, is now a loyal, protective husband, and a father to their adoptive daughter...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
ᗩᒪEKSᗩᑎᗪEᖇᗩᑎᗪ I go back inside the Grand Palace. We find Amelia in her room, playing with a doll by herself. I've always said she could invite friends over, but she seems to prefer playing on her own. Aleks is somewhat of a lonesome soul like Amelia, but I have always needed someone by my side. For most of my life, that was Mal. Now, it is my equal. My balance. And the most frustrating man to ever live.
I thought we should leave Amelia alone. She has had a tough day already, but as always, Aleksander would not leave it be. So I follow him inside her chambers to make sure he does not interrogate her too harshly.
Aleksander strolls into the bedroom and sits on her child-sized bed. He pats the spot next to him, motioning her to sit with him. I lean against the wall and watch as she inches over to him with caution. She faces him, legs crisscrossed on the mattress.
"I'd like to talk more about your training incident today."
Her cheeks puff out and she gives an unpleased look.
"You aren't in trouble," he continues. "We can pretend it never happened after today, but first, I have a few questions."
Amelia thinks about it and then nods once.
"Good girl. Now, when the Tidemaker boy splashed you with water from the lake, you were mad at him beforehand, correct?"
She nods. "He made fun of me."
"And you were angry at him while you were trying to summon the wind?"
Her head moves up and down again.
Next, he asks, "When the water came at you, did you see the boy's hands move?"
Amelia's brows knit together in concentration. ". . . No. His hands didn't move."
"Mm," the Darkling hums. "Extraordinary."
I finally realize what Aleksander is trying to prove. The boy didn't use his power to splash her. She was emotional when she was trying to summon, and her second, untamed power seeped through the cracks of her protective wall. She really is a Squaller and a Tidemaker.
"I know what you were doing out in the garden, Amelia," Aleks reveals, making Amelia's eyes pop out of her sockets. Her astonishment makes him smile a bit, but she should know better than to try to keep a secret from a man infinite in power and experience. That was something I had to learn the hard way.
"You were practicing your summoning," Aleksander persists. "But not by controlling the wind. You, my Little Enigma, were controlling the water, making the pond freeze over with ice, were you not?"
She does not face him; instead, she folds her knees to her chest, hugging them tight. "Maybe," she utters guiltily.
Aleksander quickly cups her jaw and lifts it up to meet his profound gaze. "Never feel like you have to hide your power from the rest of the world. You have a gift, and you should embrace it, not hide it away." He smiles. "You are more special than I could have ever imagined."
