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CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE ▪▫▪▫▪
STURMHOND'S SHIP WAS THE FIRST PLACE where Morana had seen Alina Starkov summon the sun. She'd been standing next to Nikolai, looking curiously at the duo and Alina had proved herself to be who Morana already knew her to be. Only at that moment, the thought running through her mind wasn't exactly... nice.
How can I kill a human sunbeam? was what she'd thought. How can I kill this link between us?
Because she'd wrongly assumed Alina was the one she was connected to. Because at that moment, Morana cared little about anything other than keeping herself out of the shadows, ignoring her past, and surviving the True Sea.
Well, now, Morana cared more about saving Ravka. Not for herself. Not for Ravka either. But for Nikolai. He'd be king, and he'd need a country in one piece if he wanted a shot at showing the country how utterly mesmerizing he was.
She walked through the sand, watching as Alina's dome of light settled around them as they got to the ruins at the center of the Fold, a place where the shadows were so alive Morana was nearly sure she could taste them.
"This is it. The heart of the Fold," said Alina as she turned to them, "Where Kirigan first damned this country into darkness. I think this is where we stand a chance of bringing it down."
The Sun Summoner turned to Mal, and Morana's heart stopped as Mal went to grab his blade. But Alina stopped him with a shake of his head. "No. No. We can do this." Alina turned back to Morana and the latter nodded, ready to try and bring Mal's merzost to the surface.
Alina raised her wrist, the one bare of an amplifier, and Mal slowly grasped it in his hand, just as Morana closed her eyes, letting herself get lost in the link she shared with Mal and tugging it to the surface, pulling his shadows, his hidden merzost, the Morozova in him to the surface.
Morana could feel the shadows, could feel the magic in Mal calling to her, the unbalanced merzost intensifying just like the Fold, only as he worked together with the other amplifiers, Morana didn't feel acid through her veins, or fire consuming her, but she did fall to her knees, bracing herself as she could feel the Fold being torn apart, the pain of the merzost balancing itself.
She opened her eyes as she felt a hand on her shoulder and as she looked up she saw Nina, Zoya, and Inej as they looked around at Alina's light show, hues of every color surrounding them, getting rid of the night.
Looking at Alina and Mal, Morana smiled, though her smile faltered rather soon as her eyes fell to a spot beyond them, where she could feel him approaching. Scrambling up to her feet, Morana had just enough time to ready herself as her father made himself known, sparing her a glance before he spoke.
"How touching," he said and Alina and Mal jerked apart, the amplified light vanishing, leaving them only in the previous safe dome Alina had created. "I almost feel bad for what I have to do now. He is family after all."
