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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"YOU'RE LUCKY YOU DIDN'T GET SHOT," ALINA said angrily. She was pacing back and forth in a simply furnished tent, one of the few that remained in the Grisha camp next to Kribirsk.
The Darkling's glorious black silk pavilion had been pulled down. All that survived was a broad swath of dead grass littered with bent nails and the broken remnants of what had once been a polished wood floor. I took a seat at the rough-hewn table and glanced outside to where Tolya and Tamar flanked the entrance to the tent. Whether they were guarding us or keeping us from escaping, I couldn't be sure.
"It was worth it," I replied. "Besides, no one's going to shoot the Sun Summoner and Tidemaker."
"You just punched a prince, Freya. I guess we can add one more act of treason to our list," said Mal. I shook out my sore hand. My knuckles smarted. "First of all, are we so sure he really is a prince? And second, you're just jealous you didn't get to do it."
"Of course I'm jealous but that isn't the point." Chaos had erupted after my outburst, and only some fast talking by Sturmhond and some very aggressive crowd control by Tolya had kept us from being taken away in chains or worse.
Sturmhond had escorted us through Kribirsk to the military encampment. When he left us at the tent, he'd said quietly, "All I ask is that you all stay long enough to let me explain. If you don't like what you hear, you're free to go."
"Just like that?" Alina scoffed. "Trust me." Sturmhond pleaded.
"Every time you say 'trust me', we trust you a little less." I hissed. But we all did stay, unsure of what our next move might be. Sturmhond hadn't bound us or put us under heavy guard. He'd provided us with clean, dry clothes. If we wanted to, we could try to slip past Tolya and Tamar and escape back across the Fold.
It wasn't as if anyone could follow us. We could emerge anywhere we liked along its western shore. But where would we go after that? Sturmhond had changed; our situation hadn't.
We had no money, no allies, and we were still being hunted by the Darkling. And I wasn't eager to return to the Fold, not after what had happened aboard the Hummingbird. I pushed down a bleak bubble of laughter. If Alina and I were actually thinking of taking refuge on the Unsea, things were very bad indeed.
A servant entered with a large tray. He set down a pitcher of water, a bottle of kvas and glasses, and several small plates of zakuski. Each of the dishes was bordered in gold and emblazoned with a double eagle.
I considered the food: smoked sprats on black bread, marinated beets, stuffed eggs. We hadn't had a meal since the previous night, aboard the Volkvolny, but I was too nervous to eat.
