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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DESPITE ITS NAME, I lOVED THE WAR ROOM. Thecartographer part of me always seemed so invested in maps, the maps wrought in animal hide and embellished in whimsical detail: the glided lighthouse at Os Kervo, the mountain temples of the Shu, the mermaids that swan at the edges of the sea.
Sometimes it made me wonder if I should have been a cartographer instead. Maybe then I would have been friends with Alina.
I looked around the table at the faces of the Grisha, some familiar, some new. Any one of them could be a spy for the Darkling, the King, the Apparat. Any one of them could be looking for the chance to get me and Alina out of the way and assume power.
Tolya and Tamar stood outside, just a shout away in case of trouble, but it was Alina's and Mal's presence that gave me comfort. They sat at my right in, Alina in her Golden kefta, and Mal in roughs-pun clothes, the sunburst pinned above his heart.
I knew Alina hated thinking of him leaving so soon for the hunt, but I had to admit Mal was causing quite the distraction for Alina.
Sergei sat to Mal's right, his arms crossed sullenly over his chest. He wasn't happy to be sitting next to an otkazat'sya guard, and he was even less pleased that Alina had insisted on seating a Fabrikator directly to my left, in what was considered a position of honor.
She was a Suli girl named Paja whom I'd never met before. She had dark hair and nearly black eyes, and the red embroidery at the cuffs of her purple kefta indicated that she was one of the Alkemi, Fabrikators who specialized in chemicals like blasting powders and poisons.
David sat further down the table, his cuffs emblazoned in gray. He worked in glass, steel, wood, stone— anything solid. David was a Durast, and I knew he was the best of them because the Darkling had chosen him to forge the coin into the back of my hand. Then there was Fedyor, and Zoya beside him, gorgeous as always in Etheralki blue.
Across from Zoya sat Pavel, the dark-skinned Inferni who'd spoken so angrily against Alina and me the previous day. He had narrow features and a chipped tooth that whistled slightly when he talked.
The first part of the meeting was spent discussing the numbers of Grisha at the various outposts around Ravka and those who might be in hiding. Zoya suggested sending messengers to spread the news of our return and offer full and free pardon to those who swore their allegiance to both Alina and me. We spent close to an hour debating the terms and wording of the pardon. I knew either Alina or I would have to take it to Nikolai for the King's approval, and we wanted to step carefully.
Finally, we agreed on "loyalty to the Ravkan throne and the Second Army." No one seemed happy with it, so I was pretty sure we'd gotten it right.
