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...
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ᗯᕼEᑎ I GET ᗷᗩᑕK to the Grand Palace, Aleksander is back in the war room just as I suspected. Just because he spent the morning with me doesn't change anything about his distant behavior.
I decide to take the initiative and seek him out.
On the way, I bump into Coraline. She is always a breath of fresh air in this strait-laced palace.
"Oh, hello Dear." Coraline clasps her hands together with excitement. Then, she leans in and whispers, "I guess you finally talked some sense into the King. It was quite lonely hanging around the palace without much other staff. Now, there are maids and Grisha galore! How is Amelia?"
"You heard?"
"Everyone knows, Dear. And everyone is ready to fight for her. Amelia is one tough cookie, but she also knows how to touch the hearts of everyone around her, that girl." Coraline sighs. "If only the whole world could see her that way."
"Yeah," I exhale heavily. "But for Grisha, people are blinded by hate, obliviousness, jealousy, greed, or a dangerous combination of all four."
"And that's what Shu Han is, I assume?" she asks. "All four?"
I nod sadly. "Fjerda was just hateful and badly informed about us. The leaders of Shu Han are many things, but dumb isn't one of them. Queen Leyti wants her people to see me as the enemy, and she wants my power for demented experiments. But by now, I'm sure word has gotten back to her about Amelia's powers too. I'm worried about what she is planning. More than worried. I'm terrified."
Suddenly, Coraline's warm, plump arms wrap around me snugly. It was a hug that I didn't know I needed. Tears prick the corner of my eyes. She squeezes me before she pulls away and pats my shoulder twice. "Be careful, moya tsaritsa."
She dips into a curtsey and hobbles past me to do her late-morning duties.
Her kindness gives me the courage to go find Aleks. I go up the curved staircase, my black kefta fluttering behind me until I reach the war room three doors down the hall.
"You left this morning," Aleksander says before I can even close the door.
"You left first."
I see a smirk on his lips. "I suppose I did."
I stroll closer to him. He looks up from his map of Ravka that he has been pouring over since he left our bedroom at late daybreak.
"Though, I had a good reason for leaving this time," he says. Aleksander motions me closer with his finger. "The reason for Shu Han's silence has been made known." He points to the diorama on the table. Replica ships painted with red and black to represent Shu Han's flag are surrounding Novyi Zem's coasts.
