Shadow and Bone: Chapters 14–17

The Summoners spent hours at the stone pavilions honing their “demonstrations.”

Given that Ravka was at war and had been for over a hundred years, it all seemed a little frivolous.

Marie and Nadia talked constantly about their new silk kefta and what jewels they intended to wear, and David and the other Fabrikators kept accosting me to talk over the details of the demonstration.

“I do look remarkable,” she said, admiring herself in the mirror over the basin.
“You’d look even better with a little humility.”

I gave what I hoped was an indifferent shrug.

“For the moment,” I said airily, and Genya gave a very unladylike snort.

Besides, he’s as much a slave to the whims of the King as the rest of us.

As we walked down the gravel path and into the wooded tunnel, I noticed that Sergei and several other Heartrenders were keeping pace with us, and I realized with a start that they were guarding us—or probably me. I supposed it made sense with all of the strangers on the palace grounds for the fete, but it was still disconcerting, a reminder that there were a lot of people in the world who wanted me dead.

The grounds surrounding the Grand Palace had been lit up to showcase tableaus of actors and little troupes of acrobats performing for wandering guests.

I glanced at Marie and Nadia to see if they had noticed, but they were gabbling about some of the dishes served to the nobles at dinner—roasted lynx, salted peaches, burnt swan with saffron.

Her heart belongs to a gangly Fabrikator who doesn’t like parties.

We stood by the orchestra and watched as a man dressed in an elaborate silver ensemble took to the stage to introduce the Grisha.

We waited as the orchestra began to play an ominous, escalating thrum and the man in silver bounded onto the stage once again to introduce us.

I grew the light wider and brighter, feeling the pleasure of the power move through me, letting it play through my fingertips as he sent inky tendrils of darkness shooting through the light, making them dance.

I don’t know what might have happened next—at that moment we heard a loud clamor of voices from the hallway.

“And here you are, safe and sound, dancing and flirting like some cosseted little princess.”

Mal's lips twisted in a cynical smile, a smile so different from the one I knew and loved that I almost flinched.

“Right,” I said slowly, trying to extricate myself from her grasp.

“The land that the Unsea covers was once green and good, fertile and rich. Now it is dead and barren, crawling with abominations. The Darkling will push its boundaries north into Fjerda, south to the Shu Han. Those who do not bow to him will see their kingdoms turned to desolate wasteland and their people devoured by ravening volcra.”

I gaped at her in horror, shocked by the images she had conjured.

“Only the volcra have kept the Darkling from using the Fold against his enemies. They are his punishment, a living testimony to his arrogance. But you will change all that. The monsters cannot abide sunlight. Once the Darkling has used your power to subdue the volcra, he will be able to enter the Fold safely. He will finally have what he wants. There will be no limit to his power.”

“He is ancient. He’s had plenty of time to master lying to a lonely, naive girl.”

I never truly believed he’d find Morozova’s herd. They’re elusive creatures, part of the oldest science, the making at the heart of the world.

Her contempt would have been easier to bear.

A theatrical troupe was loading up a wagon with props and racks of costumes, their driver already gripping the reins and shouting at them to hurry things along.

But then the wheels jounced forward and we were rattling over the cobblestone streets of Os Alta.

I had always been a rotten hunter, so I subsisted on the meager supplies I’d bought back in Balakirev, on water from streams, and the occasional egg or apple stolen from a lonely farm.

I had no idea what the future held or what waited for me at the end of this grueling journey and yet, somehow, I wasn’t miserable.

“Let the Saints protect the Sun Summoner,” intoned the priest, “she who was sent to deliver us from the evils of the Shadow Fold and make this nation whole again.”

The river would be easier going, but it would mean passing through heavily populated areas. The mountains were a more direct route, but would be much tougher to traverse.

A uniformed soldier emerged, a bottle of kvas in one hand and a scantily clad woman clutched in the other.

There must be a stream nearby, a tributary of the river.

I grabbed hold of a rock and pulled myself into the shallows, dragging myself to my feet, my boots slipping on the smooth river stones as I stumbled under the weight of my sodden coat.

I don’t know how I did it, but I pushed my way into the woods and burrowed under a thick copse of bushes before I let myself collapse, shivering in the cold and still coughing river water.

He led me back to the stream, to a shallow bend where we were able to slog across.

When Mal finally stopped, we were high up the mountain, hidden from view by an enormous outcropping of rock and a few scraggly pines.

If she’d been as ruthless as her son, she might have dispensed with risk and slit my throat instead. And maybe we all would have been better off, I thought dismally.

We ate a meager dinner of hard cheese and stringy dried beef.

When I was feeling particularly tired or hungry, I’d glare resentfully at his back and think about giving him a good whack over the head to get his attention.

Gingerly, Mal touched the wound on his head.