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𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟏
𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐔𝐍 𝐒𝐔𝐌𝐌𝐎𝐍𝐄𝐑

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𝐅𝐈𝐕𝐄 𝐘𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐒 𝐋𝐀𝐓𝐄𝐑

Ever since she was taken to the Little Palace, Inessa had been through intense training under the watchful eye of the Darkling. The General oversaw every one of her training sessions, he even made sure she worked on her skills in private. When she began her training, she never questioned it because she thought that was how it worked. But after she watched other Grisha train with one another, Inessa couldn't help but wonder why she was getting special treatment. However, every time she tried to ask General Kirigan about it, he would simply brush her off. After trying to get an answer for years, Inessa ultimately gave up and accepted that the Darkling had a reason for his actions. She just wished his acts involved her having a bit more freedom in her life.

Unlike the other Grisha, Inessa didn't have the privilege of walking the grounds of the Little Palace alone and exploring the surrounding forests. Instead, she was forced to stay by General Kirigan's side and under his watch. If she wasn't with the Darkling, either Ivan or Fedyor was somewhere nearby. Inessa couldn't remember the last time she didn't have someone watching her since she was forced to leave her cousin. Even when she was still with her family, either a guard or a member of the royal family was watching her every move. The Heartrender just wished she could've been born normal. No family with royal blood. No crazy Grisha powers. She wanted to be a normal teen exploring the world with Nikolai. But as usual, no one ever gets what they wish for.

Unlike her usual nights of staying locked up in her room studying the books General Kirigan gave her, Inessa found herself sitting across from the Darkling in one of his coaches. They were on their way to a First Army camp to oversee the launch of their new skiff. If anyone asked the Smirnoff girl, she would tell them it was a waste of time to try and cross the Fold. No matter how intricate the skiff was, the volcra would always find you.

It wasn't until early the next morning that they finally arrived at the First Army's camp. Inessa did her best to ignore the General's piercing gaze as she stared out the window. She would be the first to admit that she was shocked by how the soldiers lived compared to the Grisha. Their tents looked as if they could be knocked down by the smallest of breezes and they were dressed head to toe in what could be compared to rags. For people fighting for their country, they didn't seem to be treated as heroes. Not like the Grisha.

"What do you think?" the Darkling asked, breaking the silence that filled the coach since they began their journey. Inessa kept her eyes glued to the window for a moment longer before turning her attention toward the General. "This is your first time seeing the Fold up close. What do you think of it?"

Inessa instantly turned back to the window to stare at the dark barrier that stretched to the sky. Her eyes scanned over it as her thoughts bounced around in her head. It wasn't long after that before she finally opened her mouth to speak. "It's quite...intimidating."

"That's one way to put it," General Kirigan responded after letting out a small laugh.

"I don't understand why I'm here," Inessa said without thinking, causing the amusement to fade from the Darkling's eyes. His expressionless look alone was enough to send chills throughout the Smirnoff girl's entire body. After all these years, the General still terrified her. He had more power in his pinkie than she had in her entire body. He made sure she knew that on more than one occasion.

"I already told you, you're here to assist me," the Darkling responded while keeping his eyes glued to Inessa, who was now trying not to squirm in her seat, "and I couldn't leave you alone at the Little Palace. Fedyor, Ivan, and I are all here, after all."

"But-"

"Do not question me, Inessa," the General hissed as the world around her seemed to grow darker, "remember what happened the last time you questioned me."

All Inessa could do was nod in response before light came through the windows once again. The Heartrender kept her eyes glued to her fingers while trying to ignore the Darkling's gaze. The Smirnoff girl did her best to hide her fears, knowing that the General would see it as a weakness. And every time he saw weakness in her, he made her train until he didn't see it anymore. Inessa always thought General Kirigan was trying to turn her into another Ivan or another Fedyor, but she soon realized there was something else behind his motives. The brunette girl just wished she could figure out what that was.

It wasn't long before their coach came to a stop. Despite wanting to jump out of there, Inessa knew that wouldn't be smart. So instead she waited for General Kirigan to open the door and step out into the world. Once he was a short distance away from the coach, Inessa followed him. She expected them to go to his tent to review his plans with the Grisha stationed there. So the Smirnoff girl was surprised when she walked onto a dock before stopping at the end to watch their new skiff sail into the distance.

Inessa watched the skiff until it disappeared into the Fold, completely unaware of the scarf floating around in the wind. As she stood next to the Darkling, the Heartrender silently hoped that this time its passengers would survive.

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Two hours passed since the skiff left. Since then, Inessa went to the Darkling's tent with the Grisha general like she originally thought. While they were there, General Kirigan talked with his most trusted Grisha about his future plans. Despite knowing she should listen in, Inessa tuned out their entire conversation. Her eyes were glued to her interlaced fingers while a million thoughts raced through her head. She didn't want to be there. In fact, she would've rather been anywhere else, even training all day with Baghra.

Inessa wasn't much of a fighter, no matter how many times the Darkling attempted to make her one. She never was. When she was first taken to the Little Palace, she tried so hard to convince the General to let her train to be a Healer. But her attempts were always futile. It was only thanks to Baghra and their secret training sessions that Inessa was able to master some healing techniques. She had just enough knowledge to heal most injuries but not enough to make General Kirigan suspicious. In a perfect world, the Smirnoff girl would know more, but she knew it was for the best.

Inessa's attention was soon drawn back to the real world by a loud crash in the distance. Her eyes moved to the entrance of the tent before her attention fell on the Darkling, only to find his gaze already on her. The look he was sending her was one she had never seen on his face before. Confusion. General Kirigan had no idea what was going on in the outside world and Inessa knew he hated being out of the loop.

It wasn't long after that when a Squaller came rushing into the tent and approached the General. He whispered a few inaudible words to his leader before the latter's eyes grew. More and more Grisha soon entered the tent and filled every inch of available space, forcing Inessa to move closer to the Darkling. Not even a second after that passed when the flaps of the tent opened, drawing Inessa's attention to the entrance. The Heartrender was confused when she saw a member of the First Army being escorted inside. The newcomer looked just as confused as she was forced to walk a few more steps before her escorts forced her to stop.

"Bring her closer," General Kirigan ordered while still facing the maps on his desk. The Grisha immediately followed his orders and forced the girl to walk further into the tent. Fear mixed with the confusion in her eyes as the Darkling slowly turned around to face her. The Grisha General studied her for a moment before muttering one simple word under his breath. "Closer."

The girl looked around the room for a moment before her eyes met Inessa's. They stared at each other until the Heartrender watched the girl let out a long sigh. It wasn't long after that when she took another step toward the Darkling. Another silent beat passed before General Kirgian spoke again. "Well?"

"Well, what? Sir," the girl questioned while keeping her eyes glued to the man in front of her.

Once again, the Darkling just studied her for a moment, taking in every inch of her. "What are you?"

"Alina Starkov, Assistant Cartographer, Royal Corps of Surveyors," she responded before realization replaced all other emotions that were in her eyes, "they're all gone. It's my fault. That's why I'm here, isn't it?"

"Answer the question," the Darkling ordered while slowly sitting down on the desk behind him, "what are you?"

"A mapmaker, sir," Alina responded without an ounce of hesitation, earning laughs from the Grisha surrounding her. The Starkov girl couldn't help but look around at all the smiling people until her eyes landed on Inessa once again. The Heartrender was already staring back at her with a face almost as blank as the Darkling.

"Quiet," General Kirigan ordered while keeping his eyes glued to Alina, making the Grisha in the tent fall silent. It wasn't long after that when the Darkling began looking around at those surrounding him. "So who actually saw what happened?"

Silence was all that greeted the Grisha General as he continued to look around the tent. Another moment passed when his eyes landed on a Squaller studying Alina from the other side of the tent. "Zoya? You manned the main sail."

"We were attacked barely two markers in," the raven-haired girl explained after everyone's attention landed on her, "someone lit a lantern."

"And?"

"The volcra went after the riflemen and our Inferni first," the Squaller continued while Inessa listened to the Starkov's girl pounding heartbeat, "and then there was a searing light. It was her."

As soon as Zoya finished speaking, the Darkling's attention moved back to the girl standing in front of him. "Our mapmaker. Is this true? Can you summon light?"

Alina hesitated before slowly shaking her head. General Kirigan studied her for a moment then he looked over at Inessa. It didn't take long for her to notice his eyes on her, making the Heartrender clear her throat and open her mouth to speak. "Her heartbeat hasn't wavered since she entered the tent."

The Starkov girl looked at Inessa with shock in her eyes, as if noticing the colors of her kefta for the first time. Not even a second after that passed when all attention moved back to the Darkling when he began speaking. "Where did you grow up?"

"Keramzin."

"And when were you tested?" General Kirigan asked, only to be greeted by silence from Alina, "you don't remember?"

Once again, the Grisha General was met with silence. That caused him to push himself off his desk before he started walking toward Alina. Along the way, Inessa watched as he removed his ring from his pinkie and placed it on his thumb. The sight of the metal talon hanging from the Darkling's finger sent a shiver throughout the Smirnoff girl's entire body. However, before she could think back to the day her life fell apart, General Kirigan began speaking once again. "Well, let us just make certain. Lift up your sleeve."

Alina stared at the Darkling with fear in her eyes, unsure what to make of her situation. "What's happening?"

"Your sleeve. Please," General Kirigan repeated as the world around them began to grow darker.

A wave of terror washed over Inessa as the light faded away, but she forced herself to hide it. Instead, she focused on Alina reluctantly rolling up her sleeve. Not even a second passed after that when the Grisha General grabbed the Starkov girl's wrist and forced her sleeve up as high as it could go. Everyone in the tent watched as the Darkling placed his metal talon on Alina's arm before making a small cut. Inessa did her best to suppress her gasp after seeing a beam of light shoot out of the mapmaker's arm and into the sky. What felt like an eternity passed before the light finally vanished, leaving everyone in a state of shock. However, no one was more shocked than Alina Starkov.

The Darkling just stared at the girl in front of him for a long moment, studying every inch of her. What felt like an eternity of that passed before he turned around and made his way over to Inessa. She straightened up as much as she could until the Grisha General was only a foot away from her. An emotion that the Heartrender couldn't place was in the raven-haired man's eyes as he spoke just loud enough for the Smirnoff girl to hear. "Go with Ivan and Fedyor and take Miss Starkov back to the Little Palace. Do you understand?"

"Yes, General," Inessa responded before walking past him to grab Alina's arm and escort her toward the exit of the tent. They only made it a few steps when the Sun Summoner started struggling. It wasn't long after that when Inessa glanced over at Alina and spoke in a tone just above a whisper. "Please don't make this harder on either of us."

The Smirnoff girl's words were enough to make Alina stop struggling and walk with her. A wave of relief washed over Inessa when she no longer had to drag the Starkov girl and simply walked beside her instead. However, her moment of relief was cut short after Alina stopped in her tracks once again, making Inessa stumble a bit. It only took a moment for the Heartrender to regain her bearings before she looked up to find Ivan staring back at her with a stone-cold look in his eyes. If Inessa didn't know any better, she would be afraid of the man standing in front of her. But after five years of living and training with Ivan, she knew he wasn't as cold as he pretended to be...as long as you stayed on his good side.

"Get in," Ivan ordered, only for Alina to stay in her place with her eyes glued to the man in front of her, "you heard me. Let's go. Get in."

"No," the Starkov girl responded, surprising both Inessa and Ivan before she continued speaking, "there's been a mistake. I need to find Mal."

"The General does not make mistakes," the Heartrender declared as he walked closer to Alina until he was a few feet away from her, "his orders were to get you to the Little Palace immediately. Now get in the coach."

"Everyone makes mistakes," the Sun Summoner retaliated while Inessa stared at her with shock in her eyes, "look at me. Do I look important to you?"

"You look like trouble. Which is nearly the same," Ivan told her as he took a step closer to Alina, "move."

"Wait. Malyen Oretsev. He's in the medic tent. I need to speak to him. I'm going to speak to him," the Starkov girl declared before beginning to walk away from the Grisha in front of her, only for Inessa to quickly block her path.

The two girls just stared at each other, both of them surprised by the Smirnoff girl's actions. Inessa was never this assertive, then again, she never had the opportunity to be. But there was something inside her telling her that she needed to protect Alina, and it wasn't just the Darkling's words. "I need you to listen. Every spy in the area either saw or will hear about what you just did. They will come for you, Alina. Now, I don't know about you, but I would feel a lot better if we got you behind the palace walls before they find you."

Before Alina had a chance to respond, Ivan grabbed both of their arms and pulled them toward the coach. Inessa watched as the Heartrender forced the Sun Summoner into the coach while keeping an annoyed look on his face. Not even a second after that passed when the Smirnoff girl climbed in on her own and sat down next to Alina. As soon as both the girls were inside, Ivan got in and closed the door behind him. It wasn't long after that when the coach began to move, starting their journey to the Little Palace.

They were just yards short of the camp's gate when Alina began pounding on the window and shouting at someone outside. When Inessa followed her gaze, she saw a boy around her age limping after the coach yelling Alina's name. But despite his best efforts, he couldn't catch up and watched as the coach continued until it was out of sight.

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