The Greed of Men Part 2
Warnings: mentions of violence, The Darkling
Word count: 1200ish
“How were you missed by the testers?” That’s the first question he asks you. Not entirely what you had expected.
“The same way Alina did. I taught her how to do it. All it takes is a little pain to fool most testers.”
“You kept her from me?” The Darkling asks in carefully controlled anger.
“I didn’t know what she was, just that she felt different. I kept a young girl from being sent off to war,” you correct.
“But you knew what you were by then. Didn’t you?” It’s not a question.
“Yes.” You began summoning somewhere around 6 or 7, old enough to know about Grisha, too young to really understand. Your parents did, though. They seemed to think beating you would get rid of the ‘Black Heretic’s Corruption’. It didn’t. Instead it made you sneaky, controlled, hyper aware of the people around you and resistant to pain. You learned to use your summoning in small, less noticeable ways. You could pick a lock without moving your hands, tie a note in a rope you couldn’t see, stitch torn clothing to appear temporarily mended. You could even sink yourself into the shadows and out of sight.
“How long have you known?” A question you don’t want to answer.
“Since I was a child.”
“And your family? The people you were born to, did they share the same ability?
“No.”
“Surely someone would have spread the news of a new shadow summoner not of my line. You hid from my testers, but how did you hide from the rest of Ravka?”
“Carefully.”
“Are you being willfully obtuse or are you just dimwitted?” The insult is said evenly, testing the waters.
“It would be so much easier for you if it was the latter. Wouldn’t it?” You grin.
“Too easy, I suppose,” he murmurs. “How did you come to arrive at the orphanage?”
“I ran away from home at 12. Living on the streets was dangerous. I chose the safety of the orphanage until I aged out.”
“Why did you run?”
“Why do you think?” You snap. He raises an eyebrow both in question and warning. “A Shadow Summoner born into a non Grisha family who lived their life within sight of the fold? I was lucky they didn’t burn me the moment they first saw me summon.”
You’re grateful he doesn’t continue to pry, you don’t know how much you could stand to tell him tonight. Instead he asks a question that fills you with shame. One of the rare things in life you regret. “Does she know?”
“No, I plan on telling her tonight. Granted that you hold true to your word, of course.” You really shouldn’t be taunting a man who has decades of summoning practice on you. You honestly don’t know how old he is, rumor has it he’s over a century. His face is young, but his eyes have a depth to them you haven’t seen before.
The Darkling pauses to think for a moment before saying, “No. It could be advantageous to keep your summoning secret for the time being.”
“I’ve kept it a secret from her for long enough. It’s bad enough that I told you first, she’s going to be livid.”
“Be that as it may, having the element of surprise may help you keep her safe. Would it not?”
“Don’t you pull that manipulation bullshit on me, Shadow Man. Unless you give me a specific reason and a timeline, I am telling her tonight.”
The Darkling glares at you, likely for both your attitude and nickname for him. It’s honestly one of the more attractive ones.
“Give me a week. I would like to appraise your capability for myself, in private. At that point, we can discuss whether or not to tell the younger Ms. Starkov and, consequently, the rest of Ravka.”
“Tell me what happened to the letters Mal and I sent and it’s a deal,” you counter.
“They were read and burned.” He’s direct and emotionless.
“Read by whom?” Your voice is almost a growl. Saints, this man is a piece of work.
“Me.”
“So you read me begging my baby sister to let me know she was okay, for months, and didn’t allow any communication to get through?” Your voice is a viper’s hiss, the warning before a strike. The room darkens and you aren’t sure which of you is causing it this time.
“It would have been a security risk to allow communication between the three of you.” He’s unphased. You’re angry, abnormally so. Usually you have a tight grip on your temper, but you have spent months trying to get to your sister. Weeks of searching for news, only to find out she’s been presented at the Grand Palace upon arrival. You had tried to get into the Little Police the official way multiple times and you had been denied. At this point, Soldat Sol was becoming an increasing noise in the ears of the people. You chose to take some time evaluating the threat before you essentially turned yourself over to the most dangerous man on the continent. You had killed to protect her, taking out the most vile of the cult, the ones who would see her sacrificed to the fold. You would do it again in a heartbeat. You had little remorse for people who would so easily harm a child. Alina may be of adult age, barely at that, but she was still so young and naive to the ways of the world.
“Bullshit, Darkling. You wanted her isolated, no friends but the ones you allowed her. You wanted her to come to you, before anyone else. I heard about the ambush and your dashing rescue on the way to Os Alta. I wouldn’t be surprised if you arranged that to make yourself her hero,” you spit.
The Darkling’s shadows fill the room. His dark feels different from your own, but familiar in a way you can’t place. You can still see him through the dark and you watch him stalk towards you. You hold your ground and show no fear. You know he won’t kill you. That would ruin whatever trust he’s built with Alina. You wouldn’t give him the satisfaction of your fear.
“I have never and will never put Alina in harm's way. I have protected her from the King, the court, radicalists, fanatics, and assassins. She has been fed, sheltered, and taught. Her wasting sickness healed. In all honesty, what can you do that I cannot?”
He’s within arm’s reach, staring down his nose at you, but his towering form doesn’t deter you as you answer, “I can keep her safe from you.”
You were surprised he had let you go so easily after that. Alina had been biting her nails when you opened the door. The Darkling announced his decision to let you stay, adding that he would like to take some time to get to know the Sun Summoner’s sister and that he would come to you tomorrow afternoon. Alina was excited to share everything with you and she chattered well into the night about her new friends, her lessons, her squaller arch nemesis, and the heart render she had yet to make smile. You were exhausted from the day, but you couldn’t interrupt your sister. She looked so healthy, so bright. Like she held the sun under her skin. She was happy, you realized. You would do anything to keep her like this. If anyone deserved to live a good life, it was her.
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