[ he looks so small. so unlike the presence she has known him to be, demandingly magnetic and larger than life. teal spools over his shoulders, drowning him in swathes of fabric, and the only word that comes to alina's mind is fragile.
the tug at her heart is a weakness, no doubt. wanting makes us weak, the darkling had said, but he had failed to take into account that there is no cure for it — for wanting so viciously that it thrums in her bones, has her stepping across the threshold of her quarters as if answering some ancient, unknown pull. it's only when she comes to a halt a few feet from him that she recognizes her feet have led her toward him at all.
she can't afford to take that risk by inching closer. at a glance, his veins are clear of that dark sludge coursing through them, talons retracted to hands that had once traveled across her skin — careful and attentive and human. the light recedes from her fingertips, dimming to a low, kindling glow. ]
I wouldn't give you the chance to try.
[ her conviction is feeble, the mark of a fool attempting to convince themselves. truthfully, she needs the reminder more than nikolai needs the threat. whatever promises he might offer, whatever shame might swallow her, she assures herself nikolai — of anyone — will understand the lengths she must go for ravka's safety.
no matter what that entails, even if it earns his resentment. even if it must consider that he is still the monster, still a threat that will need to be contained until she knows what to do with him. how to fix him. at her sides, her fingers twitch. ]
You know I can't trust your word just yet. This reeks of a trap.
[ a trap that she doubts nikolai might even be aware of. a pawn, until the darkling is finished puppeteering him. ]
😭
the tug at her heart is a weakness, no doubt. wanting makes us weak, the darkling had said, but he had failed to take into account that there is no cure for it — for wanting so viciously that it thrums in her bones, has her stepping across the threshold of her quarters as if answering some ancient, unknown pull. it's only when she comes to a halt a few feet from him that she recognizes her feet have led her toward him at all.
she can't afford to take that risk by inching closer. at a glance, his veins are clear of that dark sludge coursing through them, talons retracted to hands that had once traveled across her skin — careful and attentive and human. the light recedes from her fingertips, dimming to a low, kindling glow. ]
I wouldn't give you the chance to try.
[ her conviction is feeble, the mark of a fool attempting to convince themselves. truthfully, she needs the reminder more than nikolai needs the threat. whatever promises he might offer, whatever shame might swallow her, she assures herself nikolai — of anyone — will understand the lengths she must go for ravka's safety.
no matter what that entails, even if it earns his resentment. even if it must consider that he is still the monster, still a threat that will need to be contained until she knows what to do with him. how to fix him. at her sides, her fingers twitch. ]
You know I can't trust your word just yet. This reeks of a trap.
[ a trap that she doubts nikolai might even be aware of. a pawn, until the darkling is finished puppeteering him. ]