Grishaverse 1
Leigh Bardugo
Summary is from SparkNotes.
BEFORE
Alina and Mal live in the mansion Duke Kerasmov has converted into an orphanage and home for war widows. They are very different from each other. Alina is thin and the cooks think she is England too skinny from not eating enough. Mal is short and sticky. They spend as much time as they can together. When the Grisha come to see if any of the children there are also Grisha, Alina and Mal rush to listen into the conversation in secret. Ana Kuya tells them their two youngest children show signs of being Grisha. One of them knows that the children is listening and calls it out. Alina and Mal go before them and are told that Grisha are masters of the small sciences. If they are found to have the talents necessary, they will go to a special school for Grisha to continue their education. It is an honor and the highest way to serve their king.
1. Alina Starkov is walking with her regiment toward the town of Kribirsk, located at the edge of the Shadow Fold. Sometimes called the Unsea, Alina reflects on the Shadow Fold’s dangers as she anticipates her regiment’s crossing, which is slated for the following day. The Fold is a large, black presence that overtakes the horizon and divides the country of Ravka in two. The Ravkan people are terrified of the monsters that live within it. Alina is nearly run over by a carriage that she identifies as the Darkling’s coach for its black-lacquered exterior. She tells Mal about the encounter, who is quickly distracted by a beautiful stranger that smiles at him from another Grisha carriage that moves past. Once they arrive at Kribirsk, Alina goes to the Documents Tent, where she speaks with another junior cartographer, Alexei. Alexei trades her one of his drawings in exchange for her story about the Darkling’s cart. Another cartographer’s assistant, Eva, claims that the Darkling is evil and reminds the two that it was a Darkling who originally created the Shadow Fold. At dinner, Alexei comments on Alina’s friendship with Mal. He’s surprised that the two of them are so close given how different they are. This conversation prompts Alina to continue thinking about her romantic feelings for Mal as she goes to bed that night. Unable to sleep, she hears the sound of stones hitting the side of the barracks. Knowing that it’s Mal, Alina goes outside. Mal attempts to assuage Alina’s fears about the Shadow Fold. He says he is worried as well. he and his friends go off and she thinks he is probably going to seduce the Grisha that stared at him from the carriage.
2. The following day, Alina’s regiment is joined by a number of Grisha on a sandskiff headed across the Shadow Fold to West Ravka. Alina makes note of the weapons that the other people on skiff have to protect the skiff from the volcra, the flying, carnivorous monsters that live in the Fold. Alina contemplates how her own small knife is nothing compared to the weaponry that the other soldiers of the First Army have or the magic of the Grisha in the Second Army. The skiff goes quietly into the Fold using wind summoned by Grisha Squallers. The passengers are quiet for fear of the volcra, but the silence is disrupted by the sound of volcra wings beating in the darkness. The Grisha Inferni shoot flames into the darkness and reveal hundreds of volcra surrounding the skiff. The next moment dissolves into brutal chaos for the passengers as the volcra attack. Alexei is ripped away from Alina’s side and another volcra swoops to attack her. Mal comes to her aid, fending it off with a rifle shot. While reloading, however, Mal is wounded in the chest by the volcra. Alina stabs it in the back and distracts it long enough for Mal to kill it with a second shot before collapsing. In a desperate effort to protect him from the volcra, Alina throws herself over Mal to shield him with her own body. Now faced with the certainty of both her own and Mal’s deaths, something inside of Alina changes. Just as a volcra sinks its claws in her shoulder, the world around her glows with a white light. The volcra suddenly retreat and Alina passes out on the deck.
3. Alina wakes to a rifle in her face. The soldier holding the rifle commands her to stay where she is while the sandskiff is steered back to the port in Kribirsk by the last remaining Squaller. Alina remembers the horrors of the battle as she looks across the blood-soaked deck. She pleads with the guards to tell her what happened to Mal. When they reach Kribirsk, Alina is escorted to the military camp where she’s brought to the Darkling’s lavish tent. The Darkling is handsome and young, though Alina observes a sense of wrongness to his youth and beauty. The Darkling interrogates several people from the sandskiff. Even though he’s visibly wounded, Alina is relieved to see Mal among them. The witnesses piece together the story of how a blaze of light burst forth from Alina. Reluctantly, even Mal confirms that there was a bright light coming from somewhere on the ship, though he insists that it couldn’t have been Alina’s doing. The Darkling takes hold of Alina’s arm and attempts to force her power to the surface. Alina manages to resist at first, but the Darkling cuts her arm and a bright light bursts forth from Alina, proving that she is the fabled Sun Summoner, a Grisha who can manipulate light. The Darkling orders his guards to escort Alina to the Little Palace in his carriage. Alina protests as she’s dragged away.
4. Alina’s wounds are tended to by a Grisha Healer. The carriage leaves Kribirsk in a hurry for fear that rumors about the Sun Summoner would put Alina in danger. The carriage is heavily guarded and the Healer is ordered to surrender her kefta to Alina before being left to return to Kribirsk. Ivan explains that the kefta is made of a fabric that can withstand bullets. Alina continues to insist that she is not Grisha on the way to the Little Palace. Ivan, her guard, explains that the Darkling acts as an amplifier, a person or object that can magnify a Grisha’s power. He shows Alina the amplifier he wears around his neck made from the claws of a Sherborn bear. The group encounters a fallen tree that blocks the road. A group of Fjerdans ambush them when the carriage stops. The attack happens quickly and Alina is left alone in the carriage during the fight. One of her guards in killed in front of her and Alina is seized by a Fjerdan who breaks into the carriage. Though she fights him fiercely, he drags her away from bloody battle. Alina fights with everything she has but she’s overpowered. Just as he threatens to gut her, a group of Grisha riders arrive with the Darkling. In the brief moment that the assassin is distracted by trying to stab Alina, the Darkling kills him with a burst of magic that slices him in half. Shaken and wounded, Alina is whisked away by the Darkling on his horse, accompanied by twenty of his men. He commands that the carriage be sent to the Little Palace by another route as a distraction. The Darkling rests his hand on Alina’s neck and a sense of his power overwhelms her, sending her into a troubled sleep.
5. The remainder of Alina’s time on the road passes by safely. The group stays off the main road to avoid unwanted attention, and the rough terrain leaves her sore and shaky. On the fifth night of travel, the group stops at an abandoned farm, where the Darkling’s men set up a makeshift camp. Alina and the Darkling have their first real conversation. Alina feels like she’s being studied by the Darkling, though he comes across as kind and sympathetic to her situation. Alina still hesitates to call herself a Grisha, but the Darkling tells her that she’ll come to learn the role she plays in the world. The two sit by the fire and eat only a small helping of grouse for dinner. Alina notes that the Darkling sits on the ground and eats no more than anyone else, even though he’s the second most powerful man in Ravka. After they finish eating, the Darkling prompts Alina to ask him questions. Alina first asks how old he is. After some prodding, he confesses that he’s around one hundred and twenty years old, which shocks her. The Darkling tells her that Grisha power acts to strengthen and extend their lives. He also tells Alina that the Black Heretic, the Darkling responsible for creating the Fold, was his great grandfather. He underscores just how important Alina’s role as the Sun Summoner is as the Fold divides Ravka and will slow its progress as the world enters a new age of technology and trade. Two days later, the group reaches the capital city of Os Alta. Alina sees the Grand Palace, the winter home of the King, and the Little Palace, where the Grisha live and train. The Darkling leaves Alina in the care of a servant who guides her away to a private room. The servant warns her to lock her door as a precaution and leaves her to rest.
6. Alina is troubled by dreams of the volcra and wakes disoriented. Before she has the chance to fall back to sleep, a servant knocks on her door. The servant, a beautiful Grisha woman named Genya, rushes to ready Alina for a meeting with the King set to happen in less than an hour’s time. Genya scrubs the grime of the road away from Alina’s tired form before sitting her down for a cosmetic treatment. Calling herself a “Tailor,” Genya explains that she has the unique power to manipulate a person’s physical appearance. Genya tells Alina that her power is why she works for the Queen. Reluctant at first, Alina allows Genya to use her power on her to make her look better rested. Genya guides Alina to the main hall of the Little Palace, where she encounters a cluster of other Grisha. They bicker with one another about which order of Grisha Alina should walk with, the Corporalki because they’re the highest-ranked class of Grisha, or the Etherealki because her power is considered within their domain. Their arguments prove useless, however, as the Darkling appears and insists that she will walk with him to the Grand Palace to meet the King. This silences the conversation.
7. The Grisha start the trek to the Grand Palace with Alina and the Darkling at the very back of the group. Alina asks why Genya doesn’t walk with the rest of the Grisha. The Darkling explains that he nurtured her unique abilities rather than training her to become a Fabrikator or Corporalki so that he could “gift” her to the Queen. Once in the throne room, the Darkling introduces Alina to the gathered nobility. Alina makes note of a strange man at the King’s side, who she later learns is the Apparat. The King remarks that Alina is very plain and she feels a wave of embarrassment before the Darkling initiates a demonstration of her power to the court. This time, when the Darkling calls her power forth, Alina knows what to expect. Light fills the throne room and the nobility of Ravka applaud. The King calls Alina a “miracle” before he whisks the Darkling away to make plans for the Fold. Genya arrives to bring her for an audience with the Queen. The Queen’s appraisal is detached. She says that it’s “marvelous” when Alina confesses that she’s an orphan, and makes commentary on the Ravkan peasantry. She warns Alina not to let the court corrupt her before dismissing them. Genya and Alina speak briefly to the Darkling outside of the throne room. The Darkling directs Genya to have a black kefta made for Alina. Hesitant to be singled out from the other Grisha, however, Alina asks that her kefta be blue like the other Etherealki. The Darkling agrees to let her have a blue kefta instead. Genya takes Alina back to her room where they share dinner. Genya explains that the other Grisha might be judgmental about Alina spending time with her because they don’t consider what Genya does valuable. Alina goes to bed and tries to sleep but wishes she was with Mal.
8. Alina’s new kefta is delivered the following morning. She puts it on and admires the gold embroidery on the cuffs that designates her as the Sun Summoner. Genya escorts Alina to the dining room. She’s invited to eat with two Etherealki, Marie and Nadia, who claim that Alina belongs with them at the table. Alina is unimpressed by their conversation and doesn’t like the food that she’s served. She’s thankful when Genya arrives to take her on a tour of the Little Palace. Genya shows her the areas that the various orders of Grisha learn and work: the workshops of the Materialki, the secretive corridors of the Corporalki, and the grand library where she can go to study. Genya introduces Alina to David, a Fabrikator who gives her a set of tiny mirrors. Alina’s tour ends with Genya leaving her at Baghra’s hut, where she will learn to use her powers. When Alina enters, she’s greeted by a wiry, ancient woman whose appearance defies her true age. Baghra interrogates Alina about why she wasn’t tested for powers as a child. She seems dissatisfied when Alina tells her that she was tested. Baghra challenges her to show her what she can do.
9. Alina’s first day training with Baghra goes worse than she expects. Alina is only able to use her power with Baghra’s help. The old woman gets increasingly frustrated with Alina as their day of training passes, lamenting that she can’t do anything with a Grisha who can’t even call her power without assistance. Baghra sends Alina away after only a short time of practice. After leaving Baghra’s hut, Alina heads to the library. She spends lunch with Marie and Nadia but finds no joy in their company. After lunch, Marie and Nadia walk with Alina to the stables for combat training with Botkin Yul-Erdene, a former Shu Han mercenary hired to teach the Grisha combat skills. Alina performs so badly that Botkin orders her to arrive early the following day to get additional training. Just as the three sit down for dinner, Alina is approached by Ivan and brought to the mysterious room behind the Darkling’s seat at the head of the dining hall. Fearing censure for having failed to perform at both Baghra’s and Botkins’ lessons, Alina is surprised when the Darkling is gentle and encouraging. She’s even more surprised when she discerns that he called her there just for conversation. The Darkling shows Alina a secret passageway that she can use to get to her dormitory without going through main hall. Alone in the hallway, the Darkling takes Alina’s hand and traces a scar on her palm with his thumb. He asks where Alina got the scar. As if reading her mind that the scar has something to do with Mal, the Darkling abruptly ask if Mal was also an orphan. He also enquires about Mal’s tracking skills. He seems deep in thought when he wishes Alina good night and she goes back to her room.
10. The next several days pass much like Alina’s first day of training, marked by her failures to improve. Both teachers push her hard and the stress of it takes a toll on Alina, who loses her appetite and has trouble sleeping. Baghra argues that both conditions are tied to her inability to use her power and implies that Alina is holding back intentionally. While studying in the library one afternoon, Alina is surprised to find the Apparat looming beside her. His sudden presence sends a chill through her. The Apparat tells Alina that she should look toward him as a spiritual advisor just like the rest of the Grisha do. He tells her that he wants them to be friends and offers her a gift. Alina is reluctant to accept it. It’s a book about the lives of various Saints. The Apparat leads Alina in a riddle-like conversation, steeped in questions about why common people do not care for Grisha in the way they do Saints. The Apparat suggests it’s because the Grisha do not suffer in the way that Saints must. Alina tries to excuse herself but the Apparat takes this to mean that she does not like the gift. She politely finds an excuse to leave. Back in her rooms, Alina stashes the book away and sits down to write Mal a letter. She’s written him several letters but hasn’t gotten any word back from him. Left wanting, she wonders where he’s gone.
11. At breakfast one day, a group of Grisha arrive at the Little Palace. Alina is surprised to see that one of them is the black-haired woman who had caught Mal’s eye back in Kribirsk. Alina learns that her name is Zoya. When Zoya gives Alina a hug, she whispers in her ear that she stinks of Keramzin. Alina is shaken by the insult. Zoya arrives at the combat lesson and Botkin pairs her with Alina. This quickly turns into a serious fight and other Grisha stop to watch. Alina manages to knock Zoya to the ground, but Zoya lashes out with her wind power. Botkin reprimands Zoya for using her power in the fight, which is forbidden in combat classes. Marie and Nadia take Alina to the infirmary and congratulate her for getting Zoya in trouble. The two gossip about how Zoya must be jealous of Alina. Alina awakes in the infirmary to find the Apparat lurking in the shadows. The Apparat tells her that Ravkan people are starting to build altars to her. He tells her that she is becoming dangerous, and that faith is strong enough to topple kings and Darklings. Alina is confused by his riddle-like speech. Alina tells Genya about the Apparat’s visit the next morning, but Genya reassures her that he’s harmless. She asks Genya to look into Mal’s regiment as she still hasn’t received a response to any of her letters. Genya agrees. Alina goes back to her own room refusing to stay in the infirmity another night.
12. After her censure from Botkin, Zoya ignores Alina. When Alina arrives at Baghra’s hut the following morning, she can hear raised voices. Inside, the Darkling and Baghra are arguing about Alina’s abilities. The Darkling defends Alina’s potential against Baghra’s assessments. The Darkling wants to get Alina an amplifier. Baghra chides him for wanting to get her an amplifier made from the antlers of the stag from Morozova’s herd, a legendary creature. The Darkling takes Alina to the lake where they talk about the possibility of finding the herd. While Alina is hesitant to believe that the stag is anything more than a myth, she chooses to trust the Darkling. Later, she does research on the nature of amplifiers in the library, learning that a Grisha can only have one amplifier in their lifetime. When winter comes to Os Alta, Genya delivers a note to Alina with an update on Mal. He’s healthy and stationed near Tsibeya. Genya mentions that Alina can write to Mal care of his regiment, which makes Alina think of all the unanswered letters she’s sent to his regiment so far. She convinces herself that Mal hasn’t responded to her letters is because he doesn’t care for her at all. When Alina arrives at Baghra’s hut later that morning, the old woman senses that there’s something eating at Alina and pushes her to explore the feeling. The moment the Grisha Examiners came to Duke Karemsov’s estate to test Alina and Mal comes to her and Alina realizes that Mal is the reason she suppressed her power as a child. She also realizes that she’d spent an enormous amount of energy hiding her power away ever since. Believing that Mal has turned his back on her, Alina digs deep within herself to release her power. A light emanates from Alina, flooding through Baghra’s hut.
13. Alina finds that many of the things she struggled with before have become much easier. She feels physically capable in a way that was never accessible to her before. Alina continues her lessons with Baghra and Botkin and finds success in both. Alina spends a good deal of time with Genya. Despite Alina’s improvement, Baghra doesn’t believe that she has what it takes to have an impact on the Shadow Fold. One evening, the Darkling arrives at Baghra’s hut to watch Alina’s training. Baghra and the Darkling argue once again about Alina’s ability, with Baghra insisting that the Darkling provide an amplifier for her. The Darkling refuses to get her anything other than the antlers from Morozova’s stag. Alina leaves Baghra’s hut with him. The Darkling asks if Alina thinks he’s mad for believing in the stag. He kisses her. He looks surprised at having done it, but before he can talk to her, Ivan approaches to tell the Darkling that the Apparat is waiting for him.
14. The Darkling is nowhere to be found after their kiss. As the King’s winter fete approaches, Alina continues her training, but is distracted thinking about the Darkling. On the night of the party, Genya helps her get ready while Alina waits for her new kefta to be delivered. To their surprise, the kefta is black and has a golden charm with the Darkling’s symbol at the neck. Genya tells her that all Grisha feel the same pull to the Darkling and warns Alina to be careful with powerful men. Alina’s black kefta makes her the center of attention at the fete. The Darkling arrives and together they put on a grand show of light and shadow. After their demonstration, the Darkling leads Alina by the hand to an empty room where they kiss again. Alina feels overwhelmed by the way his power floods through her. He admits that the hates how badly he wants to be with her. Interrupted by the sound of people in the corridor, the Darkling pulls away, saying that Ivan is waiting for him because his men reported spotting the stag. Before he leaves, the Darkling asks if he can come to her rooms later that night, but Alina doesn’t respond. Alina returns to the party for a while and then heads back to the Little Palace. She’s shocked to see Mal in the entry hall with a group of soldiers. He speaks with Alina, a grim expression on his face. When Mal tells her that he was summoned by the Darkling, Alina realizes that Mal must be the tracker who found Morozova’s herd. Alina demands to know why Mal hasn’t answered any of her letters, but Mal denies having gotten any. He tells her that he’s been worried about her and is angry that she seems to have been thriving all the while. During their argument, Mal brings up the Darkling several times, calling him Alina’s “master” and insinuating that wearing the black kefta means that he owns her. The two part angrily and Alina cries while thinking of all the time she has spent chasing after him.
15. Alina returns to her room in tears after her argument with Mal. She’s alone for some time but later in the night, she hears a knock on her door. To her surprise, it’s not the Darkling, but Baghra. The old woman leads her through a secret door at the end of the hall to an empty chamber. Baghra tells Alina that she must leave the Little Palace that night. Baghra explains that the Darkling is close to finding Morozova’s herd, and if he’s able to secure the antlers as an amplifier for Alina, nothing will stop him from using the Shadow Fold as a weapon. The old woman confesses that the Darkling is, in fact, the Black Heretic who created the Fold and he has no intention of destroying it. Alina realizes that Baghra is the Darkling’s mother. Baghra explains that the Darkling plans to use Alina’s power to expand the Fold and take over Ravka and the other countries that surround them. She tells Alina that if the Darkling kills the stag, he will have power over the amplifier and the person who wears it. If the Darkling gives her the antlers, Alina will be under his control. Alina realizes that Baghra is right. She agrees to Baghra’s plan.
16. Baghra tells Alina what she needs to do. She details the route she must take to escape the Little Palace, then Os Alta, and finally across the Fold to West Ravka, where she’ll catch a ship. Alina hides among the performers leaving the fete in the back of a wooden cart. They leave Os Alta and make it to a small town named Balakirev. She’s careful as she heads west toward the Fold. In one town, she stops to hear Mass at a small church, where the priest leads the congregation in a prayer for the safety of the Sun Summoner. After several days of walking alone, Alina makes it to a small city called Ryevost. There she resupplies, but on her way out of town, she runs into a man who tumbles drunkenly out of a tavern. The man tries to pull her down an alleyway, but Alina blinds him with a flash of light. The man screams and falls away from her. In the commotion, a soldier exits the tavern and spots Alina. She escapes into the forest. The Darkling’s men chase her through the night, but Alina manages to shake her pursuers. Alina sleeps on the forest floor. She’s awakened by the sound of a nearby soldier searching the underbrush. The man leaves before finding her, but when she turns to leave, she sees Mal hiding in the underbrush. Mal signals for her to follow him. The two travel through the rest of the day in silence. When they stop for the night, their conversation is stilted, but Alina asks him if the Darkling has the stag. To her relief, he hasn’t found it but that his trackers are getting close. Mal asks her why she ran, and she replies that she’s trying to save the world. Alina thanks Mal for finding her, to which he whispers that he always will.
17. The following morning, Alina explains the Darkling’s plan to kill Morozova’s stag and use her to weaponize the Fold. Mal questions Baghra’s plan to send her away, suggesting instead that they go after the stag and take its antlers before the Darkling can. Reluctant at first, Alina agrees to Mal’s plan, knowing he’s the best tracker in Ravka. The pair changes direction, heading north to Tsibeya, where signs of the herd had last been seen. Several days pass as the they travel. Mal hunts and loots an unlocked house for supplies. They come across a festival happening in a village. It’s butter week, a holiday Alina loved when she was a child. Alina manages to convince Mal to go to the festival. After she and Mal get some fresh supplies in the village, Alina gets a free sweet roll and briefly enjoys the lively party. Their joy in having joined the butter week celebration is cut short by two men who attempt to rob them in an alleyway. A knife to Mal’s throat, the robbers rifle though Alina and Mal’s belongings. They realize that Mal is an Army deserter because his pack is military-issued. The robbers know that they can turn him in for more money than they would make from simply robbing them. Their plan is foiled, however, when Alina blinds them using her power and she and Mal get free of the two men. They run away again into the woods, free from the threats of the thieves, but now without Mal’s rifle. Once clear of the village, the two share the roll that Alina got and have a conversation that is much lighter than they’ve had in a while, even laughing at their luck. They forge onward toward Tsibeya, now notably more amicable than they had been.
18. Alina and Mal head farther north into Tsibeya. Alina notes that something between them has changed since they were robbed during the butter week celebration. The terrain is much harder than the areas they’d previously passed through, but they don’t stop in their pursuit of Morozova’s stag. As they get closer to where the herd was last spotted, Alina asks Mal to make sure that the Darkling doesn’t take her if he catches up to them. Understanding that she means she wants him to kill her rather than letting her be enslaved by the Darkling using the antlers on her, he refuses. Alina pleads with him, telling him that she couldn’t bear being turned into a monster at the Darkling’s hand and he promises to do it if the occasion arises. Mal and Alina continue their search for the stag, following Mal’s intuition into more and more remote areas of northern Ravka. One night, Alina uses her power to keep them warm under their blankets as they try to shelter in a chilly plateau. That night, Mal tells Alina that his friends Mikhael and Dubrov were killed when the stag’s trail took his hunting party over the border into Fjerda. Mal blames himself for their deaths because it was his desire to get the stag that lead to them volunteering for the expedition. It starts to snow as they spend the night using Alina’s light for warmth.
19. When Alina and Mal rise the next morning, the plateau they slept in is covered in snow. Mal worries that their tracks through fresh snow might get them discovered, but they have no way of covering their trail. They head back to the forest and spend the rest of the day searching for the stag. When they stop for the night, Mal apologizes for what he said the night they met again at the Little Palace. Mal asks Alina if she missed him when she left. She tells him she had missed him every day, and Mal confesses his feelings for her. He apologizes that it took him so long to realize what she meant to him, saying that he was only truly confronted with those feelings once she was no longer around. He tells her that they belong together and kisses her. Alina realizes that she would have waited for Mal forever. As they pull back from their first kiss, Alina looks up to see Morozova’s herd moving through the trees nearby. Moving quietly, Mal retrieves his bow so that he can wound the stag so Alina can kill it. Alina senses something and tells Mal to wait. She approaches the stag slowly and it doesn’t even flinch when she reaches out to touch it. She’s in awe of the creature in front of her and she tells Mal that they’ll have to find another way to defeat the Darkling when he urges her to kill the stag. Suddenly, an arrow sinks into the stag’s chest. Alina realizes that they’ve been ambushed and she staggers back from the animal as it falls wounded to the ground. The clearing is quickly overrun by the Darkling’s men, and Mal moves to protect Alina. The Darkling himself emerges from the dark woods and tells Alina that she should have listened to Mal and killed it while she had the chance. In a futile attempt to save her, Mal tries to shoot the stag before the Darkling can kill it, but his arrow is stopped by a Squaller. Alina throws herself in front of the stag in an effort to save it from the Darkling. The two fight, but Alina can’t keep him at bay. She begs Mal to kill her while he has the chance, but he’s unable to comply with her wish. Under threat of the Darkling’s men hurting Mal, the Darkling kills the wounded stag. Once the stag is dead, one of the oprichniki removes a portion of the animal’s antlers and passes them to a Fabrikator in the group. To her horror, Alina recognizes the man as David, Genya’s lover. David fastens the antlers around Alina’s neck, using his powers to ensure that they cannot be removed. When he does, Alina can feel an order coming from the Darkling resonate inside of her. She’s unable to resist him calling forth her light as though it was his own power. Alina realizes she’s no longer in control of her own power at all. The Darkling’s men burn the body of Morozova’s stag and put Mal in chains.
20. Mal and Alina are brought back to the Darkling’s encampment. Alina tries to reason with Ivan and get him to turn against the Darkling’s plan. She’s shocked to learn that Ivan and many of the other Grisha are fully in support of the Darkling’s plan to overthrow Ravka. The Darkling elects to keep Mal alive until they reach the Shadow Fold and the group sets off to the south, Alina once again riding with Ivan in the Darkling’s carriage. Alina is otherwise kept in isolation throughout the journey. She’s riddled with shame for having fallen into the Darkling’s trap and dreams about the stag every night. Alina only sees the Darkling again when they reach Kribirsk, where he threatens to have Mal killed if she reveals that she ran away to any of the other Grisha. Surprised that the Darkling hadn’t let anyone find out about her flight from the Little Palace, Alina comes to understand it was because the Darkling wanted to save face about having lost the Sun Summoner. Alina keeps her escape a secret from the other Grisha when they come to meet her at the coach. Alina is guided to a heavily guarded tent. Much to her surprise, Genya delivers her dinner. Genya understands there’s more to the Darkling’s story, but she doesn’t ask Alina for the truth of what happened. Genya tells her that Baghra has been missing since the party and that the King has suddenly fallen ill. The Apparat is now in control of Ravka, and Alina realizes that the Apparat has been working with the Darkling all along. In the course of their conversation, she also comes to understand that Genya must have played a role in the Darkling’s plan and that she believes what the Darkling is doing is right.
21. Ivan takes Alina to the Darkling’s tent. The Darkling tries to drag Alina into a conversation about his plan. The conversation is heated. The Darkling tries to manipulate her yet again. Alina asks him what she can do to ensure Mal’s safety, suggesting that the Darkling send him into exile. The two argue about the welfare of Ravka, and the Darkling tries to convince her that what he’s doing is for the best. He tells her that she’s making him the villain. Defiantly, she tells him that she’ll find a way to end her life if Mal comes to harm. The Darkling orders Ivan to take Alina to Mal’s prison cell so that she can spend the night with him before he has Mal fed to the volcra. Alina flies into a rage but the Darkling tells her that she’ll grow tired of hating him eventually. Ivan takes Alina to the jail. He leaves Alina alone with Mal, who reaches for her through the bars. Mal quickly realizes that the only reason the Darkling would let Alina visit him is because his execution is imminent. Alina confirms this and tells him that the Darkling plans to kill him on the Shadow Fold. The two speak of their regrets and kiss. They spend the night talking and fall asleep cheek to cheek on the prison floor.
22. Alina is numb when Ivan takes her back to her tent the next morning. Genya helps her get dressed. Alina boards a sandskiff along with a representative of the Ravkan King and dignitaries from Fjerda, Shu Han, and Kerch. Alina realizes that the dignitaries are there to witness what the Darkling is about to do. Once in the Fold, the Darkling has Inferni lure volcra to their location. As volcra begin to descend on the skiff, the Darkling takes hold of Alina’s power and forces her to fill the Fold with a bright light. He pushes her power so the light spreads further than ever before. A path between Kribirsk and Novokribirsk, the village on the other side of the Fold, is illuminated. The Darkling uses his power to close the Shadow Fold back up and though Alina tries desperately, she is unable to stop the Darkling from spreading the Fold until it consumes Novokribirsk. The people on the skiff are horrified. The King’s envoy sputters that the Darkling murdered Ravkans but he’s silenced when the Darkling threatens to spread the Fold to Os Alta. The other ambassadors understand that this threat extends to them as well. The Darkling commands them to tell the story of what they saw for it is the beginning of a new age. Ivan pushes Mal over the railing. Alina feels the Darkling’s power overwhelm her, commanding her to close the circle of light. Alina fights against the Darkling, but the dark starts to encroach on Mal. Alina thinks of the stag and has an epiphany about her dreams. She realizes that because she spared the stag’s life, she has just as much power over the amplifier as the Darkling. She feels herself gain control over her power once again and she floods the area with light just in time to save Mal from a volcra. Alina uses the Cut to sever the masts of the sandskiff. She pleads with the others to turn away from the Darkling, but no one moves against him. Alina throws herself off the side of the ship and runs to Mal, letting the light go out behind her. The Darkling’s men fire on them and the Darkling tries to reason with her. She uses the Cut once more to cleave the sandskiff in two. Mal and Alina emerge from the Fold. They push west toward the True Sea. Mal sells the golden pins that Genya put into Alina’s hair to get them new clothing when they reach Os Kervo. Mal assures Alina that they’ll find a way to remove the amplifier but Alina knows that it’s the only way that the world will ever be free of the Shadow Fold. They burn the black kefta.
AFTER
Alina and Mal board a ship heading west. The ship’s crew refer to them as “fentomen,” the Kerch word for “ghosts,” for their pale skin and the way they watch the water behind them like phantoms. They wait to see if the Darkling’s ships pursue them. News has spread about the destruction of Novokribirsk, though the truth of it is still unknown amongst the common people. They hear nothing about whether the Darkling died. Alina is haunted by nightmares about that terrible day, but the pair remain steadfast as they cross the ocean