Grishaverse 2
Leigh Bardugo
Summary From SparkNotes
BEFORE
A boy and a girl are onboard a ship named the Verrhader. The passage is rough, the cargo stinks, and their fellow passengers are rude sailors who speak Kerch, a language the boy and girl do not understand. The boy quickly adapts to life at sea, but the sailors remain wary of the girl, who holds a scarf tightly around her neck. The boy and the girl stargaze together at night as the girl tries to stay awake to avoid nightmares of a prince kissing her neck and summoning her power over light. When the ship docks in Novyi Zem, the boy and girl do not see any signs of Heartrenders, Summoners, or Ravkans.
1. In the harbor town of Cofton, Alina and Mal look for employment, Alina works temporarily packing jurda, a flower locals chew as a stimulant. Cofton is under construction, but Alina sees signs of luxury such as glass windows and rich fabrics that are hard to find in her home country of Ravka, which remains at war. Alina believes she spots a Corporalki and pulls a weapon before realizing it is just a girl wearing a red dress. Without the ability to use her power, Alina is growing weak. As the weather starts to get warmer, Alina wonders how much longer she can wear a scarf to hide her amplifier, Morozova’s collar (made from Stag antlers). She wonders what has happened with the Darkling since she stopped him from using the Fold to take over Ravka. She feels guilty about dragging Mal with her into hiding. She meets with him at the communal fountain. The local washerwomen flirt with Mal, but he rebuffs their advances and he and Alina hide in an alley for a brief embrace. Alina is disconcerted by the quiet of the normally raucous boardinghouse at which they live. When she spots a stranger across the street, she warns Mal to be careful. They are rapidly overtaken outside by Ivan, soldiers from the Second Army, and the Darkling. He warns Alina not to use her power and shows her one of the golden hairpins he had used to track her. Alina is surprised that the Darkling’s underlings seem afraid of him and at how battle-worn and tired he appears. He removes her scarf and caresses Morozova’s collar before plunging the room into darkness. Alina throws light at the abyss, but a creature emerges from it. Alina quickly defeats it, yet more emerge. She wields the Cut against one but is bitten. She passes out as the Darkling thanks her for helping him attain a new level of power.
2. Ivan and Genya force Alina to drink something that renders her helpless. She slips in and out of a dream state, in which she and Mal ride in a pony cart with Ana Kuya up a hill alongside a man and his wife. The wife carries a heavy load, and Ana reminds Alina that she too might have to labor were it not for the Duke’s generosity. Alina sees herself reflected in the pony as Baghra tells her to be grateful. On the hill, she drops her burden and takes the shape of a bird, flying over Mal, Ana, and Baghra. Alina wakes briefly twice, once to realize the Darkling has her onboard a ship and a second time to find four figures standing over her. One is a foxlike man, one is Sturmhond, and the other two are a giant man and woman with golden eyes, Tolya and Tamar. Alina wakes to find Genya and Ivan watching over her. Alina wears irons that make it difficult to move and learns she has been at sea for a week. She demands to see the Darkling. Alina confronts the Darkling about Mal, who is heavily guarded and quickly led away. As she surveys the Darkling’s fresh scars, he caresses her wound, causing a visceral response from this symbol of both her pain and her power. Ivan roughly leads Alina away, and Tolya and Tamar defend her, claiming that that they work for Sturmhond, not the Darkling. Alina knows Sturmhond by reputation as a Ravkan pirate. Sturmhond stops Ivan from using his power as a Heartrender against Tolya. Alina and Sturmhond banter as he returns her to her cabin, where she talks to Genya about the Darkling. Genya remains aligned with him, despite the violence he wreaked on Novokribirsk and the fact that he created Ravka’s greatest danger, the Fold. Alina feels guilty about the people she killed and those she left behind. Before parting, Genya reveals that she never delivered Alina’s letters to Mal while she was confined.
3. Alina and company sail far north among the ice floes of the Bone Road. The Darkling summons Alina and confirms her suspicions that he is hunting another amplifier, despite the teachings saying that a Grisha can only have one. The Darkling tells Mal to track the ice dragon, Rusalye, which legend says is a former prince now cursed to inhabit the northern seas. The Darkling threatens to torture Alina to force Mal into compliance, but Stormhund intervenes. The Darkling places a knife to Alina’s cheek, and Mal agrees to help him. Alina fears for Mal and herself in the face of the Darkling’s threats, and she also fears what might happen if they succeed. Ivan pushes her into the captain’s quarters, which the Darkling has made his headquarters after ousting Sturmhond. Alina asks about the Darkling’s scars, and he admits that he got them from the volcra but escaped the Fold because the creatures recognized him as one of their own. Alina reminds the Darkling that his mother, Baghra, always said the amplifiers could not be combined, and Alina wonders what torture he inflicted upon the woman after she helped Alina escape. The Darkling gives Alina a red book called Istorii Sankt’ya, or The Lives of Saints. Alina had a copy at the Little Palace which was given to her by the Apparat. The Darkling suggests that its simple drawings and stories hold deeper truths about Morozova. The Darkling implies that Alina’s feelings for Mal make her weak, and he acknowledges Alina’s fear that her power will alienate her from Mal and Ravka. When Alina is threatened, Sturmhond steps in, claiming that Alina is under his protection. The Darkling ignores him, angering Sturmhond’s crew. The Grisha are upset that it is taking so long to find their quarry. Daily, the Darkling brings Alina above deck to watch Mal track the sea dragon. Halfway through the week, the Darkling again threatens her to keep Mal motivated. On the sixth day, Genya wakes her with the good news that Mal’s efforts are paying off. As the Grisha slow the ship, Ivan spots another ship closing in on them. Sailors in longboats from a nearby ship enter the water, and Alina and Mal seize the opportunity to check in on one another before Rusalye breaches the waves.
4. Alina is surprised that Rusalye is real. The crew and the dragon begin to battle, and they wield harpoons against its whipping tail and open mouth. Alina hears singing and realizes it is the sound of the sea dragon crying out in pain. She wishes that the Darkling would kill it mercifully, but the Sturmhond commands that the sea dragon be netted even as the longboats begin moving away from the whaler and the nearby ship attaches itself to them with grappling hooks. The ship bears a Ravkan flag, and its crew begins barking, yipping, and howling, a chorus in which Sturmhond joins, as he summons these new sailors to him in a fight against the Darkling. Tolya hoists Alina up and, along with Tamar and Mal, they flee for the Ravkan ship. Ivan attacks Tolya as an Inferni advances on Tamar and Mal, but Tamar is revealed to be a Heartrender. She kills the Inferni, and in surprise, Ivan loosens his grip on Tolya, who rises up against him. The two duel until Ivan collapses. Alina stands transfixed at the sight of Ivan’s body until Genya’s sob startles her. Alina barely stops Tolya from shooting Genya before realizing Genya is pointing a gun at Alina. The Darkling turns on them, Sturmhond wings him in the arm, and Alina begs Genya to escape with them, but Genya refuses. Tolya grabs Alina once more and they escape to the Ravkan ship along with Tamar, Mal, and Sturmhond. The Darkling quickly recovers, so Tamar breaks the chains binding Alina’s hands. She summons light to counter his attack, but he sends nichevo’ya to fight for him. Sturmhond orders the Grisha Squallers to hurry the ship away from the Darkling. Alina wields the Cut, and Mal and the crew shoot the shadow creatures, but they only slow the onslaught. Sturmhond orders his Squallers to draw lightning, and they race beyond the Darkling’s reach.
5. Mal and Alina take a moment to rest and assess their new situation onboard Sturmhond’s boat. Sturmhond congratulates his crew and approaches Mal and Alina with a knife. Mal stands up to protect Alina, but Sturmhond gives her the knife to kill the sea dragon, Rusalye. Alina hesitates, wondering whether the act is merciful or cruel. She remembers the legends claiming that Rusalye was a prince who lured unsuspecting maidens to his underwater lair where they starved to death. Mal helps her drive the knife into the creature’s body, and Tamar and Tolya scale it. Privyet requests that the men be allowed to take the remaining scales for profit, and Sturmhond agrees, although Alina is disgusted. She and Mal both want to know his reasons for betraying the Darkling. He claims to have another buyer for Alina. He offers her the book about saints that the Darkling gave her. In it, she finds her personal inscription, confirming that it is the same copy the Apparat gave her in the Little Palace. She flips through the book and stops at the picture of Sankt Ilya in Chains, realizing that it depicts Rusalye and Morozova. Alina and Mal agree to hear whatever offer Sturmhond’s client makes on the condition that, if they wish to turn it down, Sturmhond will set them free. Sturmhond and Alina watch the crew hoist the sea dragon’s body overboard. He asks her what she intends to do with the scales, and she recalls how the Darkling pinned the stag’s collar on her and partook of its power. She knows the scales will act as an amplifier to give her more power, but the teachings say not to combine amplifiers, and she is unsure what might happen if she does. Alina asks whether Sturmhond actually intends to set them free, and he accuses her of wanting to leave Ravka again. She considers how her actions have hurt her country and wonders whether Sturmhond might be a loyal Ravkan citizen. He promises to be true to his word. Alina and Tamar head for their bunk aboard the ship, named the Volkvony, meaning “Wolf of the Waves.” The ship is provisioned for war, as is Tamar. She washes her hair and remarks on Mal’s good looks. Alina asks if Tamar ever feels threatened by the male crew. Tamar points out her shark tooth amplifier and her hidden knife, which she gives to Alina for her protection. Alina and Mal eat with the captain, and while Mal talks about weapons and battle with Sturmhond, Alina worries about the implications of taking a second amplifier. She takes a hard look at Sturmhond and realizes some of his features are oddly disproportionate. After dinner, she has a moment alone with Mal and shows him the picture of Sankt Ilya. Mal realizes there’s a third amplifier.
6. The illustration of Sankt Ilya depicts him with a collar around his neck and fetters on each wrist. The iron chains that formerly bound him are now broken. Surrounding him are Morozova, Rusalye, and a firebird. The firebird is central to Ravkan mythology as it represents the land, its first ruler, and the nation. Alina tells Mal she thinks she should use the sea dragon’s scales as a second amplifier and that they should hunt the firebird as a third. Neither of them recognizes the arch where the bird flies. While they have misgivings, Alina believes she needs the amplifiers to defeat the Darkling and the Fold, and moreover, she wants the power. That night, Sturmhond summons his best Fabrikator, who binds the golden scales to Alina’s wrist. Alina summons the light and it overwhelms her. Only Mal’s embrace saves her, allowing her to join the power to her body and become one with it. Sturmhond and the crew huddle by the railing in fear. The next morning, they move quickly, afraid Alina’s display may have given them away. Alina tries to assure Mal that she is in control, but he remains troubled by her new power.
7. Alina practices her new power as the Volkvolny sails toward Ravka. Many of the Grisha on board the ship are on the run, preferring to hide as otkazat’sya, or commoners, rather than be tortured or sold into slavery. In Ravka, the Grisha are forced to serve the Darkling and the King. Rumors from Ravka say that rebellion is imminent in the First Army, which consists of trained soldiers loyal to the king, and that the Second Army, Grisha warriors treated with suspicion by the citizens, lacks leadership and direction. The Apparat escaped the Darkling and now lives in hiding, building a cult dedicated to the Sun Summoner, who is said to have died on the Fold. Mal and Alina train alongside Tolya and Tamar, and Alina feels comfortable on board the Volkvolny in ways she never did at the Little Palace. But when she starts asking about Sturmhond, Tolya and Tamar grow aloof. Sturmhond overhears and interrogates Alina, but she does not remember much from before her arrival at Keramzin and the Duke’s orphanage. Tamar wakes Alina in the middle of the night to disembark. Privyet is dressed as Sturmhond, who is camouflaged as a member of the crew. The Volkvolny is headed toward Fjerdan, whereas Sturmhond, Mal, Alina, Tamar, and Tolya make their way toward West Ravka. Mal worries he will be arrested as a traitor for his part in the Darkling’s raid on the Fold. Sturmhond’s new craft, the Hummingbird, floats over the sea before taking flight under the Squallers’ power. Mal notices the craft’s armaments, and he discusses battle possibilities with Sturmhond. Alina wonders how the future might change if Grisha and other Ravkans could work together. As the ground below them changes from sea to land, Alina and Mal realize Sturmhond has lied to them again. He is taking them into the Fold and expects Alina to defend them against the volcra.
8. Alina casts light to protect them, but the Fold feels different to her. She sits more comfortably with her power, but she also feels the Fold welcoming her. She presses harder on the light, but both Sturmhond and Mal tell her to back off. They want to engage with the volcra rather than simply sneak past them. Alina complies, and as the volcra surround them, the crew opens fire. Alina believes she hears echoes of the volcra’s human ancestors in their screams. As they prepare to leave, Mal tracks another crowd of volcra to the north, which takes them to the ruins of the Darkling’s ship and the scene of Alina’s greatest failure. The volcra are using the wreck as a hive for their young. Sturmhond orders them shelled, and in the aftermath, Alina feels empathy for their loss. She also sees the Darkling mocking her and she cowers on the dock, putting the crew at risk. Alina is roused and they escape to a nearby lake where they crash land and swim to shore. The crew turns on Alina, demanding answers for why she let them down. She puts the blame on Sturmhond, and he accepts it. Before he can explain, they are surrounded by the Ravkan army. Under his camouflage, Sturmhond wears an officer’s uniform, and his face is transformed. When challenged by the colonel, Sturmhond declares that he is really Nikolai Lantsov, second son to the Ravkan king. The colonel charges at him but then realizes the truth and bows before him, with the army following suit. When he introduces Alina as the Sun Summoner, she punches him in the face.
9. In a Grisha tent outside Kribirsk, Mal and Alina argue about Sturmhond’s motives. Mal asks Alina what happened on the ship, but she does not tell him about the Darkling. Sturmhond, who they now know to be the Ravkan prince Nikolai Lantsov, interrupts them with an explanation for his disguise and an offer for Alina to save Ravka from the Darkling, the Fold, and his inept older brother, Vasily. He proposes that Alina marry him to unite the First and Second Armies. Mal confronts Nikolai, but after Alina uses the light to stop them from fighting, Nikolai makes matters worse by suggesting she keep Mal on as the captain of her personal guard and have an affair with him. Alina rejects the marriage proposal but agrees to work with Nikolai if she can command the Second Army. They agree, and Nikolai leaves so Alina and Mal can discuss his future, which is now uncertain. He is reluctant to help Alina track the third amplifier, and he is afraid that her ambition will drive a wedge between them. He storms out. Alone, Alina wonders about the wound on her shoulder and her strange new connection with the Darkling.
10. Alina helps Nikolai ferry his pirated bounty across the Fold to resupply the Ravkan forces, but she refuses to engage with the volcra. Nikolai leads his crew and the Ravkan soldiers along the Vy to Os Alta. Alina finds Kribirsk a ghost town, with the church acting as a shrine. On it, the names of the dead are enumerated in red. Mal tries to comfort her, but she insists on reading each name before continuing. Further into town, some merchants hawk their wares, and Alina believes she hears one call her by name. Nikolai informs her that they are selling what they claim to be her bones in the wake of the rumors of her death. In Vernost, a regiment joins them from the Second Army with whom Nikolai served. They offer him a regal carriage adorned with the Ravkan double eagle and a golden sunburst. As they greet the villagers, Nikolai advises Alina to be more discreet about her relationship with Mal and more brazen about her status as the Sun Summoner. Nikolai tells Alina how he got the nickname Sturmhond: as a pirate, he boarded a Fjerdan ship and the captain threatened him, and in response, Nikolai sliced off the captain’s fingers and gave them to his dog to eat. She accuses him of being cruel like the Darkling, which startles and offends him. On the march to Os Alta, Alina watches Nikolai charm and bribe the people. While she exhibits her power to satisfy him, she accuses him of giving the people false hope and endangering their lives. As they travel, Mal’s tension begins to ease. He suggests that Tolya and Tamar join him as part of Alina’s guard, and Alina realizes that the Palace will view him as a traitor. Alina reminisces about Morozova and Rusalye, and she ruminates about the firebird, feeling guilt about their fates. Pilgrims join the procession. They worship Alina, calling her Sankta, along with many other names, including Rebe Dva Stolba, or Daughter of Two Mills, a reference to where she was born. Alina worries about the pilgrims’ fervor, but Tamar tells Alina of the Shu belief that Grisha are saints with magical powers. Alina asks her to stop talking about saints once she becomes a member of Alina’s personal guard.
11. The pilgrims’ presence forces Alina to ride in the carriage, mostly alone, but sometimes with Mal and other times with Nikolai. Nikolai discusses his plans for improving Ravka and going to war with the Darkling. He is eager to help her attain the firebird, and he presses Alina for information about the Darkling. She believes the Darkling’s power is drained by raising the nichevo’ya. Nikolai’s father, the king of Ravka, has been weakened since Genya betrayed him. Nikolai is angry with himself that he was not there when the Darkling executed his plan. Nikolai advises Alina on how to comport herself at the Palace and kisses her in public, causing the crowd to go wild and call her Sun Queen. Once in the coach, she kicks him, but he only relents when she calls him creepy. He tells her that he is probably illegitimate and has doubts about his ability to ascend to the throne, although he knows he will be a better leader than his brother, Vasily. When they stop at the inn, Mal helps Alina descend from the coach, and they talk about Nikolai’s kiss. Alina assures Mal that she still only wants him. On their last night before arriving in Os Alta, they stay with Count Minkoff, a breeder of dwarf fruit trees. Alina dons a custom-made kefta in her chosen colors and joins the party for a dinner she finds overly lavish and mind-numbingly boring. Afterward, she escapes to the garden and gifts Mal with the sunburst pin that marks him as captain of her guard. They embrace but are interrupted by Tamar with a warning that a crowd of Grisha are gathering at the gate. Alina recognizes the Corporalnik Fedyor, who once saved her life, but Alina is uncertain where his loyalties now lie. She and Nikolai discuss how to respond, and she decides to try to build an alliance with the Grisha at the gate.
12. Fedyor tells Alina that after the Darkling’s revolt, many Grisha were executed as traitors. Some of them retaliated, others joined the Darkling, and some went into hiding. Now that they know Alina has returned, those in hiding want to reemerge. She agrees to take them with her to Os Alta. At Os Alta, they are met by a full army led by Vasily Lantsov. Alina makes a dazzling display of her power, and Nikolai engages in barbed banter with Vasily but breaks it off by addressing one of the soldiers by name. The danger now past, they proceed to the city. Outside the city, a makeshift camp has sprung up providing shelter for refugees and pilgrims. The lower town is crowded and squalid, but across the armed gate, the upper town is lush. Alina is gripped with panic as they approach the Grand Palace, and Nikolai leads them into the throne room. The King and Queen have aged and look sickly, and they are grateful to see their prodigal son returned. They retire for a private conversation and return to deliver their verdict. The King begrudgingly offers to let Alina lead the Second Army. He then threatens Mal with hanging, but at a word from Nikolai, rescinds the sentence and settles for a dishonorable discharge from the army.
13. Alina travels with Mal, Tolya, and Tamar to the Little Palace. They are all nervous after their reception at the Palace, and Tolya and Tamar sense an aura of defeat. Outside the Little Palace, the First Army guard the Grisha. Inside, the remaining Grisha wait, and Alina recognizes a few of them. Sergei greets her, and she introduces herself as their new leader. Sergei challenges her authority, but Zoya offers the Etherealki’s support. Accusations fly about Alina’s competencies and loyalties, as do claims about what it means to be an authentic Grisha, which offends Tolya and Tamar. The Grisha level even more offensive claims against Alina, insinuating that she was engaged romantically with either the Darkling or the second prince of Ravka. The Grisha threaten to confine her to the chapel and to sainthood rather than allow her to lead them. Alina interrupts with a display of power, intending to kill Sergei. She relents at the last minute and cracks the Golden Dome instead. Alina leaves for the war room, where Mal, Tolya, and Tamar join her. Alina realizes she has won her first battle, so she orders dinner and examines her new quarters. These are still decorated for the Darkling, who last inhabited them, and she feels his presence everywhere. The room is near the war room and the chambers set aside for her personal guard, for which Alina chooses Mal, Tolya, and Tamar. Alina retires to examine the Darkling’s bedchamber further, and he appears to her, talks to her, and even touches her, so she screams. Her guard comes to her rescue, but, uncertain whether what she experienced was real or a figment of her imagination, she offers them no explanation.
14. Alina awakes in the Darkling’s bed to the sounds of the Grisha leaders arguing with her guard. The previous night, Alina had sent a command for each Grisha order to send two representatives to the war council, putting an end to the precedent that had privileged the Corporalki under the Darkling’s leadership. Alina silences them, reinforces her command, and orders the Fabrikators to start military training. Nikolai and Mal join her at breakfast, and Nikolai sends Mal on a wild boar hunt. Soldiers are deserting to join the Apparat, which the King blames on Alina. To keep the peace, Mal needs to ingratiate himself with the palace. Nikolai intends to remain and gather information about the Darkling’s plans. Again, Alina accuses Nikolai of acting like the Darkling, and he admits that he is not sure how far he would go to attain power. Alina searches for Baghra, whom she finds in her overheated hovel. Baghra demands to see Morozova’s collar, and when Baghra turns toward her, Alina realizes that the Darkling blinded her in retaliation for helping Alina escape. Alina also lets Baghra feel Rusalye’s scales and asks her where to find the firebird. When Baghra refuses, Alina threatens to take her home away. Baghra laughs in her face, and Alina leaves in shame. Alina sits in the woods staring at the illustration of Sankta Ilya, focusing on the arch near the firebird.
15. Alina meets with the Grisha to determine how to convince those who have fled to return to Os Alta. They discuss the Apparat, who makes sporadic appearances to preach the good news of the Sun Summoner. Zoya dismisses Alina’s concerns about the Apparat and suggests that his claims that Alina is a Saint could improve public opinion about the Grisha, but Mal eventually offers to use his First Army contacts to learn more about the Apparat’s whereabouts. Alina explains the Darkling’s new, powerful army of nichevo’ya, and the Grisha are relieved to know that the Darkling’s power is limited by proximity. Alina suspects that David knows more about the Darkling’s power, but she is unable to talk to him alone. After an afternoon of paperwork, she attends her first dinner in mixed Grisha company. It’s awkward and stilted. Mal goes hunting with Vasily and the soldiers, and while he is annoyed at the pomp, he is grateful to be outside and on the move. Alina attends a war council at the Grand Palace with Nikolai. He shows her a place on the lake where he intends to build a replacement Hummingbird. He wants an escape route in case the war effort fails. She insists he take Baghra with him if he flees.
16. Alina tracks down David in the Fabrikators’ workroom. He is designing a set of large mirrored bowls to reflect Alina’s light and magnify the power of her Cut. She asks him about Ilya Morozova, whom David calls the Bonesmith, and David claims that Morozova made some of the first amplifiers. He also claims that Morozova’s son, seeking to recreate some of his father’s experiments after his death, accidentally created the Fold, so he destroyed Morozova’s remaining journals. But Alina knows that the son in this story was actually the Darkling in disguise, and she suspects that some of the journals may have survived. David seems nervous upon realizing that Morozova and the Darkling (whom he knows as the Dark Heretic) were experimenting with merzost, and Alina stops questioning David when it becomes clear that he knows nothing about the Istorii Sankt’ya. Alina searches the library for more information, but the books say nothing about Ilya Morozova, despite his reputation as a brilliant Fabrikator. Alina learns that Sankt Ilya miraculously saved a child mutilated by his father’s plow, but the people feared Sankt Ilya’s power and murdered him. Tolya joins her one evening, and she realizes he can read liturgical Ravkan. In a tableau that feels awkward to Alina, he remains bowed next to her until she places her hand on his shoulder in a seeming benediction. Mal returns and tells Alina he used the hunting trip to swap stories with the soldiers, hoping to build a favorable impression of Alina and the Grisha. They visit the chapel, which is old and dirty. At its front is a triptych depicting 13 saints, including Sankta Ilya. His panel has sustained severe water damage and is mildewed and moldy. As they turn to leave, the Darkling appears to Alina again, but Mal cannot see him. Upon their exit, Vasily emerges from the forest and insists on talking with Alina alone. He escorts her through the woods and, like his brother Nikolai, proposes. Back with Mal, Alina expresses her disgust about the offer.
17. Summer comes to Os Alta and its leaders are still unsure of the Darkling’s whereabouts. Nikolai and Alina formulate a strategy for when the Darkling attacks Os Alta in which Nikolai plans to flank him with soldiers while Alina leads the Grisha in an attack from the Little Palace. The plan feels hopeful. Nikolai works with the David and the other Fabrikators to build the city’s defenses and rebuild the Hummingbird. Alina is needed at the Grand Palace as a bartering chip in diplomatic sessions with Ravka’s neighbors. When Vasily decides to help, Nikolai gives him paperwork. The First and Second Armies are starting to train together and forge relationships. Having once been their comrade, Alina is uncertain how to relate to the Grisha as their new leader. Nadia, a Squaller and one of the first Grisha to treat Alina kindly when she first arrived at the Little Palace, asks Alina if her brother Adrik can remain at the Little Palace after the Grisha school is evacuated. He is young but determined, so Alina agrees. Alina finds Mal training with Pavel, with Zoya watching. Alina questions Zoya’s motives and learns that she lost family members at Novokribirsk. She wants revenge on the Darkling. Mal asks Alina to go with him to a fortune-tellers party, and she agrees.
18. Disguised as fortune-tellers, Mal, Alina, and Tamar sneak away from the Little Palace to spend a night on the town. The party is held at the Gritski estate, which turns out to be located in a seedy part of town. They enter and are immediately ordered about like the servants they appear to be. Mal and Alina find a cozy corner and banter like they did when they were young and living at Keramzin. Eventually, customers begin to approach, and Mal and Alina giggle to themselves while inventing over-the-top fortunes for the drunk and tipsy, the young and old. They are interrupted by shouts and crashes as the room erupts into a general brawl. On their way out, Mal returns to save a woman who had fallen in the chaos, leaving Alina with Tamar. But outside in the dark, Alina finds herself alone with the Apparat. Alina sends out a flash of light to deter him and smells mildew and incense. He has replaced the golden double eagle on his robes with the emblem of the Sun Summoner. He greets her with respect, asking her to join him as leader of a pilgrim army. She distrusts their fanaticism and his motives, but instead of a direct challenge, she asks him about the firebird. His reply is evasive, but she suspects he might have Morozova’s journals. Suddenly, first Mal and then Tamar burst in upon them, but the Apparat disappears. Back at the Little Palace, Mal and Alina bicker in her chambers. He feels like an outcast, and he resents the rumors that he and Alina are having an affair. He accuses her of using her power cruelly, and he fears that they are growing apart. Just as they embrace, the Darkling appears over his shoulder and Alina stiffens, which Mal interprets as her stiffening at his affection. Infuriated at the perceived rejection, Mal storms out.
19. Alina checks in with David on the Little Palace roof where he works to complete the mirrors that will be used to amplify her power if the Darkling attacks. His work is proceeding well with Nikolai’s help. David feels guilty about his role in placing Morozova’s collar on Alina, but he tells her it cannot be removed without drastic unforeseen consequences. He is also hurt that Genya stayed with the Darkling rather than returning to Os Alta with him. Alina tries to reassure him that they’re all doing the best they can. The next day, Nikolai and Alina attend yet another strategy meeting at the Grand Palace, where Vasily becomes increasingly restless and defiant. The ministers inform them that the First Army is running low on soldiers, so Vasily suggests they lower the draft age. Alina challenges him, and when he does not relent, an argument escalates. Nikolai and Alina try to warn Vasily about the reality of combat with an army of nichevo’ya. Vasily accuses Nikolai of being illegitimate and therefore unworthy to lead. Nikolai backs down, and on their way back to the Little Palace, Alina praises Nikolai for wanting the best for the people of Ravka. Os Alta celebrates the summer festival of Belyanoch. As the days lengthen, the Ravkans enjoy parades, shows, and dances. At the Little Palace, the Grisha break down social barriers and learn to work together, but Alina feels the mounting pressure of war. Mal is distant, and despite Alina’s best efforts to remain optimistic, she knows that their best hope is to prepare for evacuation and retreat. Any use of her power only makes her long for the firebird, reminding her of how much she has become like the Darkling in her lust for power. His apparitions are becoming more frequent. With David’s mirrors finally complete, Alina practices directing the Cut more broadly, and the results are spectacular. The armies and their leaders are jubilant, but Alina is distracted by Mal, who shows up hungover and bruised. Distressed and alone, she joins Nikolai and the ecstatic Grisha as they drink champagne and take joyrides on Nikolai’s new ship, the Kingfisher. Alongside the lake, Alina and Nikolai discuss their success, Vasily’s recent return and marriage proposal to Alina, and Nikolai’s uncertainty about his lineage. He wants to kiss her, but he won’t until she has forgotten Mal, so she runs away.
20. Disappointed that she was nearly tempted by Nikolai, Alina contemplates writing a letter to the King and Queen begging to be excused from Nikolai’s upcoming birthday party. Alina asks Tamar to help her find Mal, so she takes Alina to the stables, where they see Mal fighting with a Grisha. Mal takes a beating but emerges victorious. Tamar stops Alina from intervening and explains that Mal fights nearly every night, and almost always wins. Alina sees Zoya in the crowd and watches as she runs to Mal. The two kiss before Mal spots Alina, who takes off into the woods. Mal follows her, and the two swap accusations before she offers to run away with him, desperate to reconcile. But when he touches her, she is thrown into the trancelike state that precedes a visit from the Darkling’s apparition. Again estranged, they return to the Little Palace, where Alina finally confesses that she sees the Darkling. Mal grabs a bottle of whiskey and retreats to his quarters. Alina awakens to caresses that she passionately returns, only to learn to her horror that she is kissing not Mal but the Darkling. She screams, but no one comes, so she goes for a long walk to clear her head.
21. Alina walks through town and the remnants of the Belyanoch celebration, ruminating on her connection with the Darkling and her distance from everything she loves. Outside Os Alta, the pilgrims await the dawn while chanting variations of her name, including Rebe Dva Stolba, meaning Daughter of the Two Mills. Their fanaticism returns Alina to her senses and sends her back into town, but she is intercepted when an old woman recognizes Morozova’s collar. Alina is surrounded, borne aloft, and in danger of being torn to pieces when Tolya rescues her. They reenter the city with Tamar’s help, and the guards barricade the gates against a frenzied pilgrim riot. They find a hungover Mal when they return to the palace. Tolya and Tamar accuse him of abandoning his shift protecting Alina. Alina orders a meeting with them and Nikolai in the war council, where she suggests that the Two Mills might be the site of the ancient ruins of the arch in the image of Sankta Ilya and the firebird. Over Alina’s objections, Mal volunteers to track it.
22. Mal and Alina attend Nikolai’s birthday dinner, held in the Eagle’s Nest, a massive chamber whose ceiling depicts Ravka’s golden double eagle in all its splendor. The table is packed with the Ravkan family, its nobility, and its military leaders. Despite the city’s poverty, the dinner is lavish, including a fawn-shaped gelatin mold. As Nikolai is toasted, Alina stares at Mal, distraught at the distance between them. The nichevo’ya bite at her shoulder begins to itch and throb. Nikolai reassures her as the toasts continue. Finally, Vasily toasts Nikolai and announces that he was on a diplomatic mission on behalf of the King, and successfully brokered a peace deal with Fjerda. In return for western port access, troop support along the southern border, and reopened logging roads in the north, the Fjerdans promise to come to Ravka’s aid against the Darkling. Nikolai accuses Vasily of ordering their northern defenses to stand down and opening an access route to the Darkling. Nikolai notes that while Fjerda is not present to celebrate the treaty, all of Ravka’s leaders are, making them a perfect target for the Darkling. His suspicions prove correct. Alarms sound throughout Os Alta, and the Eagle’s Nest is filled with nichevo’ya. Nikolai protects the King, and Mal stands by Alina. Saber held high, Vasily charges, but the nichevo’ya rip off his arm, and he falls down dead as Nikolai leads the King and Queen to safety. Under cover from Alina’s Cut, Nikolai heads for the Kingfisher while Mal and Alina head for the Little Palace, which swarms with nichevo’ya. Paja, one of the Materialki chosen for Alina’s Grisha council, lies dead on the front lawn under one of the mirrors as soldiers from the First Army fire on the enemy from the roof. Mal and Alina scale the stairs to join the attack, but they only manage one amplified Cut before the nichevo’ya descend en masse on the remaining mirror. The Grisha manning it barely escape before it’s destroyed. Mal and Alina cover the remaining Grisha as they retreat to the Hall, although they have to drag Sergei away from the corpse of Marie, an Etherealki. The room is sealed, and the few remaining Grisha discuss their dwindling options. Zoya suggests they fight their way to upper town, and the others agree. They burst from the room using grenatki and Alina’s Cut to discover a pilgrim army laying undercover, led by Tolya and Tamar.
23. The pilgrims fight valiantly but prove little match for the nichevo’ya. Tamar leads a confused Alina and a besieged Second Army to the chapel, and David uses their last grenatki to help them get there. Tolya bolts the door and Tamar reveals a hidden passage beneath the altar behind Sankta Ilya’s panel. The Darkling floats in, carried by his dark army, shielding him from the soldiers’ shots. As he nears, Tolya, Tamar, Mal, and the Grisha gather protectively around Alina. The Darkling arrives and challenges Alina to surrender, promising that he will allow her followers to go free. She witnesses her army’s vulnerability and opens negotiations. He asks for her alone, promising to let the remainder go. In proof, he confirms the reality of his apparitions, claiming he has always wanted only her. He brings forth a prisoner. Alina fears the prisoner might be Baghra, but it proves to be Genya, horrifically mangled. David rushes for her, and Alina is heartbroken at Genya’s ruined state. Alina allows herself to be convinced that she and the Darkling are destined for each other, and she orders Mal, Tolya, and Tamar to stand down. She kisses the Darkling, making sure Mal sees. She offers him her power, but then realizes that she has had control of his power ever since he appeared to her during the volcra battle on board the Hummingbird. Now she uses it, summoning more and more nichevo’ya in the hope of destroying them both. The Darkling recoils from her in fear and begins to weaken. The two of them fall to the floor, seizing from the effort. Right before the chapel collapses, Mal pulls Alina from the Darkling and into the tunnels behind the altar. They collapse, and the Grisha take them and run. They remain on the run in the tunnels for weeks. Mal and Alina are too weak to walk, so the Grisha carry them on litters. After he recovers, Mal reports on the state of the Second Army, the pilgrim army, and their refugees. Among them is Genya, whom they call Razrusha’ya, the Ruined. Together, they figure out the extent of Tolya and Tamar’s deception. Alina confronts them over their devotion to the cult of the Sun Summoner, but they swear allegiance to her, not to the Apparat. When they finally arrive in the White Cathedral, the Apparat kneels before Alina but rises by her side and leads the pilgrims in a victory chant. Alone in her room, Alina is shocked to discover that her hair has gone white, and she tells Mal that she can no longer summon the light.
AFTER
The girl dreams of ships that fly, captained by a fox, who might be a hellhound. She dreams too of the firebird. The Darkling survives and rules Ravka, while his army hunts her and the Apparat. She doesn’t know whether the tunnels are the work of humans or monsters, but she knows she and the boy are imprisoned there, or perhaps entombed. They are surrounded by fanatics and haunted by their memories of death and destruction. But the girl has experience hiding, watching, and waiting. She remembers all that she and others have sacrificed, and she is determined to return and claim her destiny.