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The night air was cool and the sky sparkled like a dark blanket sprinkled with millions and millions of tiny diamonds. There was a soft breeze in the air, the leaves on the trees rustling softly in its wake.
A falling star shot through the sky, briefly illuminating it.
“Look! The first one!” Nikolai pointed in its direction, his voice full of childish wonder.
Alina chuckled and turned her eyes to him, “I saw it, Nikolai.”
The king looked at her and winked, “I know, I was just making sure you hadn’t fallen asleep.”
She just rolled her eyes and focused her gaze back up on the starry sky.
Stargazing night was something Nikolai had created a few weeks after Alina had returned to Os Alta, her breakup with Mal having taken a serious toll on her mood. Nikolai, being first and foremost her friend, simply hadn’t been able to sit back and watch her wilt away.
So, one night he plucked her away from her dark room and dragged a bewildered Alina up and up the palace until they were standing on the tallest rooftop. There, he had placed a large wool blanket, the white fabric weaved with patterns of gold thread that seemed to shine under the moonlight.
“I suggest you lie down and enjoy the view, Alina.” He said with a mischievous wink before he followed his own suggestion and patted the empty spot next to him. It took her a moment to get over the shock of the surprise, but once she was able to move, Alina joined the king, albeit a bit begrudgingly. She enjoyed her nights alone in her room quite a lot. In the end, it took her less than five minutes to be thankful that Nikolai had kidnapped her like that, the view, and the company, really worth any kidnapping.
Soon that one night of stargazing became a weekly event, an event that Alina found herself looking forward every single day.
“Aha! Another!”
“Nikolai, you don’t have to squeal like that every time a star shoots through the sky, you know?”
“Why? You certainly seem to be holding back on your excitement. Unless my dashing looks are distracting you?” he teased her, propping himself up on his elbow. Alina mirrored his movement and narrowed her eyes at him.
“No matter how good looking you are, oh mighty king, that will never be the reason I don’t enjoy a few shooting stars.” She said but instantly regretted her words when Nikolai’s mouth curled into a pleased smirk.
“So you do find me good looking!"
Alina rolled her eyes, if anything, to distract her from the fluttery feeling his smile gave her, “Whatever, royal idiot.” She muttered and lied back.
Nikolai chuckled before lying back as well. After a moment of comfortable silence, Nikolai whispered, his voice now serious, all amusement gone, “How are you feeling, Alina?”
She knew what he meant and answered in kind, “It’s just a bad memory now.” And it was. After the first months of rebuilding Keramzin, Alina and Mal actually had some well-deserved blissful marriage. But soon that apparent happiness dwindled to something lukewarm where the days merged into a blur. A little bit over two years after the destruction of the Fold and Nikolai’s final proposal, Alina found herself kicking Mal out of the orphanage, together with the newest teacher they had hired, who had taken an instant liking to Mal. Alina felt stupid for not noticing the glances the two had shared, some of them far too conspicuous to be innocent looks, until it was too late and she found them together in the teacher’s bed.
After promptly kicking the two out, Alina left the eldest teacher in charge and returned to Os Alta, her heart heavy with far too many negative memories Keramzin had attached to it. Her friends had welcomed her with open arms, obviously. Nikolai had even cancelled all meetings he had planned for that day just to give her a proper welcome back. Before long, Alina was given a room to live in and classes to teach. A fake background story was built for her and so she became a Grisha historian that knew everything about some of the greatest Grisha Ravka had seen. All of her students were more than happy to attend her classes and hear tales on Baghra and Sankta Alina and the Darkling.
In a few months, Os Alta became once again the home it had been before. Though, if she were truly honest, it became the home she had never had, the home she had always wished for. Her friends, her true friends were there and they were safe and happy. And so was she. Teaching new Grisha was exhilarating and helping Nikolai with tough decisions revealed itself to be the perfect way to end the week, together with a mug of something warm and a burning fireplace. She traded jokes and funny stories with her friends and painted in her room and travelled when possible. And she also went to a ball once on a while, where Nikolai always insisted on dancing with her at least once. She wasn’t sure why she kept going, but dancing with him was always… quite magical. Even if she was always torn between smacking him on the head and laughing with him.
Os Alta was home and she couldn’t be happier.
“Alina?” Nikolai called, his voice coming from far away and she quickly broke free from her thoughts.
“Huh?”
“Alina… You’re…” was something wrong? He sounded confused, “You’re… glowing!” Nikolai gasped.
She looked him dead in the eye, “If you think that line will win you a kiss tonight, you’re dead wrong, Nikolai.”
Instead of a teasing smirk, the response she was expecting, Nikolai just gapped at her, his eyes wide open, “I’m not trying to win a kiss, Alina. You really are glowing!” When she didn’t answer, Nikolai grabbed her wrist and pulled her hand up, “Look!”
And sure enough, her hand seemed to have a glow of its own, her light skin now even more contrasting with Nikolai’s tanned hand. She stared at it as if Nikolai had plucked a star from the sky and was showing it to her now. This… This couldn’t be her hand. They couldn’t be seeing this… It was impossible.
“Nikolai?” her voice wavered. What was going on? Confused with what she was seeing, Alina didn’t realize she was calling for her power until something that hadn’t happened in over two years… happened. It answered her call.
At first it was like a small stream of water, power softly flowing through her as she made light glow in her palm. She kept her gaze on that light. It… it couldn’t be, it simply couldn’t! For months she had tried to call her power. For months she had stayed in the sun for hours waiting for anything to wake up, to come back, to heal. But nothing had happened. No one, not even David had an inkling if she would ever get her powers back. It was highly possible that such an event would never come to pass.
So why was she summoning light now?
Summoning light.
She, Alina Starkov, was really summoning light!
The knowledge, so clear and simple, finally broke through her shock and disbelief and, with a giggle that bubbled up her throat, Alina called it forth with all her might. That soft and tiny stream of power turned into a rushing river, fast and unstoppable.
Night turned to day as light exploded from her. Light. She was pouring light from all of her. Her light. Her power!
There was laughter ringing in her ears and she was surprised to find it was her. Happiness and pure power ran free through her as she got up and let her light spread through the land and chase away any shadows lurking nearby.
Then, as if it had worn out all energy for the moment, the light grew smaller and smaller, until at last, her skin was the only thing glowing.
Her face hurt with how hard she was smiling.
“Alina! You… Your power! It’s back!” Nikolai said, his voice bursting with happiness just as she was herself. She turned to him and suddenly a new (or was it old?) need burned in her chest. Then, before any of them could realise what was happening, Alina pulled him in and kissed his lips.
Nikolai froze under her touch and panic started to take over her bliss. So she made to pull away, an apology already on her lips, but Nikolai put a hand on the nape of her neck and kept her in place and soon was kissing her back, a smirk on the corner of his mouth. She deepened the kiss and pulled him down, back to the blanket, and Nikolai braced himself with a hand, the other never leaving her hair, his fingers drawing soothing shapes on her skin that seemed to set her blood on fire.
After what felt like an age, the kiss was broken as the two gasped for air.
Nikolai rested his head against hers and spoke, his words coming out in a breathy voice, “Not that I’m complaining, but… what was that for?” his breathing had grown erratic.
She laughed, “Really?”
“Forgive me, but one minute we’re celebrating you getting your powers back, the next you’re kissing me like there’s no tomorrow. Not to mention you said there was no kissing happening tonight. A person is bound to be confused.”
Alina couldn’t help herself but roll her eyes, “Well, you did say, a long time ago, that you didn’t want to kiss me until I was thinking of you instead of trying to forget him.” He hummed in reply and she continued, “Well. That bastard is long gone from my mind now. And I was thinking of you, a lot. Plus, I am very, very happy right now. And feeling brave enough to kiss you. So, that’s it.” She quickly replied, her words coming out in a breathy ramble.
Nikolai chuckled, “Bastard? Please, allow me to bask in the glory of you calling him names for a second.” Then, after literally a second passed, Nikolai clicked his tongue, “There. Basking done. Now…” his voice dropped an octave and a shiver went down her spin, “You said something about thinking of me…”
A giggle left her lips. She wasn’t sure if it was because she had her powers back or because she had finally felt brave enough to kiss Nikolai. Perhaps both. She was sure, however, that it was real and honest. “Always the same self-involved idiot, right?”
He pecked her lips once, “Don’t say such ugly things, Alina. You know I just want to be clear on that matter as soon as possible so we can spend the rest of the night celebrating the return of your powers.” He said, half-teasingly.
Her power. She felt it, gone for too long, now pulsing deep within her. Oh, how whole she felt again. Losing it had felt like losing a vital organ and living to tell the tale, but always with that sense of an ever-growing gaping hole in one’s chest. Now, that sensation was finally gone, her power back, at last.
Suddenly, another thought flashed through her mind and she gasped, “Nikolai!”
“Yes?”
“It’s the middle of the night!”
“Yes, it is.”
“And I’ve just lit it up! All of Os Alta must have waken up!” Nikolai chuckled and she slapped him across his chest, “Not funny! We have to get back and figure out an explanation!”
The king smiled down at her and, with his free hand, tucked a hair behind her ear. Then he lowered his lips and kissed her, a soft kiss that drew a low moan from her throat, momentarily distracting her from her newest worry. Sooner than she’d liked, the kiss was over and Nikolai was helping her get up, “All right, sunshine. Let’s go explain things.”
Sunshine? What a silly nickname. That was what she told herself in order to roll her eyes at him. But it wasn’t. It made her feel like a giddy teenager, high on kisses, and a bit of raw power. Sunshine. He had called her that a few times before, but never too many times. Nikolai knew she still hurt from the loss of her Grisha power. He knew that nickname could only be used on rare occasions. Until now.
When she could finally summon light again.
Sunshine.
She found she liked him calling her that quite a lot. And she wouldn’t mind one bit if he started using it all the time.