We head, hand in hand to the stables where the carriage is already waiting with us. Inside is empty and I am about the climb inside when a voice sounds from behind us "why is she coming?" Both of us turn to see Zoya standing by the entrance, her arms folded "isn't she supposed be under strict protection?" she adds and I shake my head "no, I am going to help rescue Alina, no protection detail for me" I wink at her and climb inside the coach.

On the ride I sit playing with my hands in my lap when I feel Aleksander brush my hair behind my shoulders and I look up at him, "we will make sure she is safe I promise" he says and I nod looking back down at my hands, tracing a scar on my arm. I remember the day I got it, one of the older girls was picking on Alina and Mal, calling them half breeds and worse. Alina had ran to me crying and angrily I found the girl in the kitchen and beat her silly, as I was doing this we fell to floor and smashed a plate, shards of it cutting into my skin so deep you could see the bone. After being shouted at by Ana Kuya she called for a Grisha Healer to fix my arm. That night I remember saying "no matter what happens always protect you" to my cousin who was looking up at me with her doe like eyes.

When finally we reach the city, it is dark outside and once we are out of the carriage I spy David climbing off of a horse, smiling I head over to him "what are you doing here?" I ask and the man in the purple Kefta looks around nervously as though waiting for someone to jump out at him, "General Kirigan um asked me to um- asked me to come" he manages to say and step away letting him have some space. This city is quite small, the ground underneath us slopping in places and rising in others, the walls of the brick buildings are all different colours from white to green to purple. "we need to find the people who took Alina, if we find them we will find her" I say and Aleksander nods his head slowly, hands together planning something in his mind.

"Stay" the black general tells David "I don't need you out here" and he nods climbing into the carriage, He turns to Zoya who is standing a little further ahead with Ivan "and?" he asks. Ivan answers instead of the Squaller "the wagon matches the one that was reported stolen at the palace" I follow their gaze to a dark set wagon Parker in front of a pub with loud people inside. "They may have continued on horseback, faster, harder to track" the Squaller adds and I see frustration settle into Aleksander, I step close to him wrapping my dark cloak around my body shielding my from the cold, one of the guards heads over to check it out and when he opens the door there is a loud bang and Kirigan is shielding me with his body.

Gasping I straighten up and step away from his hold, looking at where the carriage once stood "what the bloody hell was that?" I ask and Zoya lets out a breath "it seems they knew we're coming" she says. People are leaving the pub to see what the commotion was about out here and I notice three shadows slink off in different directions, the others seem to catch this too and suddenly Aleksander and I are chasing after one of them, Ivan Zoya after another and the Inferni twins after the last one.

We turn through different alley ways, I occasionally tumble but catch myself, following swiftly after the General. If this man knows where Alina is, I will be damn sure to get it out of him. We reach a fork ways and we look at each other "I'll meet you back at the carriage" he says and I smirk watching as he starts down the left side "try not to miss me too much" I call before starting down the right. I turn the corner and head past a flower shop, the windows dark, the doors locked. I hear a click behind me and turn to see The Darkling facing the man with the cane.

When I look at the two together, they could be siblings with their matching dark hair and black clothes. I try to steady my racing pulse as Aleksander says "I know you kidnapped my Sun Summoner. And now you're going to tell me where you stashed her" the man with the walking stick steps back slightly as General Kirigan continues forward. "We didn't take her" The other man says, his tone tremulous, "she fled on her own" I glance to the general waiting for his reaction but his expression stays neutral, normally he is easier to read. He holds his head up high and asks "where is she?" this puzzles me, this guy seems to be telling the truth so why is Aleksander so intent on denying it? and if she did run on her own, why? Our lives were pretty good considering what we came from, so why run on her own?

"I won't ask you again" The Darkling says smoothly, sending a shiver up my spine, "I don't know" the other man says firmly and I see him take something out if his bag, what is that? I squint to get a better look. "It was pretty clear she wasn't interested in being a captive anymore" he teases and I wonder if this man has a death wish because the look on Kirigan's face right now tells me he is ready to murder him and for some reason I'm not inclined to stop him. "She is probably half way to Novyi Zem by now" he continues and I step forward looking at what he has in his hand, Kirigan looks hurt at this and he lets his head dip in something almost like shame.

Suddenly he looks back up and I know he is going to do the Cut, a special summoner ability that takes tremendous strength and cuts the victim in half. Thats when I realise what the man with the cane has in his hand, a bomb. Screaming I throw my hands out as both men act, throwing a shield of crackling lightening around Aleksander, well it was supposed to be anyway. Instead it is wrapped around the man with the cane, in astonishment he turns, his eyes wide mirroring my own. He nods his head and I just stand in choke as I let him get away. Thats when I realise. The man with the cane, is the man in the stories.