Shadow and Bone

“Come with me, Starkov,” he said when he reached us, then
added a mocking “please.”
I pushed my chair back and rose on legs that felt suddenly
weak. Had Baghra told the Darkling that I was hopeless? Had
Botkin told him just how badly I’d failed at my lessons? The
Grisha were goggling at me. Nadia’s jaw was actually hanging
open.
I followed Ivan across the silent hall and through the huge
ebony doors. He led me down a hallway and through another
door emblazoned with the Darkling’s symbol. It was easy to
tell that I was in the war room. There were no windows, and
the walls were covered with large maps of Ravka. The maps
were made in the old style, with heated ink on animal hide.
Under any other circumstances, I could have spent hours
studying them, running my fingers over the raised mountains
and twisting rivers. Instead, I stood with my hands bunched
into clammy fists, my heart thudding in my chest.
The Darkling was seated at the end of a long table, reading
through a pile of papers. He looked up when we entered, his
quartz eyes glittering in the lamplight.
“Alina,” he said. “Please, sit.” He gestured to the chair
beside him.
I hesitated. He didn’t sound angry.
Ivan disappeared back through the door, closing it behind
him. I swallowed hard and made myself cross the room and
take the seat the Darkling offered.
“How was your first day?”
I swallowed again. “Fine,” I croaked.
“Really?” he asked, but he was smiling slightly. “Even
Baghra? She can be a bit of a trial.”
“Just a bit,” I managed.
“You’re tired?”
I nodded.
“Homesick?”