Shadow and Bone

CHAPTER 14
AS WINTER DREW to a close, talk turned to the King and
Queen’s fete at the Grand Palace. The Grisha Summoners
were expected to put on a demonstration of their powers to
entertain the nobles, and much time was spent discussing who
would perform and what would make the most impressive
showing.
“Just don’t call it ‘performing,’” Genya warned. “The
Darkling can’t stand it. He thinks the winter fete is a giant
waste of Grisha time.”
I thought he might have a point. The Materialki workshops
buzzed morning and night with orders from the palace for
cloth and gems and fireworks. The Summoners spent hours at
the stone pavilions honing their “demonstrations.” Given that
Ravka was at war and had been for over a hundred years, it all
seemed a little frivolous. Still, I hadn’t been to many parties,
and it was hard not to get caught up in the talk of silks and
dances and flowers.
Baghra had no patience with me. If I lost focus for even a
moment, she’d smack me with her stick and say, “Dreaming of
dancing with your dark prince?”
I ignored her but, too often, she was right. Despite my best
efforts, I was thinking of the Darkling. He’d disappeared once
again, and Genya told me that he’d left for the north. The other
Grisha speculated that he would have to put in an appearance
at the winter fete, but no one could be sure. Again and again, I
found myself on the verge of telling Genya about the kiss, but
I always stopped just as the words were on my lips.
You’re being ridiculous, I told myself sternly. It didn’t mean
anything. He probably kisses a lot of Grisha girls. And why
would the Darkling have any interest in you when there are
people like Genya and Zoya around? But if all those things
were true, I didn’t want to know. As long as I kept my mouth
shut, the kiss was a secret that the Darkling and I shared, and I
wanted it to stay that way. All the same, some days it took