Shadow and Bone

A shiver went through me. “No,” I said. “He told me the
Fold was a mistake. He called the Black Heretic evil.”
“The Fold was no mistake.” Baghra dropped her hands and
the swirling darkness around her melted away. “The only
mistake was the volcra. He did not anticipate them, did not
think to wonder what power of that magnitude might do to
mere men.”
My stomach turned. “The volcra were men?”
“Oh yes. Generations ago. Farmers and their wives, their
children. I warned him that there would be a price, but he
didn’t listen. He was blinded by his hunger for power. Just as
he is blinded now.”
“You’re wrong,” I said, rubbing my arms, trying to shake
the bone-deep cold stealing through me. “You’re lying.”
“Only the volcra have kept the Darkling from using the Fold
against his enemies. They are his punishment, a living
testimony to his arrogance. But you will change all that. The
monsters cannot abide sunlight. Once the Darkling has used
your power to subdue the volcra, he will be able to enter the
Fold safely. He will finally have what he wants. There will be
no limit to his power.”
I shook my head. “He wouldn’t do that. He would never do
that.” I remembered the night he’d spoken to me by the fire in
the broken-down barn, the shame and sorrow in his voice. I’ve
spent my life searching for a way to make things right. You’re
the first glimmer of hope I’ve had in a long time. “He said he
wants to make Ravka whole again. He said that—”
“Stop telling me what he said!” she snarled. “He is ancient.
He’s had plenty of time to master lying to a lonely, naive girl.”
She advanced on me, her black eyes burning. “Think, Alina. If
Ravka is made whole, the Second Army will no longer be vital
to its survival. The Darkling will be nothing but another
servant of the King. Is that his dream of the future?”
I was starting to shake. “Please stop.”
“But with the Fold in his power, he will spread destruction
before him. He will lay waste to the world, and he will never