Shadow and Bone

As we were walking through a band of dessicated willows,
the frost crunching beneath our boots, Mal pointed out a
sparrowhawk nest, and I found myself wishing that we could
just keep walking forever. As much as I longed for a hot meal
and a warm bed, I was afraid of what the end of our journey
might bring. What if we found the stag, and I claimed the
antlers? How might an amplifier that powerful change me?
Would it be enough to free us from the Darkling? If only we
could stay this way, walking side by side, sleeping huddled
beneath the stars. Maybe these empty plains and quiet groves
could shelter us as they had sheltered Morozova’s herd and
keep us safe from the men who sought us.
They were foolish thoughts. Tsibeya was an inhospitable
place, a wild and empty world of bitter winters and grueling
summers. And we weren’t strange and ancient creatures who
roamed the earth at twilight. We were just Mal and Alina, and
we could not stay ahead of our pursuers forever. A dark
thought that had flitted through my head for days now finally
settled. I sighed, knowing that I had put off talking to Mal
about this problem for too long. It was irresponsible, and given
how much we’d both risked, I couldn’t let it continue.
That night, Mal was almost asleep, his breathing deep and
even, before I worked up the courage to speak.
“Mal,” I began. Instantly, he came awake, tension flooding
through his body, as he sat up and reached for his knife. “No,”
I said, laying a hand on his arm. “Everything’s all right. But I
need to talk to you.”
“Now?” he grumbled, flopping down and throwing his arm
back around me.
I sighed. I wanted to just lie there in the dark, listening to
the rustle of the wind in the grass, warm in this feeling of
safety, however illusory. But I knew I couldn’t. “I need you to
do something for me.”
He snorted. “You mean other than deserting the army,
scaling mountains, and freezing my ass off on the cold ground
every night?”
“Yes.”