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"Redemption," he murmured "Salvation Penance My mother’s quaint ideas Perhaps I should have paid closer attention" He reached into the desk and drew out a slender red volu on its cover: Istorii Sankt’ya "Do you knohat this is?"

I frowned The Lives of Saints A diiven o at the Little Palace I’d thrown it in the drawer of ht

"It’s a children’s book," I said

"Have you read it?"

"No," I ad me too closely What could be so is?

"Superstition," he said glancing down at the cover "Peasant propaganda Or so I thought Morozova was a strange man He was a bit like you, drawn to the ordinary and the weak"

"Mal isn’t weak"

"He’s gifted, I grant you, but no Grisha He can never be your equal"

"He’sshook his head If I hadn’t known better, I ht have mistaken the look on his face for pity "You think you’ve found a faroerful, and he will grow old He will live his short otkazat’sya life, and you atch hiht your true nature All the while, your country suffers"

"Because of you!"

"Because I put ht of her own potential" He rose and rounded the desk Despiteinto the chair behind me

"I knohat you feel when you’re with the tracker," he said

"I doubt that"

He gave a disrow I know the truth in your heart The loneliness The growing knowledge of your own difference" He leaned in closer "The ache of it"

I tried to hide the shock of recognition that went throughabout," I said, but the words sounded false to roorse, no matter how many scarves you hide behind or what lies you tell, no matter how far or how fast you run"

I tried to turn away, but he reached out and took hold ofme to look at him He was so close I could feel his breath "There are no others like us, Alina," he whispered "And there never will be"

I lurched away fro my balance I pounded on the door withlooked on He didn’t coistered Ivan’s hand atus pass, then the quiet ofbehind h fabric as I pressedto drive the Darkling’s words fro life before me The pain of otherness that would never ease Each fear sank intodeep into my heart

I kneas a practiced liar He could fake any e But I couldn’t deny what I’d felt in Novyi Ze had shown , reflected back to ed aboard the whaler The crew had grown restless and watchful, the slight to their captain still fresh in their st theh the waters of the Bone Road

Each day, the Darkling had ht above deck to stand beside hiuarded at the other end of the ship Sos to Sturesture to what looked like deep scratches just above the waterline on the large ice shelves we passed

I peered at the rough grooves Theyat all Still, I’d seen what Mal was capable of in Tsibeya When ere tracking the stag, he had shown ns that seemed obvious once he pointed them out but that had been invisible moments before The crewht conteone, the Darkling would parade h the hatch directly in front of Mal We weren’t peraze, to tell hiht, but I could see his fury and desperation growing, and I was powerless to reassure hiht ered, and before I could pull away, he let his hand graze the srip of his Grisha guards that kept hi

"Three more days, tracker"

"Leave her alone," Mal snarled

"I’ve kept ain She’s still unharmed But perhaps that isn’t what you fear?"

Mal looked frayed to the point of snapping His face was pale, his mouth a taut line, the ainst his bonds I couldn’t bear it

"I’’s knife "He can’t hurtlooked fro fissure within him "Don’t worry, tracker You’ll knohen our deal is up" He shovedwords to Mal--"I’ll be certain you hear it when I make her scream"

THE WEEK WORE ON, and on the sixth day, Genya woke athered hhad decided to cut short ood on this threats

But Genya was bea on the soles of her feet, practically dancing as she helped me from the bunk "The tracker says we’re close!"

"His nanored her stricken look

Can it be true? I wondered as Genya led me above Or did Mal siray light of earlyout at the water while the Squallers worked the winds, and Stured the sails above