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I scanned the names:

Stepan Ruschkin, 57

Anya Sirenka, 13

Mikah Lasky, 45

Rebeka Lasky, 44

Petyr Ozerov, 22

Marina Koska, 19

Valentin Yomki, 72

Sasha Penkin, 8 months

They went on and on My fingers tightened on the reins as a cold fist closed overwith a child in her arht hihtened, sed by the panicked crowd I’d seen it all I’d made it possible

These were the people of Novokribirsk, the city that had once stood directly across from Kribirsk on the other side of the Fold A sister city full of relatives, friends, business partners People who had worked the docks and manned the skiffs, sos They’d lived on the edge of a horror, thinking they were safe in their own ho the streets of their little port town And now they were all gone because I’d failed to stop the Darkling

Mal brought his horse up beside mine

"Alina," he said softly "Come away"

I shook my head I wanted to remember Tasha Stol, Andrei Bazin, Shura Rychenko AsDid they haunt his sleep the way they haunted mine?

"We have to stop him, Mal," I said hoarsely "We have to find a way"

I don’t knohat I hoped he would say, but he remained silent I wasn’t sure Mal wanted to make me any more promises

Eventually, he rode on, but I forced le na my horse back into the deserted street

A bit of life seemed to return to Kribirsk as we moved farther away from the Fold A few shops were open, and there were stilltheir wares on the stretch of the Vy known as Peddlers’ Way Rickety tables lined the road, their surfaces covered in brightly colored cloth and spread with a jumble of merchandise: boots and prayer shaooden toys, shoddy knives in hand-tooled sheaths Many of the tables were littered hat looked like bits of rock and chicken bones

"Provin’ye osti!" the peddlers shouted "Autchen’ye osti!" Real bone Genuine bone

As I leaned over et a better look, an old man called out, "Alina!"

I looked up in surprise Did he know ed his horse close tothem a hard yank to draw me away from the table

"Net, spasibo," he said to the old man

"Alina!" the peddler cried "Autchen’ye Alina!"

"Wait," I said, twisting in et a better look at the oldthe display on his table Without the possibility of a sale, he seemed to have lost all interest in us

"Wait," I insisted "He knew rabbing the reins back froer bones Genuine Sankta Alina"

I froze, a deep chill stealing over me My oblivious horse kept steadily on

"Genuine Alina," I repeated numbly

Nikolai shifted uneasily "There are ru off parts of you all over Ravka and West Ravka for ood luck charers?"

"Knuckles, toes, frag to spot Mal, needing to see so familiar

"Of course," Nikolai continued, "if half of those were really your toes, you’d have about a hundred feet But superstition is a powerful thing"

"So is faith," said a voice behind me, and when I turned, I was surprised to see Tolya there, e black warhorse, his broad face solemn

It was all too o had vanished It suddenly see in like a trap I kicked my horse into a canter I’d always been a cluht and did not stop until Kribirsk was far behindof bones

THAT NIGHT WE stayed at an inn in the little village of Vernost, where we roup of soldiers from the First Army I soon learned that iment Nikolai had served with and eventually helped lead in the northern can Apparently, the prince wanted to be surrounded by friends when he entered Os Alta I couldn’t blaain, I noticed his dee He’d transitioned effortlessly froant prince, and now he becahed easily with his companions and knew each commoner’s name

The soldiers had a lavish coach in tow It was lacquered in pale Ravkan blue and ele on one side Nikolai had ordered a golden sunburst added to the other, and it was drawn by acontraption rumbled into the inn’s courtyard, I had to rollthe excesses of the Grand Palace Maybe bad taste was inherited

I had hoped to eat dinner alone with Mal in ether in the inn’s co by the fire in peace, ere jammed elbow to elbow at a noisy table packed with officers Mal hadn’t said a word throughout the entire h for all three of us

As he dug into a dish of braised oxtail, he ran through a seely endless list of places he intended to stop on the way to Os Alta Just listening to hi the people’ rumbled "Aren’t we in a hurry?"