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"What is that?" Tolya asked, lowering hiet a closer view of the book ina bear join me for a study session

"I’m not sure I saw the name Ilya in the index, so I picked it up, but I can’t make sense of it"

"It’s a list of titles"

"You can read it?" I asked in surprise

"We were raised in the church," he said, skie

I looked at hiious hoical Ravkan "What does it say?"

He ran a finger down the words beneath Ilya’s nahspun sleeve, I could see the edge of a tattoo peeking out

"Not much," he said "Saint Ilya the Beloved, Saint Ilya the Treasured There are a fens listed, though, places where he’s said to have perforht be a place to start"

"You should explore the chapel I think there are some books in the vestry"

I had walked past the royal chapel plenty of tiht of it as the Apparat’s doone, I wasn’t sure I wanted to visit "What’s it like?"

Tolya lifted his huge shoulders "Like any chapel"

"Tolya," I asked, suddenly curious, "did you ever even consider joining the Second Army?"

He looked offended "I wasn’t born to serve the Darkling" I wanted to ask what he had been born for, but he tapped the page and said, "I can translate this for you, if you like" He grinned "Or ht," I said "Thanks"

He bent his head It was just a bow, but he was still kneeling besideabout his pose that sent a shiver upTentatively, I reached out and laid a hand on his shoulder As soon as ers cah

We stayed there for a ht Then he rose and bowed again

"I’ll be just outside the door," he said, and slipped away into the dark

MAL RETURNED FROM the hunt the next --what I’d learned froe encounter with Tolya

"He’s an odd one," Mal agreed "But it still couldn’t hurt to check out the chapel"

We decided to walk over together, and on the way, I pressed him to tellcards and drinking kvas than doing anything else And soot so drunk he passed out in the river He almost drowned His servants hauled hi so about the best way to catch trout"

"Was it terrible?" I asked, laughing

"It was fine" He kicked a pebble down the path with his boot "There’s a lot of curiosity about you"

"Why do I doubt I’ to like any of this?"

"One of the royal trackers is sure your powers are fake"

"And just hoould I e that?"

"I believe there’s an elaborate systeot a little lost"

I started to giggle

"It wasn’t all funny, Alina When they were in their cups, some of the nobles made it clear they think all of the Grisha should be rounded up and executed"

"Saints," I breathed

"They’re scared"

"That’s no excuse," I said, feeling et everything the Second Army has done for thereed with thehed and swatted at an innocent tree branch "I know"

"Anyway, I think I e that?"

"Well, they liked that you served in the First Army, and that you saved their prince’s life"

"After he risked his own life rescuing us?"

"I may have taken some liberties with the details"

"Oh, Nikolai will love that Is there "

"Why?"