Cresana's consciousness came roaring back in an instant, her lungs swelling with air before she'd registered what was happening. White dots peppered the edges of her vision as she felt her senses reawaken. She coughed on the dirt she'd inhaled with her first inhale, lifting her head off the ground she was laying on and trying to look around. In front of her and up a small incline was the unmistakable wall of the Little Palace, the faintest shadows dancing at its base. A strong wind blew around her, twisting her hair around her head and roaring in her ears.

With a backwards glance over her shoulder, she saw three men, two in grey corecloath uniforms and one in a dark blue kefta. Two Oprichniki and a Squaller. Ivan's voice resurfaced in her memory.

Ivan. Cresana saw him, standing close to her ankles, at the center of a small windstorm, his red kefta whipping around his legs and arms as he leaned against the squall. Still gasping for air, Cresana fought with her mind to force awareness.

The escape, something must have happened. We were detected, she registered, rising slowly to her hands and knees, her body feeling weak and weighed down by exhaustion. Her heart pounded almost painfully against her chest, a reminder of its beat being forcefully extinguished by Ivan moments before.

If the worst happens, I'll try to get you back as quick as I can. Get out of there, fast, don't look back. Head due east for about six days, stay off the roads. Ivan's instructions came back to Cresana's memory as her senses sharpened, her breath beginning to regulate as she pushed herself tentatively to her feet.

"The woman! Stop her!" It was the Squaller in the blue kefta who barked at one of the Oprichniki, close to Ivan's shoulder and about to strike a deathblow with his raised sword. The second Oprichniki was gasping for breath and turning a deep shade of red in front of the fire.

Cresana turned to face her assailants, her training coming back to her as she balanced deftly on the balls of her feet. She sized up the men; the Oprichniki closest to her was short but powerfully built, and his broadsword would prove dangerous to combat without her own swords.

Her swords. With a start, Cresana remembered her own blades stowed in the drawstring bag Ivan had packed in her room. With a quick glance around the scene, she saw the bag where Ivan had dropped it next to her on the ground. Its positioning was too convenient to be coincidence, and Cresana registered an appreciation for Ivan's attention to detail as she shot towards it. Her Scythe Swords were at the top, being the last item Ivan had packed, their twin hilts barely visible through the small opening at the top of the bag. In her peripheral vision, she saw the Oprichniki guard with the broadsword beginning his downward stroke towards Ivan's shoulders with enough force to separate the Heartrender's head from his neck. Immobilized by the Squaller's windstorm, Ivan had no chance to defend himself.

As Cresana's hands connected with the familiar swords, a surge of adrenaline ripped through her core, a recognizable inky darkness swimming at the edges of her vision. Cresana felt her Sun Summoning powers exploding out of her chest; the sensation was not unknown to her, but something felt different. Acting on instinct, Cresana withdrew her swords from the bag, sliding out of the horsehair cloak they'd been wrapped in, and wheeled towards the Oprichniki, her blades connecting with his broadsword just before it sliced Ivan's flesh.

An overwhelming impulse flooded Cresana's mind, and she gave herself over to it. Her powers - which usually felt like an uncontrollable eruption from her chest - scorched down the core of her arms, a strange heat building in her palms as blazing cold light coated the surface of her Scythe Swords. The strength of her light split the darkness in an eerily silent explosion, casting the men around her and her surroundings in an impossibly harsh and ghostly glare.

I can see, Cresana registered with shock, stumbling backwards slightly against the force of her powers as they radiated along the surface of her two swords. Her own bewilderment was mirrored in the expression of the Oprichniki guard with whom she'd crossed swords; his mouth hung open in a small O, his jaw going slack and his eyes squeezing shut against the blinding light.

Her training pricking impatiently at the edge of her mind, Cresana saw her opportunity in the man's momentary astonishment. With as much force as she could muster, Cresana raised her leg upwards, her foot connecting with the man's chest as she thrust against him, knocking him backwards and away from her and Ivan. The disorienting gusty wind around her faltered for an instant as the Squaller's concentration fell. Cresana felt Ivan stumble against her back as he regained his balance. She shot a glance towards the other two guards, the one under Ivan's influence now lying prone on the ground, a line of drool sliding out of his mouth; whether he was dead or just unconscious, Cresana was unsure, but it seemed Ivan had maintained his grip on the man's heart long enough to put him out of the fight.

As the other Oprichniki guard Cresana kicked came to a rough landing on his back, his head snapping back against the hard ground, she and Ivan turned in unison to face the Squaller, now standing alone against them. They'd have to make quick work of him, Cresana realized, as her light would no doubt attract the attention of anyone close enough to see it. Her swords still blazed with the force of her light, and she found that with a surge of concentration and will, she could intensify the strength of it. In her palms, the hilt of her blades felt icy hot against her skin, but it was not unpleasant. With a triumphant inhalation, Cresana realized she'd finally found a way to control her Sun Summoning. It seemed Ivan, too, had come to the same conclusion as he shot her an appreciative sideways glance before returning his gaze to the Squaller.

The man looked back and forth between Cresana and Ivan, faltering and taking a hesitant step back, his hands falling somewhat as he considered his options. The white light radiating off Cresana's swords rendered his face in severe alabaster, his pupils pin-pricked against the brightness.

"Choose your next move carefully, Arseni," Ivan urged, his hands readying to stop the man's heart. Cresana was glad to have a Heartrender standing next to her; after experiencing the intensity of Ivan's powers firsthand, she came to realize why the Darkling preferred Heartrenders for his soldiers above other Grisha. With a panicky darting glance, Arseni relaxed, raising his hands in a gesture of surrender and sinking to his knees.

Cresana felt her own body relax as she dropped her swords to her sides; her powers relaxed too, retreating from her swords' surface and back through her palms. As her powers withdrew, they sank back into the darkness of nighttime, the dancing flames of the guards' fire now the only source of light.

To her surprise, Cresana saw Ivan's hands dart in intricate patterns. An instant later, the Squaller's breathing stopped, his heartbeat locking in his chest. Cresana watched as the Squaller's eyes bulged in their sockets, a gurgling sound bubbling out of his throat as the man sank into unconsciousness and collapsed next to the other Oprichniki, still motionless on the ground. The third guard seemed to be moving cautiously from where he'd hit the ground. His movements reinforced the immediacy of escape.

"We need to get out of here," Ivan murmured to Cresana. From the Little Palace behind them, Cresana could hear the sounds of shouted voices and clanking metal. No doubt the hillside would be swarming with Grisha and Oprichniki in a few minutes, and not far behind them would be General Kirigan.

Cresana nodded, swallowing down her hard breathing, still reeling slightly from the adrenaline of battle and her own brush with Ivan's powers. Ivan stooped to grab the drawstring bag from the ground, slinging it over his shoulder and turning to Cresana with a questioning glaze.

"Let's go," she urged, following him as he led the way down the hill and towards a dark stand of trees, leaving the Little Palace behind without a backwards glance.