As soon as I took a step inside something felt off, the usual comforting sound of Grisha and servants going about their daily business was gone, replaced by an uncomfortable silence.

The air around me seemed to still and I tensed, before I knew it I felt a strong gust of wind slam the main doors shut and throw my petite form against it, hard. Curiously enough I never felt the floor and that was probably because I never met it, my body was being held to the wall by a strong wind, whichever squaller was doing this must be drained.

As if answering my question a woman walked into view, her glossy black hair shone against her Suli skin, her arms outstretched using her abilities to pin me against the wall, unlike what I had thought she did not look drained, but she did look furious. I'd seen her before, I raked my brain for a name, one of the things I was never good at remembering, her kefta told me she was a squaller, then it hit me, Zoya.

I remembered Zina telling me about her and when we saw her and Ivan arguing from ukryt'sya. "You have some nerve showing up here," she gritted.

I didn't respond, I couldn't respond, it felt as if all the air had been pulled from my lungs and was being used against me. I tried to shift my body but she wasn't having any of it.

"Zoya?" I heard someone call, "What was that noise, I-" a Corporalki walked in on us, his eyes widening when he saw me plastered to the wall. He looked between me and Zoya, unsure, I don't blame him for not knowing what to do, I wouldn't either but eventually he raised his own hands and and made Zoya drop her arms, I went sliding down the door.

"Sergei!!" Zoya exclaimed, "I had her where I wanted," she let out a frustrated breath and walked towards me, slowly, menacingly.

Sergei placed a hand on her shoulder and looked like he regretted it when she shot him a death glare, he found his voice, "Just, breathe Zoya, we don't know what happened."

Their little conversation gave me enough time to struggle to my feet and basically collapse onto a table by the door to lean on. Both their heads snapped to me and Sergei furrowed his brows, "Dislocated," he told me, pointing to the ankle that I had landed on.

I didn't care, right now I was focused on not being fried alive by Zoya, she was dangerously angry with sparks coming off of her, had I made her that angry or was it just unfortunate timing that someone had pissed her off before this?

"May I?" He asked, inching forward. I hadn't know Sergei personally during my main time at the little palace but of what I heard he was a talented Corporalki who had a love hate relationship with an inferni named Marie.

I knew that if I tried to pop it back into place by myself I'd probably end up fracturing it so I slowly nodded.

He got down on one knee and placed the ankle upon it, Zoya watched on from where she was standing. "I'm not going to lie, this is going to hurt," he told me, it may have been my imagination but I thought I heard Zoya mumble 'good' from where she was, under her breath.

"I've been through worse," I commented, it was true, I had died and come back again but at least then I had been unconscious.

"Ok, on three," he told me. I knew this trick, he was going to pop it back in on two not three, all mediks had tried and failed to use this method on me. "One," I braced myself and caught a bit of the tall collar of my kefta in my mouth, "Two," he pushed down and tried to reduce the pain with his gift, but it didn't help much. I wouldn't scream, I wouldn't shout out in pain, I would take it in my stride and brush it off, just like everything else. He never said three.

"Liar," I groaned as he put my foot back down, he gave me a small smile.

"Talk," Zoya demanded.

"About what? The weather, idiot privateers, annoying prince's, honestly the list goes on."

Her nostrils flared, "Now's not the time to be difficult..." she paused, "What's your last name?"

I smirked, "Don't have one."

She rolled her eyes, "Everyone has a last name, what is it, Starkov?"

I grimaced, "Absolutely not, it's Rena, just Rena, nothing more, nothing less."

"How about we talk about this tomorrow?" Sergei input.

I'd never agreed with something more, "Tomorrow sounds amazing, thank you for that idea Sergei," I opened the door to go outside.

"Where do you think you're going?" They shouted after me.

I looked back, "Away from you and to find someone," I shouted back. I didn't hear if they said anything else but I was already half walking half jogging down to where I hoped I would find who I was looking for.

I didn't meet anyone on my way to ukryt'sya which was probably for the best considering Zoya's reaction, I didn't think she would be the only one like it.

I climbed up the tree to find the hide-out empty, but there were signs showing that someone had been here recently, I climbed onto one of the trees branches that was hidden from veiw if you came in by the entrance and waited, and waited, and waited.

I waited until I heard the familiar sound of the school bell in the distance and prepared myself, I didn't know what to do or say if I saw them only that I had to. I started fiddling with my hands, a nervous habit.

"-all I'm saying is that mabey we should have gone with Fredyor and the others," I heard the distinct voice of Koldan say.

"And do what? Risk being caught by the Shu? Or drüskelle?" I heard Luka scoff, "Their more prone and in danger out there."

A third set of bots climbed up into the tree and onto the makeshift flooring, "He's just scared that Rena will come back and confront him about kissing her," I heard Zina laugh, Saints did they know about that?

"Am not," Koldan exclaimed, "But if the Darkling decides to come back his first target will be the little palace."

If they found me listening in on their conversation here it would be so awkward I'd want to throw myself to the volcra, "I don't think I've ever heard you so worried, Koldan," I snickered.

They all went silent, what if coming here was a mistake. After a while Zina poked her head around the trunk of the tree, "Rena?" She squeaked.

I felt like crying, I had missed them so much, hadn't known what would happen to them, it was such a relief to see them again, "The one and only."

She pulled me from my spot on the branch and into a hug on the floor, Luka joined our hug with an equal amount of enthusiasm. I looked over to Koldan who was standing dumbfounded, staring at us, "Get over here, Egorvo," I stretched out an arm and pulled him into our group hug.

After a while they pulled away and looked at me like I might disappear at any moment, "What happened?" Luka eventually asked, "We heard you were arrested and then when they went back to the cells you were just, gone."

"It's a long story," I admitted, I didn't particularly feel like spilling all the details right now considering I'd probably have to do so tomorrow as well, knowing Zoya she won't leave me alone without getting some answers. "What happened while I was gone?" I asked them.

They looked between each other, "Alot," they all agreed.

Luka was the one to explain it all, "We were heading towards the stables when we saw the guards taking you away, we had a theory, it wasn't a very good one and I wanted it to be false with all my heart but considering the events that followed, I guess it was true."

"Theory? What theory?" I questioned.

"We overheard some of the palace servants talking," Zina continued, "They were talking about the king's 'illness' that left him bedridden for quite sometime. Well, apparently it wasn't an illness, he was poisoned. How? No one knows for certain, but the person that got the blame was that tailor, Genya."

I almost choked on the air I was breathing, I didn't want to believe Genya was capable of such a thing, but hadn't she been in the cells with me?

"After that the king had someone dig into the ongoing's of Genya and the little palace as a whole," Koldan took over, "They came back with evidence that the Darkling moved the shadow fold into Novokribirsk."

We all remained in silence for a time while they let me take it all in, "Impossible," I said under my breath, more to myself and them, I didn't want to believe it, "But I thought that the black heretic created the fold?"

Luka shrugged, "Mabey it's a blood thing, he's a descendant of the heretic with the same power so mabey he can control it, mabey you can too," he said the last part quietly but we all heard it.

But something was still nagging me at the back of my head, "It's just- if he did do it, surely he isn't stupid enough to leave any evidence," they looked at me warily, "I'm not supporting his actions, it's just that, it seems very out of character for him to leave evidence behind."

To my surprise Koldan nodded, "That's what I thought, but he is still human, and we all make mistakes." Not him I thought, he doesn't make mistakes, only calculated decisions.

You can all thank and their sneeky excuses for this chapter.

Also guess who saw Marvels Eternals yesterday, this idiot writer right here, #MakkariAndDruig4Life if you say anything else your wrong, end of.

~Sarah (PoshStarfish775)