I WANT HER.

A warm arm was slung around Lysander's shoulder as she leaned her head on Alina Starkov's shoulder, watching as the girl shaded in an expert drawing of the fold. Though she was tired, she couldn't get any sleep, not with the wagon full of cartographers being thrown around by the bumpy road.

"Alina," Alexei, their friend, said, looking at her paper. "How can you do that in here?"

"Bumps help with texture," she said simply before showing Lysander a better view, who simply nodded to her, letting her know it looked fantastic.

"The Fold looks different on mine," one of the other boys said. "I need to get a better view from your country."

"She grew up here. Come on!" Alexei said, shoving the boy's head to the side.

He just rolled his eyes and muttered. "The Shu Han didn't want her either."

"Well, I want her," Lysander whispered so quietly that only Alina heard her. The dark-haired mapmaker smiled and tightened her hold around Lysander, knowing she didn't care what others thought of her so long as she had Lysander at her side.

Then the leader of their unit, Petya, turned and looked at them through the small window carved at the front of the wagon, separating them from her and the driver. "Cartographers, listen up. We're almost there. Pack up and be ready to leave. And if you lose anything, you will not be getting a replacement."

Lysander moved to fill her pack with all her supplies but froze when she heard a low growling sound. It was coming from the Fold, she knew, something that haunted her nightmares. Alright, maybe just darkness in general haunted her nightmares, but she was grateful she was simply a mapmaker and would never be sent through.

Almost like she could sense her fear, Alina squeezed Lysander's hand comfortingly, who happily intertwined their fingers, always a fan of physical touch, especially when it came to Alina and Mal.

Finally, the wagon reached the camp at Kribirsk, and all of the mapmakers unloaded. Lysander drew in a shallow breath as they looked at the black mass of shadows before them, hearing the Volcra screech and seeing the odd blue lightning flash.

"We are never going to see it go away. This abomination is here forever," Alexei said, his thoughts along the same line as hers.

Raisa scoffed. "You don't go to church. A Saint who can summon the sun will destroy it," she said, walking past them.

"I'd like to see even one person who isn't scared of that," the very boy that'd been mean to Alina muttered.

"I bet I know someone," Raisa said, smirking at Alina and Lysander. "Mal. He isn't afraid of anything."

Alina just chuckled while Lysander sighed, a content smile on her face.

"You'd be surprised."

✵︎

Alina, at the age of eight, way lying in the floor next to Lysander, the younger girl struggling to draw a mountain on a piece of paper. Though Lysander wasn't exactly an artist, Alina was determined to make a cartographer out of her to help her avoid the violence of the ongoing war as much as possible.

"Alina. Lys," Mal suddenly whispered, getting their attention.

Lysander looked over her shoulder as Alina got on her knees, looking at him questioningly. It wasn't like Mal to creep and crawl around. "Mal?"

"Look what I found," he said quietly, holding his arms out.

Lysander's eyes went wide as she saw a tawny bunny rabbit in his hands. She had to suppress a squeal as she scrambled forward to get a closer look.

"Where?" Alina asked in disbelief, petting the creature along with Lysander.

"Little guy's lost. But I found some chewed plants in the woods to the east. I bet his warren's there," Mal guessed. He'd always been so good at tracking things.

"We've got to take him back then," Lysander said, running her small fingers behind the rabbits ear.

But then one of the older boys of the orphanage ran in, his glare fixed on Mal. "Why you run from me, half-breed?"

Mal ran behind Alina for safety, and she pushed Lysander behind her as well. The boy had a habit of pulling on her white hair and calling her names.

"Stay away from him," Alina warned darkly.

"Or what?" he scoffed. "You going to draw me, rice eater?"

"Or I'll cut you," she threatened.

However, Ana Kuya overheard the commotion and came into the room, interrupting the would be fight. "What's this? Who's tracked in dirt on my rug?"

Mal grabbed Lysander's sleeve and they made a break for it, leaving Alina behind so that they could save themselves and the rabbit. Ana Kuya yelled after them, clearly frustrated.

"Mal Oretsev! Lysander Karamazov!"

Though they didn't run long, Lysander was already out of breath as they hid behind a corner in the courtyard, crouching low to stay out of sight.

"Lysander? Mal? I know you're hiding here! Come out now!"

"No!" Mal shouted back. And Lysander quickly put her hand over his mouth to silence him, not wanting him to give their location away.

"Can't hide forever."

"Yes, we can!" he shot back, making Lysander smile a bit. Alina wouldn't let them hide forever — she'd miss them too much.

"All right, maybe you can," Ana Kuya muttered. "But this is what you become! A boy who hides from a fight! Get very good at it, maybe you'll survive to see twenty. Bring me a big rabbit before the dinner bell goes."

Lysander's eyes went wide as she looked at the poor rabbit. She ran her fingers over his soft fur, already mourning the creature she hardly knew.

✵︎

Alina and Lysander walked around the Kribirsk base, taking in all the sights and sounds as both First and Second Army soldiers milled around.

"Alina! Lyssa!"

Both girls turned with big smiles on their faces, hearing Mal before they saw him. Their other best friend was putting on his coat and making his way over a wooden bridge toward them, a blinding smile on his handsome face.

"When did you get in?" Alina asked him as he got closer.

"Yesterday. Everyone's getting their assignments," he explained.

"Suppose cartography's heading back south," Alina said as Mal squeezed between the two girls, slinging his arms around them.

"I found out 'cause they're putting my unit with yours again," he revealed, watching how Lysander's eyes brightened. "They're looking for a way through the mountains."

"We're all back together," Lysander said quietly, both knowing how happy that made her.

"They can't keep best friends apart for too long," Mal said, shaking her a bit.

"Corporal Oretsev, are you saying you miss us?" Alina asked jokingly.

"Well, not as much as you'd miss Lys if you were separated," he teased, noting how her cheeks went red.

The insinuation went right over Lysander's head, who was looking out ahead of them. "Oh, they moved our tent," she noted with a frown. They'd only been there for a few hours, so she didn't understand why they'd been moved.

"Yeah, it's down that end now," Mal pointed out.

"So many First Army here," Alina noted. "We look like a halfway house, accepting donations."

"Well, actually, I won't be accepting any donations because I won this betting on a fight," Mal revealed, holding up a thin wad of money.

"Look at you," Alina said, snatching the money. "Flush with five whole... kruge?
What will you do with foreign money? We're not in Ketterdam."

Lysander giggled as Mal just shrugged. "Don't crush my dreams."

"Again! Inferni!" Lysander stepped back when she felt the heat coming off an Inferni that was shooting fire at a training dummy. Several of the Grisha were out and training with their powers. "Nice. Nice. Good. Good. Again."

"This is why our tents got moved," Mal grumbled. "Grisha wanted more space."

"Ugh. Grisha," Alina scoffed.

Lysander just looked down at her hands, a frown fixed on her face. Alina and Mal would hate her if they knew what she could do. So, she clenched her fists and shoved them in her pockets, forgetting about her nearly useless summoning abilities while watching a pretty Squaller put out the fire.

"Show-offs," Alina scoffed.

"They're always picking on us when their general's not around," Mal said as the trio began walking.

Lysander didn't think of the Black General much. But she knew his tent was on the far side of camp, tucked away far from the Fold. He'd arrived that morning, and no one had laid eyes on him since he got there. Though Lysander didn't suppose milling about the camp would really help boost morale anyway.

Alina smiled bitterly. "It's like home all over again."

"It wasn't all bad. We learned some good life lessons back then," he said, making her scoff.

"Yeah? Care to share with the class?" Alina asked.

Mail began counting on his fingers. "One, don't cry in public."

"Hide your emotional breakdown for when you're alone. Obviously," Alina agreed.

"Two, always carry a weapon on you."

"Always."

"There's a third I can't remember."

"Never leave Lysander's side in times of danger," Alina said, moving past Mal to hold Lysander's hand.

"Oh, wouldn't dream of it," Mal said, grinning down at the white-haired girl.

"Open her up, we're loading!" a soldier shouted loudly.

Alina looked to their right, seeing a shiny new sandskiff that was being loaded with supplies. "That looks new."

"Brand-new. Grisha call it ultralight.
Made by their own Fabrikators. It's supposed to be faster," Mal explained.

"What happened to the last one?" Lysander asked, fearing the answer.

"Never came back," he answered grimly.

A chill ran down Lysander's spine, happy that none of them had ever experienced the Fold. Her thoughts of the dangerous place were interrupted by two men coming over to them, both cheering excitedly for Mal.

"There he is! Here we go."

"I would have made a killing on you, but nah, he refused to loan me any money, so—"

"That's because you're a child in a bigger child's body."

"You're shorter than I am."

"Okay," Mal calmed them down. "Dubrov, Mikhael, this is Alina and Lysander."

"Your little friends from Keramzin? This is them."

Alina scoffed at the title, but Lysander shrugged, thinking it was a fairly accurate term. Alina was short compared to Mal, and Lysander was even shorter.

"Little friend?" Alina repeated with an affronted scoff.

"How is that wrong?" Mal asked, raising an eyebrow. To prove his point, he raised his elbow — albeit a little higher than was comfortable for him — to rest it on Lysander's head. She laughed and gently shoved him off.

"He talks about you two all the time," Mikhael told them.

"What does he say?" Alina asked curiously.

Mikhael glanced teasingly between Alina and Lysander, hinting at it with his eyes. "Oh, well, you two are—"

"Don't listen to these two," Mal cut him off. Alina wouldn't appreciate a stranger admitting to them all that she had unaddressed feelings for Lysander. "They like to exaggerate. It's what they do."

Mikhael chuckled. "Look at him!"

"Oh, he's so easy to rile," Dubrov joked.

Then Mikhael poked Mal's cheek to get on his nerves. "Is that annoying you?"

Lysander giggled as the two began play fighting. Thankfully, Mikhael was saved from the headlock Mal got him in when the horn blew throughout the camp, signifying that all of the First Army was meant to gather.

"Saved by the horn, Mal," Mikhael said before smacking his face lightly and running off.

"Oh, I wouldn't say so," he said before running after him with Dubrov at his heels.

Making sure she had a hold on Lysander's hand, Alina took off after the boys, a grin on her face. "What does he say about us?"

✵︎

Indistinct chatter filled the tent, but Lysander didn't bother to listen into any of it. She just leaned tiredly against Mal's side, ready for a hot meal and a night of rest — not that she'd sleep well right next to the Fold.

Lieutenant Bohdan stood before all of them on the platform and didn't waste any time in starting the meeting.

"All right, listen up. I know some of you have been on the road for a week, so I'll be brief. Most of you will continue north to the Fjerdan frontlines. Or south to the Shu Han border. The Second Army, however, has a shiny new solution to our food shortage, and it sails tomorrow for Novokribirsk. If this model works, it means a full meal for everyone in this tent next week. It means bullets for your guns and sugar for your tea."

"How about some whiskey?" a soldier asked from the crowd, making most everyone laugh.

"Yes, that would be nice, but don't hold your breath," the Lieutenant said, chuckling. "Of course, they need our help bringing those supplies back, so some of you will be assigned."

Silence fell over the crowd, everyone dreading the names that would be called. Sensing her discomfort, Mal whispered jokingly. "There's nothing to fear. I will now be selecting names for what I call the 'nightmare lottery.'"

Alina sniggered while Lysander managed a small smile before paying attention once more.

"For the supply run across the Fold! Sergeant Yure Teplov. Tracker Malyen Oretsev!"

In an instant, both Alina and Lysander had their eyes on Mal, who looked just as shocked.

"Did he... But you're in our unit," Alina whispered.

"You can't go," Lysander added, tears welling in her eyes.

"It has to be an error. It has to be," Mal said, shaking his head.

"Didn't sound like an error, Mal," Alina muttered, already beginning to worry."

"And finally," Lieutenant Bohdan read off, "Medic Nolech Barenovsky and Cartographer Lysander Karamazov!"

All the color drained from Lysander's face at the order, and Alina grabbed her wrist so tightly that her nails dug into her pale skin. She held her so tightly as if she was going to disappear then and there.

"No," Alina said, beginning to feel panic creep up on her. "They - they have mapmakers on the other side. This is - this is a mistake. You can't go."

Tears welled in Lysander's eyes as she looked at Alina, fear surrounding her just like the shadows in the Fold. "I think I have to."

"Well, if it does work," Mal said weakly, trying to lighten the mood, "we'll get to visit Ketterdam."