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𝔾𝕖𝕟𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕝 𝕂𝕚𝕣𝕚𝕘𝕒𝕟

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His eye was bruised again. Why was it that every time I saw him his eye was bruised? "Reagan, your face." I stood up, walking across the forest clearing. "What happened?"

He gave a nervous laugh, rubbing the side of his arms a bit. "Combat training."

His confidence levels were still annoyingly low. Something we'd need to work on. It was sometimes odd to see so much of Alina's personality in the young boy. "Do you need a Healer?"

"I'm fine for now." He replied, taking a few steps forward. We were in the forest outside of Os Alta. I thought it would be best to train somewhere private and away from prying eyes. "Where's Tony?"

"He dropped me off here just like you told him to. Then he headed back up to the Little Palace- Isn't it dangerous to be out here?"

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, you said it yourself. Word's probably found its way to Fjerda or Shu Han. What if-"

"You have nothing to be afraid of." He looked up at me, with our identical pale eyes. "The only things anyone should fear, are you and me." I watched my words sink in before walking back to the centre of the clearing.

"I'm sorry."

His words caught me by surprise and I turned on my heel back to him. The wind blew the boy's dark hair over his face, half obscuring his injured eye. "For what?"

"For what happened in the Fold." He said, back straight, head bent to the ground. "If it weren't for me, maybe everyone would've made it." I could tell that this had been worrying him for a while, just from the way his shoulders sagged heavily and how he wouldn't meet my eye directly for more than a few seconds. I didn't blame him.

He was just thirteen, and I knew what it was like to feel the weight of your mistakes and the pressure of what you were expected to do. Alina had felt it too. She probably still felt it.

I crouched down to his level, placing my hand on his shoulder and feeling his muscles stiffen for a second then slowly relax. I sighed. Maybe one day, my own son wouldn't tense at my touch. "If it weren't for you, we never would have made it out alive," I said, remembering how the volcra had carried him into the darkness and the pride that'd swept through me as he'd summoned the Cut, saving us all without the need of my amplifying abilities. Not even Alina had been that strong without an amplifier. "Don't focus on things from the past. They'll just weigh you down."

I caught Reagan's gaze and held it steadily. I wanted him to hear my words. I wanted him to see the truth in them. I wanted him to know that I would be there to guide him from now on. "I won't leave your side ever again," I promised. "Together, we can protect all Grisha. We can free our country. End the war. But only if we do it together. Only if we trust one another." I held my hand out to him.

He bit his lower lip. Eyes flicking between me, my hand and the ground. Eventually, just when I thought he might turn and run, he took it. His skin was warm and soft. His hand was smaller than my own and I felt an almost giddy joy as I wrapped my fingers around him and led him forward. 

"Let's get started then," I said gently. "I saw you use the Cut in the Fold. Did you even know about it before then?"

Regan cleared his throat before answering, but even then his voice was a little high. "Mum told me about it. But that was the first time I'd done it, or even attempted at it."

"Would you mind showing me?" I gestured to a tree nearby. Its trunk was big and thick and its branches spread wide over the dark green moss below. I watched him carefully, as his hand slid from mine and he shook his arms in an attempt to stretch and relax them. "Calm your mind. Focus on the fine particles. They will bend to your will."

He gave a shaky breath in and out. I saw his muscles unfold before he raised his arm, eyes closed. I inhaled too. The air suddenly had a strange buzz to it. Like a new kind of energy. I could feel his power radiating off him like heat off a burning fire.

Light curled up the boy's arm in a long, bright stream. Then as his hand came down the light followed, arching forward in a straight line.

There was an ear-splitting crack and the tree split right down the middle, falling into two splintered halves. Reagan gave a shaky breath. But it wasn't like the nervous breaths he'd done before, it was the type of breath someone gave after an inburst of power. 

He looked up at me, still breathing. A small smile played at the corners of his lips. "Excellent. I've yet to even see your mother perform the Cut." That smile faded a bit at the mention of Alina. To be honest, a felt a sharp stab in my chest upon saying her name.

"I know you don't intend on destroying the Fold," Reagan said, meeting my eyes with an almost curious stare. "So... What do you intend to do with it?"

"I intend to use it,"  I spoke truthfully. "With it, our enemies will never threaten this country or our people again."

"But what about Novokribirsk?"

"They were doing exactly that. I did what had to be done. The Fold is our greatest weapon, and together you and I can harness that weapon in ways not even Alina could understand. Even without the Fold, we have power they can only dream of."

He cocked his head, hands resting at his sides. "How do you mean?"

I looked around, then back at him. He wasn't much shorter than me but still had to crane his neck to see my face. He reminded me of Alina in his Summoner's blue kefta. But my eyes traced over the black and gold embroidery. It reminded me again that he wasn't just Alina's, he was mine too. 

My son. My heir.

"Let me show you." I opened my hands, closing my eyes. I drew on my power, but it wasn't my usual power of shadows. I called upon Merzost. Magic. The same power I'd used to create Fold centuries ago. It surged through my veins and I heard Reagan's startled gasp.

My eyes flew open and I smirked at the sight of the gigantic creature looming between us. "What is that?" He swallowed, taking a step back as the shadowy creature took a step forward. 

"Don't be afraid. He belongs to me." I said stepping forward, ignoring the slight lightheadness that twitched in my head. "They're called the Nichevo'ya."

"How did you...?" His mouth hung open, speechlessly.

"It's called Merzost."

Reagan's shock and surprised only increased. "Magic?"

I nodded, still grinning. "I learnt it after taking Novokribirsk. They follow my commands, not easy to kill either. I can teach you too how to summon them." Reagan might've been smiling, but his frown returned too quickly for me to really tell.

"Isn't it wrong to use Merzost?" Those were his mother's words. I could even imagine her voice speaking them.

"It is what's necessary. With this power I was able to take back the Little Palace. And if you learn it too, we might not even require any Grisha to win this war." I looked down upon him. He was still staring at the Nichevo'ya, his hand reaching out to touch its featureless face. I breathed in.

Without needing so much as a command from me, the Nochevo'ya leaned forward. Allowing the boy to run his fingers through its darkness. I hadn't told it to. It'd done it all on its own. I smiled further as Reagan's face lit up.

Like calls to like.

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Welcome back Readers!

Sorry this chapter has taken longer than usual to post.
It's turning into exam week for me and I've been flooded with assessment.
But I'm so happy to share this chapter with you!

Please, don't forget to comment.
Your feedback always helps and gives me a sense of determination.

P.S I tried photoshopping the image above to look
like Reagan and General Kirigan.
But I know it's not very good.

Until next time...

- DawnTide