It was rare that Alina was not the most dangerous of any particular group. The few exceptions being Baghra, Aleksander and her current companion, Mila Tarasova; Heartrender, interrogator, skilled spymaster of the Ravkan court, and overall terrifying presence.

"So the people we're meeting - " Alina started, as they walked uphill towards the large estate, built in the traditional style. Even at this hour, long after the sun had gone in, the air was hot and sticky. Shu Han was much warmer than Ravka, especially in the height of summer. Something to do with the mountains, jetstreams and ocean currents, though Alina hadn't listened enough in lessons to know in any detail. Either way, especially since her hair was all piled under her hat to hide the white streak, she was sweating buckets.

"The Taivshral," Mila cut in. Her voice was not particularly loud, nor sharp, but always managed to be heard regardless. It gave as little away as the impenetrable expression on her face. The woman was always too still and did not blink nearly often enough. Alina sometimes wondered if she was just pretending to be human; if so, she was not doing a very good job.

"The Taivshral," She bit back her instictive response. "Are a network of renegade Shu Grisha who have been smuggling captive Grisha to Ravka and Novyi Zem for the past twenty years?"

"Their focus is smuggling. They have also been breaking Grisha out of low-security facilities, as well as ambushing them in transit. Increasingly so in the past few years,"

"And whoever lives here leads them?" Alina said, doubtful. "Surely any Grisha living this well would be a prime target?"

"No otkazat'sya know that Lord Khulan is Grisha. His father kept him safe until his death, by which time he was old enough to hide his powers himself. But Khulan was always sympathetic to the plight of those whose families gave them up the moment their gifts showed. He plays the respectable lord and merchant in public but operates the Taivshral in secret, using his business as a cover to smuggle Grisha out,"

She had to respect that. "How hostile are they to Ravka? Seeing as I am who I am,"

The woman smiled a close-lipped smile that came across more sinister than warm. "A living, breathing symbol of Ravkan military strength, religion, hopes and dreams? I doubt they will be too hostile. If any Grisha want to go to the Little Palace, they help them over the border. Certain members may believe you are seeking out potential members of the Second Army. You might get some trouble. But they've known me for years, and know I'm not there to recruit, just to spy, and not on them. They're a valuable source of information,"

"So what is the job you need me for, then?"

Mila considered her answer, an amused tilt to her lips. "That, I think I will explain later. For now, know that your... talents make you the perfect candidate. Powerful enough to not get killed, gifted with invisibility, and reckless enough to go along with a plan others may call suicide. And I can trust you to keep your mouth shut - even to him, if necessary,"

No need to question who 'he' was.

Alina grinned. "Got it. If I was concerned he put you up to this to get me back on board, I'm not anymore. He'd kill you for putting me in this much danger,"

"He would be convinced back to reason after that... emotion had run its course," Mila spoke of emotion as something she had only observed from afar.

She just laughed, pushing her luck. "And if was to put Aleksandra Bolshevika in that amount of danger? Would you want to kill me? Or is that foolish emotion too? I notice she's nowhere near any of this, even though I know you've been working with her this whole time,"

"My business is my business, Starkova,"

"Says the spymaster. You're a professional snitch,"

Mila let out the faintest scoff as they neared the servant's door of the large building, which Alina viewed as an achievement. "You've changed, in your time away, but not enough," She knocked on the door, glancing over her shoulder. "Pretend to be mute to the otkazat'sya, as you don't speak a word of their language. You look just about Shu enough to pass," Just about?

"You don't look Shu at all," Alina pointed out. "Your hair is dark, but that's about it. You're also as pale as a corpse,"

"I speak Shu with a Kaelish accent," That was said in the same way another might say that they could make their own bed. Mila Tarasova was not Kaelish. She was not anything but Ravkan. To be not only fluent in a language, but fluent enough to speak with an accent not of that land nor of your own... Again, frightening. Sun-deprived as the woman was, she could claim to be from the Wandering Isle without raising any eyebrows.

"Of course you do," She rolled her eyes. "Fine then. I'm a mute, for now,"

Mila smiled. "It will be a shock for you, I'm sure,"

The doors opened before Alina could retort. A servant spoke with Mila in rapid Shu, and when the woman responded, they were shown inside a warm, lantern-lit kitchen, the embers of the cooking fire dying in the hearth. The servant did not stop here, leading them into a narrow wooden stairwell, which creaked noisily under their feet, up into the house. Emerging from the servants' stairs into a lavish corridor, their guide stopped outside one particular door and knocked, once. A noise of assent from within, and the door was opened for them, the servant gesturing for them to enter. Mila did so without hesitation, Alina following her, as the door was closed behind them.

They had stepped into a gentleman's study with a distinctly Shu style, from the art on the walls to the furniture to the windows. A bearded man in his fifties was sat on one side of a desk. He had a hard face but kind eyes, and got to his feet in greeting with an air of calm authority. A much younger man of around Alina's age lounged to his right, and did not bother to stand, fixing them with a lazy smile, though his stare was assessing.

"Mila Tarasova," The older man said in accented Ravkan. "A pleasure to see you again - for your skills if not your company," The wry tone made Alina's lips twitch. "We may speak in your own tongue tonight - myself and my son Qara are both fluent,"

"A pleasure, Khulan Yul-Chaghatai" Mila cast an almost careless glance over his son. "If you speak a word to anyone of what is said here tonight, boy, there is nowhere I won't find you,"

The young man barely blinked. In fact, his smile grew more amused. That was unwise. Alina knew his type; good-looking enough, rich enough, with enough lucky escapes under his belt, to think he was invincible.

"Saints, do you know how to not terrify potential allies?" She said to take him down a peg, enjoying the anger flashing across his face at the implication he was scared. Alina took one of the empty seats in front of the desk without invitation. It had been a long two day's journey from the coastal town Bhez Jhu, where the Volkvolny had come into port, to the small town inland where Khulan's manor lay. Her friends were staying in the town in a shabby-looking inn, awaiting her return.

As the Heartrender sat down on the chair beside her, her blank stare turned upon Alina. "Terror is a necessary tool. What I came here for has the potential to be the most dangerous situation the Grisha of both Ravka and Shu Han have ever known,"

Well that told her. A heavy silence followed Mila's words.

"Do explain," Khulan said, eyebrow raised.

"My intelligence in Shu Han runs deep," Mila began. "My spies are everywhere. We do what we can for the plight of the Grisha here, as, I am sure, do you. The past few months, there have been whispers of something more dangerous in the laboratories, a new weapon that Shu scientists are developing. But," Her face twisted into a tight grimace for a brief second, which made Alina sit up and pay attention more than anything she had said so far. "Our intelligence on what this weapon is is... limited," She evidently took that personally. "Which tells us how potentially devastating it is. We need eyes in the heart of the highest security labs, where my spies have never come out from alive. Whatever this project is, I want it destroyed,"

"Your words are concerning," Khulan granted, not committing anything yet. "I agree with the need for investigation. But how do you plan on doing this? The labs you are talking about - I assume the big five?"

A sharp nod from Mila.

Khulan continued, frown deepening. "- are a death sentence for all Grisha who enter. If you are looking for our assistance in getting in, we can offer advice," He glanced to the young man to his left. "However, I cannot offer any way out. And I will not risk any of my people in a suicide mission,"

"We have a way in, and a way out," Mila threw a careless gesture at Alina, drawing the disbelieving eyes of the men onto her. "From you, I merely need what was requested. Someone familiar with the layout of the laboratories, and well-versed in both Small Science and the butchery the Shu called science,"

Her unblinking stare turned to the young man, who was evidently not content to sit there like an ornament all evening. He interrupted Mila, holding up a hand. "No, no. Stop for a moment. You said this girl can get in and out of labs like Saaral-Khana like it was nothing," Despite the fact he still lounged in her chair, his eyes bored into Alina like he could uncover all her secrets if he stared hard enough. Alina responded with a wink, that made his jaw clench in irritation.

"Getting in and out of Tomor-Uul would be nothing to her, never mind Saaral-Khana," Mila said. It was a fact, not a compliment. Alina had actually heard of Tomor-Uul; the most dreaded laboratory in Shu Han, where the darkest and most sensitive of government secrets were kept, where the most brutal experiments on Grisha occurred. "Going through stacks of records and lab reports for subtle intelligence, however, would be far beyond her even if she did read Shu,"

"Thanks," Alina said.

"Am I wrong?" Mila raised an eyebrow. "Your usual remit is a glorious, noisy rescue, I believe?"

"You mean this is not a rescue?" The young man said with a note of accusation in his tone, sitting up straight, all traces of that lazy smile gone. "You're telling us you somehow have an easy way in and out of places we wouldn't be able to crack ourselves in a hundred years, yet would rather leave innocent Grisha trapped in there to be tortured?"

"Qara," Khulan shot him a warning glance.

Mila continued smoothly. "If we alert them to our presence by rescuing captives, security will increase even further around the project. I doubt most scientists working in these places are even aware of its existence, only a select inner circle across Shu Han. Subtlety is key - another reason why I cannot send in Alina alone,"

Qara's sharp eyes narrowed at her in recognition. "Alina? You mean - ?"

Bored of introducing herself - and being unable to do so without sounding like an self indulgent fool - Alina just summoned a ball of light to her palm, ignoring the intake of breath from the other two, then with a flick of her fingers turned invisible and back again.

"I suppose that changes matters," Khulan said after a moment's silence.

"Alina Starkova," Qara had dropped all pretence of being careless, and now sat forward on his chair, his stare once again doing its best to burn a hole through Alina's head. "The Sun Summoner," He glared at Mila. "Do you even understand her potential to help us? You would keep her from saving countless lives?"

"Mila Tarasova is not my keeper," Alina cut in with a sharp smile. "I am here by request, not by command. Speak to me, not of me,"

The young man did not miss a beat, appraising her without hesitation. "Very well. You would rather chase vague ghosts of possible catastrophe, than rescue hundreds of innocent people from a brutal, undeserved death?"

Mila's stare was almost palpable; she knew this impassioned argument had a strong chance of working. "Think, Alina," She warned. "You raid one lab, and the others are immediately on guard. They know the Sun Summoner is in Shu Han, and know exactly what you can do. They can prepare for you. As someone closely affiliated with the Ravkan throne - which you are, no matter if you want to be or not, no matter what faces you pull at me - it would also be a violation of the treaty signed. Shu Han would be within their rights to attack again. They would not win against the Fold, of course, but the destroyed border villages and young men and women torn once again from their families would weigh on your conscience, I am sure?"

"Saints, you had that one prepared," Alina said, though was rather glad for it. Her morals had been uncomfortably twisted by Qara's questions. "I haven't said a word of support for him, yet. Although, out of curiosity, why was what I did in Fjerda any different?"

That caught Qara's attention. "What did you do in Fjerda?"

"Brutally killed a lot of Druskelle,"

The young man looked almost impressed.

"What you did in Fjerda," Mila said. "Made it to being argued on the floor of the throne room of the Grand Palace,"

Alina laughed. "I hope it gave him a headache,"

"The Tsar," Mila spoke over her. "Was able to turn it on the Fjerdan ambassador. They were violating the terms just as much as you were. There was no proof of your involvement, besides. They knew those men were missing, and suspected you, but your little unit has grown more effective since you were fifteen. No reports made it back to Djerholm from any survivors,"

She shrugged. "Fair enough. Also, what do you mean that subtlety is another reason you can't send me in alone? I can turn myself invisible!"

"You are reckless, impulsive and prone to overextending yourself," The woman said, unapologetic. "Invisibility is your only contribution to the subtlty of the operation. I need someone with you who is experienced not only in scientific matters, but filing systems and the layout of many laboratories. I need someone who will be cautious where you are not, who will temper your idiocy and act as a survival instinct for both of you,"

Alina looked doubtfully at the young man sat across the table from her, who had all but laughed in Mila Tarasova's face. "Him?"

His father evidently shared her doubts. "Qara is not one to be cautious,"

The young man scowled. "This plan needs me to agree to it, you know," He said, clenching his jaw, turning to his father. "After all I've done, working for that monster - " He broke off, something in his tone that gave her pause.

"Which monster is this?" Alina asked delicately, turning his glare onto her.

"I'm apprenticing to Ulagan Yul-Sukh, one of the top scientists in Shu Han," He said with a slight sneer. "I have not subjected myself to witnessing atrocities on other Grisha for a year - and not done a thing to help - to throw it all away for this half-baked plan in the aid of Ravka," He spat her country's name like a slur.

Alina had brushed him off as a spoilt rich boy looking to play hero; in reality, he was also an essential spy who must have seen terrible things and been unable to step in. "Fair enough," Mila's stare snapped onto her, but she spoke first. "Then let's not throw it away. I assume we will be working eastwards?" Mila paused then nodded once. "Making Tomor-Uul the last?" The infamous place was built into one of the vast Eastern Mountains. "Would it be possible to organise a strike on all of the big five, the day we get into Tomor-Uul? They wouldn't have time to increase security if they were all broken on the same day, and we'd have already searched them for what we need. If we go first, marking weaknesses and planting seeds, we could give you a way in. And on that final day, they all go down together,"

Qara was staring at her, now, mouth open slightly in incredulity, though his lips fast curled into a smile that lit up his whole face. "That's insane. Truly insane," He turned to Khulan, unmistakable eagerness shining in his eyes. "Could we do it?"

He hesitated. "If you can find us a way in - that doesn't require invisibility to enter and leave without dying - I believe we could bring together enough people to attempt it..." He still sounded doubtful. "If we took them by surprise, perhaps,"

Then Mila spoke. "Guards and scientists will have the luxury of drinking water whenever they please - bathing, too. Captives only get a limited ration at the beginning of the day and rarely get to wash. Contaminate the water source with a poison that needs a high dose to have an effect, one that is absorbed through the skin, and you'll cripple the building,"

Silence greeted that, and Alina was reminded exactly why Mila Tarasova held the position she did.

They spent much of the night in that study, poring over blueprints of various laboratories that were the result of the intelligence Qara had already gathered. It was the early hours of the morning before Alina was shown to a guest chamber to sleep, but by that point they had a rough plan for how Alina and Qara would get into each lab - it helped that he had been to all of them before - and possible ideas for the insanely ambitious attack on the day they broke into Tomor-Uul.

Exhausted, Alina fell asleep the moment her head hit the pillow. The bed here was far softer than the ground had been the past two nights, as well as the tiny cot in her cabin on the Volkvolny. She awoke an hour or so before noon and almost had a heart attack upon seeing Mila Tarasova standing over her.

"Get up, Starkova," The woman said, even as she groaned and pulled the covers up higher. "You and Qara Yul-Khulan need to trust each other for this to have a hope of working,"

Half an hour later, having dressed and eaten a hasty breakfast, she found herself stood in front of the young man, both of them eyeing each other with no small amount of skepticism.

"I'm going into the town," She said. "I need to talk to my friends before we leave,"

He rolled his eyes but did not object. Alina bit back the sharp comment that was on the tip of her tongue, and they set off through the extensive grounds of the estate, back the way she and Mila had come the night before.

"Do you really think you're a living saint?" Was the first thing he asked, disdain colouring his tone. "Because I won't entertain any delusions of divinity. The gods wouldn't do anything as human as live and die amongst men,"

Alina grinned. "Good. I'm a Grisha, not a saint,"

That seemed to surprise him. "Ravka's golden darling is at least somewhat down to earth, then,"

"Golden darling?" She raised an eyebrow. "Where did you hear that one?"

An amused smirk threatened to break through, but Qara hid it quickly behind a scowl. "Around," A pause. "I sent word to Yul-Sukh that I am sick with something nasty and contagious, so he won't expect me to attend with the other apprentices for a few months,"

"You must be glad to have a break from it," She said carefully. "If this can be called a break,"

"It is worthwhile work I do," He glared at her, as though she'd said otherwise. "My knowledge has allowed the Taivshral to break into several smaller laboratories and rescue captive Grisha,"

"That's not what I said. Seeing what goes on in places like that can't be easy,"

"As if you'd have any idea," He sneered. "Shut in a palace your entire life, sat on a silk cushion. I spent my life hiding what I am from everyone except my father. You never had to hide,"

Her magnanimous mood soured. "You grew up here," She said flatly, gesturing to the huge house behind them. "It's practically a palace," He had no answer to that but a glare, and she sighed, offering an olive branch. "What are you, anyway?"

"Healer. Like my father,"

That was something, she supposed. At least Mila had given her someone whose powers complemented her own. "How strong are you?"

"The best most Grisha have met,"

"Hm. We'll test that at some point,"

He clearly did not appreciate her doubt, grabbing her arm. "You might get away with sneering at people in Ravka, where people kiss the ground you walk on, but here that is not the case. Treat me with respect, Sun Summoner,"

Alina laughed in his face, drawing herself up to her full height, which was not much less than his. In one well-practiced movement, she had twisted Qara's arm enough to break his grip, shoving him off balance. As he staggered back from her, she rounded on him. "You are nothing more than an arrogant rich boy who has seen his first taste of everyday suffering and taken it as a badge of honour. While you spent your childhood hiding away, I learned to be a soldier. I could bring you to your knees without summoning a flicker of light. You're going to have to earn my respect, rather than just demand it,"

To his credit, he did not look afraid. In fact, he laughed right back at her. "Whatever you think of me, I'm the one you're going to have to rely on to do the actual work of uncovering this new weapon. Something I am still not especially inclined to do, as it involves throwing away the chance to free hundreds of captive Grisha for the sake of a few poxy lab reports,"

"I saw your face when I mentioned striking the big five all at once," Alina said. "You wouldn't dare pass up that opportunity, no matter how insane it sounds,"

That made Qara pause. "True enough," He granted, anger diffusing slightly. "It was a good idea," There was a pause before he spoke next. "You clearly have Shu blood - why can't you speak a word of our language?"

She considered that. "My mother never spoke it with us as children, for fear of our neighbours. Me and my brother were more worried about fitting in with the Ravkans who scorned us for our eyes than sparing a thought for her culture," She paused. "It seems like more of a disconnect now I'm here, though,"

Qara frowned. "Your eyes aren't typically Shu. We usually have a golden-brown colour, like mine. Your dark eyes are more uncommon,"

"Funny," Alina said, with a bitter laugh. She hadn't known that. "Try telling that to the people of the Ravkan border village where I was born," That earned an odd look from the young man. "What?"

"We hear a lot about you in Shu Han," He said. "People say all kinds of things. We don't believe you are a saint, here, of course, but that amount of power... It's strange, being in front of the Sun Summoner and realising you are just a person who was born somewhere, with a mother and father,"

It's strange realising you're a person. "Alina," She said, smile fading. "Call me Alina. I am a person, not a concept,"

Qara assessed her for a moment, before seeming to take her words on board.

"Very well," He held out his hand for her to shake. It was smooth, that of a aristocrat, not a soldier. "Nice to meet you, Alina," Despite the sarcasm in his voice, she found herself grinning.

"I wish I could say the same,"

He snorted at that, granting her a grudging smile.

By now, they had reached the edges of the town. Alina wore the clothes of a common Shu otkazat'sya, having bought the garments in Bhez Jhu, with her hair braided and tucked under a hat, whilst he wore the clothes of a Shu gentleman. They made an odd pair, and attracted several searching looks from the townsfolk, though Qara either did not notice or did not care.

She met Zoya, Nikolai, Mal, Nina, Kasper, Katya and Viktor in one of their rooms at the inn. Qara made as though to sit in the common room downstairs and get a drink, but she grabbed his arm and pulled him up the stairs with her, with a sharp smile.

"No, no. Not so fast. Mila and your father said we have to get to know each other. So you can come and meet my friends,"

"Who's this?" Zoya asked the moment they entered, her critical eyes falling onto him. Viktor muttered something to Nina and Nikolai where they were all lounging on one of the beds. Alina didn't catch what he said, but from how they all snorted with laughed, it was no doubt inappropriate.

"Qara Yul-Khulan," She introduced with a flourish. "He's to replace all of you. According to Mila Tarasova, anyway,"

"Yes, what did she want with you?" Kasper asked, curious.

"I can't tell you,"

"But you're going to anyway?" Mal asked with a grin.

"No, for once," She said, not missing the shared looks of confusion. "I know you can keep a secret, but all I can tell you is that there's a change of plan," They had intended to come here and cause trouble, freeing as many captive Grisha as they could. "Myself and this charming gentleman," She gestured to Qara, who sneered. "Are doing some highly secret work in some very dangerous places. We have to avoid drawing any attention to ourselves. No one can know the Sun Summoner is in Shu Han,"

"How long is this secret work going to take?" Zoya asked, suspicious.

"No longer than three months," The previous night, they had worked out how long it would take to get to each location. Mila would send someone to debrief them after each one, and update the plan as necessary. Meanwhile, the Taivshral would gather its resources and train for the day they would break all of the big five at once.

There was a silence.

"I don't know about all of you," Nikolai said. "But this sounds like good news. We can be real tourists for a few months. I've always wanted to tour Shu Han,"

"Except none of us are Shu," Katya pointed out. "The moment anyone hears us speaking Ravkan, there will be trouble,"

"Just do what we did yesterday," Nina shrugged. "I'm fluent enough to speak Shu with a Kerch accent," Of course you are. "You all speak passable Kerch. So long as Mal keeps his mouth shut, everyone will think we're tourists from Ketterdam,"

Zoya, however, was still staring at Qara. "You are Grisha, aren't you?"

"Of course I'm Grisha," He scoffed at her. "Do you need me to slice myself open and heal it to prove it to you?"

Zoya's lip curled. "This one's delightful, Alina. Do you trust him?"

"Barely know him," She said easily.

"Saints, please don't get yourself killed," Mal said.

"Believe it or not, Malyen, that isn't my intention,"

*

They left her friends shortly after, stopping back at the manor house only to pick up supplies and horses before setting off towards the south-west. Time was of the essence; Mila did not want to give the Shu any more time than necessary to develop this weapon any further.

"I'll need to get a feel for how you move," Alina said as they rode, rolling her eyes at the young man's raised eyebrow. "If I'm distracted, I don't want to have to focus on keeping the invisibility up,"

"And how do you get a feel for how I move?" He asked, smirking, no doubt to fluster her.

Pig. In that case, Alina could one-up him."Why, I have to take you to bed, of course," She said, making his eyes widen and his mouth drop open slightly. Then she snorted. "Don't get your hopes up. Seeing you run will do,"

He shot her a wide, false smile to cover that she'd caught him out. "That wasn't hope you saw, it was horror. You're as flat as a boy,"

She laughed. "Charming, you are," Alina changed the subject. "Can you fight? Be honest. I'd rather find out now if I need to babysit you than when we're in the middle of a life-or-death situation,"

"Have you never heard that the nobility are a warrior class?"

"Yes, I've heard those lies. In Ravka, most of the nobility sits miles back from the front lines whilst sending out braindead orders. I can't imagine Shu Han is so different,"

"It's not," That seemed to amuse him. "I'm a good shot, if that's what you're asking. But I'm a Healer, not a soldier. I've never fought with powers," Like she was an idiot for thinking otherwise.

Alina sighed. "This is why Corporalki shouldn't specialise early on. Every Healer in the Second Army knows how to fight. You can open up the body as well as put it back together,"

That seemed to actually disturb him. "That is a grotesque perversion of our gifts,"

"But it might save your life," She pointed out, though that clearly did not convince him. "Can you fight hand-to-hand?"

"Why on earth would I want to do that?"

Great. "How's your survival instinct?"

"Next to none,"

Alina smiled sharply. "Good. Our backup plan involves me blowing the whole building sky high, if the situation demands,"

He snorted at the last claim, clearly thinking she was joking.

*

Ulaan-Khad was on the western coast of Shu Han, south of Bhez Jhu. The place was named after the red cliffs it was built upon, and despite being one of the five high-security laboratories they were to target, it was perhaps the lowest risk. A good place to start.

"It's hard," Qara said from horseback as they took it in from a distance, uncharacteristically solemn. "Seeing all the captives and not lifting a finger to help them. Just to warn you,"

Alina had been thinking the same thing. "Especially when we could. Quite easily," But Mila wanted them unnoticed, so as not to raise the alarm.

A pause.

"You won't see the worst of it tomorrow," Qara said. His tone did not waver, but equally he was avoiding looking at her. "The records are kept separate from the wet labs and the cells. Obviously. Wouldn't want them getting messy,"

"Did he make you do - " She broke off.

"No," He answered anyway. "None of the apprentices were trusted to work on live subjects. We watched, though. And got to practice on dead ones," A hollow laugh. "I threw up, the first time. I wasn't the only one. Even the people who wanted to be there, wanted to learn, realised it was very different in person. Seeing, hearing, smelling a person come apart. Grisha look human, you see - I don't think they realised that before. Though they get desensitised soon enough,"

"Did you?"

"Outwardly," He seemed to catch himself being vulnerable and his irritating bravado was back. "Now let's stop staring at it and find somewhere to sleep for the night," Qara was the picture of the sneering, cocky aristocrat's son, though underneath that there was the same deadly focus he had regarded her with in his father's study. Despite his (numerous) faults, he truly did care about the plight of Grisha, when he easily could have hidden away in his father's estate and played at being a lord and merchant.

It was ridiculously easy to get in, considering this place was meant to be impenetrable. Qara was more than familiar with the official entrances, and Alina simply turned them in invisible and walked right in after someone else. They walked in silence down corridor after corridor, his hand on her wrist to guide her as she (of course) couldn't see him. Occasionally they would have to flatten to the wall as a worker walked past them, but that was the greatest threat they faced.

"I hate that smell," Qara murmured as they passed the door to the wet lab area. "Carbolic soap, formaldehyde, blood and desperation,"

Lovely. Alina tried to breath as little as possible until they left that far behind them.

After a while, they reached the records room, which was thankfully empty. She kept watch whilst Qara went through files and files of records and lab reports, searching for the words Mila had suggested, and any others that might be relevant. It was strange, seeing him as the academic he had been trained as long before he'd started spying on Ulagan Yul-Sukh, all pretences dropped.

"It's easy to lose perspective," He said after a while. "These papers contain horrific stories of pain and suffering for people like me and you, but they are reported so coldly and clinically. And, worst of all, the findings are interesting. If repulsive,"

"How much longer will you need?" These rooms were not visited often, according to him, but Alina was wondering when they would be interrupted.

"I'm about halfway through," Qara said, smirking when she groaned. "Gods, have some patience, Starkova,"

"I've never had patience," She replied, starting to pace up and down. "And when I've tried to, it hasn't gone well,"

It was with great relief that his finger stopped over one particular paper.

"Here," He said with quiet certainty, getting Alina's attention. "This is a receipt record of sorts. It mentions 'the weapon', but is incredibly vague about what that might be. There's parts of it blacked out, redacted, so none of the scientists here actually know what it is. They're just responsible for taking in shipments of... jurda?" He frowned. "What? Yes, they're ordering huge amounts of jurda from Novyi Zem, and sending them on,"

"Jurda?" Alina frowned. "What, the leaves that everyone in Novyi Zem chews?"

"Yes," Qara said, honestly confused. "Hold on," He rifled through the file some more. "I caught a glimpse of something earlier, but brushed over it - why would jurda be important? - here!" He pulled out a letter. "This is to the head of this laboratory from Amhrat Jen, denying his request for information concerning the weapon and the jurda shipments. No one here is authorised to know. Interesting. Ulaan-Khad is third only to Tomor-Uul and Saaral-Khana in terms of the state secrets they're trusted with. Your spymaster is right. They've got something big,"

That was ominous.

"Any chance of there being anything else useful here?" Alina asked, hoping the answer was no.

"I can try and find when the jurda shipments first started," Qara continued to shuffle through the folder of records. "It seems to have begun half a year ago, and they're taking in shipments every other week. Shipments that are getting bigger each time," He paused to write all this down in his notebook, as Alina shifted her feet in impatience. "They get sent collected from here, they don't even have to send them on anywhere. They really don't know anything at all here,"

"It's better than nothing, I suppose," Alina said, continuing with some sarcasm. "At least we know that the deathly, dangerous plant jurda is involved,"

Qara snorted. "Well, I've copied the records, and I've been putting everything back as I went. Now for the love of my gods and your saints, get me out of here,"

Her eyes lit up. "Finally. If I'd known how dull this would all be, I might have thought twice,"

"What, are you hoping for a firefight?" He scoffed.

"Yes,"

*

Their raid on Ulaan-Khad went with scarcely a hitch. After leaving the records room, they set about doing the second part; investigating the water source for the staff and how the Taivshral might get in without being gunned down at the door. Part of Qara hadn't believed they would be able to get in and out so easily, having witnessed the security at that place first-hand, but Alina had acted like she did this kind of this every day. They hadn't found much that was especially useful for Tarasova's project, but it gave them an idea of what to look for next time, and was good practice for the laboratories that actually mattered.

Nonetheless, they still rode well into the evening to get far from Ulaan-Khad, stopping at an inn only when it became too dark to continue riding. It was him who spoke to the innkeeper, of course.

"Two rooms for the night, please,"

"You don't want to share with your wife?" The woman waved a hand at Alina.

"She's my sister, not my wife," He said, glad the girl could not understand Shu.

"Oh. We only have one room left, sir," The innkeeper admitted, regretful. "A cheap one, too," Evidently his upper class accent was recognisable.

"That will have to do," His legs ached from riding for hours; the day had been exhausting. Alina would simply have to cope.

He handed over the money and was given a key. The woman showed them upstairs with a tray carrying two bowls of warm leftovers, and left with a promise that breakfast would be served the next morning.

"You've got to be joking," He said the moment the door closed behind her, glancing around the cramped room. Which only had one bed.

Alina, on the other hand, didn't bat an eye. "What?"

"This was the last room left. I'd wanted to get two, but now we're stuck with this," It was cramped, with a low ceiling, barely room to move around the double bed.

She just laughed. "Don't be such a snob. My parents, my brother and me slept in a room this size until I was nine. And there definitely wasn't a bed,"

"Feel free to sleep on the floor then," He said snidely, though part of him wanted to ask what peasant hellhole she had apparently grown up in.

"What a gentleman," Alina said, dumping her pack on the floor, shrugging off her coat and taking off her boots. "I'm a soldier - I'm not going to waste the luxury of a bed for the night. It's big enough for two," She grinned, then. "Though if I feel anything poking my back in the night, I'll shove you out into the stairwell,"

He scowled at her.

The floor was filthy, with traces of rat droppings, so of course he took the other side of the bed. It was lumpy, threadbare and uncomfortable, not to mention that he did not have it to himself. Qara had shared a bed with a woman before, but never to sleep; he had always shown them the door soon after. Alina fell asleep quickly after getting under the itchy blankets, her breathing evening out, but he was very aware of her presence beside him and it took him a while to drift into an uneasy sleep.

He awoke with a stifled cry in the middle of the night, mentally groaning when Alina stirred beside him. "It's fine," He said, intentionally brusque. "Go back to sleep,"

"Saints, you don't have to hide your nightmares from me," The girl grinned sleepily, rolling over to face him in a way that felt far too intimate. "I've had them for as long as I can remember,"

"Tell me about them," Qara found himself saying, the darkness and his emotional state making him willing to admit vulnerability he never would by the light of day. "If you don't mind me keeping you awake longer," 

"Keep me up as long as you like," Alina managed to infuse that with a sleepy leer. He never knew what to make of comments like that. Qara knew she was joking, but, no doubt as intended, it made his mind drift elsewhere. "You really want to know? It's a long list,"

"I want leverage," He said, though really he wanted to know more about her, beyond that sinfully confident exterior.

Alina considered that. "I'll give you a few. Raiders used to come to my village - it was near the border - and we had to hide in a hole my father dug under the house. I'd dream of them finding us, hurting us, burning the house, torturing my neighbours, or just being trapped in that cold, damp hole forever,"

"All this before the Little Palace? Surely you were fine after that, cosseted away by the Darkling?"

She continued wryly. "When I realised that most of Ravka thought me a saint, I had nightmares of dying a martyr and being carved up for relics by a baying crowd. I was kidnapped when I was twelve by religious fanatics and that became a reality," She pressed her hand into his own, which startled him, but then he realised it was the hand with the missing finger.

"Oh," Qara had seen that hand before, but had figured it was from a battlefield injury or training incident. "That's how you lost it - to a worshipper?"

"Yes, but I found it again," Alina said, wiggling her thumb.

He was confused for a moment, before she made the connection between the thick white bone ring and the missing finger. Qara had to laugh. "That's incredible,"

"Everyone else seems to think it's morbid,"

"It is. You're twisted. But I can appreciate the irony,"

They fell into a comfortable silence.

"What else do you dream of?"

"Silly things. Drowning. My father used to hold my head underwater as a punishment, the old bastard, and a group of Druskelle did the same in an interrogation. I'll carry on oversharing to make you feel better if you like?" He hummed his agreement, liking her bluntness for once. "I dream of battles, too, all the blood and screaming. And I dream of the day my father died taking a bullet meant for me, which often features everyone else I love in his place,"

"Gods. No wonder you have nightmares every night," He paused. "Which is the worst?"

"Easy," She said at once. "When I dream of the Darkling stealing my powers and enslaving me. That one scares the shit out of me,"

A long pause.

"Too much?"

"Not at all," He was not lying. It made him feel less weak, to know that even someone like Alina still had bad dreams.

"Now you tell me yours," The girl said. "I'm in no position to judge. You cannot shock me, besides,"

"What you'd expect," Qara said into the darkness. "They're all about tortured or dying Grisha in the labs. Sometimes my father takes their place. Mostly I'm just watching, like real life. Other times I'm doing it. Once or twice, it was me in their place on the table,"

"Nasty," Alina said matter-of-factly.

"Very," He said, appreciating the lack of comforting lies. "Well, I think I've been pathetic enough for today. I'd like to get some sleep,"

*

The Altan-Chuluu laboratory was in the vastness of the underdeveloped south-west of Shu Han. It reminded Alina of the frontier plains in Novyi Zem, however here the land cut away steeply in places, creating cliffs and plateaus. There was something beautiful about the golden hue of the landscape, though it was blighted by the grey, boxy shadow of the lab, an ugly building that practically radiated evil from all the people who had died there. The summer heat was intense, especially since Alina still wore her corecloth vest and leggings under her clothes.

"I want you to cut my hair," She groaned to Qara one afternoon. "All it does is stick to my skin and make me even more disgustingly hot," It was long, as it always had been since she was a child, falling to her waist when it wasn't braided and stuffed under a hat.

"Are you serious?" He smirked, looking a little too eager.

"Deadly," Genya would have a fit, but Genya was not here.

"How short do you want it? We only have a knife, not a razor,"

"Just below my chin, I think," She said. "To keep the worst off my neck. And please don't slit my throat while you're at it - I know your knife skills are lacking,"

"You know, you really should be nicer to someone you're going to let cut your hair,"

"It's going to look bad whether I'm nice to you or not,"

He snorted disdainfully as she unwound her braid from under her hat, taking it in his hands. Alina had hoped for one swift cut, but Qara had to saw to get through it. When he was done, her paranoia about relics had her incinerating the braid in his hands. He yelped and dropped it at once, as she laughed.

"How do I look?"

He glared at her. "Regrettably, it suits you,"

Alina reflected light off the surface of a rock, turning into a mirror, and turned her head from side to side to examine her hair. It was a brutal change, and far from the smoothest haircut she had ever had, but Qara was not wrong. The shorter style looked good on her, even if the sudden lack of weight on her head was disconcerting.

"It does, doesn't it?"

*

Their search of Altan-Chuluu was even less fruitful than Ulaan-Khad.

"There's nothing here," Qara's determination was quickly turning to an almost desperate frustration as he flicked through page after page of records. "No mention of a weapon, a project or jurda,"

"They might just be out of the loop," Alina said, not sounding concerned. "It's clear already it's a need-to-know basis, isn't it? Ulaan-Khad only had records because they were taking in the jurda shipments. This place is in the middle of a plateau in the back end of nowhere,"

"But what if they are in the loop and I've missed something?"

"You've looked through near everything in here. Even if you have missed something, it can't be that big. We need to go soon, anyway, someone will be in here soon,"

Qara reluctantly stepped back. "Fine,"

He wasn't sure what happened on the way out through the perimeter fence. One of them must've made a noise and startled a guard, for he saw the glint of a gun in the sunlight and scarcely had time to drag Alina out of the path of a bullet. They were both under invisibility, which somehow did not flicker, but he heard a muffled noise of pain, and saw blood spatter on the ground.

"Did it hit you?" He hissed frantically, keeping a firm hold of her arm, feeling her sag against him. Surely she wasn't too hurt, if they were still unseen?

"My shoulder," She gasped out, somehow managing to keep her voice down. Guards were coming down from their tower to investigate, luckily still far enough away that they weren't doomed just yet.

"I can't control the blood flow if I'm holding you up,"

"I - I'm holding my shirt to it, it won't leave a trail. We need to move first. Then you can heal me,"

As fast and as quietly as they could, they crept away from the perimeter of the lab, out of range. Hopefully the guards would think the blood spatters were from a wounded animal; there were many rabbit warrens in the soil round here.

"You should've let it hit my chest," Alina said through gritted teeth. "I'm wearing a corecloth vest and leggings under my clothes. I'd have just had a nasty bruise,"

"How the hells was I supposed to know that?" He hissed. "Besides, I can't predict where a bullet will hit, nor can I see you. For all I knew, it was heading straight for your head,"

The moment they reached a rocky overhang and were hidden from view, Alina let her legs give way and their invisibility drop, gasping in pain as she dropped to the ground. He had not seen her so vulnerable before, as she reached out to investigate her wounded shoulder with shaking fingers.

"Stop it," He batted her hand away. "Let me look,"

"Fine, Healer-extraordinaire," Her head dropped back against the rock as he gently peeled back her bloodied shirt to examine the wound. "Have you ever worked on a bullet wound before?"

"Gods, do you think me completely incapable?" He said. "My father had me practice on wounded Taivshral, or those they rescued," Part of why it was so awful watching what went on in the labs was knowing that he could heal those Grisha easily but being unable to do anything. "The bullet went all the way through. An exit wound is good, unless it went through any major organs or arteries - considering it hit your shoulder, you'll be fine,"

"Great," She said. "Now for the love of all the saints, heal me,"

"Ask nicely," He couldn't help but say.

The look she gave him was dangerous. "Qara, you wretched prick, heal my shoulder or else I'll give you a burning hole in yours to match,"

"I can't heal it without cleaning it first," He said. "Unless you want a nice infection sealed in. We need to get somewhere we can boil water. All I can do for now is stem the bloodflow,"

It was a long way back to the inn. Alina stayed invisible whilst Qara led the way back to their room, which thankfully had two beds this time. Having brought up a pot of water from downstairs, he set it beside her.

"You'll have to boil it yourself,"

She did so in half a second with a wave of her hand and a hot flash of light. Alina did not say a word as he cut her bloodied shirt off her body then used a cloth to clean out the wound on both sides of her shoulder, doing his best to be careful. He pulled out the small bottle of iodine solution from his pack to disinfect it, earning a wince from the sting, but then the wound was clean enough to heal. Qara hadn't exaggerated; he was a skilled Healer. In less than a minute, Alina's shoulder was smooth and unblemished, all internal damage fixed.

"Credit where it's due," She said, running her fingers over where the bullet had gone through. "I scarcely felt a thing. No pain, no itching, not even the flesh knitting back together,"

"Most people would say thank you,"

Alina laughed, her mood clearly improved since her bullet wound had gone. "Thank you, Qara," She reached into her pack for another shirt, and he suddenly became very aware that she had been sat there in just a vest the whole time.

He cleared his throat. "Tarasova is meeting us for a report, tonight,"

Alina pulled a face. "We've got nothing useful to offer since Ulaan-Khad. It's not going to be an enjoyable debrief,"

She was right about that.

"So not only is there nothing of any relevence to report, Starkova - except suspiciously large shipments of jurda - you managed to get yourself shot," The terrifying woman said with narrowed eyes.

"They didn't know it was us they were shooting at," Alina said, careless. "It was just bored guards firing at what they thought was an animal,"

"Saaral-Khana is next," Tarasova warned. "In the heart of Amhrat Jen. Second only to Tomor-Uul. You will do better there - any mistakes will get both of you killed. Oh, and Yul-Khulan?" Qara raised his head. "Your old teacher, Doctor Ulagan, will be visiting there the same time that you are,"

"Excellent," He smiled, though his stomach curdled unpleasantly.

After Tarasova had gone, they spent the evening in the full, noisy common room of the inn, shovelling down food. Needing some form of relief after the frustrating day they'd had, Qara bought them a drink each from the bartender. Alina then felt the need to repay the favour, which turned into another drink, then another, and another. Though they had to sit beside each other and keep their voices down so no one overheard them speaking Ravkan. No one else seemed interested in them, however, tucked into their shadowy corner, their heads bent close together for the sake of discretion.

The more he drank, the fewer inhibitions Qara had. He found himself, not for the first time, thinking how pretty Alina was, though for the first time he let himself wonder. As a still portrait, she would be pretty without being unapproachably beautiful, with enough odd features to make her face interesting rather than blandly attractive. However, he admired her most when she was animated. When her teeth flashed in a wicked smile, her clever dark eyes laughing too. The way she moved with the self-assured grace of a hunter. He had never met anyone quite like her.

"Tell me, Qara, is there something particularly interesting about my face tonight, or has the drink just made you less afraid to stare?" She interrupted his thoughts.

"Interesting isn't the word," He shot back. "Disturbing, perhaps,"

Alina laughed. "Charming," She nodded over his shoulder, to where a couple of the barmaids were eyeing him, giggling to each other. "Those two seem to like you,"

He followed her gaze. He had noticed those two when he went up to buy the last round of drinks. "Why wouldn't they?"

"Prick," She rolled her eyes, amused. "I'm telling you now, if you bring anyone back to our room then I will kick both of you to the curb. I refuse to listen to some poor girl try and convince you both that she's enjoying herself,"

"Harsh," He said. "What makes you think she wouldn't be enjoying herself?"

"Men as arrogant as you tend to be the worst in bed,"

"And you've slept with how many men to determine this?"

"It gets to a certain number where it becomes concerning to keep count," Her eyebrow raised in challenge, daring him to call her a whore. "Why do you want to know?"

There was no right answer to that, so he might as well dig a deeper hole. "If it's a high number, you're less likely to get attached after a drunken fling,"

The words were risky, that was true. Qara was expecting Alina to either laugh in his face or slap him. She did grin, that was true, but her head tilted, considering him in a new light.

"I hope you're confident in your own abilities," Her hand rested on his lower thigh, just above the knee. "Because if you're terrible, I will tell you so,"

Qara had no reply to that, but didn't have to in the end, as she closed the distance between them and kissed him. Unexpectedly softly at first, testing, teasing, though her hand moved slowly higher up his leg. She drew back with a quick nip on his bottom lip that had all thoughts spilling from his head. He was always the more confident one in situations such as these, but found that with her he could scarcely take a breath, let alone form a word.

Her voice was low when she next spoke, her pupils dilated. "Do I intimidate you?"

Her voice went straight to his groin. Qara forced his mouth to move. "You wish,"

She smiled a rather cruel smile. "Yes, I suppose I do wish. Men are always so secure in their dominance, until they get a taste of something else,"

Whatever that was supposed to mean, it was no doubt meant to rile him. Qara pulled her back in for another kiss, hands tangling in her hair, her leg sliding up half over his. She wasn't pliant in his grip as most women were. Her arms were lean with muscle - honestly, she was most likely stronger than he was - and her touch was demanding rather than gentle and giving. The other patrons barely glanced at them; it was not an uncommon sight to see in a place like this, and they were mostly hidden in their corner.

Her hand gripped his wrist, pulling it between her legs under the table, breaking the kiss to murmur in his ear. "Before I take you upstairs, show me it's not a decision I'll regret,"

Gods, here? Qara was not thinking with his head, however, and any doubts he had evaporated as he shifted his hand unintentionally, making a short gasp come from Alina's mouth, her breath hot against his neck. Slowly, he undid the fastenings of her trousers, sliding his hand over bare skin underneath. She was wet already between her legs, and her grip on his shoulder dug in harder as his fingers explored her. Her breathing grew more heavy as he pushed one, then two, inside her, as did his own at the insanity of what they were doing. Though everything was of course kept quiet, that did not mean he missed her tantalising sigh as she came, shuddering slightly with her face pressed into his neck, before looking up at him with dark eyes and a slightly open mouth that curled into a smile.

"Not bad,"

The moment the door shut in their room, Qara was pushing her against it, her wrists above her head, going in for another kiss.

Alina laughed throatily, eyes meeting his, granting him a moment of seeing her under his control. "Brave of you," Then she was pushing him back, kissing him, pushing back further, and further, until his legs hit the end of his bed. He attempted to turn her around, but she wrested out of his grip and pushed him down, climbing onto his lap, straddling him. She lightly grabbed his throat and whispered in his ear. "If you want to lead, rich boy, then you'll have to try harder than that,"

After that, he was lost. Qara had never once thought to submit to a woman, nor had any woman ever tried. Though he would rather die than let the confession see the light of day, he had never been as attracted to anyone as he was to Alina in those blissful moments. She wasn't the Sun Summoner, here; she was just herself, and, he dared to hope, possibly his.

*

Yes that last line was fully intended to be a red flag. Qara is not supposed to be a likeable character and Alina is very aware of his faults. Equally, I wanted there to be more depth to him than just an immature young man so I hope that came across. 

What do you think of the whole Shu plot so far? Like the Ketterdam chapter I'm aware the pacing is fast - I easily could have written a whole story on this plot alone but wanted to move things forward more quickly. For those readers last chapter who were incapable of understanding the concept of 'setting up plot points for later' this chapter is another example of that. I need to put certain things in place for the payoff later to be worthwhile.

Just one more chapter after this one and then we'll be getting a Darklina reunion which I am excited for, especially since both Alina and Aleksander have been sorting themselves out a little in the others' absence. Anyway, please let me know what you think in the comments!