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CHAPTER THIRTEEN ▪▫▪▫▪
THE FIRST TIME KIRA FELT true raw power, the first time she remembered it at least, she had been a child, no older than five years old perhaps. She and Nikolai had snuck into the War Room, hiding behind a statue.
The Darkling had come in, his kefta billowing in his wake and Kira had gasped, she hadn't known what it was then, the feeling that called her to him, that made her shiver due to the sheer amount of power.
And now his body lay in front of her, unmoving, and the power was gone. Yet Kira still felt it, an amount of power that felt unnatural, that felt similar to the shadow creatures, yet, somehow more balanced.
Her gaze fell on the girl standing next to Nikolai, her dark hair fell around her shoulders and her lips were set into a thin line as she looked at the Darkling's body. Morana, Kira realized, the girl her brother was worried for.
The girl whose power Kira could feel as well as the first time she'd met the Darkling. The girl whose eyes were void of emotions as she watched Genya and Zoya go forward and grab a lit torch.
Zoya went first, setting fire to the wood. Genya was second, and when she'd lit the wood on fire she turned back, handing her torch to Alina. Kira saw Alina raise a brow at Morana, who in turn shook her head.
Kira wrapped her arms around Genya, and the girl shuddered in her hold as Alina went forward, muttering something before she threw the torch atop Kirigan's body, letting the flames engulf him.
"Today is a new beginning," Nikolai spoke up as he stepped forward. Kira glanced up at her brother who looked as much like a King as she'd imagined he would. A born leader. "For all of Ravka. Hell, for our whole world. It's a bit daunting, isn't it? Knowing where to go from here. We've had a singular focus for so long. So much blood has been shed. After hundreds of years separated by the Fold, we can celebrate a unified Ravka.
"Our neighbors to the North will see us united and will aim to strike. But often it's not the battle that takes the most from us. It's the aftermath. The chance to put the pieces of our lives back together. When a Firebird rises from the ashes, it is not the same. But in that rebirth, is potential. Potential for new purpose.
"Thanks to what Alina has done for us, we all have a chance to better the world now that the Fold is gone. And above all, you must trust. Trust in each other. In yourselves. Trust in the fact that this is the start of better days to come. And it won't be easy, of course. Nothing is. I had hoped to end that on a more uplifting note, but here we are."
Kira glanced up as she felt Nina tap her arm, and she nodded, giving Genya a last hug, before she followed her crows.
