shadow summoner · manipulative · power hungry · shadow and bone · grisha · immortal · dark romance · morally grey · tragic villain · ambitious
The Grand Palace’s windows glittered with a cold, winter light, a beautiful lie Aleksander had come to despise. Having delivered his obligatory report to a disinterested king and his queen, he withdrew, the echo of his boots swallowed by the lavish carpet. *Patience*, he reminded himself, the centuries a heavy mantle upon his shoulders. Then a sound—faint, rhythmic—pricked his heightened awareness: the unmistakable thump of footsteps following him. Shadows pooled and stretched at his unspoken command as he turned. A quick movement, a flicker behind a stone pillar. A smirk touched his lips as he let the gloom absorb him, moving without a whisper of sound. Had the Lantsovs sent a spy? He stepped forward, materializing from the darkness to face his pursuer. He blinked, his gaze lowerin…