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Summary
Chapters 7 & 8
Chapter 7
Alina practices her new power as the Volkvolny sails toward Ravka. Many of the Grisha on board the ship are on the run, preferring to hide as otkazat’sya, or commoners, rather than be tortured or sold into slavery. In Ravka, the Grisha are forced to serve the Darkling and the King. Rumors from Ravka say that rebellion is imminent in the First Army, which consists of trained soldiers loyal to the king, and that the Second Army, Grisha warriors treated with suspicion by the citizens, lacks leadership and direction. The Apparat escaped the Darkling and now lives in hiding, building a cult dedicated to the Sun Summoner, who is said to have died on the Fold. Mal and Alina train alongside Tolya and Tamar, and Alina feels comfortable on board the Volkvolny in ways she never did at the Little Palace. But when she starts asking about Sturmhond, Tolya and Tamar grow aloof. Sturmhond overhears and interrogates Alina, but she does not remember much from before her arrival at Keramzin and the Duke’s orphanage.
Tamar wakes Alina in the middle of the night to disembark. Privyet is dressed as Sturmhond, who is camouflaged as a member of the crew. The Volkvolny is headed toward Fjerdan, whereas Sturmhond, Mal, Alina, Tamar, and Tolya make their way toward West Ravka. Mal worries he will be arrested as a traitor for his part in the Darkling’s raid on the Fold. Sturmhond’s new craft, the Hummingbird, floats over the sea before taking flight under the Squallers’ power. Mal notices the craft’s armaments, and he discusses battle possibilities with Sturmhond. Alina wonders how the future might change if Grisha and other Ravkans could work together. As the ground below them changes from sea to land, Alina and Mal realize Sturmhond has lied to them again. He is taking them into the Fold and expects Alina to defend them against the volcra.
Chapter 8
Alina casts light to protect them, but the Fold feels different to her. She sits more comfortably with her power, but she also feels the Fold welcoming her. She presses harder on the light, but both Sturmhond and Mal tell her to back off. They want to engage with the volcra rather than simply sneak past them. Alina complies, and as the volcra surround them, the crew opens fire. Alina believes she hears echoes of the volcra’s human ancestors in their screams. As they prepare to leave, Mal tracks another crowd of volcra to the north, which takes them to the ruins of the Darkling’s ship and the scene of Alina’s greatest failure. The volcra are using the wreck as a hive for their young. Sturmhond orders them shelled, and in the aftermath, Alina feels empathy for their loss. She also sees the Darkling mocking her and she cowers on the dock, putting the crew at risk.
Alina is roused and they escape to a nearby lake where they crash land and swim to shore. The crew turns on Alina, demanding answers for why she let them down. She puts the blame on Sturmhond, and he accepts it. Before he can explain, they are surrounded by the Ravkan army. Under his camouflage, Sturmhond wears an officer’s uniform, and his face is transformed. When challenged by the colonel, Sturmhond declares that he is really Nikolai Lantsov, second son to the Ravkan king. The colonel charges at him but then realizes the truth and bows before him, with the army following suit. When he introduces Alina as the Sun Summoner, she punches him in the face.
Analysis
Life on board the ship is seductively comfortable for Alina, whose life until now has consisted largely of abandonment, neglect, and violence. In contrast, the easy camaraderie of Tamar teaching her to tie knots and Mal and Sturmhond swapping tales gives her an unfamiliar sense of normalcy. At the Little Palace, Alina had been teased, made to feel like an outcast, shunned, and shamed for being an orphan. Genya was the only one to befriend her, only to eventually betray and try to kill her. But Alina likely realizes the absurdity of her feelings of ease and security, given that she remains Sturmhond’s prisoner and is surrounded by warriors and pursued by the Darkling and his horde. So, while her feelings of temporary respite are naïve and foolish, they are also a testament to both her relentless optimism and her ability to appreciate the good in the world. If this is as good as it gets, Alina’s destiny must be bleak indeed, yet still she finds reasons to hope.
Alina struggles to understand why her third experience in the Fold, also known as the Unsea, feels so different. Previously, she was the Darkling’s prisoner and pawn, an unsettling and traumatic experience. While she remains Sturmhond’s captive, his attitude toward her is far more lenient, even playful. Unlike the Darkling, he empowers rather than binds her, and he and his crew join her in the battle. Notably, the Darkling’s power has grown since she was last there, so the volcra are stronger and more numerous as a result. Her power has grown too, both amplified by Rusalye’s scales and free from the Darkling’s interference. But as her power has grown, so have certain unidentified forces within her. She is both stunned and pained to realize that she empathizes with the volcra’s pain. These evil, horrifying creatures are no longer alien to her; she recognizes their instinct for survival, their desire to protect their young, and their thirst for vengeance. She realizes that the Darkling could still be using Morozova’s collar as a bridge to her, but she fears that her growing power may have summoned him. Alina is thus left uncertain about her role in the Darkling’s manifestation.
Sturmhond’s multiple identities and numerous personalities frustrate Mal and Alina as they remain uncertain about his loyalties and motives. They know him as a lying pirate who double-crossed the Darkling and endangered them both in a battle with him and in another against the volcra. They are understandably shocked by his revelation that he is a prince of Ravka, and they are incensed at his temerity in presenting Alina as a gift to the kingdom and the cover charge for his own return. Alina suspects that something is off about his appearance, and a close inspection of his features reveals lumps and deformities. When they emerge from the Lake, they are bruised, sodden, and ragged. But Sturmhond simply shrugs off his greatcoat and maintains the appearance of royalty, causing Alina to suspect that he has a Grisha Tailor in his midst. Mal and Alina have been betrayed before by people they trusted and they are loathe to put their faith in another unknown element, but their present circumstances offer them little choice.
While Nikolai has been masquerading as Sturmhond, he has remained mindful of his royal duties to the nation of Ravka. Even the name Sturmhond, or Storm Hound, hints at his Ravkan identity, the prince whom Genya had affectionately referred to as Sobachka, or Puppy. He christens his commandeered ship the Volkvolny, meaning Wolf of the Waves, and although he uses it to plunder the high seas, his intent is not to line his coffers. Instead, he brings his ill-gotten booty back home to shore up Ravka’s defense and replenish his crew’s supplies. While he’s been away, Nikolai has also learned many trades, including shipcraft and commerce, while furthering his military training. He also travels, enriching his understanding of the world and honing his diplomatic chops. The traits that strike Mal and Alina as capricious, and arbitrary are the same traits that make a strong ruler. Thus, it appears that Nikolai has served the Ravkan people well as a leader-in-training.
