All my attempts to make conversation with Pytor were hopeless, so instead I settled for just having an unofficial staring contest with him that only I knew about.

After about 5 minutes he had enough, "Would you quit staring at me," he scolded.

"He talks!!" I exclaimed, faking astonishment.

He just got more annoyed, "Can't you take anything seriously?"

I took a deep breath, "I could, but that would make life far more boring and much more like a chore, better to keep it exciting, no?"

"You know I could knock you out," he sneered.

I mimicked his deep voice, "You know I could blind you."

"You shouldn't even be here, everyone knows having two shadow summoners in the same place is highly irresponsible and dangerous," Pytor thought aloud.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Excuse me?"

"Must be different for daughters, not that we would know, there's never been a female shadow summoner."

"Not ever? That's highly improbable."

"Never been one on record," he confirmed, "Over the last few centuries the leader of the second army has always been a shadow summoner, all from the same line, but never a girl. No one ever really questioned it until you came along, but I suppose that's different aswell, all children of a shadow summoner are raised elsewhere in safety until they are ready to lead second army, but you, you were behind enemy lines, if your gift had been discovered whilst no other Grisha were around, well, it wouldn't have been pretty."

It dawned on me then, as Pytor explained the past to me, now I knew why my father seemed so educated, why he could understand ancient Ravkan with ease, why he had said that this was a plan centuries in the making, there were no son's, no heirs, there was only one, and had been for hundreds of years.

We were both silent for a moment then I had an idea, "I need to leave the tent," I told him.

He rolled his eyes, obviously fed up, "Why?" He humoured me.

I pretend to be embarrassed and said in a low voice, "Ladies problems."

His eyes widened and he went as pink as a peach, for a heartrender he seemed awfully reluctant to talk about the human body.

He didn't meet my eyes as he debated with himself, eventually he stepped out of the tent and came back in a moment later with a female heartrender.

I almost laughed, "Did I make you uncomfortable Pytor?" I asked him sarcastically, barley containing my scoff.

He scowled, "You have five minutes, don't try anything." The girl gestured for me to follow her to an outhouse a few tents away.

Everyone in the camp was busy with various tasks, something was going on, I only hoped that I could figure out what before I was once again confined to the tent.

My thoughts were short lived as the heartrender stopped and I nearly walked into her, I looked up and realised why she had stopped, my father stood before us, his face unreadable as per usual.

"What are you doing," he calmly demanded of the heartrender.

"She said she needed to relive herself, moi soverenyi, Pytor asked me to take her," she responded.

He looked me up and down then sighed, "When are you going to stop lying to my soldiers, Rena?" I didn't respond, only kept my eyes at the ground, "Leave us," he told the heartrender. "Where is your kefta?" He asked.

I was still adverting my eyes when I grumbled, "Either with a bunch of Durasts or on the side of a road."

"Rena," I stayed as I was, "Look at me when I'm talking to you," he ordered.

I finnaly looked up and met his gaze, "Just tell me, help me, understand what you're doing, please," I begged, my voice becoming tight.

"I already told you-"

"Stop, just stop it," I told him, "I figured it out, I know who you are." His eyes became wide and he placed a hand at my back, leading me towards his tent. He let go when we entered and undid the clasp of his cloak, hanging it on a peg, "Pytor said I only had five minutes, he'll kill me if I'm not back."

"Five minutes?" He smirked as he walked over to a desk, "And what amazing plan did you come up with in those five minutes?" I didn't respond causing his smirk to grow even more, "If he thinks you are missing, Pytor will inform me first."

"Do they know?" I asked.

He looked up at me from where he was searching through his desk, "Know what?"

"Who you are, what you've done?"

"I regret nothing I have done if that's what you are trying to say," he huffed.

I looked at him in disbelief, "You killed hundreds of people, innocents, even if not directly you still killed them."

"I do not control where people decide to venture."

"So it's true, you are him, the black heretic."

He turned to face me, leaning back against his desk, "Do you remember when I first asked what you knew of our ancestry?"

*Flashback*

"Get out here right now," Ivan shouted from the other side of the locked door.

"Why?" I asked, thinking through all the things I had done that day, not much, I had gone to my training and classes then came back for lunch, went to my room and decided I'd catch up on some study and maybe practice with my gifts since I had just learned to control them.

"I've already told you why, now come on, I don't have all day."

"Ivan," it was Fredyor's voice, "You've to be gentle, kind," he reminded him.

"Why don't you try it," Ivan huffed, "She's as stubborn as an ox."

I knew he meant it as an insult but the comment just gave me more confidence.

"Rena," I heard Fredyor's gentle voice coax, "You haven't done anything wrong, it's just a check up, he just wants to know how you're doing."

I cracked the door open a millimeter, ready to slam it shut incase Ivan got a sudden urge to barge in, "I'm not in trouble?"

Fredyor chuckled, "Unless you've done something I'm unaware of, no. Now come on, you're late."

I carefully opened the door and stepped out closing it behind me, Ivan huffed and threw his hands up in defeat while Fredyor laughed at him.

I realised that his rooms were closer to mine than I thought when they knocked and opened the door for me, closing it as I walked in.

I stood there awkwardly as the Darkling looked at me from where he was sat at his desk.

"Rena," he greeted, "I heard your door had some trouble... opening."

"Do these walls have ears or something," I grumbled to myself, somehow this man always knew everything and it was very off-putting.

He smirked, "Something like that."

I was still standing by the door, ready to make a break for it of need be, "Why did you want to see me?"

He stood up and leaned against the desk, "I was told your class had a project to do, about the history of your power, and to have a report from an older Grisha of the same power."

It was true we had, but I wasn't going to ask him for a report, for one I was still sort of terrified of him, but I didn't let it show on my face, secondly well, "I was excused from that aspect, your busy."

He spread his arms wide, "Do I look busy?"

I eyed the stack of papers behind him, "Yes, yes you do."

He shrugged, "Well I'm not, please sit." It sounded like more of an order than an invite so hesitantly, I sat down on the edge of a chair that he had gestured to. He saw my nervous eyes adverting his gaze and my tence shoulders, "I'm not going to eat you."

I didn't respond, only sat awkwardly on the chair and tried not to fidget too much, "What do you know of our ancestry?" He asked me.

"YOUR ancestry," I emphasised, "What I know and believe of your ancestry is what I have been taught before you people kidnapped and brought me here." I took his silence as an indication to continue, "You come from a long line of shadow summoners who have led the second army of Ravka for countless generations, you all have one thing in common though, the ability to leave complete destruction in your wake."

He seemed amused at my answer, as if I was a child who just learned to talk, "Anything else?"

"The most famous Darkling in history left the worst mark," I continued, "The black heretic, he created the fold and the monsters within."

"Very good," he praised, "I wouldn't have worded it like that and it's now obvious to me that we'll need to work on how you depict these things but mostly you have the barest of bones." I frowned, unsure of what he meant, "You can't however, keep deny that it's your ancestry too," he continued, "We learn from the past, it doesn't do us well to deny it."

"You said I knew the smallest amount, that I shouldn't deny my past, that it wasn't right to," I recited.

He nodded almost, sadly. "I never meant to create the fold, but I do not regret it, it is rare that our bloodline would do something they regret."

I shifted on my feet, all this talk of bloodlines was making me uncomfortable when I didn't even know my own name, "Are we done here?"

He cocked his head to the side, "Somewhere to be?"

"I'm tired," I conceded, "I just want to sleep."

"If you think my heartrenders are going to give you information Rena you are sorely mistaken."

Good job I wasn't going to ask them, "Please?"

He sighed, "Alright, go on, leave me be."

I nodded and turned around to leave, trying my best to hide the smile that came to with an idea.

I exited the tent to a scowling Pytor, "What's got you in such a good mood," he grumbled.

I rolled my eyes, "I get to be in your gracious presence again Pytor, who wouldn't be absolutely ecstatic?"

When he led me back to my small tent he took up his position by the door, the never ending scowl still gracing his features. "Do you have to be here? I can't sleep with you looking at me like that," I had asked him. His only response was a huff and an even sterner look.

Eventually as I fell asleep a familiar sensation started to tingle through my body and I knew my plan was working, I was going to see my mother, to finally get answers.

No you forgot today was Friday, not me, nevvarrrrr