Shadow and Bone

Years later, Alina and Mal have both left the orphanage to join the First Army, also known as the King’s Army. Alina is training as a mapmaker, and Mal as a tracker. Although the First Army is separate from the elite Grisha Army, also known as the Second Army, the two armies are camped together before embarking across the Shadow Fold. The Fold, also called the Unsea, is a treacherous stretch of darkness cutting off Ravka from sea trade and dividing it in two. Monstrous volcra, creatures with “long, filthy claws; leathery wings; and rows of razor-sharp teeth for feasting on human flesh” (13), inhabit the Fold. It is Alina and Mal’s first time crossing the Fold. As Mal tries to reassure Alina, three coaches speed through and nearly run into them. The coaches carry Grisha soldiers and their leader, the Darkling. Mal catches the attention of a Grisha girl, and she smiles at him while Mal stares back in awe.

Later, Alina recounts the experience with the Grisha coaches to her fellow mapmakers, who respond with “the usual mix of fascination and fear that greeted any mention of the Darkling” (19). Peasant superstition surrounds the current Darkling and the Darklings before him, including the rumor that a Darkling created the Fold. That evening, Alina hears Mal tapping on the door. She goes outside to meet him. Mal and Alina share a moment reminiscing about the orphanage and their friendship and discussing their ability to face the volcra the next day when crossing the Fold. Mal takes Alina’s hand. Suddenly, Mal’s friends call him, startling Mal. Mal leaves to find the Grisha girl from earlier, asking Alina to wish him luck. Alina reflects on her romantic feelings for Mal and her fear they are drifting apart as friends as life takes them in different directions.

The next morning, the group prepares to cross the Fold on sandskiffs: “shallow sleds rigged with enormous sails that let them skate almost soundlessly over the dead gray sands” (27). The armies enter the Fold, and Alina likens it to “drifting into a thick cloud of smoke” and “standing at the end of everything” (29). Though it is calm at first, sounds of wings are heard through the darkness as hundreds of volcra descend on the group. Volcra tear people from the skiff, including Alina’s friend Alexei, who is directly beside her. As a volcra approaches Alina, Mal shoots and moves in front of her. The creature continues attacking them, wounding Mal’s chest. Alina and Mal manage to kill the volcra, but Mal falls to the ground from his wound. They are quickly losing people and the ability to fight against the volcra. Two more volcra approach, and Alina covers Mal with her body. Sensing Mal’s pain and knowing their deaths are imminent, Alina feels extreme emotions. As a volcra claws at Alina’s shoulder, Alina experiences “a sudden, piercing flood of light [that] exploded across my vision. It seemed to fill my head, blinding me, drowning me” (34). She loses consciousness.

When Alina wakes, she is guarded by soldiers. The group travels back to their camp in Kribirsk, where soldiers escort Alina at gunpoint, first to the Officers’ Tent, then to the Grisha. The Grisha tent is lavishly decorated, “alive with power and wealth” (40). Alina is led to a table, where the Darkling presides dressed in his signature black apparel. Although he has been alive for hundreds of years, he appears close to Alina’s age—a sign of his power.

Others who survived the attack are led in as witnesses. Alina is relieved to see Mal among them and alive. Witnesses describe a mysterious bright light, “[l]ike staring into the sun” (43), that sent the volcra away. Alina’s boss, the Senior Cartographer, claims he saw the light come from Alina herself. The crowd is split between interest and disbelief. The events suggest Alina is a Sun Summoner, meaning she is a powerful Grisha and able to control light. The fact that a Sun Summoner exists is remarkable. It is even more astonishing that no one knew about Alina’s power. Alina denies being anything other than a mapmaker and worries there has been a mistake. All she remembers is Mal’s pain, their helplessness against the volcra, and consuming feelings of fear and anger.

To test Alina’s ability, the Darkling casts the room in darkness and takes Alina’s arm. The Darkling’s touch stirs a powerful feeling inside Alina that her instinct tells her to repress. The Darkling presses a knife to Alina’s arm, and she can no longer control the feeling. Sunlight bursts through the room. When the Darkling removes his touch, the power disappears. The Darkling orders guards to take Alina to the Little Palace, where the Grisha live and train. He reminds the guards to be respectful: “She is Grisha now” (53). Alina and Mal share a panicked look before they lose sight of each other.