Shadow and Bone: Chapter 22 Summary & Analysis

Ivan leads Alina back to her tent and soon after, Genya arrives to help Alina get dressed. Alina puts on the black silk kefta she wore to the winter fete and then Genya piles Alina’s hair high on her head with gold pins—the better to show off Morozova’s collar. Then, Ivan escorts Alina to the Darkling and they all walk to the drydocks. On the sandskiff, Alina meets Fjerdan ambassadors, a delegation from Shu Han, and an envoy from the King. The Darkling clearly brought them to witness his new power, but how far will he go? Summoners send wind into the sails and the sandskiff moves into the Fold. Alina isn’t afraid like she was last time. She realizes she once looked forward to this: to pleasing the Darkling and becoming the orphan who changed the world.

When the skiff is well into the Fold, the Darkling tells the Inferni to release fire; this will draw the volcra to the sandskiff. Alina hears them coming and, now that she knows the volcra were once people, their cries sound almost human. When the volcra get close, the Darkling grips Alina’s arm and draws her power out. The light bursts out of her, illuminating the Fold. There are shipwrecks on the sand and volcra above. Looking around, Alina thinks the Grisha principle “like calls to like” is true: this emptiness, this dead space populated by monsters, is just like the Darkling’s soul.

Alina follows the Darkling’s command to create a path. The sandskiff flies ahead and soon, Alina can see the West Ravkan village Novokribirsk ahead. People there are staring at the light in the Fold. But the skiff slows, and the Darkling raises his arms. He doesn’t listen to Alina’s cries and instead sends darkness rippling along the path Alina made. It engulfs the village, and the volcra begin killing villagers. Alina tries desperately to expand the light or somehow make the Darkling stop, but she can’t.

Finally, the Darkling stops and turns to the passengers on the skiff. The message is clear: he could ravage the Shu Han or Fjerda tomorrow, if he wants. When the envoy says the King won’t stand for this, the Darkling says the King will do as he’s told. He says from now on, there are no individual countries. There’s the Fold and whatever land is outside of it. There will be peace. Alina knows he’s serious. Turning to the Grisha and the soldiers, he asks them to tell everyone about what they’ve seen and to say that a new age has begun. Most people cheer, though a few soldiers and several Grisha look concerned. Most people are afraid, but they don’t care that the Darkling just slaughtered a village. They want the wars to end and Ravka to be powerful.

Then, at the Darkling’s signal, Ivan throws Mal over the skiff’s railing. Alina screams and punches Ivan, stunning him. The Darkling’s power tells Alina to contract her circle of light, and Alina is powerless to resist. Alina sobs and screams, but Mal just stands in the sand. He shrieks as the darkness and the volcra reach him. Suddenly, Alina is back in the glade with the stag, and she realizes why he keeps visiting her dreams. He’s not haunting her to taunt her for being weak. Rather, the stag has been trying to show Alina the power of mercy. Mercy is power, and the Darkling doesn’t understand it. So, the stag’s power belongs to Alina—not the Darkling. Gasping, Alina takes control of her power and expands the circle of light to include Mal.

The Darkling, confused, tries to take Alina’s power back, but she shrugs him off. She knows he won’t kill her; he needs her to get back out of the Fold. Sure of herself, Alina performs the Cut, sending one of the sandskiff’s masts falling. The Darkling looks shocked, but he tells Alina she’s not a murderer. Alina asks everyone assembled if they really want a dark world. If they work together, they can stop the Darkling. But everyone is too afraid to fight the Darkling. Knowing what she must do, Alina dives for the rail and lets the light go out. She runs toward Mal, surrounding them both in light. People shoot at Alina and Mal, and the Darkling shouts that she can’t run.

Alina can’t let the Darkling come after her. He has to die, though she’s not sure everyone else on the skiff does. The Darkling says that Alina knows what will happen if she kills people, and he asks if this is her idea of mercy. Alina waves her hand, splitting the skiff in half. Then she grabs Mal and they race for West Ravka in a dome of light. They hide in an orchard once they leave the Fold and begin traveling toward the coast that evening. They reach the True Sea before dawn and stand there, staring at it.

Mal plucks a gold hairpin from Alina’s hair; he’ll use it to buy clothes. Alina’s heart twists. She’s never going to see Genya again. But she tries not to think about that, or about what she did in the Fold, as Mal leaves. Some part of Alina wants to feel as powerful as she did in the Fold, when she cut the skiff in half. Alina doesn’t want to think of the people who died. Is the Darkling even dead? Alina spends the entire afternoon getting increasingly anxious and almost cries when Mal returns. She dresses in the ugly orange dress he brought for her and feels like she’s putting down a huge burden as she drops the black kefta on the ground. Alina and Mal agree that she’ll never wear black again.

Mal pulls out a scarf to cover Morozova’s collar. He says they’ll figure out how to get rid of the collar before summer, but Alina protests—it’s the only way they can get rid of the Shadow Fold. She doesn’t tell Mal how much it feels like the collar belongs to her. The stag’s power feels like part of Alina’s power, and she doesn’t really want to lose it. As Mal studies Alina’s face, Alina remembers the Darkling’s warning. But she promises Mal they’ll get rid of the collar. They burn the black kefta as Mal pulls the pins from Alina’s hair, kisses her, and holds her.