[ so much of it sounds familiar—not in a comforting way, exactly, but in a way that stings. it's almost an indictment of her own foolishness, albeit gentler than baghra's accusations. she'd been such an idiot to believe that someone like aleksander could look at her and —

she blinks through the tears that rise up, making her eyes burn. she drops her gaze, breath caught in her throat, and breaks his gaze. she can't hold it. not while she's wrestling with the fresh surge of that feeling.

but by the time he is done, she has pushed it back down. she tugs her lip between her teeth, lifts her chin, breathes slow through her nose and nods. ]

There's a saying, [ she says finally, working her jaw, ] in Ravka. Amongst Grisha. "Like calls to like." [ they used it to articulate how grisha power worked, but it's not just grisha power. it's the whole universe, isn't it? and grisha just take advantage of those laws, those rules. ] I'm not surprised to hear Kirigan keeps company with men inclined to the same methods that he uses. [ the comment is barbed. but once she looks back into daniel's face, she softens. falters. says what she realizes she should have started with: ] I'm sorry that happened to you.