The Darkling gently folded me in his arms. He pressed a kiss to the top of my hair. "I will strip away all that you know, all that you love, until you have no other shelter but me." For Alina , time is running out. To destroy the Darkling, she needs to find the elusive firebird, and she needs to find it soon. The Darkling 's power is growing. And so is his connection to Alina. Can Alina escape the hold he has over her? Does she want to? Mal is the one person Alina can rely on in an increasingly uncertain world. But could giving in to the bond between them be the most dangerous decision of all? The stunning conclusion to Shadow and