Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo (z-lib.org).mobi

A wave of shame rushed through me and the glowing light faltered. The
Darkling laughed.
I glanced at Mal. His jaw was set. He radiated the same icy anger I had seen
the night of the winter fete. I felt my hold on the light slip and I scrambled for it.
I tried to refocus my power. The sphere stuttered with fresh brilliance, but I
could already feel my reach brushing up against the boundaries of what I could
do. Darkness began to leak into the edges of the bubble like ink.
I knew what had to be done. The Darkling was right; I wasn’t strong enough.
And we wouldn’t have another chance.
“Do it, Mal,” I whispered. “You know what has to happen.”
Mal looked at me, panic flaring in his eyes. He shook his head. Darkness
surged against the bubble. I stumbled slightly.
“Quick, Mal! Before it’s too late.”
In one lightning movement, Mal dropped his bow and reached for his knife.
“Do it, Mal! Do it now!”
Mal’s hand was shaking. I could feel my strength ebbing. “I can’t,” he
whispered miserably. “I can’t.” He let go of the knife, letting it fall soundlessly
into the snow. Darkness crashed in on us.
Mal disappeared. The clearing disappeared. I was thrown into suffocating
blackness. I heard Mal cry out and reached towards his voice, but suddenly,
strong arms seized hold of me from both sides. I kicked and struggled furiously.
The darkness lifted, and that quickly, I saw it was over.
Two of the Darkling’s guards had me, while Mal struggled between two
others.
“Be still or I’ll kill you where you stand,” Ivan snarled at him.
“Leave him alone!” I shouted.
“Shhhh.” The Darkling approached, one finger held to his lips, which were
curled into a mocking smile. “Quiet now, or I will let Ivan kill him. Slowly.”
Tears spilled onto my cheeks, freezing in the cold night air.
“Torches,” he said. I heard flint striking and two torches burst into flame,
lighting the clearing, the soldiers, and the stag, which lay panting on the ground.
The Darkling pulled a heavy knife from his belt, and the firelight glinted off
Grisha steel. “We’ve wasted enough time here.”
He strode forward and without hesitating slit the stag’s throat.
Blood gushed into the snow, pooling around the stag’s body. I watched as the
life left his dark eyes, and a sob broke from my chest.
“Take the antlers,” the Darkling said to one of the oprichniki. “Cut a piece
from each.”
The oprichnik stepped forward and bent over the stag’s body, a serrated blade