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Shadow and Bone: Answering Your Burning Questions

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The Shadow and Bone trilogy has become one of the most popular young adult fantasy series. It has led to many spin-off books in the form of duologies and short stories. Recently, the book series became a television series on Netflix, with the second season having been released this past March. Overall, the Shadow and Bone books have captured audiences everywhere for its powerful storytelling and exciting characters. The books have a lot of love triangles and relationships that make people curious about what happened to their favorite characters. Who ended up with who? Who gets married? How did these characters’ stories end? We are here to answer some of your burning questions so that you can find out more about these characters and their destinies.

Is Nikolai in love with Zoya?

Nikolai and Zoya originally start as friends and allies, completely platonic. However, as the story goes on, the two start to form an attraction to each other. There are obstacles in their way that make a possible relationship difficult at first. However, eventually, the two confess their feelings and love for each other. They then pursue a romantic relationship together. So, yes, Nikolai is very much in love with Zoya.

Is Nikolai in love with Alina?

Like with Zoya, Nikolai’s connection with Alina Starkov began as a friendship. The two have a strong camaraderie for a decent portion of the series. At one point, the two get engaged, but it is for political reasons. As the engagement goes on, however, Nikolai starts to feel a lot closer to Alina. Is it love? It is very possible that he starts to feel loving feelings towards Alina and sees an actual future with her. Nevertheless, by the end of the series, the engagement is over, as is any sort of romantic relationship between the two characters.

Do Nikolai and Alina end up together?

Nikolai and Alina do not end up together. There was a lot of possibility with this couple, and the two got engaged for an alliance, but they do not end up together at the end of the novels. In the end, Alina ends up with her love Mal, whose will they won’t was a large part of the series. The two then run an old orphanage together. Nikolai ends up with his love Zoya. The two start a romantic relationship towards the end of the series and remain together.

Who married Nikolai?

According to the released books, Nikolai has not married anyone. He previously proposed to Alina, but there was no marriage. However, his partner by the end is Zoya. Even though they are not married, Nikolai has said that he wants to marry her and it is implied that it is possible for them to get married in the future.

What happens to Nikolai at the end of Ruin and Rising?

Ruin and Rising is the final book in the Shadow and Bone trilogy. The first thing that Nikolai does in the book is save the Grisha that escaped the White Cathedral, including Alina and Mal. Then, Nikolai brings them to the Spinning Wheel, with the other survivors. At this point, the group decides that they are going to fight back at the Darkling. When Nikolai and Alina try to gain support, they first visit Ketterdam. However, when they start to leave, the Darkling appears. The Darkling then infected Nikolai with merzost. The merzost causes Nikolai to turn into a winged monster with fangs, talons, and skin that has darkness veins. It also gives him a hunger for human flesh. Alina tries to heal him, but he then flies off towards the Fold, a land bathed in dark forces and predators named volcra. Later, when Alina and the group meet the Darkling in the Fold, Nikolai appears again with the volcra. He gets them to attack their creator, helping Alina fight the Darkling’s forces. Alina stabs a Darkling in the chest, killing him. This makes Nikolai human again. After this, Nikolai is back in uniform and brought to remnants of Ravka’s First Army. He then claims the throne of Os Alta, No one knows of his transformation. He asks Alina once again to be his Queen, but she refuses. She then lives a private life with Mal, with Nikolai often visiting their private life in disguise.