As Eliot took his hand, Aleksander braced himself for the rush of power. And when it came, he was fascinated all over again about the difference between Grisha and non Grisha power. With his fellow Grisha, there was always a sense of familiarity. He and the person he was amplifying might have different affinities but they all practiced the Small Science and through it were all connected to the making of the world. 'Are we not all things' his grandfather had written and in these moments, it was easy to believe that if he just focused hard enough, he too could call on a different element then his own shadows.

Non Grisha power was different. He could feel some tantalizing similarities but most of it was unfamiliar, like something put just out of reach. He was the conduit for the power but that was all he was. He had no understanding of what he was enhancing and he was self-aware enough to admit that it was intensely frustrating to have a mystery he had no hope of solving.

He glanced at Eliot's other hand and had to bite back a laugh. Who would have thought that the answer to his search for someone who could bring light should have been done in a different world then his own. He half-suspected the Mansion was trying to tell him something.