Because I am a doll, and a servant. Because I am a pretty thing and a soldier all the same 
 unlike those free tor shorts that are absolutely spoiler-free standalone stories, this one is meant to be read after Shadow and Bone, because it will give away important plot points. 
 this is just a little quickie of a story, but it's about genya, for goodness' sake, and she is one of my favorite characters in the whole trilogy, and arguably the one who had the hardest journey. this story is wonderful because in 18 pages, we get backstory, an alternate viewpoint of a scene in the first book, and foreshadowing. pretty damn impressive. i like this story because at first it softens genya's betrayal a little by spotlighting her impossible situation, but then - BLAMMO - EMOTIONAL BOOMERANG! because the fact that she is given the opportunity, by the darkling, to make her own decision about (view spoiler)[whether or not to return or send on alina's letters to mal (hide spoiler)] brings the choice back into her own hands, which is huge. just when you start to have sympathy for her, it's undermined again by her ultimately clear-eyed decision. 
 this trilogy is very focused on choice, and making impossible decisions. so many characters end up doing things they don't want to do for the greater good, and while in this instance, "the greater good" is smaller and more selfish, it's a horrible decision to have to make, and takes the reader on a sympathy roller-coaster. 
 i hope there are more genya-stories to come, because there are plenty of scenes i want to see through her eyes.