“We have to do this,” Lotte insisted, pulling Alena down the street by the hand.

“There has to be something else that we could be doing,” Alena whined. “This can’t be the best use of our time.”

Lotte reminded her, “We can’t stay in the house; the big meeting is today. And you admitted that you hadn’t seen your parents since you told them what happened to me. You need closure, Alena.”

“Alright,” Alena said, finally stepping forward to walk beside Lotte. “But I can’t imagine this going any way but horribly. My parents aren’t like yours, Lotte. They aren’t going to come around.”

“If that’s true, then you need to say goodbye to them on your own terms, Alena.”

They stopped outside the front door to her parent’s home. This hadn’t really felt like Alena’s home since she moved in with Lotte, but she’d still always felt welcome here. Now, Alena couldn’t help but feel like she was trespassing.

She knocked on the door with a trembling hand, then waited. It was Zensi who opened the door. When she saw Alena standing there, a look of sympathy crossed her face. As her gaze shifted to Lotte, though, she bit her lip.

Turning back into the house, Zensi called, “Mother, Father: Alena’s here! And she brought a… friend!”

Alena and Lotte stepped into the house as more footsteps approached. Zensi disappeared up the stairs just as Alena’s mother and father turned the corner down the hallway. Both of them looked frustrated.

“Where have you been?” her father demanded.

“We’ve been so worried for you,” her mother added.

“It’s like you’ve been avoiding us.”

“Don’t you care about our feelings at all, Alena?”

Alena took a deep breath and grabbed Lotte’s hand. Her parents saw the action and turned their focus on Lotte. Their eyes widened as it sunk in who they were looking at.

“She can’t be here,” Alena’s father said.

Lotte muttered, “Nice to see you, too, Mr. Kappel.”

“He’s right,” Alena’s mother said. “You know how dangerous magic is. We can’t stop you from being around her, but Lotte is not welcome in our house.”

“Enough!” Alena cried, startling both her parents. “She is my girlfriend—my fiancee—and she goes where I go. I’m not letting her out of my sight again.”

“She has magic, Alena,” her mother hissed. “I don’t want her near any of my children. Why don’t you understand that?”

Lotte shifted uncomfortably beside Alena, who growled, “Her magic doesn’t make her dangerous, Mother. It makes her wonderful and special and free to be who she really is, deep inside.”

“Listen to yourself, Alena,” her father shot back. “Calling her your ‘fiancee.’ I thought we taught you better than this. She is dragging you down.” Turning to Lotte, he added, “You’ve never been good enough for my—”

But Alena stepped between them and glared at her father, muttering, “She’s the love of my life and no matter what you say I’m not going to leave her. And I don’t need the two of you breathing down my back about this or anything else anymore. I came here to tell you that I’m done. This is goodbye, and I don’t intend to come back.”

Before her parents could respond, Alena had grabbed Lotte and pulled her out the front door. She had already begun to storm down the street when they heard someone call out behind them. Glancing back, Alena spotted Zensi and Edith approaching, Zensi carrying a large pouch at her hip.

Edith grabbed Alena in a tight hug, crying, “Thank you, Alena! Thank you for standing up to them. They keep trying to tell me I can’t like girls, but I know that I’ll find someone who loves me just like you did.”

Alena hugged her sister back, promising, “Edith, when this is all over I’m going to get you out of that house as soon as possible and then you’ll never have to deal with them again. I swear to you that I’ll make this right.”

Zensi was taking a good, long look at Lotte, who raised a hand to wave shyly at her.

“I never saw much of you when you were a man,” Zensi said, “but you look a lot happier now.”

“I am a lot happier,” Lotte admitted, smiling sheepishly.

“Promise me that you’ll take care of my sister.”

“I promise.”

“Good.” Zensi untied the pouch from her belt and handed it over to Lotte. “That’s all the money I’ve been saving for the past couple of months. It isn’t a lot, but if it helps you and your friends, I want you to have it. It’s the only way that I know how to show my support, since I can’t join myself.”

“What’s going on?” Edith asked, glancing between Lotte and Zensi.

“Nothing important,” Alena assured her, patting Edith gently on the back before letting go. “Thank you, Zensi. It means a lot to us.”

After a few more hugs, Alena and Lotte departed from Alena’s sisters. Zensi promised to take good care of Edith until Alena could return for her. Since they were feeling kind of hungry, Lotte and Alena started heading for a tavern where they could get a decent meal for cheap.

“How long is the meeting supposed to last?” Lotte asked.

Alena replied, “Everyone should be cleared out by sundown, I think, so we’ve got a few hours before we should be back there.”

“Alright.” Lotte rubbed her hands together and licked her lips. “I don’t know about you, Alena, but I could really go for some cheap schnitzel right about—” She took in a sharp breath and her eyes widened. “We’re being followed.”

Alena cursed and resisted the urge to turn around. “By who?”

“Zisald says three guards behind us.”

Glancing around, Alena added, “And there are a surprising number of them on this street for some reason. This smells like a trap.”

“There’s an alley on the right up ahead. Are you up for a run?”

“Always.”

The two took off at a sprint. Out of the corner of her eye, Alena saw two guards trying to be inconspicuous give up the act and start running after them. She and Lotte made it to the alley with the sound of shouting approaching from behind. A ball of light appeared in Lotte’s hand. She turned to throw it behind them, where it exploded in a bright flash and a small boom.

When they emerged on the other side of the alley, though, several more guards were already converging on them, polearms drawn and pointed at them. Lotte was shaking, but she summoned up a pair of claws and growled, taking an aggressive stance. Alena reached into her pocket and pulled out a small dagger, holding it out in front of her. A soft clapping got their attention.

“Very impressive,” Manfred said, stepping forward. His dull gray eyes shifted between Lott and Alena. “Torben wants to see the two of you. Come along.”

The two were led by weapon-point toward the Prefecture Estate. Alena was grinding her teeth. How had they managed to fall for a trap like this? What did Torben have planned for them? Beside her, Lotte was shivering, her eyes focused on something distant and unseen. Alena grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

“It’s alright,” she whispered. “I’m here. We’re not going to be separated. Nothing bad is going to happen to you.”

Lotte gulped, but didn’t stop shaking.

Once in the Prefecture Estate, Alena and Lotte were brought to an empty ballroom. A small seat had been set up in the middle, where Torben sat with one leg crossing the other and his head resting on his hand. He looked incredibly bored, but Alena knew he wouldn’t have gone to these lengths if he wasn’t trying to toy with them.

“Good, you’re here,” he said, gesturing to the guard beside him, who was carrying a small chest. The guard opened it up to reveal the money that Torben had confiscated from Alena and Lotte all those weeks ago. “This is the money that you saved up to flee town, if I’m not mistaken?”

“Did you bring us here just to rub that in our faces?” Alena asked.

“Actually,” Torben said, standing up, “I brought you here to make an offer. You can have the money back and leave town, if you want. All you have to do is turn on the Resistance. Give me every name you know, and I’ll let you walk away with the money.”

“Not on your life!” Alena snarled.

Torben turned to Lotte, asking, “What about you?”

Lotte took a deep breath and replied, “You heard our answer.”

“Need I remind you,” Torben began, “that this is the only thing that you wanted all along? The only reason you’ve been opposing me?”

“It’s about more than that now,” Alena said, puffing out her chest. “We’re not just fighting for our relationship. We’re fighting for all the marginalized people in this town, the people who deserve far better treatment than you’ll ever give them, you bastard. Only by standing together do we stand a chance against tyranny like yours.”

Beside Alena, Lotte nodded. Some of the guards exchanged glances with each other, but Alena was too focused on glaring at Torben to read their expressions. Torben sighed and gestured for the guard to take the chest away. Alena watched as he headed for the door, taking away their hard-earned money once again.

“Can’t say that I’m surprised,” Torben said. “You’ve been difficult every step of the way. I guess I’m out of other options.” Turning to Manfred, he said, “Bring them with us.”

The guards escorted Alena and Lotte out of the Prefecture Estate and down the street. Alena’s breathing was a little heavier. She had no idea what was going to happen to them, now. If Torben really was done putting up with them, then this could very well be their march to a public execution. She wouldn’t be surprised.

“Lotte,” Alena whispered. “Whatever happens, if this is the end for us, I just want you to know that it was worth every moment I got to spend by your side.”

Lotte took her hand and squeezed it firmly.

“I feel the same way.”

They were walking for a while, until the streets started to become familiar again. Alena had been down these streets before. They were getting close to… fuck, no. There was no way! He couldn’t have found out—

There was a collection of guards outside Ursel’s home. The gate was wide open, and sounds of struggle could be heard from inside. Several people had been dragged out already and were restrained on the ground. Alena scanned the group and recognized Therese and Gernot, as well as Ursel’s husband Ortwin.

She glanced at Lotte, who mirrored her expression of horror.

“I’ve known where the headquarters was for a while, actually,” Torben said coolly. “I was just waiting for a good opportunity to strike, something that they couldn’t recover from. A meeting between all the leaders seemed like the perfect opportunity.”

“Then why did you try to bribe us?!” Alena cried.

Torben smirked and replied, “It was a no-lose scenario. Either you betrayed them and lived with the guilt, even if it changed nothing, or I would be able to see you crushed by the realization that it didn’t matter.”

Just then, Fadia stepped out through the open gates and looked around. Spotting Alena and Lotte with Torben, she began walking over. Alena’s heart sank as she realized the significance of Fadia not being restrained. Torben grinned and placed a hand on Fadia’s shoulder, causing her to wrinkle her nose and pull away.

“Fadia,” he said, “you made such a good mole, didn’t you?”

Alena couldn’t speak. Lotte asked, “Fadia… this can’t be true…”

“It’s nothing personal,” she said, looking away and dusting off her outfit. “This assignment was my key to being promoted to spymaster. I had no choice.”

“We could have worked together!” Alena hissed. “You could have fed him misinformation. You’re an immigrant! He hates you.”

“No,” Fadia said sharply, “Torben is opposed to people coming here without skills or a plan and dragging the rest of society down. And the Resistance was never going to succeed anyway. This was the best way for me to get power and security for myself.”

“And you did beautifully, my dear,” Torben said. “We’ll talk about the arrangements of your promotion later, I promise.”

Fadia nodded and started walking away. Alena glared after her, then sighed. More of the leaders were being brought out of the house. She could see Claus, in uniform, escorting one of them. He locked eyes with Alena and lowered his gaze, clearly ashamed but unable to resist in any way. At least with the big meeting today, Margarete was at home and safe.

The next person to be dragged through the front gates was Ursel, squirming and shouting and trying to break free of her restraints. She towered over the guards, and it took three of them to hold her still. As soon as Ortwin saw her, though, he climbed to his feet and ran over, only to be blocked by a guard.

“Ortwin!” Ursel cried. “I’m sorry! This should never have happened to you—”

“It’s alright, my love,” Ortwin replied. “I knew the risks we were taking. I promised to follow you and I’d do it all again.”

“That’s enough of that,” Torben said, stepping in front of Lotte and Alena. “So, tell me, was it worth all the effort in the end, now that you’ve lost everything?”

Alena didn’t respond. Neither did Lotte. Torben chuckled.

He continued, “Very well. You have until morning to be out of Marusta. If you’re still here by then, I’ll have you thrown in prison as well and you’ll share the same fate as the rest of them. Unless, of course, you’ve reconsidered my marriage offer, Alena?”

Alena said nothing.

“I didn’t think you had,” Torben finished, before telling the guards, “We’re done here. Finish helping with the arrests. Manfred, pick two others and you’ll escort me back home.”

Everyone began moving, leaving Alena and Lotte standing still. All Alena wanted to do was sink into the ground and disappear. It had all been pointless. None of this had mattered. It was a failed mission from the start.

Then she was being pulled along by Lotte, who was dragging her in the direction of their old house.

“Come on,” Lotte said, “we have to move quickly.”

The little house smelled awful on the inside. Alena was so nauseous that she had to stand in the doorway and poke her head outside. After a few moments, Alena collapsed onto the front steps and began to cry.

“Alena,” Lotte said, stepping over her and sitting down with a large sack. “We have to go.”

“What is that?” Alena managed to stammer out.

“Money from Marius. You still have the money Zensi gave us, right?” Alena nodded. “Then we need to make a run for it. We still have enough time to secure passage to a nearby town before nightfall. Once we’ve found a place to sleep, we’ll figure out what to do next, okay?”

Again, Alena nodded. It was all she could think to do. Lotte grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up, then grabbed her in a loose hug.

“We’re going to get through this, okay?”

This time, Alena didn’t respond.