"We're ready to go."

Alouette jolts and turns around, slipping the message into her pocket. Gray is waiting in the doorway, arms crossed over his chest. She looks into the dark building once more, trying to glimpse something between the shadows, but whoever left that message is either long gone or hiding. For a moment she considers asking Gray to help her check the warehouse once more, but then changes her mind. To convince him she'd have to tell him about the message, but her instinct tells her she shouldn't.

Without a word, she follows him back outside. She can't have been in there for too long—ten minutes at most—but the sun has risen and painted the few clouds scattered across the sky golden-pink. It's a deceptively good morning, and it puts Alouette on edge.

When they reach the car, Jayden and Brooks have managed to settle Elijah in the backseat and are sitting next to him. Jayden is looking out of the window, Brooks has set his head back against his seat and closed his eyes.

Alouette halts in the middle of the street. "We're going back to the Palace?"

Gray sends her a puzzled glance. "Where else?"

"I can't go back to the Palace." She shakes her head quickly. "I can't go back there, I still have things to do, still—"

He rolls his eyes. "You have no car, no objective, and you're being chased."

"I have to find my sister!"

"And there—" he points at the car, "—is your best lead. He disappeared together with your sister, he must know something. And we're taking him back to the Palace, because he needs a doctor."

"This isn't right."

"Listen," Gray starts, and from the tone of his voice Alouette can already tell he'll say something she won't like, "we conducted an investigation without the Palace's permission and found someone we'd honestly just assumed had been killed weeks ago. We're bringing him to the Palace, and if you want to find your sister, you'll come with us."

She opens her mouth to bite back, but he interrupts her.

"You're more than welcome to leave again afterwards, but I have to go back and I'm not leaving you out there to get killed."

A door of the car opens and Brooks's head pops out. "Can we get moving? I'm exhausted."

Alouette sighs and slides into the passenger's seat. She hates doing this, but she knows Gray is right—Elijah truly is their best lead, and he needs a doctor. He has to go back to the Palace, and if she wants to know anything, she has to go back with him. She sends a guilty glance at the backseat as Gray starts the car. She's been so worried about her sister that she's hardly thought of him, and thinking about it now makes her feel sick. He's done everything for her. He's fought and got hurt and he's betrayed Ezra, for her. She knew they were friends—they'd been for so long—but, deep down, she'd always thought his allegiance lay in the Revolution, not her. But when he was forced to make a choice twenty days ago, he chose her. He chose her, and she forgot about it—about him, almost.

She's truly let her hate and desperation devour all her light. This should've never happened—would've never happened, before. She can hardly recognise the person she is now. When the Revolution fell, she was destroyed in more ways than one. She wishes she could feel alive again—she's so tired of this deathless death.

Everyone is a bird.

She leans back against her seat and watches the buildings speed past her window. Gray's going so fast that they're nothing but a grey blur at her side. She forces herself to stop thinking, to shut it all down—it's easier this way. She'll deal with whatever all this means later, because she can't make sense of it as it is, and just having to try makes her even more anxious.

"Notify the Palace we're coming back," Gray announces suddenly, In the rear-view mirror, Brooks sends Jayden a little look. She doesn't like it at all, and from the look on Gray's face she can tell he doesn't either. "What is it?"

"Well..." Brooks starts slowly, "we can't really—"

Gray shoots him a glare through the window. "Don't tell me you left the radio at the Palace."

"We didn't leave the radio at the Palace," Brooks replies.

"Okay, so—"

"We left everything at the Palace."

The car comes to a sudden halt. Alouette has to grip her seat not to be thrown past the dashboard. Gray slams a hand against the wheel. "Brooks, what the fuck—"

"Technically, you're the one that told us to be subtle about it," Brooks says with a shrug.

"You left everything at the Palace and stole weapons, Brooks! Are you a bunch of idiots?! They're gonna think you ditched the Palace, for fuck's sake!"

Brooks smiles at him innocently from the backseat. "But thankfully you're here with us and you're our boss, so you can vouch for us and tell them we were only following your orders."

"I hate you." Gray pulls a phone out of an inner pocket of his uniform and switches it on. It's not the one he used earlier to contact Brooks and Jayden—it's another. "I'm contacting Jackson." He brings it to his ear while starting the car again.

For a few moments, the car speeds down the street in silence. They've just left Greenside, and in front of them the road unfurls like a ribbon straight down into the middle of nothing.

He frowns. "It's not going through."

"What do you mean, it's not going through?" Brooks asks, sitting up and grabbing Gray's seat.

"I mean it's not going through." Gray's reply is harsh. The car speeds up. "We're going back now."

Brooks catches Alouette's gaze in the rear-view mirror, but doesn't say a word and settles back against his seat instead. If he knows what Gray is talking about, he doesn't let it show.

She turns around properly to look at Elijah. He's sitting between Brooks and Jayden, head abandoned against the headrest, and he's not moving. "How is he?" she asks quietly.

Brooks side-glances at him. "He's certainly alive," he replies. "Aside from that, it's hard to tell. The sooner we get back, the better." Then, he leans his head on the car window and announces, "Wake me up when we get there."

On the other side of Elijah, Jayden doesn't say a word. Alouette doesn't turn to look at him. She still doesn't know how she feels about him being here. Knowing he came here just out of some oddly-placed feeling of guilt is sickening—he knew exactly what he was doing then. What right does he have to feel guilty about it now? If he thought it wasn't right, he shouldn't have done it in the first place.

Why didn't you take your own advice when it was your turn, Alouette?

She frowns and turns back around. Stop it. Stop it. She can't keep thinking this way. It'll eat her alive. It won't stop until it's consumed her down to her bones.

Gray is driving even faster now that they're out of the city, and she has to close her eyes to silence her anxiety and nausea. The dead plain beyond her window makes her feel like they aren't moving at all.

Despite the speed, by the time they see the outline of Northfair in the distance, it's afternoon. Brooks has been sleeping on and off since the morning—as his frequent snoring proved, and Alouette too must've fallen asleep for a bit at some point, because her neck is stiff and achy. Elijah is still unmoving, hopefully just asleep, and she bites the inside of her cheek and tries her hardest to keep her mind from thinking, because she doesn't want to know what it would conjure up for her.

Gray doesn't slow down, and soon they're drawing closer and closer to the city. Heavy clouds have amassed above their heads, and the plain is steeped in shadow. The dark mass of Northfair inches closer; Alouette's gaze travels over the shape of the skyscrapers shooting for the sky like bony fingers out of a grave. An odd feeling settles in the pit of her stomach. Seeing the city again feels wrong. Northfair looks like something dead brought back to life in the darkness clustered under the clouds, every trace of its magic gone.

They've drawn even closer when Alouette suddenly sees it. Northfair is dark. "The screens are off," she gasps out.

The silence in the car is heavy. When she turns to the others, the look on Gray's face is thunderous. "What's going on?" he asks, looking in the rear-view mirror. "What's this?"

Brooks shakes his head, shock on his face as well. "It was normal when we left."

"Normal?! What—"

They enter the city. Around them, Northfair is a maze of dark, deserted streets. The skyscrapers draw deep shadows through the main roads, and no light is coming out of any building in the city. The shop signs, the screens that are constantly on and showing ads through the dead of night are dark. All the shops are closed, the windows of the offices are obscured.

Alouette looks into every side street they pass by, but she sees no one. No people, no vehicles are around. Northfair, the buzzing capital of the country that always shines like it wants to compete with the stars themselves, is a ghost town. A thousand questions storm her mind, but she says nothing. Inside the vehicle, the silence stretches.

Anxiety washes through her in waves. This isn't right. Something happened, something terrible must've—and she doesn't know what it is. What did they miss?

Above all, she hates that her mind goes to the Palace and the people that live inside it. The people that live inside it. The person that lives inside it.

"It wasn't like this earlier," Jayden murmurs behind her. She doesn't need to turn around to know that shock is all over his face.

Gray speeds up again.

Soon they're in view of the Palace, and Alouette's breath hitches.

The Palace is completely dark as well. The gates are still locked, but they aren't illuminated either. The area is nothing more than a shadow in the middle of what used to be the busiest city in the country.

"What the fuck is happening?" Gray mutters, slowly approaching the gates. The car waits in front of them for a long moment, but they don't open.

Gray frowns and drives closer to them. They're too close now—if it were any other day, they would've already been shot. And yet, now the darkened husk of the Palace fails to notice someone is at its doors. Gray honks loudly, and Alouette gasps. He ignores her glance and honks again.

And again.

At last, the side door in the wall opens and five guards step out. They're holding their weapons high, but lower them in confusion when they notice the car waiting on the other side belongs to the Palace. Still, they huddle next to each other next to the gate, exchanging quick words. In the end the ones near the gate lift their rifles again, and the last one out moves towards the car.

Gray lowers the car window on his side. "Gray of the personal guard, in the company of Ivenhart and Brooks and Jayden of the personal guard," he tells the man when he comes close.

The guard flashes a torch in their faces. "Who's that in the back?"

"Possibly, a key informant." When the guard doesn't seem convinced, Gray sighs. "You can keep him if you don't trust him."

"Hey!" Alouette exclaims.

"He needs a doctor," he adds, and the guard walks back to the group. They talk again, and then one of them nods towards the top of the gate. Alouette doesn't need to check to know there are rifles pointed on them from up there, too.

The gates open, and the guards move behind them as Gray slowly drives within the circle of walls. The square of the Palace is full of soldiers, hectic like Alouette has never seen it. When Gray parks the car, they open the doors for them and check out the vehicle. A group of soldiers arrives with a stretcher and carries Elijah away. When Alouette makes to go with them, Gray stops her with a hand on her wrist. Another guard comes towards them and checks all their IDs, making sure they're not forged, even though she can recognise the members of the President's personal guard.

"What's going on?" Gray asks her, and she shakes her head.

"You can go up. The upper floors have been notified of your arrival."

They enter the Palace from the garage. Inside, the lower floors are just as chaotic as the yard. Gray stops someone to ask what is happening, but he gets no answer again. In the end, they give up and get on the lift to the upper floors.

"Have you ever seen something like this?" Alouette asks in a low whisper while they're on the lift.

"Like this?" Brooks replies, "Not a chance."

The doors of the lift open.

They've barely stepped out when Jackson storms in their direction.

"Where the fuck were you?!" he shouts, grabbing Brooks's arm and shaking him. "What the fuck were you doing?!"

Alouette barely has time to notice he's wearing his full uniform instead of his usual suit before he turns to Jayden and Gray as well.

"Where did you run off to?! Do you have any idea—"

"Oh come on—" Gray starts, but Jackson interrupts him again.

"You're the President's personal guard! You're supposed to be here. You're supposed to answer when you're called. Where the fuck did you go?!"

"We just—"

Jackson turns a venomous glare to Brooks. "If you know what's good for you, you'll shut the fuck up right now." Alouette's breath hitches. She's never seen him act like this before. He's always been cold and composed—what is this? "Do you think this is a fucking joke? You think you can be in the personal guard and just disappear when you're needed?!"

Gray intercedes, though he doesn't dare to move Jackson away from Brooks. "It's not like you needed us—"

"What?!" Jackson lets out a cold laugh, hiding his face with his hand. "Oh, God. You're fucking kidding me, right?"

"I just—"

Jackson's hand flies out. Alouette can barely realises what's happening before it comes into contact with Gray's cheek, hard. Gray's head whips to the side. His face turns red. "We didn't need you?" Jackson seethes, "Are you joking? The Palace was attacked, and you're saying—"

"The Palace was attacked?!" Alouette gasps out, and Jackson's glare turns to her. For a moment, she fears he'll attack her as well.

But he doesn't. "You'll—" He starts, but he doesn't get to finish the sentence because suddenly Harry turns the corner and dashes towards them.

He comes to a halt in front of Alouette and looks at her like she's just shot him. "You're here." He's breathing heavily, and it doesn't even look like he's aware of what he's just said.

Alouette's heart stutters in her chest. Nausea rushes through her. She can't say a word. It all tangles inside her—her rage, her despair, her fear, her stupid relief at seeing him alive, despite everything he's done. She hates herself so much she wants to scream. "Not for long," she replies. She doesn't know if it's true, but she enjoys the fleeting look that passes over his face.

He doesn't rise to the bait. He just stares at her, like he can't quite believe she's right here. A moment passes by, and his expression shutters. "Welcome back to the Palace, then," he says, and his voice is so cool, so cold this time around, that Alouette shudders. He turns his gaze to the others. Gray is looking down, a hand covering his stinging cheek. "So here you are," Harry murmurs, and for a moment she fears he'll do something to them—something bad. But he just says, "Jackson will bring you up to speed."

He leaves.

Alouette rushes towards him and grabs his arm before she even realises what she's doing. He spins around and wrenches it out of her grasp. Her nails scratch against the soft white fabric of his dress shirt—the jacket of his suit is missing. They're still in the corridor, but they've turned the corner and no one's around. She guesses she should be grateful no one has seen her trying to get a hold of the President.

"What the hell happened?!" Alouette asks when he doesn't say a word. "Just what—"

Harry gives her a cold smile. She'd believe it, if he hadn't just escaped her grasp like a caged animal. "You didn't see?" he asks, motioning to the floor-to-ceiling window at their side. The only floor-to-ceiling window—because the others have been blocked off. It's the first time she sees the corridors of the Palace only illuminated by their white lights in the middle of the day.

She turns her head towards it. For a moment, she doesn't know what she's looking for. But then she lets out a gasp. "What—what is this..." Her voice fails her.

Between the Palace walls and the rest of the city, there's a row of collapsed buildings, partially cleared out. How did she not notice?

"They took them all down," Harry says, "all around the Palace."

All of them—dozens of buildings, maybe more.

"I—I don't understand." How can this be happening? Who would dare to attack the Palace like this? But this isn't the first time. The Palace was attacked once before—only months ago. But how could this be possible? "It can't be Ezra," she mumbles out. It can't be him. The Revolution is gone. She looks at Harry. "Right?"

He scoffs. "Why do you look so shocked, Alouette?" His voice is hard, cold. "You wanted this, once."

This is madness. "What the fuck are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about."

She lets out a hard laugh. She can't believe this. "So what, now this is my fault?"

"That isn't what I said."

"But you implied it, right?

His jaw clenches. "Don't act like you know what I'm thinking."

"Then stop accusing me of pointless things!" she bites back. "The Revolution attacked the Palace once, so what? You deserved it, and you know this isn't us, now."

"I deserved it?" He lets out a cold laugh. "Truly, Alouette? Is this the hill you want to die on?"

She takes a step forward. She'd thought herself spent, but rage burns through her anew—when she speaks, she hardly knows what she's saying. "Yes, you deserved it! You still deserve it! So what if the Palace was attacked, it deserves a fucking reckoning! You deserve it—you're a murderer and a liar, and you betrayed—"

He laughs again—a freezing, cruel thing. "This is absurd," he spits out. "How much of a hypocrite can you be?"

Alouette flinches. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me," Harry replies. He doesn't raise his voice, but there's a brewing storm in his tone. "With your stupid ideals and beliefs." He takes a step forward. They're so close she has to raise her head to look at him. "You hardly follow them yourself, but you're always acting so righteous towards others."

"What the fuck are you talking about?!"

"You infiltrated my home first. You came here to kill me. You stood and watched when your organisation attacked the Palace. You've always been willing to pay for your own peace in blood, so why do you think you're any different from me?"

"You fucking—"

Harry's hand closes around her arm. "I may be a bad person, Lark, but you're just as bad as me."

She sees red. "Don't fucking call me like that!" She pushes him back, hard.

He trips and falls.

Her eyes widen. "What, why did you fall...?" she mutters, trembling. Her eyes lock with his, well below her for once, and she feels sick.

Suddenly, she realises he doesn't look all that fine. The sleeves of his dress shirt are crumpled, and his tie is slightly pulled out of his waistcoat. His face is tense, and his eyes, staring hard at her from the floor, are so cold they're almost silver.

He gives her a sharp, cruel smile. "What, Alouette?" She hates the hard, teasing edge of his voice.

She opens her mouth, but before she says a word Evie runs into the corridor.

"Sir!" she calls out in the instant she sees Harry still sitting on the floor. "I've been looking for you everywhere." She rushes to his side. "What happened?" she mumbles, wrapping her arms around him and helping him get up. Alouette has never seen her touch him like this before. Harry teeters slightly, like a deer on newborn legs, but then regains his footing. His hand flies to his middle. "You shouldn't be out here," she continues, turning him towards the other end of the corridor.

"I—I just—" Alouette tries to say, feeling the need to justify herself as they walk away, and Evie turns to look at her.

"Not right now. I'll explain later."

I hope you liked this chapter x
Miki