The gun slips from her hand and falls to the ground.

"Seize her," the voice says.

Hands grab Alouette's arms and slam her against the wall. Her shoulder is throbbing as cold metal is clasped around her wrists. The fear, though, is so overpowering that she barely notices. It's too soon. This shouldn't be happening, not right here, not right now.

There's the tap of boots on the floor, and a red-haired man steps in front of her.

Jayden.

The man before her, though, doesn't look like the Jayden she knows at all. Her Jayden is fun, playful, always tries to make everyone feel happy and at ease. Now, though, he's looking at her as if she was an enemy found between his lines. Like she's dirt, like she committed a terrible crime—and, in a way, she has. She's betrayed the Palace and kidnapped its ruler, she's lied to everyone, she's hurt others. Yet, nothing hurts as much as the glare Jayden sends her way.

Someone comes up behind her and picks up her gun. Just like that, the only weapon she had to keep herself safe is gone. If she wasn't so shocked, she'd laugh at the absurdity of it all. Just yesterday she had everything, now she's lost it all in less than an hour. She wonders if this is how Harry felt when she took him away with her. She wishes she hadn't dismissed him so quickly, now.

As the initial shock fades away, she becomes more aware of her surroundings. Her shoulder is burning, hands are gripping her arms so tightly she has no doubt they'll leave marks. This is how it should've always been, she realizes. Her, an enemy, a revolutionary, seized by the President's personal guard. It's only because of an odd turn of events that she ended up sitting at their table and laughing with them for months. Now, the order is re-established.

Harry steps into the corridor, coming from the living room. He's dressed in all black, as if he was expecting that unplanned visit. He doesn't miss a beat when he sees his guards, but they gasp. One rushes to him, but he takes a step back, a silent warning for anyone who's planning on becoming too expansive that he has no intention to be touched.

"Harry!" Alouette exclaims. She doesn't know what she expects from him, but her shoulders drop at his next action.

He looks into her eyes, but just for a moment. He can't or doesn't want to withstand her gaze, because he glances away right after.

Betrayal isn't the right word to identify the cluster of emotions that washes over her. Harry has never played her, she's known where his morals and loyalties lie since the start. Yet, it stings. It pierces her heart and burns a path up her throat, and she has to clench her teeth not to shout at him.

This isn't right. He's kissed her, he's helped her, he's held her in his arms and called her sweet nicknames. He shouldn't be allowed to do this, not after everything they've been through together. But this is where she's going wrong. She's let herself be blinded by his oddly kind yet random actions, be blown away by him acting as if she was his equal, and it made her forget who he truly is.

She should've never let her guard down.

He's enjoying this, a voice says in her head. Is it payback for everything she's done to him?

Her eyes search for his, but he turns away from her. She stares at his back as he walks into the living room again with Jayden in tow, leaving her alone with the other two guards.

"Move," one of the guards hisses in her ear, but she isn't sure she knows how to send the message to her legs. She has no doubts she'd fall if they let her go now.

They shove her into her father's bedroom. She loses her footing and falls face-first on the bed. The door is shut behind her, and she's left alone as she scrambles to sit up. The metal of the handcuffs is still cold against her wrists, it folds her arms at an odd angle.

Alouette kneels on the mattress and looks around. There's a window on the other side of the room. She's never tried to open it, but she's quite sure it isn't sealed. They're quite high up, though, and even if she managed to open it, she doesn't know how to climb down with her hands tied. She quickly does the maths in her head and decides against using it. If she gets hurt, she's done for. Besides, she doesn't know when the guards will come back into the room, and the risk of being caught is too high.

She has to make them think they won so that they'll lower their guard, and she'll escape then—and, hopefully, she'll find a way to get to Harry as well, because she can't lose him now that she has to prove her worth to the Revolution.

There are voices coming from the other room, but she can't hear what they're saying. Is Harry telling his guards everything he went through?

She's starting to feel sick, now. The more time goes by, the more she fears her end is near.

But, to her surprise, nobody comes in to kill her.

The next time the door opens, Jayden steps inside. That cold look is still on his face, and it sends a shiver up Alouette's spine. This isn't him.

For the first time, she feels guilty. She knows she's played him, lied to him, she even got him to reveal some confidential information to her—and he did, because he trusted her. Because he thought she was his friend, but instead, she was only using him. She feels like she's ruined him. She knows he'll never look at others the same way.

"Against the wall," he states. His voice is monotonous, but his jaw is clenched.

She obeys fast, and he brings a chair into the room. He puts it next to the wall, as far away as possible from the entrance. He goes back to the door and closes it, and then motions in its direction.

"Sit."

She sits on the chair, and a deep silence fills the room. "Jayden..." She starts, but he interrupts her.

"Shut up."

"But—"

"I don't want to hear your excuses."

Alouette falls silent. "I'm sorry," she whispers.

The glare he sends her away is enough to make her mouth fall shut.

"I said, I don't want to hear your excuses." Jayden leans against the door. The entire apartment is eerily silent now, and Alouette wonders if they're listening in. "I don't know what kind of person you believe I am, but if you think I'm easy to fool, you're wrong. I trusted you, Lark, or whatever your real name is. We fought together, I saw you attack my enemy, I believed you were on my side. Of course, I couldn't have anticipated you'd shoot your friends so easily. It makes me wonder what kind of person you are."

Alouette's heart hurts. "Don't mention that night."

Jayden narrows his eyes. "So you aren't as heartless as I thought," he murmurs, "just too dedicated. In my experience, that's the worst kind of people. Would give up everything to follow your schemes."

"Don't talk to me like you know me."

Hurt flashes through Jayden's eyes, but she can't care right now. If she crumbles now, she'll be done for. Now, she needs answers. She needs to know what she did wrong—she needs to know if Harry betrayed her.

"I didn't think you'd find us here," she states, "so far away from the Palace, in Revolution territory."

"You left quite the trail," Jayden replies. "First it was your picture next to a dead body, then it was someone running around claiming to have been attacked by none other than the President. Sure, the others at the pub didn't care much, but I know how to listen, and how to ask questions."

The picture. If she closes her eyes, she can still see herself letting it fall because of the shock and fear. Until now, she'd assumed Harry picked it up for her. But he didn't. He left it there, because he knew it would attract attention.

"Now," Jayden continues, "I don't know what the Revolution has promised you, but—"

"I don't work under the Revolution," Alouette replies. "But it doesn't need to bribe people. There's no need to convince others when you're in the right."

Jayden scoffs. "You expect me to believe you did it all on your own?"

It isn't the truth. She could easily tell him it was all the Revolution, that they forced her to do what they wanted, but that would only make her look weak, and she's tired of being pitied by others. She wants that validation. She wants him to realise that she isn't going to bow down, because it feels good. "Believe what you want," she replies, calmly but not dismissively. "However, I must tell you the Revolution is chasing me." She gives him a little smile. If her only two cards have turned against her, she might as well use them against each other.

Jayden pales. "What?"

"It won't be long until they're here. And they're a lot, more than you three can take on." Oddly enough, she feels like Harry would probably find a way to take them all on and come out on top. But Jayden isn't like Harry, and he'll never ask his President to protect him.

He lets out a shaky laugh. "Yeah, sure."

"You're free to ignore my words." She shrugs. "Just so you know, though, the Revolution is planning to kill Harry. They'll shoot him on sight."

Jayden crosses his arms, without saying a word. Alouette can see him thinking. Then, he sighs.

"We need to move, now!" he shouts, racing into the corridor.

Alouette doesn't move. If she wants it to work out, she has to time it all perfectly.

Another guard comes inside and pulls her away from the chair. Jayden is with Harry some steps ahead, and they follow them out of the apartment. She glances at Harry's figure as they move down the stairs, wondering if he still has her knife on him. If only she got close enough, she could...

The main door is opened, and they're outside.

Alouette stops walking.

The guard behind her moves to stand on her side. "Come on, what the hell are you doing?" he spits, tugging at her arm.

She throws out her leg in a side kick. It hits him right behind the knee, and his grip falters. She slips out of it, but the other guard is already upon her. She tries to kick the second one similarly, but he grabs her leg and throws her up into the air. The air is knocked out of her lungs when her back slams onto the street, and her vision turns to black.

When her eyes blink open again, she's being shoved in the back of a car, between the two guards. Her ears are ringing, and she can't recollect what happened in the last twenty seconds.

As Jayden speeds down the street the spots of black before her eyes become smaller and smaller, and then disappear completely. Her heartbeat seems to be resonating deeper than usual in her chest, and it the pain that comes from breathing mixes with the ache in her shoulder.

She glances up, and meets Harry's eyes just for a second through the rear view mirror. She can't look away fast enough. He glances away, nothing in his mint green irises. Where has the complicity inside of them gone? Was he lying to her, or is he lying now?

Jayden drives them to the other side of the city. Alouette doesn't know how he managed not to come across anyone from the Revolution, considering they're most definitely still looking for Harry—and her, too. Maybe she shouldn't have told him. She could've waited for the Revolution to attack and made her escape then, but... there would've been no way to tell what would've happened to Harry. And, despite the way he's acting now, she still doesn't want to lose him. She fought too hard to lose him at the hands of the Revolution.

Jayden parks the car. They're in front of a building she isn't familiar with, and nobody is around. He steps out of the car with Harry, and she too is pulled out soon after. As they walk towards the door, Harry brushes against her side for a moment. The only reason why she doesn't reach out and grab his knife is that she's too taken by the softness of the back of Harry's hand against hers. A moment later, she's so angry at herself that she could scream. She can't believe she lost her only chance because of something so futile.

As they walk inside, Alouette fears that there will be more guards waiting for them, enough to make sure she'll never manage to escape.

But nobody is inside—it's just them and the walls. She feels a little reassured, even though this means she'll still have to go through three people to save herself.

The building is divided in rooms, and there are no decorations around. It's clear it hasn't been used as a home in years. It's probably why Jayden chose to stay here.

"Nice place," Alouette says, earning a glare from the two guards holding her.

"Shut up," one of them mutters, and she raises her hands in apology.

"I'll go ask for transport," Jayden tells the others. "It's too dangerous to try to leave the city so unprotected if the Revolution is after us."

He walks to the other room, and the guards holding Alouette pull her down to the floor.

"Kneel, look down and don't say a word," says the one that slammed her to the ground, and she obliges.

They walk away from her and point their guns at her. Now she really can't escape. A wrong movement, and they'll shoot her. She inadvertently holds her breath. Now she knows why Harry was so relaxed whenever she pointed her gun at him. You can sense when someone truly wants to hurt you, and she's never actually wanted to shoot him. Similarly, when he held her at gunpoint, she knew deep down that he wouldn't have really pressed the trigger. Now, though, she knows they'll kill her with no regrets if she makes a move.

A pair of shoes comes into her vision. At first she believes she's imagining it, because why would he come to her willingly, after ignoring her for the past hour?

Harry crouches in front of her and lifts her chin with a finger. "Ask me to spare you," he says. His voice is low, slightly teasing.

Alouette's head snaps up. "What?"

From the corner of her eye, she can see the guards giving each other puzzled looks, wondering whether they should intervene. A second later, she realises it's because Harry is speaking too low for them to understand.

"You know you can," he replies. A devilish smile curves his lips. "Things are always like this between us, aren't they? You can never tell which one of us is in charge." He stands up and walks away, under the confused stares of his guards.

"Is everything alright, sir?" one of them asks, shakily, a little worriedly.

Harry looks at Alouette. "Oh, everything is perfect." He goes to sit on the couch on the other side of the room, one of the few pieces of furniture that are scattered around the area.

Alouette suddenly understands but doesn't speak. She won't give him that satisfaction. Judging by the way he's looking at her, he's waiting for her to give in. But she won't—she can't waste everything like this. She has to find a way to escape.

Jayden comes back in the room. "More cars will be here in less than an hour. Thankfully we weren't the only team in this area," he announces. "I'll call the Palace and let them know the situation in advance." He sends Alouette another sharp glare and walks away again.

Ten minutes go by, and Alouette patiently waits for the guards' attention on her to falter. She only needs a moment of distraction; she knows they haven't locked the door. She'd be out in a second.

But the guards keep looking at her, without lowering their firearms.

Twenty more minutes go by.

Then ten more.

She's growing restless. She doesn't have much time, and every moment that goes by signals the death of her possibility to escape. Harry is studying her from the other side of the room, an unreadable look on his face.

Another ten.

She can't wait anymore. If she wants to escape, she has to do it now. Unfortunately, that leaves her with only one possibility.

"Harry," she says.

"Shut up!" one of the guards shouts at her.

Harry raises a hand. "Let her speak." A smile is already starting to form on his face.

Alouette glares at him, and the words remain tangled at the back of her throat.

Harry stands up. "Tell me, what do you wish for?" He chuckles. "Foolish question, is it not?"

"You said you're a man of your word," she says, starting to grow nervous. Does he truly intend to keep his part of the deal, or is he just teasing her because he knows he can?

Truthfully, he doesn't have to do anything. He can stay right here and not say a word, and soon even more guards will come here and take him back to his fancy palace. It won't matter if he doesn't keep his word, but yet...

He tuts. "Who do you think you are, speaking to me so informally?"

Alouette's face grows hotter. She'd expected him to take advantage of the situation, but not like this. She wasn't expecting this. A flame of annoyance burns deep inside her, but Harry is right. Their roles always seem to switch so quickly, and now it's her turn to bow.

"Sir," she hisses between her teeth.

"I don't believe I've heard you," he teases her.

"Sir," she repeats, this time louder. So much for not calling him like this ever again.

Harry smiles viciously. "Now we can talk."

Everything happens in a second. Harry attacks the guard on his left side and steals his gun. Before the other can understand what's going on, he has them both on the other side of the barrel of the firearm he's holding in his hands.

"Don't make me shoot," he threatens, even though there's no way they'd try to harm him in any way. "Now, free her."

The guards share incredulous looks. After some moments, one of them comes up behind her and unclasps the handcuffs from her wrists. She massages them instantly. She's mad at herself for having to use her part of the deal so soon, but she can't deny that Harry's word is worth what she promised him and more, now.

Harry steals the car key and grabs Alouette's arm, pulling her towards the front door with him. He stops and looks at the guards over his shoulder. "But please, do keep looking for me. Maybe I'll come with you the next time."

When they walk out, Jayden chases after them, an incredulous look on his face.

"Sir?!"

Harry holds up the car key. "We'll take this, if you don't mind."

Jayden opens his mouth to reply, but Harry unlocks the car from a distance. When he reaches it he types in the additional security code, and the doors open. Alouette steals the key from Harry's hand and gets in the driver's seat. She waits for Harry to get in as well and then waves Jayden goodbye and speeds down the street.

Harry holds out a hand. "Hairpin."

She takes one out of her hair and hands it to him. He takes apart the car dashboard and extracts a chip hidden behind the radio.

"Are we being tracked?" Alouette asks.

He throws the radio and the chip out of the window. "Not anymore."