“I missed you.” Mila kept sticking to Isabel’s side. She sneaked her hand around her girl’s waist.

“I get it, but it’s hard to walk like this,” Isabel complained but made no effort to increase their distance.

They were currently searching for Andrew. When they had woken up, Isabel was determined to talk with their friend about Helly and caution him against doing anything rash.

But Andrew wasn’t in bed. He wasn’t at the canteen. Mortimer didn’t know where Andrew was. They checked Andrew’s wolf to see if he was there, but that, too, turned out to be a waste of time.

At that point, Mila had pulled Isabel back to the canteen, where they had breakfasted. And it was also there where they found a lead.

Cecilia had managed to talk some people into informing her of Andrew’s movements. The obsession the woman had with their friend wasn’t healthy, but Mila and Isabel chose not to comment on it.

Instead, they soon returned to the streets of Stilag. Mila casually handed a pebble to Isabel, who quickly found a target and launched it.

They both looked at the collapsing stuck-up bitch that had terrorised children. Isabel took another pebble from Mila’s hands. “Is it me, or there are more assholes on the streets than before?”

“Not just you,” Mila observed another collapsing person. This time, it was an older man. He had hit another with a cane for the sin of being a little too slow. “People are feeling the unrest in the air.”

No matter where they looked, people were looking around in caution. They sniffed the air, wondering what the bleak, pressing feeling above their heads could mean. Wary glances quickly turned hostile when faced with the unknown or disagreeable.

There were many times Isabel chose not to act despite seeing a brawl starting in front of them. It was often impossible to tell which one was at fault.

“Ah,” Mila finally noticed something that should have been obvious sooner. “There are no guards.” She pointed out.

Isabel furrowed her brows and searched for the usually conspicuous public ‘servants’. “You are right. There are those guys, though.” She pointed at a party of four dressed in military uniforms.

Their grey garbs made them less noticeable. However, they were even more effective at ending brawls. People were used to the city’s guards and their unruly behaviour. It wasn’t the same with soldiers. There was a healthy dose of cautious respect towards these servicemen.

After the fighting ended, the party of soldiers marched on. The sea of people parted before their advance, not daring to offend them. But Mila didn’t miss the hateful glares from the shadows.

Those who had power before the guards had vanished wanted it back. Once again, the air grew heavier. Mila began guiding Isabel towards their goal. They were planning on visiting Viola. Cecilia had told them he had been seen going towards the infiltrator's place.

But as they walked, it became clear there was more wrong with the city than they had thought. In the distance, there were sounds of fighting. A thunderous, anger-filled roar shook the city for a second before vanishing as if cut off.

It had been where the nobles lived. Mila looked at the direction with a grim expression. It seemed Naran’s words were correct. Not that she doubted them before, but hearing the short but intense clash, she grew more determined to leave as soon as possible.

Mila, Isabel and Andrew had nothing on them. They could move at a moment's notice. But it would leave them in the wild with no food or clothes. While they could stomach it somehow, Mila doubted it would be the same for Mortimer, Kanna and Vatim.

It had become clear that Mila would have to tolerate their presence. Now that it was decided, she minded it less than expected.

It was annoying, sure, but Mila didn’t think it was wrong to help them. She watched another fight break out. This time, it was between the soldiers and thugs. Only fists were flung. Quickly, the trained personnel was overwhelmed by pure numbers and muscles.

The losers were dragged off into the back alleys. Mila narrowed her eyes. Officers would look for their men. This would lead to more fighting. Perhaps they had less time than expected before the hell broke loose.

There was a sudden flow of people as the witnesses tried to escape the crime scene. Everyone was afraid of getting involved in the brewing conflict.

And where were the guards? Mila quickened the step, pushing Isabel to move faster as well.

They waded through the streets, avoiding any trouble. Isabel stopped giving sad looks to the many unfortunate souls filling the paths. More loud noises in the distance quieted the usual hubbub of the crowd.

It was clear most of those who were still on the streets were not here by choice. Mila made Isabel walk in front of her and push through the wall of bodies that formed. Despite many of the locals escaping to their homes, there still were those who tried to find out what was happening.

The morning sun didn’t offer warmth. Mila squinted to look at the shiny ball of energy. It was there but oddly distant and alien. “I don’t like this.” She muttered just so Isabel could hear.

“Something is definitely wrong.” Isabel agreed while showing another bunch of people out of their way.

A few minutes later, they were there. After knocking, Mila and Isabel were shown inside the fake warehouse.

Stolen story; please report.

Despite Mila fearing Viola would not be here to avoid her retribution, it turned out to be a wasted worry.

“Hey there, Blood-Soaked Maiden and Invioable Palading of Honor and Justice.” The woman shamelessly greeted them. She did keep her distance, ready to escape. Probably because she was taunting them with a confident smirk.

“You-” Isabel growled. “-Are going to pay for that.” She pointed at Viola threateningly.

Which made the woman scoff in disdain. “Not gonna happen. Not until Mila lets go of you. And from the looks of it, it is not going to happen.”

“I might…” Mila threatened. It wasn’t convincing as she snuggled closer to Isabel. The damn dream had been too long. All in all, it had been four days she had been stuck in it. She had learned a lot but longed for it to end and return to Isabel’s side.

The sceptical look Viola gave indicated she didn’t believe the threat either. “So, should I offer tea or flee?” She couldn’t decide. Isabel’s reluctance to part from Mila helped with the decision. “Tea it is. We don’t have anything stronger. Not in amounts you two can consume.”

“There is no need.” Mila stopped the woman. “We are here for Andrew. Where is he?”

“Andrew? He talked with Anthony a bit and then left. He wanted to know a bunch of stuff about Helly.” Viola recalled. “He seemed kind of scatterbrained.”

“That’s…” Isabel exchanged a worried glance with Mila. “Where did he go next?”

“Back to your hole?” Viola didn’t know either. “He asked his bird of something and walked out. So, about that tea?” She offered again.

Isabel shook her head at the same time as Mila nodded.

“What?” Isabel looked at Mila in surprise. “We have to find him.”

“And we need more information.” Mila pointed out. “And Viola or Anthony has that.”

“I don’t know, Mila.” Isabel chewed on her lip. “I have a bad feeling about this.”

“You can’t just run around without. We should ask Anthony what they talked about first.”

“Oh, I know that,” Viola invited them deeper into the place, back to the table they had talked around before. “Anthony gave Andrew all the spots he knew Helly had. They also talked about Helly’s trustworthiness and past.”

“Was there anything worth knowing about Helly?” Mila followed with the worried Isabel in tow.

“Nothing much.” Viola waited for them to sit, then poured a warm drink. “Anthony left to see if he could find something more.”

Mila took the cup. “Nothing much is not nothing.” Isabel joined her but refused the drink.

“Yeah.” Vila leaned back in her seat and played with her blonde lock. “Well, Helly is a mystery of sorts. She was a leader of the underbelly of one of the ruined coastal cities. All in all, there were no problems with that place. Crime rates were low. People - generally happy. Stuff like that. She didn’t show herself much after taking over a few years ago. Now she is here.”

“Indeed. That is not much.” Mila agreed. “Is there nothing else?”

“The spots Helly owns. I can write them down for you.” Viola offered. “Barcy should know of them as well.” She shortly left the table to come back with paper and ink.

“Thank you.” Mila sipped her tea while thinking. “Anything you can tell us about the state Stilag is in?”

“Not nearly as much I wish,” Viola wrote down the information. “Last night, a good chunk of our people were cleared out. Not because they were caught but because everyone not serving the nobles for at least a few years is not trustworthy anymore. We didn’t lose anyone, but the information sources are now thin.”

Viola slid the filled page towards Isabel, who grabbed it and then continued. “But what we know is that people from the Empire have taken over the local temple. There is someone we recognise there, too. Koldon. He was the lighting guy from Ocheon.”

“Ah…” Mila did remember him. Not that she saw his face, but the flashy magic made an impression.

“Yeah. Pillar of Eternity found something in one of the noble’s houses. Something serious, but not conclusive. They tried interrogating another Noble, but the City guard protected the man. Koldon and Lenel - the other Inquisitor stationed here, were forced to leave.”

“And that’s not all…” Viola had more to add. “Our boy Oscar and Astra - his caretaker. Another familiar face. She was the other surviving Inquisitor from Ocheon. They tried to force themselves into the Mayor's house. There was fighting, and I heard people died. The place is walled off now.”

“Worrying,” Mila hummed. “Our plans have to be put in motion this night. We will need your help.”

“Oh, sure.” Viola happily agreed. “Getting you inside Zakary’s residence. I know.” She added to Mila’s hum. “You know, there is something strange about Zakary Oran…”

“Is there? I don’t recall Naran mentioning anything like that.” Mila tried to remember all the information she had on the man. There wasn’t much. An upstart noble who got his title from the king just a few years ago for exemplary service - which meant bribes in this case.

“It’s not the information,” Viola explained. “It’s my nose. I can’t put my finger on it. Something is going on in that place. Nothing dangerous, I don’t think.”

“I will keep that in mind…” Mila nodded. “Also, do you know what happened with the City’s guards? We didn’t see any on our way here. The military seemed to have taken over their duties.”

“The guards were ordered back towards the richer part of the city, where they barricaded it off from the rest of it,” Viola revealed. “Litro is currently looking into it. They claimed it was to protect themselves against the Military and The Temple. From the Mayor’s words, they will wait for the King’s orders to come before they give in.”

“I see, but we heard fighting in one part of the town already.” Mila pondered. “Ah, the local snakes are being cleaned out, is it?”

“Yeah…” Viola frowned. “Some of our guys died this morning. They got mixed up in the mess. Oscar was seen coming back from one of the criminal dens.”

“He certainly has been busy.” Mila wondered if she needed more tea. In the end, leaning on Isabel’s shoulder was more pressing.

“Don’t pretend as if it doesn’t relate to you, Mila. He wants your head. Oscar just doesn’t know where to start.”

Mila opened her mouth to answer-

There was a sudden chaos outside. Screaming and the sounds of hundreds of footsteps alarmed the girls around the table. They all shot up from their seats and readied themselves for a confrontation.

“What was that?” Isabel waited for an attack that didn’t come.

Viola tried to guess, but a wave of panicking cries from outside drowned her voice. This time, they were accompanied by a rumbling noise.

They exchanged looks and ran towards the doors. Mila feared they were too late to get out of the city.