“I’ve already contacted Clarissa’s band. They shall be setting fires to distract any potential reinforcements. As for myself, I will be at the far end of the crowd, and leave the moment the fighting begins.” He crossed his arms and stared at the dagger. “This is my resistance, and the lives of those forty are in my hands. On my whistle, we unleash fire and blood. I may not be able to do more, but at least this one responsibility will fall upon the shoulders of he who deserves it most.”

He glanced at the five, giving each a chance to interrupt. All stayed silent.

“Very well,” he said. “We’ll move out early tomorrow morning, and be set up long before the hangings begin. All else pales in comparison to the importance of this mission. If Thanet is to believe we can stand up to the empire’s might, we must show them we protect our own. I will not lie to you. We have never attempted something so dangerous. My friends, my family, spend this night as you see fit. Tomorrow may well be your last.”

Stasia and Clarissa walked along the moonlit beach, afforded a rare privacy in the city. With the docks heavily patrolled by the five distant warships, the beaches themselves were left alone. Here in the late dark, they could be together and talk openly amid the waves.

Hold hands, without fear of the eyes of a priest.

“I swear your mother almost locked the door on me to keep me there,” Stasia said. She paused to kick a shell with her toe, enjoying the way it flipped along the wet sand toward the waves. Stasia had joined Clarissa and her mother at her tiny cliffside home for a rare meal of seasoned bluefin tuna and freshly caught oysters as they laughed and talked as if tomorrow meant nothing at all.

“It’s just her way,” Clarissa said. “If you’re with her, she can keep you safe. She always thought the same for me, too. That I don’t move in with her, or with my grandfather in North Cape, drives her up the wall.”

The city was a fading collection of torches and shadows behind them. A particularly strong wave washed along Stasia’s ankles, and she paused momentarily to recapture her balance. Clarissa’s hand slipped out of hers. The wave receded, and amid the ensuing silence, her lover suddenly confessed beneath the stars.

“They’ll be ready for you.”

Stasia shrugged as if unconcerned.

“I know.”

“It’s a trap. It has to be a trap. There will be soldiers, patrols… what if something happens to you?”

“That’s never stopped me before.”

“I’ve never asked you to stop before.”

They turned, faced each other. Clarissa looked hesitant, frightened.

“Will you ask me?” Stasia carefully asked, revealing nothing.

Her lover cast her gaze to the sea.