Melanie had stopped crying, but she was clearly on the brink of doing it again. With her hand in mine, she let me guide her forward, Magnus and Raven appearing through the main sitting room.

My brother and I stared at each other.

Melanie and Raven did the same.

Magnus turned to Raven, ready to say his final goodbye.

With wet eyes, Raven stared at him, unable to speak because it hurt so much.

Magnus moved to her, cupped her face, and kissed her.

She clutched him tightly. “I love you.”

Magnus let her hold on to him as long as she needed before he turned away. “I love you too.” He moved past me and approached the elevator, purposely not turning back to Raven, like it was too hard to look at her again.

I stared at Melanie, hating to abandon her when she was in distress. There was nothing I could say to make this better, not when I’d already said everything I could a million times. There was only one thing that I should say a million times. “Je t’aime, chérie.”

Her eyes watered, but she didn’t say it back, like if she didn’t say it, I would never leave.

I turned away, knowing she would never say it if it kept me there.

She grabbed my wrist and pulled me back, moving into my chest as she gripped me so hard that twenty men couldn’t pull her off me. “Je t’aime…”

I pressed a kiss to her forehead then forced myself to leave her behind.

To walk out with my brother.

To know that there was a chance I might never return.

We stepped into the elevator and waited for the doors to close.

The girls held on to each other, side by side, their hands coming together in solidarity of their pain.

Magnus couldn’t look. His eyes remained on the floor.

The doors closed.

Magnus released the breath he was holding and lifted his chin, his hands in the pockets of his jeans.

My hand went to his shoulder. “It’ll be over soon, brother.”

We infiltrated the camp.

The men made it over the wall, and we spread out.

But then the alarm rang.

Not sure who saw us, but it didn’t matter.

They would all be dead soon anyway.

I broke in to the first cabin. The men were half asleep in their bunks, hearing the alarm but not quite awake enough to respond to it. But when they saw my silhouette in the darkness, they screamed.

“Shoot him!”

My knife slid into his throat, killing him instantly. The man beside him got up to run, but I slammed the butt of my knife into his head, knocking him out instantly. Shouts sounded, and the men fumbled for their guns in the darkness, too disoriented to do anything before I got to them. They were both down in seconds.

Off to the next cabin.