“You know I’d be lost without you, don’t you?” Adelaide said.

“Maybe. Or maybe you’d be absolutely fine.”

Adelaide took a deep breath and marched for the door, as ready as she would ever be. “Elise?”

“If you can’t do this, then—”

Addy shook her head. “It’s not that. I just want you to give Harry another chance. He wasn’t trying to upset you the other night, he was only voicing his opinion.”

Elise groaned. “I know. He was only trying to help, but he doesn’t know us and I don’t want him thinking he can take charge. We’re not part of his unit.”

His unit. Addy gulped. He wasn’t with his unit because apparently Wolfgang had made sure there were none of his unit left. Surely it couldn’t be true?

“You’re certain you want to do this?” Elise asked.

A tremor ran through her, but she kept her head high, refused to give in to the fear. “This is something I can do, Elise. It’s the one thing I can do for this war, for all of us, and I’m not going to back down now.”

What she didn’t say was how conflicted she felt. That day she’d met Wolfgang, standing there before him about to hand over a man who had a blind faith in the rules of warfare, she’d known she should be scared of him. And she had been. He’d made her want to run in the opposite direction, but at the same time, something about him had pulled her in. The way he’d looked at her, the command he held, the piercing blue eyes that were impossible not to stare into.

She touched her sister’s hand, still resting on her shoulder, before moving away.

“I’m going to be fine. Try not to worry about me.”

And for the first time in her life, she walked away feeling like the older sister instead of the younger one, knowing that Elise wouldn’t be one step behind her if she needed her.

“I’ll keep Harry and Jack hidden in the attic,” Elise called after her. “Just in case you need to ask him in afterwards. I won’t let them out until after you’ve returned.”

Addy held her hand in a wave and descended the stairs, knowing she had to keep moving. If she didn’t, she’d only lose her nerve. She bent to give Oscar a scratch behind the ears before edging toward the front door, flashing Cate a quick smile. She barely had time to compose herself before there was a brisk knock, and she reached for the door handle and opened it.