Interlude [h.s]

thirty-two

"I need more time."

Nathan gives Alouette an annoyed glance. "Again?"

Alouette sighs, looking away from him as she feels embarrassment come over her. She knows she's starting to look unfit for her mission with those continuous requests, but she can't let this one slide. She prefers enraging her superiors now than living the rest of her life wondering what she could've found if only she'd gone through the trouble of searching for answers.

If there's one thing the evening she's just spent with Harry told her, is that it'd be a mistake not to look into things more closely while she has the opportunity to. If a detail as relatively small as Harry's personality managed to surprise her after all the months she spent in there, she can't even imagine the secrets she'd uncover if only she stayed there for a while longer.

It isn't only about her.

After all, they have no idea of what will happen when the Revolution's plan works out. Hell will be unleashed, and only the ones with the most information will make it out alive.

It isn't only about her.

"I know I said I didn't need to, but... I need more time."

It isn't only about her.

Nathan crosses his arms over his chest. She doesn't need to look into his eyes to know he isn't happy with her. "Why?"

"I have my reasons, okay?"

Not about her.

"No."

Alouette gives him a shocked look. "What?" All of a sudden she feels like her heart has fallen out of her chest and presses her hand against it just to make sure it's still beating.

"If you want more time, you're going to tell me why."

"I can't—"

"Lark," he says, his voice low even though his tone is threatening. They have to be careful while talking in the stairwell— someone could hear them. "We are working together. You can lean on me if you need to. Let me help you."

"I..." She's spiralling.

He grabs her arm. "Please." She recognises the pleading edge in his voice. He's scared, and she knows why. The more they stay in the Palace, the higher is the chance that they'll be discovered. Their luck won't last forever.

It isn't fair to him. Her life isn't the only one on the line. If she's asking him to risk everything again and again, she should at least have the decency to tell him why.

It's risky, but she doesn't have another choice. She needs someone else on her side.

"Could you... not tell the Revolution?" Something tells her it's better if they don't find out.

He gives her a confused look. "If you don't want me to, I won't."

She nods. "Okay."

Her throat is dry, and she's feeling a little sick now. The warmth her dinner with Harry left in her chest is replaced by a sour taste in her mouth. She's never trusted other people easily, but she knows that, out of everyone in the Palace, Nathan is the only one she can afford to trust. He's the only one that she knows won't run to the President in the second she opens her mouth.

There will be no going back.

"I think I'm onto something," she dares to say. "And I'm worried that if I wait for this all to unfold, I won't be able to get the answers I need in the end."

He seems to be intrigued. "Is this about the President?"

Alouette tilts her head. "I'm not sure, actually." The book she wants to get her hands on is Harry's, but the reason behind her choices is her father. She just needs to make sense of all the things she noticed, because she refuses to believe the explanation that's right in front of her face. If her father, founder of the Revolution, was working for the President, what does it mean for her? For the Revolution itself? For all the people fighting in its name?