- A D A R A - K O N S D O T T I R -

My hands grip the railing tightly, pulling myself up towards the sunlight above. Through it pouring in, I watch as Suri grows closer with every rung. My legs scream quietly as I ascend, tired from the journey of the last twenty-four hours... crazy how everything can change so suddenly. Just a day ago, I was the enabler of an unjust cause.

Now, maybe I really can take on Barr.

"It's good to see you again," I smile, taking his hand as I climb the final rungs and hoist myself onto the roof. The view stuns me, surrounded by the metropolis like a spotter's nest. It's not quite as good as the view from earlier atop the valley, but it's competitive.

"Likewise, Miss Adara," Suri smirks, shrugging his arms. "Glad you could make it to... that."

I nod quickly, my rifle bouncing on my back as I stretch. "Me too."

"Sorry to interrupt," a woman sighs, leaning against the wall and watching the two of us. Her short hair blows around in the breeze, a simple hoodie on. "But who are you?"

I raise my eyebrows, recognizing the face immediately. She seems to realize this, huffing as I piece it together. "You're the princess," I say quietly, realizing this is the sister Suri had been desperate to reconnect with. Kali.

"Just Kali," she states flatly, seemingly annoyed by my comment. I nod, trying not to anger her anymore with my existence. "My brother says I can trust you."

"Your brother's right," I quip, setting my rifle against the wall and removing my gear belt. Her brow furrows, squinting at me with a not-so-quiet suspicion.

"Kali, it's okay," Suri speaks, trying to interrupt the unease. "She's the reason I'm here."

I look at Suri, nodding as I replay the ambush in my head. The new knowledge in my head presses against my mouth as I try to plan my words. "A lot has changed since Erbil," I tell him, earning a nod from him.

"Yeah, I gleaned that," Suri says, his jaw tightening. "What happened back there?"

Kali stands up, glaring at the two of us. "No, stop."

Suri looks at her in confusion. "What?"

Kali turns her eyes toward me, a heaviness in them that I recognize a little too well. "We're backing up to the start. You two are going to catch me up first if we're really on the same side."

- ~ -

The late evening sets in as Kali and I sit on the rooftop, watching the sun disappear behind the mountains in the distance. Kali shifts lightly in her chair as I load rounds back into my magazines. After the ambush, I'm running a bit lower than I'd like - I have twenty rounds to my name. Four magazines.

I hope I won't have to use them anytime soon, but in any case, I'll make them count. I always do. The sound alone is enough to keep me from being trigger-happy, as the sheer sound of the rifle firing is enough to give me hearing loss. I can already feel the damage to my ears, but that's a later me problem.

"That's a big gun," Kali chimes in, eyeing me from a distance. I nod in agreement, pulling the bolt back to clean any stray dirt.

I chuckle. "Damn right." I slide the bolt forward, setting my rifle down and moving on to my handgun.

"Maybe we should go find Suri," Kali muses, a tinge of worry on her face. Given Kali's face and my... well, not being Al Kamaran, Suri had left to get some street food for us. He, at least for now, has the benefit of blending in with the crowd. Nine years of growth will do that to a person, it seems.

I shake my head in disagreement. "You want to get yourself caught?"

She furrows her brow, crossing her arms as she tilts her head back slightly. "What if he's in danger?"

I laugh a little too loudly, Kali glancing at me with disbelief on my face. "Judging by how he escaped a spec-ops team this morning," I begin, propping the handgun's slide and inspecting the chamber. "I think he's just fine, Kali."

Kali huffs, looking at the ground. After hearing the story of Suri and I's trek here, she had been quite surprised by how much had gone down. Kali's life had clearly taken a nosedive recently, and even though I don't know the specifics, I can tell she had hoped her brother hadn't had the same level of hardship.

I notice the marks on her wrist; parched, jagged skin etched around her wrist, with little tendrils of damage running up her arm. "I can't imagine," I begin, her eyes darting towards me. "How that must have felt."

Her jaw tightens as she looks down at her wrist, pain in her eyes as she realizes what I'm referring to. Her fingers brush against it, finally looking back my way. She nods at my arm, and I glance down at the wound from the tracker. "You're at least better than most," she sighs.

The wound still stung, but the memories of it hit harder. The sound of Dom's suit engaging his gun is drilled into my mind. I still can't believe he actually shot - if he could, I doubt Natalia would be far behind. Lucas didn't, at least. My stomach flips slightly as I consider the possibility of Mena doing it, and for some reason, that thought is worse than the others. I push them out of my mind, nodding silently.

"My family betrayed me in the worst way," I exhale, a sardonic laugh mixing with my speech. "Maybe I can."

She shifts. "Mine too," she says, her voice heavy as the words leave and her breath hitches. "The type that changes things forever."

"Yeah," I agree quietly, reloading the pistol and putting the slide back in position. I look at her, the bags in her eyes, and the depth of her look frighteningly familiar. It's like I'm staring at some sort of royal mirror of myself as I nod. She doesn't say anything, nodding back as a quiet understanding forms between us.

Maybe we're not so different.

The wind whips by, the breeze off the sea ever so slightly spritzing my face. I can nearly taste the salt in the air, almost like getting off the plane at Charybdis. My thoughts drift to the team again, wondering how it is inside that building right now. How I would kill to be a fly on the wall in the training center, hearing what all of them really thought of me... who Raleigh's cold calculus hadn't infected.

One thing is for sure: I can never go back. The moment I threw the concussion, I declared war. Even with how much time I spent working with Raleigh, this is new territory for him. I have no idea how he will even react to this - will he double down or realize the error in his ways? This is the first time anyone has truly left the private military of Maelstrom, and I did it in a pretty irrevocable manner.

Once we stop Delta, I'll have time to figure out what to do. For now, Barr is the worry in my head. He won't catch me by surprise again. Suddenly, knocking emanates from the hatch, making Kali jump as my eyes dart to it swiftly. I stand up, walking quietly towards the sound when I hear Suri's voice pierce through.

"Your delivery driver's here," I hear his muffled voice say with a mix of laughter and annoyance in his voice. I smirk as I lift the hatch, seeing Suri gripping onto the top rung. I grab his hand, pulling him up as he sets a bag of food down on the ground and steps up. "Hope you like Lula, Miss Adara."

"Lula?" I ask, seeing a grin flash on Kali's face for the first time all day. Suri grabs the bag, setting it down on a ledge and distributing the food.

"Regional specialty," Kali smiles, taking what looks like a kebab and wasting no time biting in. Suri grabs one, handing it to me. "Oh, is this Subedi's?" She asks through a bite, elated.

"Of course, I've been dying to have this again," Suri responds, a smile on his face too. "Adara, try it! You'll love it."

I take a bite as Suri grabs one of his own, the flavors mixing like heaven in my mouth as my eyes light up. I finish my bite, looking up to the siblings as they glance at me with raised brows. "Guys, this is amazing!" I exclaim. Suri holds his fist out, and Kali bumps it. "Tell Subedi your mercenary friend approves."

"Guy's had the best Lula in the city since forever," Suri nods, taking another bite. "Kali and I went there all the time with our parents. Always made the news, but nobody cared because it was so good."

"Is so good," Kali corrects, further demolishing the food.

Minutes pass as the three of us eat, the siblings recounting stories of their city adventures as I keep my head on a swivel, examining the skyline. Tactically, we're in a good spot, but that's not why I care right now. This place is beautiful - Middle Eastern and Central Asian architecture fuses with an almost Mediterranean flair here. The little sun still peeking through the mountains bounces effortlessly off the skyline, framing the Caucasus perfectly.

And, perfectly in view, sits the Al Kamaran palace.

"We need to decide our next move," I assert, catching Suri mid-bite. The two look at me, seemingly agreeing to have this conversation now. "I hate to break the moment, but we're fighting time."

"How so?" Kali asks, a bit of glee fading from her face as it hardens. I flinch slightly as I realize she looks more like me again now.

"If your general sticks to his word, we're all in danger," Suri says, nodding in agreement and looking towards me.

"Unfortunately," I sigh quietly, the scene in the house flashing through my mind briefly as I shift my posture. "He does."

"The one you escaped from this morning?" Kali chimes in, and the two of us nod swiftly in confirmation. She takes another bite, finishing the kebab and leaning in. "So where are they?"

"Barr is looking for the two of us right now," I say flatly, pointing between Suri and me. Fear flashes through their faces, eluding mine for the moment. "Love this spot, but it's a matter of time before they find us. We need to move."

"But where?" Suri asks, a bit of pessimism in his tone. "We can't just leave. We've already come so far."

"The palace," I assert, Suri's eyes going wide as Kali nods in agreement.

"Absolutely not," Suri retorts, holding his hands up and motioning for me to stop. "You know I can't do that."

"Suri, please," Kali says lightly, resting a hand on his shoulder. Suri flinches from the motion as Kali speaks. "All Dad wants to do is say sorry. I swear."

"That's what he says," Suri sneers, shaking his head. "I'm his get-out-of-jail-free card. You know that."

"I won't let it happen," Kali asserts, Suri looking at her with a flurry of undecipherable emotion. "Suri, please. Trust me."

Suri looks away, towards the skyline and the sea. "If I may," I blurt, grabbing their attention. "If what you say about Barr's... choice... he gave you is true, the palace is in danger too."

"What do you mean?" Kali asks, tensing up slightly at the mention of it.

"He wants the Kamar," I say, Kali's eyes going wide again. "He wanted his blood or his support. Either way, he intends to control it, and he's going to use this succession crisis as the justification to take it."

"That..." Suri sighs, still wrestling with the reality. "Sounds about right."

"We need to beat him to the palace," I decide, looking towards the structure as it falls into the mountain's shadow. "While he's too busy looking for us, we warn the country. Thwart the coup before he has a chance to do it."

I look back at the siblings, seeing the conflict on Suri's face and the apprehension on Kali's. Suri looks at me, nodding his head with resolution. "Fine. But you're promising nothing to Shuma about me."

I nod in confirmation, and Suri stands up. He walks over to the edge of the roof, taking a long look at the palace as Kali looks towards the floor. I've been there before - the moment when everything gets a little too real all at once. "There's not really a choice, is there?" She mutters, looking at me in fright.

"There's always a decision," I say calmly, standing up and slinging my rifle across my back. "Right now, though, there's only one right one."

Kali stands up, seemingly gathering her courage and walking towards the two of us. "Yeah. Let's do it."