As surely as the sun rose, two mornings had passed since Cameron's news when they heard from him again. He had wandered from the group slightly, using the excuse that he needed to relieve himself, which nobody dared question. This gave him the opportunity to radio his friends quickly with their current location: forty-five minutes away. As their undercover spy had to return to his group, Jacob sounded the air horn to alert the rest of Peregrin that their time was running out. They had to be ready; everyone had to be armed and in position, ready to guard the cabins they had claimed.

"They're going to start with negotiations," Jacob explained, repeating the words Cameron had told him. "They won't resort to violence if we give up our land. We just need to draw them out until they lose patience and give up."

"They're not just going to give up," Mai protested, "We're going to have to fight them."

"He's right," Sebastian nodded, "We have to sustain peace for as long as possible, and somehow manage to tear them apart from the inside."

"So we just let them walk on over us?" Mai shouted, "That's bull, Seb. You can't be serious."

"They have around eighty people, Mai. Eighty people with guns" Sebastian sighed, "We have twenty-three that can fight." He did not include Ellie and Hayden in that number, which bothered them both. Although they were either too young or injured respectively, they hated feeling like dead weight. At least Ellie had her responsibility with coercing Cora to betray her people—Hayden had nothing.

"Alright," Donovan declared, "Everyone head out, get ready. No matter what happens, I love you all, and we're in this as one. One Peregrin, right?"

"One Peregrin," the camp repeated. Even Sebastian muttered this line.

The Raven's old leader clapped and shouted, "Let's go!", and the camp began to get to work. Sebastian used this time to approach Emma, who seemed to be fiddling with her shoe outside one of the empty cabins. "What are you doing?"

She looked down slightly, feeling like this answer should be self-explanatory. She had torn out the sole of her shoe, revealing a small compartment. In her hand, she held the smaller of her two knives, "I've been doing this for two years, how have you not noticed?"

"That you walk around with a blade underneath your foot?" Sebastian raised an eyebrow, smirking slightly.

"It's never been stolen," she shrugged.

"I want to talk to you," her brother sighed. She gestured for him to continue, as she was busy situating her blade in its secret compartment, "You can't be out here when they come."

"To hell with that," she muttered, "I'm one of the best fighters we have, you need me."

"The Condors are coming, Emma," Sebastian frowned, "Megan is coming. She wants you dead."

"She already knows I'm alive," Emma said, "The other Ravens are the ones who ratted us out to the City. You don't think they've told their best friends that I'm here?"

"I can't let them see you, Em," Seb bit his lip, tears flickering in his eyes. He was genuinely afraid of the actions Megan would take when she saw her. She wanted her dead to begin with, and now she had been humiliated. Megan Martins would seek vengeance.

Emma's face dropped, and she looked at her brother as though what he was suggesting was ludacris, "I'm not hiding. I didn't go through all that shit just to hide the moment I faced danger."

"I'm sorry, Emma," he brother whispered, and before she could react, his hands were on her shoulders, and he was shoving her back onto the floor of the empty cabin. She was much smaller than people often realized, and it did not take much force to knock her down. Before she could get back up, he had locked the door behind him, trapping her inside with nothing but the knife in her belt. She was even missing her other shoe, as she had put it down when she stood up to face her brother. She was wearing that sneaker with the secret blade the whole time she was in the Condor's cell, yet this was the moment when she lost its protection. The irony, she thought.

Standing outside, Sebastian could hear his little sister pounding on the inside of the door, cursing at him to let her out. He sighed, resting his forehead against the splintered wood as a small tear trickled down his face. He could feel her rancor, her sense of betrayal. Should his sister think rationally, she'd come to understand how he did what he had to, but reason was hard to achieve. He knew her. Time would pass before she could forgive him. After the war, perhaps she'd understand.

Turning his head, he saw her clever shoe lying on the grass outside. He wanted to give it to her, provide her with that second weapon in case the danger followed her regardless, but if he dared open the door, she'd be freed. So instead he took the shoe and hid it beneath his bed, hoping to keep the knowledge of this secret weapon between as few people as possible.

Sure enough, as fifty minutes had passed since Jacob's announcement, Yasmin came sprinting down the hill. It was her job to bring the news of their arrival, and when they saw her return from the outlook near the entrance, they filed into formation. Sebastian and Donovan stood at the center of the camp, awaiting the intruders. The rest of the camp's fighters were dispersed nearby, ready to attack if necessary.

As the first people began to wander down the gravel road, all of Peregrin held their breaths. They watched in silence, hearing nothing but their hearts pounding in their ears and the sound of stomping boots on pebbles. In the lead was a small girl with a tight blonde ponytail, brown eyes fuming. She glared at the two boys as she approached, and Sebastian tried to view Donovan in his peripheral. The boy had closed his eyes slightly, letting out a tired sigh, and his face fell into a tight scowl.

"Donny!" the girl exclaimed, her voice sounding unbelievably fake. Sebastian could tell she sounded too excited, too happy to see him, for this to be genuine. No, this was all an act, and he could see right through it. "What are you doing here?"

Donovan made eye contact with a boy standing to her right, who seemed to be searching for someone. Sebastian thought this might have been Cameron, the one who'd supplied them with information.

"This is my home now," Donny said, "Different city, different forest."

"That's silly," the girl said, "This place is a mess. I can't imagine you'd leave your life behind for this wasteland. Whatever, it will be easy to incorporate into our territories."

Donovan stepped forward, "It's my wasteland, Harper. Not yours."

"Why don't you let your friend speak?" called another voice, walking to the front of the group and taking Harper's side. Sebastian's heart sank. "It's been awhile, Sebby, hasn't it?"

"This is Peregrin," he declared, trying to avoid staring at the new girl. The moment he looked at her face, he saw her and his old best friend in his sister's bed the night of his Halloween party. He could picture them right now: naked and cuddling underneath her light blue blankets. Neither Harlem had seen it happen, but the younger one put the pieces together. Megan had spent enough time at their house for Emma to recognize the purse she left in her bedroom, and the rest of the evidence soon fell in line.

But how had Megan Martins come to trust Harper, the girl who came to take over her forest? Why, she offered the Condor leader power. The two groups did not need to fight; a simple negotiation was all it took. If Megan would support the City's conquest of the Grove, then she would be protected in the aftermath, although they could not guarantee the same fate for the rest of the Condors. But Megan had a different plan. The news had spread that half of the Ravens had disappeared, including her long-lost lover Sebastian. Should the remainders fall to Harper's rule, their new location would be flushed out, and she could finally get the revenge she always wanted. She wanted to destroy them, destroy Sebastian from right where it hurt the most. That was why she'd taken Mai, and why she'd taken his darling Emma.

The Raven girl, Megan believed her name was Dylan, soon told her all the secrets. Mai was alive, which she had suspected. But Emma—Emma, the girl whose blood she'd seen splattered along the cell's walls, the noble warrior who she had whipped and burned and tortured, had somehow returned. Well, she'd declared, Little Miss Harlem would not be so lucky this time around. This time, Megan would make the final move herself, watch as she took her final breaths, relish in her brother's misery as he would watch the life fade from his sister's vibrant eyes. Then, and only then, would she be satisfied.

"Here's the problem," Harper began, "Your camp is a little too small and a little too far away for us to effectively appoint a viceroy, so whatever agreement we can come up with will take time. My suggestion is that we join your camp, and our negotiations can happen after we've learned the way of the land. If you can't agree to this, then we'll turn to violent actions, which I know you don't want.

"And we already know exactly who we'd start with. Sebastian, right?" Harper turned to the boy who had barely spoken since they'd arrived, although fire flared behind his eyes, "I think you ought to be especially concerned. My girl Megan's pissed."

Donovan gulped, realizing exactly who the invaders were referring to. He could tell in the way Sebastian froze, the way his jaw tensed and sweat began to dot his hairline. "Trade regulations," he nodded, "That's it."

"We'll take it," Harper smiled, "They all say that at the beginning. You'll come around, don't worry. Now, where should we unpack?"

------

"Ellie!" Sebastian called into the Raven girls' cabin, "You're up!" The little girl ran out of the structure, her blonde hair up in a wavy ponytail. Mai followed her out, the gun situated in her holster. "Mai, get into position. In three minutes, Ellie, you need to get Cora up by the bench. That'll give Mai enough time to hide." The older of the girls nodded and snuck into the woods behind the cabin, giving her enough cover to reach the bushes without being seen.

"What if it doesn't work?" Ellie asked, biting her lip. She was excited to participate in their silent war, but at the same time, she couldn't deny her nerves. The last time she'd seen Cora, the girl was tricking her into a kidnapping plot. Ellie may not have been injured in the experience, she may not have faced the same torture as Mai or Emma, but she was still livid at this other girl. She had been forsaken, and she had not forgotten.

"Then we'll figure it out," Sebastian sighed, "But if Cora is in fact steadfast, it's not your fault. Nobody expects this to really work, it would just be nice if it did."

"So you don't think I can do it?" Ellie muttered, looking down, "Great, just give the kid something to do so she feels like she matters."

"Oh my God, Ellie, no," Sebastian shook his head, "This plan is a longshot, but if it works? You just saved a lot of bloodshed."

"Got it," she nodded, "I'm just teasing you. I know this is important."

"Not the time for jokes, kiddo," the leader sighed, "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," she shrugged.

"Knock 'em dead," Sebastian smiled, patting her on the shoulder as she began to approach the cabins on the other side of the camp where the City and the Condors were setting up. Her heartbeat began to pick up as she got nearer, when suddenly she froze. It was Dylan, leading some of the old Ravens into a cabin. What were they doing here? They had chosen to stay behind—for what reason would they have allied with the Condors, of all people, to chase after them? Dylan seemed to see Ellie, and quickly ushered the others inside, shutting the door, as if they didn't want the younger girl to see them.

"Ellie?" called a small voice from behind her. She whipped around to see the girl she was in search of.

"Hey!" Ellie smiled, trying her hardest to sound happy to see the little spy. "How are you, Hannah?"

She frowned, "It's Cora, actually. I lied about that too. Um, do you want to go talk somewhere else? You know, where there aren't people around?"

Ellie nodded. Everything seemed to be working according to plan so far, assuming Cora didn't have a specific location in mind. It was possible that the Condor group had developed the exact same plan, banking on Ellie's old nativete. Well, she wasn't naive anymore. They couldn't fool her again. "Follow me!"

The two little girls soon approached a bench behind some trees and shrubbery: the perfect secret meeting spot. Ellie's eyes darted around, looking for Mai, but she was unsure of where the girl was hiding. They agreed that it was for the best if not even Ellie knew where her protector was. Should her eyes wander towards her, it could give away their cover.

"Ellie, I'm really sorry," Cora began, "I didn't want to bring you back to our camp, it was just my mission."

"You were going to let them kill me," Ellie muttered, her personal feelings starting to come out now. She was trying her hardest to maintain this friendly persona, but acting innocent could only work for so long.

"They wouldn't have killed you!" Cora protested, "They were only going to hold you there as bait. They weren't going to hurt you!"

Ellie smiled, "You could make it up to me, you know."

"How?" The other girl paused, as if she was actually considering this proposition. "Ellie, I want to be friends with you, really. I haven't been around anyone remotely close to my age in years. I feel so, so bad."

"You were a spy for the Condors, right?" Ellie began, "What if you were a spy for us now?

Cora's face dropped, her head shaking, "No. No, you liar. You only brought me out here to convert me to your side. That's not happening."

"Then never talk to someone your own age again!" Ellie snapped, "That's my offer. Take it or leave."

Suddenly, the other girl had pushed the Raven to the ground. "I'm not a traitor!" she screamed, "I'm going to tell everyone that you've all tried to solicit us, turn us against our people. We came in peace, but you've ruined it!"

Now was the moment that Mai appeared from her hiding spot, yanking Cora off of Ellie and pinning her onto the ground, pointing the barrel of the gun at her forehead. Cora's eyes widened in fear as she saw Mai's glaring demeanor and the dangerous weapon pointing right at her. She looked over to Ellie, hoping the other girl would tell her friend to stand down, but the twelve year old had nothing to say. Mai could shoot Cora right then and there and she wouldn't object.

"You won't tell your friends anything," Mai hissed, "Mark my words, they find out about this meeting, then you can watch me kill your people, and I'll kill you last. I promise you that."

Cora nodded, eyes fixated on the finger pressing slightly into the trigger. She had no doubt that Mai would shoot her or her friends, and she had not survived the past two years just to get killed now. She was a spy, lying was in her blood. This could be remain her little million dollar secret.

With that fandango over, Cora had returned to her side of the camp, and Mai and Ellie returned to theirs, walking at separate intervals so nobody would suspect they'd been together.

Sebastian was seated with Donovan at an old picnic table when Mai approached. She shook her head slightly, enough to signal that their plan had failed. The boys sighed, having hoped that the youngest girl could pull over their rival, but understanding it's unlikelihood of success.

"So what's the plan now?" Mai asked, taking a seat. The two boys made a slight eye contact, causing the girl to send them an impatient glance.

"Exactly what Seb's been doing since you all got here," Donovan smirked.

"And that is?"

"Avoiding peace talks at all costs."