Back in their cramped shared bedroom, Kacy and Alina collapsed onto their beds, their hands still smelling faintly of dish soap and grease from hours of scrubbing pots in the castle kitchen.
Alina stared miserably at the ceiling. "God, I miss Ethan. And I miss having that room upstairs. It was a hell of a lot better than this shoebox Lolita relegated us to."
"Do you have any family left anywhere?" Kacy asked.
"All back in Ossory," Alina said, bitterness creeping into her voice. "They begged me to pack up and come home. But I wouldn't listen."
"Why didn't you go back there? Things are a lot better over there."
"At the time, I was dating a guy; that's why I didn't want to leave. Then he was drafted in the Ossory war." Her eyes watered. "He never did come back. My heart was broken. I tried to return home to Ossory, but I couldn't leave Intermarium. I would give anything to leave this God-awful country. I was an idiot to want to stay here for too long."
"You couldn't have predicted the borders would lock down overnight," Kacy reassured her.
"Doesn't change the trap I'm in," Alina spat bitterly. "I applied for an exit visa anyway. Rejected in forty-eight hours."
"Why?" Kacy raised an eyebrow.
"Lolita doesn't want to give people the freedom to travel, even though she travels all the time in her private jet! Life can be so unfair!"
"I want to go to Technate to see my brother."
Alina blinked, startled. "Technate? How did he even end up there? I thought you said he was caught up in the draft."
"I don't know the exact details," Kacy admitted, a look of worry clouding her features. "All I know is that he is there."
Alina sighed, softening. "I hope you find him, Kacy. God knows someone needs to escape this place. You know, before Lolita took over, this castle was actually a decent place to work. We had the library, the indoor pool, the gym... back when Ethan was running things. Now it's just a gilded prison."
Alina let out a long yawn, sinking back against her mattress. "I'm exhausted. We'll talk more tomorrow."
Kacy gave a soft, understanding nod, turning off the bedside lamp and resting her head against her pillow as sleep pulled her under.