Unlikely Alliance

The tension in the room was thick enough to cut with a knife. Anastasia stood by the window, her gaze drifting to the streets below as she listened to the low murmur of voices behind her. The dim light from the single lamp in the corner cast long shadows across the faces of the people gathered around the worn-out table. Former enemies, old rivals—people who, under any other circumstances, would never be in the same room, let alone working together.

Maximilian stood at the head of the table, his arms crossed as he surveyed the group. There was skepticism in every face, mistrust written in the lines of their frowns and the tightness of their shoulders. But necessity had a way of forcing unlikely alliances, and this was one of those moments.