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He was unmistakably Stone God. The pale color of his skin gave him away, and how he looked like he could stay there—crouched in the corner—for a hundred years if it suited him.

Then there was the mischievous smile that gave him away.

Yet, I hadn’t expected a Stone God to be so young.

His head was bowed, golden hair falling across his face like a curtain. He sat cross-legged, the hem of his cloak pooling around him in the cave, the pin at his throat catching the light from Delilah’s lingering mark. If I had to guess, I’d put him between eight and ten years old.

I hesitated. There was an unsettling stillness to him, as though he belonged here, as much a part of the cave as the walls themselves.

Cautiously, I stepped forward. At the movement, the boy lifted his head, and my breath caught. His eyes were as pale as his hair, shimmering like frost, yet there was something ancient in his gaze that made her feel small.

“You’re a child,”

I said before I could stop myself.

“Technically so are you. But I’ve been around for hundreds of years, so am I really a child?”

“Have you matured in those years?”

I asked, trying to get a read on him.

The boy tilted his head, a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips.

“Not one bit.”

His voice carried an unnatural clarity, like a bell ringing in the cold.

He studied me while I studied him as if he couldn’t figure me out either. I tried another question.

“What’s your name?”

“They call me Thief.”

And before I could decide what to make of that, the little boy stood. Despite his small frame, there was something commanding about the way he moved, as though the labyrinth shifted subtly to accommodate him. I didn’t know what stories Clark’s book told about Thief, but I guessed they were as sad as the rest of them. There was only one thing that mattered, and before I could ask it, he shook his head.

“No, I’m not with Dimitri. I’m not with anybody.”

Before I could reply, he held out his hand. In his palm sat a small, shimmering object—a golden necklace in the shape of an unending knot connected by a hurricane.

My hand flew to my neck, but only Delilah’s necklace sat there now.

“How did you—”

“Thief, remember?”

He brought it to his mouth to touch his tongue against it, then spat.

“Tastes like salt.”

I reached for it, but his little fingers closed tight.

“I took it when you were drinking. Delilah saw, but she said nothing. Makes me wonder if she’s really your friend.”

His voice was light, almost playful, but the weight of his words pressed down like a warning.

I took a step back and tried to keep my voice even as if I could somehow trick him into thinking the necklace wasn’t valuable to me.

“Give it back.”

Thief shrugged, then flicked it to me. I clutched it tight.

“Rumor has it, you know what that necklace means. I’m wondering what it would take to get you to part with it. I’ll trade for it.”

“There’s nothing I want from you.”

He smiled again, that faint, unsettling curve of his lips.

“Maybe there is, maybe there isn’t. I have a pendant that would muffle the sound of that tattoo so you can hide without being seen. Or this chain bracelet which heats when danger is close. Or a compass that always points to what you desire most.”

Every one of those tempted me. But they wouldn’t win me the labyrinth. And I had a feeling my necklace was worth more, being one of Callahan’s prized necklaces.

“I think I’ll pass.”

I’d noted a wind earlier that came from further in the cave. There must be an exit there. I could get a few more hours of traveling tonight before I had to rest.

“Call for me if you change your mind. Until then…”

Thief reached out, plucking a stray leaf from my hair with delicate fingers.

“You better be on your way. The wolves are still hunting, and I won’t stop them for free.”

With that, he turned and walked away, vanishing into the shadows of the cave as if he had never been there at all.

I took another drink of water, then slipped from the cave.