Page 49

I heard my heartbeat soar while his slowed down at a wicked pace. I eyed the water.

“What was in it?”

Delilah’s necklace heated up, but it was too late. I’d drunk the water. Neither of us could stop whatever happened now.

“It won’t kill you,”

Leif said, his voice calm as he set his cup down with an audible clink.

“But soon, you’ll be paralyzed for three days. Fitting, after you turned me to stone.”

I stared at him, the betrayal cutting deeper than any blade ever could. My throat felt tight, my stomach twisting into knots as his words sank in. “No,”

I said, my voice shaking despite myself.

“Not fitting. I turned you to stone for a few hours. Someone is sure to kill me within three days.”

Leif didn’t waver. He simply turned and began moving about the cottage, gathering his pack and weapons with the methodical ease of someone who’d already made up his mind.

“I suggest you stay in the cottage for your safety,”

he said, not looking at me.

The sheer audacity of his indifference made my blood boil. My hand twitched toward the hilt of the dagger at my side. I thought about burying it in his back, imagining how it would feel to finally give him a taste of the pain he was leaving me to face. But the thought didn’t last long. We both knew I couldn’t do it.

Apparently, the same was true for him, because he said.

“I can’t kill you, Ren. I’ve tried.”

He moved to the door, his hand resting lightly on the frame as he glanced back at me. His expression was unreadable, a mask of something cold and detached that didn’t quite match the heat in his eyes.

“But I can’t let you win, either. My father will kill me if I return home with nothing to show for it, and if I must pick between me or you, I pick me.”

My cheeks burned, not from anger but from something sharper, more bitter.

“Selfish bastard.”

My mind raced, searching desperately for something—anything—that might save me.

Leif’s smile twitched, but it lacked any real humor.

“Bastard, yes,”

he said, his tone maddeningly composed.

“But selfish? We all knew what we came into this labyrinth for. I’m not selfish for playing the game better than you.”

The casualness of his words was like a slap in the face. I wanted to scream, to lash out, to wipe that infuriating calm off his face. But I was too distracted by what was happening inside my body. The potion was already working, its effects creeping through my body like ice spreading beneath my skin. My fingers tingled and my knees felt weak.

Leif slung his pack over his shoulder and adjusted the strap of his sword as if he weren’t leaving me to die. As if this was just another day for him. When he finally crossed to the door, he paused, one hand resting on the handle.

“When I’m the captain of the Silver Wings,”

he said, glancing at me over his shoulder.

“I’ll name a vessel after you.”

The door creaked as he pulled it open, letting the cold wind rush into the cottage. His eyes met mine one last time, and for a fleeting moment, something flickered there—hesitation, regret, I couldn’t tell. On his arm, my heartbeat began to slow.

“You are an ocean I could easily get lost in,”

Leif said.

“But I can’t afford to drown.”

The emotion was gone as quickly as it appeared.

“Good luck.” Leif stepped out into the night.

The door shut behind him with a dull thud that echoed through the small space, leaving me alone in the silence. My legs gave out, and I sank onto the floor, my body already beginning to betray me as the potion took hold.

The room felt colder without him, the fire no longer enough to keep the chill at bay. I wanted to hate him—truly, deeply hate him—but all I could feel was the ache of his absence and the sickening weight of knowing he’d left me behind.

I stared at the closed door, my mind spinning with a thousand plans and none of them feasible. The betrayal stung, yes, but more than that, it hollowed me out. Because even as I sat there, going paralyzed and helpless, part of me still wanted him to come back.

I wouldn’t stay in the cottage.

With all my strength, I shoved Clark’s note into my pocket, grabbed my axe and dagger, and dragged myself out the door. Leif was long gone, his footprints in the snow leading away from me. I hauled myself up the hill while the winter rushed into my bones to freeze me. It wasn’t enough to cool the anger.

How dare he. How dare he light me on fire then leave me in the cold. How dare he make me feel alive before he suffocated me. This was the passion I’d been missing, the knowing I would do whatever it took to get him to notice me because he was all that mattered.

I hated this with all my heart.

Agonizingly slow steps led me to the top of the small hill. My legs burned with the effort, each movement growing heavier. By the time I crested the peak, they refused to move altogether.

I collapsed into the snow. Cold seeped through my clothes and bit at my skin. The world tilted, my vision blurring at the edges, but I managed to push myself into a sitting position. My arms trembled under my weight.

The icy wind whipped at my face, stinging my cheeks and tearing at my hair. I tilted my head back, staring up at the gray, clouded sky. It felt like the world was mocking me, silent and indifferent to my struggle. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath, and I clenched my fists, wanting to scream at the world.

Before I could gather the strength to decide my next move, a shadow flickered at the edge of my vision.

Thief appeared as suddenly as if he’d stepped out of the snow itself, his grin as sharp and mischievous as ever. The small boy sat cross-legged in front of me, looking far too pleased with himself, as if this were all some grand joke meant for his amusement.

“Remember that bracelet I offered you?”

he said, his tone light and teasing.

“The one that warned you about danger? Bet you wish you’d taken it now.”

“Help me,”

I forced out.

Thief tilted his head, his bright eyes gleaming like a cat’s watching a wounded bird.

“Help you?”

he repeated, as though the idea were utterly foreign to him.

“The best I can do is limit the potion’s effects to one day—for a price, of course. Since Leif’s already given it to you, I can’t interfere with competitors enough to take it away.”

He leaned forward, his grin widening, as if he were about to share a secret.

“Though Delilah would like me to tell you that perhaps killing Leif is in your best interest after all.”

The words hit me like a punch to the gut. So that was why she let this happen.

Delilah needed me to make a choice—to decide if I was willing to trade Leif’s life for hers. She was pushing me toward what she wanted.

My body moved slower with every passing second, the potion’s paralyzing effects spreading like a creeping frost. My fingers tingled and my arms felt like they weighed a hundred pounds each, but my mind raced. The wheels spun furiously despite the physical stillness overtaking me.

Thief watched me with an expression that was almost amused, his head resting on his hands as if he were waiting for the next act in this twisted game.

I latched onto his words, grasping for any thread of hope. “One day,”

I rasped, my voice barely audible.

“You can bring me back after one day.”

He nodded, an infuriatingly casual gesture.

“That’s right. One day, and you’ll be free to move again. Of course,”

he added, his grin never faltering.

“whether one day will be enough for you to turn things around… well, that’s another story entirely.”

One day.

Was that enough time? Could I find someone to trade for Delilah, fight my way to the center, and reach it before anyone else? My gut churned. The center was too close now. Someone would reach it before me. Someone would claim the Silver Wings, and when they did, it would be over.

I’d lose everything.

The weight of the realization pressed down on me, heavier than the snow. My vision swam as panic clawed at my chest, but I forced myself to focus. There had to be a way. There had to be.

But even as I sat there, freezing and half-paralyzed, I couldn’t stop the thought that crept into my mind: Delilah was right.

My thoughts wandered to my father somewhere, unable to help as the Silver Wings were taken from our family. They were meant to belong to the Montclair’s forever. We didn’t build this empire to lose it.

Were the Silver Wings nearby, waiting to see who emerged as their new captain? Would they hate it as much as I did, that their next captain was chosen by a labyrinth instead of among their own ranks. Father kept me hidden from the world, but surely someone aboard knew of me and of his intentions.

Wait.

The idea came quickly. Quickly was all I had. I couldn’t move my legs or my hands. I had to choose now.

“I have a better idea. Everyone else is in here, but the Silver Wings are out there. Can you send me directly to them?”

Thief tilted his head, his grin sharp and fox-like, his bright eyes glinting as though this were turning out better than he’d hoped. “Yes,”

he said slowly, savoring the word.

“But to push you out of the labyrinth like that would be difficult. I’ll need payment.”

My gaze dropped to my chest, to the delicate chain that rested against my collarbone.

“How about my mother’s necklace?”

My voice broke just slightly.

His eyes lit up, greed flaring in them like the glow of firelight on polished gold. The hunger in his expression sent a shiver through me. I knew, at that moment, I’d won him over.

“I give you my mother’s necklace,”

I continued, swallowing hard.

“and you put me with the Silver Wings. And you watch over Clark while I’m gone.”

Thief opened his mouth, likely to argue, but I cut him off with a sharp glare.

“And no, that part isn’t negotiable. Clark stays alive, or you never get my necklace. He is the most important part of this.”

His smile faltered, just for a moment, replaced by a flicker of something darker. He twiddled his fingers, tapping them against his knee as though weighing my demands in his mind. The hesitation made my stomach churn. The way he debated, the way his gaze darted away for the briefest moment—it confirmed what I had feared since I’d spoken with August.

Clark was fated to die here.

The potion’s grip on my body was tightening. My arms felt heavy, leaden, and the effort it took to speak was becoming monumental. My lips moved slowly, my words slurring.

“What’s the matter, Thief?”

I rasped, my frustration and fear bleeding into my tone.

“Not strong enough to keep one boy alive?”

He glanced at me, his grin returning, but it was thinner now, more strained. Finally, he said, “Deal.”

I felt a flicker of hope, but I wasn’t about to trust him blindly.

“Clark stays alive?”

I needed him to say it.

“Clark stays alive,”

he repeated, the words smooth as silk but sharp as daggers. With those words, tension uncoiled within me. Then, Thief’s grin turned sly again, and he added.

“Though to leave without setting Delilah free…she won’t be pleased with you.”

The mention of Delilah sent a jolt of fear through me, a cold spike that shot straight down my spine. My breath caught, and I stared at him, my mind racing.

“What can she do about it?”

“Once you’re gone?”

Thief shrugged, as if this were all trivial to him.

“Absolutely nothing. She’s powerless outside the labyrinth.”

He leaned in closer, his voice dropping to a near-whisper, like he was savoring the moment.

“But she’s coming now. Is this your choice?”

I hesitated, my heart thundering in my chest. The weight of the decision pressed down on me, suffocating and inescapable. But there was no other way. I had to get to the Silver Wings.

“Yes,”

I said, the word barely audible, but it carried the force of finality.

Thief’s grin widened, sharp and satisfied. He reached for the chain around my neck, his fingers quick and nimble as they unclasped the necklace. I felt the brush of his hand against my skin, and it sent a wave of something cold and hollow through me.

I forced myself to watch as he slipped the golden chain into his sleeve, the delicate links disappearing from sight. It felt like a piece of myself had been stripped away, leaving an ache in its place.

“Now for you,”

Thief said, straightening and cracking his knuckles with an audible pop.

“Heading to the Sea Serpent.”

“Not that ship,”

I corrected.

“The Sea Serpent doesn’t lead them. Whoever is in charge, they’ll be aboard the small ship called North Star.”

From Thief’s smile, he knew that.

“The potion’s effects are nullified once you leave the island,”

Thief said, his voice carrying an air of finality.

“Now, take out your white stone.”

I tried, truly, but my fingers wouldn’t obey. My body was a dead weight, a vessel that refused to bend to my will. Thief sighed, his impatience palpable, and crouched beside me. His small hands rummaged through my pack.

When he found it, he placed the white stone into my fingers, arranging them as though I were a doll. The cool surface of the stone pressed against my skin. My chest tightened as I stared at it.

I’d sworn never to use this stone. Not unless there was no other choice.

Desperate times.

I swept my gaze over the mighty Quarter Labyrinth, the sprawling maze of twists and turns that had tested me in ways I never could have imagined. Somewhere, Clark was out there. I hoped he’d fare well. I hoped when this was all over, we found each other again.

And Leif. I didn’t know what I hoped for him. Because no matter how traitorous he was, a part of me would forever be in that cottage with his lips against mine.

Thief stood beside me, his bright eyes glinting with something unreadable. Perhaps amusement, or maybe just the satisfaction of having played his part in this endless game.

“Are you ready for your time in the labyrinth to be done?” he asked.

The question lingered in the air, and for a moment, I couldn’t answer.

It had been a miserable, wonderful, terrifying, beautiful time. Every step within those walls had shaped me, broken me, and somehow put me back together again. But as I looked at the labyrinth now, the weight of what I’d endured settled in my chest like a stone of its own.

“I hope to never come back,”

I murmured, my voice steady despite the swirl of emotions inside.

“And yet.”

I’d already summoned the last of my strength to flick the white stone into the air. The last thing I saw clearly was Thief’s pleased smile plastered upon his boyish cheeks.

Then my eyes were on the stone. It spun as it rose, catching the faint light of the sky in flashes of silver and white. For a moment, the world seemed to hold its breath, the stone suspended at the apex of its arc. Then it fell, disappearing from sight, and with it came a jolt of energy that shot through my entire body.

It was as if the ground had been yanked out from under me. My vision blurred, the world around me dissolving into a whirl of green and white. The familiar, chaotic patterns of the labyrinth melted away, colors bleeding into one another like a painting swept with water.

When I blinked, everything turned to blue.