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Thin fog tumbled against the sharp edges of the island. Cliffs rose as far as we could see to each side, only relenting to fall into a fjord. The message was clear. If we entered, it would be through this point.

We drifted closer to the fjord, the sea pulling us in like puppets on a string. Clark dropped the oars. He sent me a skirting, withered look. I swallowed hard and fixed my eyes ahead.

Beyond the fjord and a strip of forest, the shape of the labyrinth came into view. Suddenly, all my worries subsided like an anchor sinking fast, replaced with nothing but wonder.

It was one thing to hear about the Quarter Labyrinth. But to see it was to realize why so many risked everything to chase after it.

Towering pine trees, laden with emerald needles.

Hedges as tall as ships.

Thick, black mist rumbling like rolls of thunder within.

The ruins of castles stood sentential in various locations, black stone against a sea of green.

Ropes strung from branches.

And a few narrow stone walkways spread along points in the labyrinth. A shortcut, for those willing to risk death.

Unease coiled within me. Would I be willing to risk it? How badly did I want the ships I’d grown up believing were mine?

I could sail away now and forget about it all.

But as the skill pulled closer, anticipation lit like a match beneath my skin. I would risk it, I knew. I’d risk it all.

The labyrinth spanned miles in each direction, overtaking the island. All we could see besides it was the small stretch of forest between the sea and the maze, where smoke rose from hundreds of small fires. Competitors who hadn’t gotten in yet.

Seaweeds, like me, who couldn’t pay for a key.

Tension clouded the air as we neared. Every person here wanted the same thing—and only one of us could get it. The sole thing keeping peace was the Lord of the Isle’s officers dressed in brown and gold, pacing back and forth with hands upon their cutlasses and narrowed eyes as if just begging one of us to give them a reason to draw their blades.

As we drew close, a few approached to guide us in.

“Remember, not a word about who I am,”

I whispered.

Clark was gathering our remaining papayas. Everyone else surely came with several weapons and more substantial food, and we had papayas.

“It might give you an edge if they know you have a powerful father.”

“The only edge it’d give me is the one attached to a blade. If the competitors know the Shallows were once my birthright, they’ll slit my throat while I sleep.”

I hauled our rope in hand, and tossed it to the guards. They caught it. Strong arms pulled us in the rest of the distance until our hull scraped against the rocky shore.

One of the officers took in our skiff.

“That’s all you brought?”

“We plan to win quickly.”

I flashed him a grin, and his face reddened. I threw my legs over the side of the skiff and let my feet land in the cool water. This was it. We’d made it. From the splash, Clark followed, giving thanks to the officers as he did.

The officers pointed us in the direction of the labyrinth, as if there could be any confusion.

“Good luck.”

From how he said that, we needed it.

I gathered my courage and marched forward.

The night smelled of fire, as hundreds were ablaze. They burned from every corner of the woods, most accompanied by travelers. Some looked prideful, many confident, others already weary. But one constant ran through them all. Each looked to the labyrinth as often as their hearts pounded.

And yet, none had entered.

“We have until sundown tomorrow,”

Clark said as he took it all in.

“Why are they not inside?”

“I’d guess there’s some test of wits. Look at them. Plenty are strong enough to get past a physical challenge. The labyrinth must be sealed with a trick—and that is why I brought you.”

I tried to sound confident, but the sheer number of competitors still outside the labyrinth shook me. We’d heard it was difficult to get in, but could so many really have been unable to?

They were civil now, but as the sun came up and started to set tomorrow, their manners would drown beneath desperation.

“Come, let’s go see what’s so difficult about the gate,”

I started. We only took two steps when a voice spoke.

“Look who showed up!”

Bjorn staggered down the fjord, surrounded by his passe of followers. Had they grown in number? He must have arrived looking like a beast who could handle anything, and the weak flocked to his side.

For all his strength, he still hadn’t gotten in.

His mouth was a wicked thing, curling in amusement at our sight.

“Haven’s lost girl and the unwanted son of the shipwright. Came to better your fortunes like the rest of us.”

“Bjorn. Didn’t think you’d reach the labyrinth.”

I kept a manner of joking to my tone, but something felt off about his. His words stretched taut. His eyes hazy.

I tried to move past, but he drove his spear into the rocks at my feet.

He wagged a finger at Clark.

“You don’t even like sailing. This one gets sick as a fish, he does,”

Bjorn told the rest of his crew in a tone loud enough for half the forest to hear.

Clark’s lips flattened. He moved the papayas to one arm to grab my hand with the other and pull me away, but Bjorn stood in our way again.

Now his finger pointed to me.

“This one, however, she lives on the sea more than the island. I would too, if I had that tiny shack to call home. She’s as Seaweed as it gets.”

I suddenly wished my knife were larger, if only so I could draw it against Bjorn.

“Let us through.”

He must have had the same thought as me, for his eyes darkened. His knuckles grew white as his grip tightened over his spear.

“In fact, she’d be capable of leading the Silver Wings. A girl practically made of the sea.”

Bjorn just casually delivered the highest compliment I’d ever received. So why did it make my bones shiver?

In his next breath, his expression turned stone hard.

“And she comes from nothing, so she has nothing to lose.”

He talked to himself now, while his fingers shifted. Before I could step away, he’d drawn the spear from the rocks, and with his mind decided, he spun it in his hand and stabbed forward.

Three things happened at once.

First, I ducked. I did not intend to die like that.

Second, Clark heroically sacrificed himself by throwing his body in front of mine. Made wildly irrelevant by my ducking, but I appreciated the thought.

Third, and most importantly, one of the officers had already withdrawn their cutlass, and they threw it to deflect the spear. Both weapons clattered on the stone. Our skin remained untorn.

The island fell into a hush.

“There is no killing outside the Quarter Labyrinth!”

the officer shouted, cleaving the silence with a deadly glare.

“I’d like no killing inside, either,”

I said as I stood. My weak knees barely held me, and the copper taste of blood filled my mouth. At some point, I must have bit my cheek

Bjorn shrugged and retrieved his spear as if he hadn’t tried to kill the people he’d known his whole life. One day on the island, and he was ready to murder.

Clark’s chest rose and fall hard beneath his linen shirt. His skin blanched. For his sake, I pulled myself together long enough to press the warmth of my hand into the cold of his, and lead him away.

“You’re right about one thing,”

I said to Bjorn over my shoulder.

“I have nothing to lose.”

I sent him a wicked grin completely at odds against the tumbling of my pulse. If I let him see that, he’d never see anything other than the poor girl from the island who had no idea what she was doing.

But even as I said the words, the lie tasted bitter on my lips.

Nothing left to lose.

My grip on Clark tightened. Perhaps it’d been a mistake to bring him. He was a piece of my heart walking outside my body. A fragile, stumbling piece that ought to be wrapped in armor and kept far from harm. As I looked at my best friend, my breaths grew shallow.

I had everything to lose.

The labyrinth’s motto rang in my ears. May you find yourself in the labyrinth. Or at the very least, not lose yourself. It wasn’t myself I feared losing. But I couldn’t live with myself if I got Clark killed. I glanced to our skiff tied to a post on the shore. If I thought there was any chance of convincing Clark back onto it, I’d send him home to safety. But I’d have better luck drinking the seas dry than getting him to abandon me. So instead, my hand tightened on his, and I led him into the forest where shadows and smoke consumed us.