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As the sun set, I looked around and realized how little we’d accomplished. We hadn’t even finished one entire row of hedges. And there were so many more to be trimmed.
A groan escaped my lips as I thought back to the library. The nice, quiet, sometimes dusty library. With unending knowledge and hidden doors. I whimpered.
Ladon appeared beside me. “It’s going to be fine. We’ll get through it.”
And so we did. For days, we came back to the hedge maze, trimming the treacherous thorns. For days, I wanted to cry while they continued to rip apart my skin.
After the second day, Ladon finally broke down and wrapped his hands, too. And every day after that, we both preemptively wrapped our hands, hoping to protect them at least a little bit.
At the end of our tenth day, I held my hands under freezing water back in our bathroom, tears spilling over as I watched the blood run down the drain. By my estimates, we’d be working with the hedges for at least three more days in order to finish. I wasn’t sure if I could take it.
Just when I thought it couldn’t get any worse, Reyna returned from her trip. She showed up without warning one morning, taking the guard’s place to watch us from the platform.
All day long, she mocked and ridiculed us. Made light of the mangled flesh on our hands. Laughed at our pain. Smiled at our despair. While the physical pain never seemed to affect Ladon, Reyna’s presence caused a stark shift in his demeanor. He hardly spoke when she was around, and his eyes frequently flickered to where she stood.
I didn’t think there was a person in this world crueler than Reyna. She didn’t just inflict pain and suffering. She basked in it.
We returned to our room that evening and Reyna once again made it clear that she’d return later for Ladon.
He’d grown pale and stoic. He laid down on the mattress and stared at the ceiling—his typical routine on a night when he was summoned by her. I wanted to scream. I wanted to throw something at the wall. Unfortunately, I couldn’t even hold a spoon without grimacing.
“You’re pacing,” he said quietly. The pain in his voice was so clear.
“I just…what if we—”
“Don’t bother, princess. There isn’t anything you can do.”
A knock on the door had us both stiffening. My heart raced as I looked from Ladon to the door. It hadn’t been that long since Reyna had left. Surely, she wasn’t back already.
The door quietly swung open, and the harpy came inside. How was it that she could roam so freely in this fortress?
She dipped a hand into her pocket and pulled out a tin can, extending it to me. It was about the size of my palm and didn’t have any label.
“What is it?”
She merely tilted her head toward it as if to say, open it.
I unscrewed the top. The mixture inside was a pale purple, almost white. It smelled like lilacs and eucalyptus. I dipped my finger in cautiously. I trusted the harpy, despite the fact that she could not speak. She’d shown us the entrance to the tunnels and given us the key to translating the runes. I doubted she would harm either of us.
For a moment, I wondered how she’d wound up in Murvort. If she was born here or bred here. If she was abducted from another continent. How long had she been under Reyna’s rule? I contemplated these questions while rubbing the oily substance between two fingers.
Warmth and relaxation spread from my fingertips. I watched as the skin turned pink, like a newborn baby. The dirt under my fingernails disappeared. A spark of hope ignited within me.
I spread the oil further along the back of my hand and watched as the cuts began to heal before my eyes. The thin red slivers disappeared, and the gashes filled with brand new skin, not even leaving a scar.
Ladon appeared over my shoulder, watching with curiosity. As soon as he saw what the salve could do, he dipped his own fingers in greedily and spread it across his palms and then the back of his hands, lathering it on thick. A sigh of pleasure rumbled in his throat and I echoed the sentiment. We both needed this.
“Thank you,” I said to the harpy. “I don’t know how you got this or how you were able to get in but thank you. Thank you so much.”
Words seemed inadequate to express my gratitude. I wrapped my arms around her shoulders and pulled her in for a hug. She stiffened, but didn’t push me away.
When we separated, she gave me a small nod and then exited the room.
Unfortunately, our relief was short-lived. Not long after, another knock sounded and Reyna entered the room.
“No,” I whispered.
Ladon tilted his head toward me, but said nothing.
