“Might as well hear what they have to say.”
“All right, then. Let’s sit down,” Cook finally said.
Suddenly they were all moving, walking around us to get to the chairs, and the Heart boy was still staring down at me with those eyes that had so much color, such depth, I finally understood myself for wanting to draw him every waking second. It would take lifetimes to immortalize all those shades, and I’d only barely scratched the surface.
That was only part of the reason why I remained there looking up at him, though.
The other was that I was…waitingfor him to make up his mind?
“Coming?” one of the others called.
And the Heart boy blinked like he was just coming out of a trance. Leaned back. Looked down at his hand which had been around my arm just a moment ago.
“Let’s go,” he said and stepped back, waited for me to turn first.
I did, feeling slightly awkward in my skin, but maybe not entirely in a bad way?
The others were standing behind the chairs, staring at the Timekeepers who’d made themselves comfortable and waited like they had all the time in the world. I wanted to stand, too, felt more in control that way, but then Mimi stepped in front of the chairs from the other side and sat asshe looked up at me, eyes wide, terrified. I didn’t think—I went and sat next to her.
The Heart boy sat next to me.
Is your name March?
I caught the question between my teeth and did my best to pretend not to feel everything that I was feeling, to focus on our surroundings—we were across from the Timekeepers now, the three of us sitting down, the rest right behind us.
“Well. Now that we’ve settled,” the Timekeeper Kohen said, and cleared his throat. His friend had crossed his arms in front of his chest, and I genuinely expected him to fall asleep in his chair any second—he lookedthatuninterested and bored.
“The answers,” Mimi said, raising the little notebook to show them. “What do you know about what we wrote here?”
“Everything,” the Timekeeper said, and every gear inside me groaned like it was in need of a good oiling.
“What can you tell us about it then?” I asked next because he’d already said that he wouldn’t.
“Nothing, really.”
Frustrating. “Is that because you can’t or because you’re not willing?”
“Not willing,” he said without missing a beat.
At least he was being honest.
“Then why are we here?” the Heart boy asked, his voice a caress to my ears.
“Because, Mr. Ruvane, I am not willing to tell you what I know…yet.”
Yet.
Such a simple word, yet it changed everything. It shone a brand-new light onto this whole thing.
As well as the Heart boy’s last name. I had definitely heard it before, even if I hadn’t.
“You want something from us,” I said, my voice calmer,my muscles more relaxed, my mind less crowded. Just like that, I felt a little bit safer.
“Correct,” said the Timekeeper, and my next breath came a little easier, too.
“Is it our Sparetime? Is it the money?” said the Diamond boy from somewhere behind us—and he soundedpissednow. Not an ounce of fear remained in his voice.
“Oh, no, dear boy, no,” said the Timekeeper, while his friend rolled his eyes—and slowly, so we could all see. “I don’t want your Sparetime or your money. What I want from you is simple—to go back to the Labyrinth.”
