The host of the game.
He wasthe hostof the game, no longer Reggie.
Then March said, “We have to go.”
“I can’t leave—” Silas started, and I grabbed his hand the same time March squatted in front of him.
“Youcanif you don’t want to costallof us our lives,” he said, looking at Silas from under his lashes. “We might not remember any of this, Silas, but we’re not leaving here without you.”
True words. I felt those, too, deep in my soul, and the fire that existed inside me for him burned a little brighter, with a different flavor.
I looked at March’s face for a second, really looked at him—the way his eyes had darkened as he stared at Silas, an honest stare, an almostdangerousstare, while he made his own promise. And I knew beyond a doubt that hewouldkeep his. He wouldn’t leave here without him no matter who was coming, and whatever knowing that did to me, I felt a little fuller. I felt a little…more.
“That’s okay. We’re leaving,” I said, squeezing Silas’s hand. “We’reallleaving.” Our eyes locked. “For now.” And then we would come back. And if we couldn’t find a way to get to Reggie, we could just stay here forever.
It was less mad than everything we had lived through already, wasn’t it?
Yes, we could stay here.
Just as long as we tried first. Wereallytried to right all the wrongs we didn’t remember.
Silas closed his eyes and released a long breath. Two tears snuck out and slid down his cheeks fast, like they just wanted to be done with it.
“We’ll figure something out,” Mimi said, wiping her own tears. “We’re not going to leave him here—wewillfigure something out, but not here. Not underground, not with thequeens looking for us, not when you can barely stand and when we don’t remember even knowing you.”
“We will. We’ll figure it out together,” said Cook.
“Together.Outof here.” Seth.
“As long as we’re free, we can always come back.” Anika.
“We’ll get him out out. Just…not today.” Erith, and she turned to look back at the boy, and so we all did together for a beat.
Then…
The boy—the Hostpoured another cup and raised it up, turned his head toward us just slightly. “Leaving so soon?” he said. “Tick-tock, darlings. Tick-tock.”
We all flinched when he chuckled—the sound wrong, even if I couldn’t say why.
But when March and Russ leaned in to grab Silas, he didn’t protest. They pulled him up, put his arms over their shoulders, and I took his cane.
Silas didn’t fight. He didn’t argue. He simply kept his eyes on the Host as the boys pulled him back toward the door we’d come from, until we were outside.
None of us looked back.
21
Ithought it was going to be easy. I thought we would go back where we came from and get to Kohen in no time.
But the way back was all wrong.
Notwronglike we’d taken a wrong turn, no—wrong like the tunnels and the rooms had changed.
The first corridor looked right. The walls, the pipes, the floor was as we’d left it. But when we went through the half open door that was supposed to lead us to the doll room, it wasn’t there.
Same door, same distance, same everything—yet the room was different.
This one was a long chamber with a vaulted ceiling made of dark metal, not glass. And the walls were lined with…
