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"I thought you were going to come back to us," Alva cries. "Hang out with us. You never did, Hel. Not once. You think you're better than us, now that you're attending that school, wearing fancy clothes, and driving a car you could have sold to save a hundred kids in the lanes. You're one of them."
Enough of this already.
I need to get to the center of the maze, and I know the fastest way to do so.
I open my eyes, long enough to take in my surrounding, pointedly ignoring the distorted faces surrounding me.
That's when I spot it. A tree branch over the top of a merchant's sign, that shouldn't have been here. Flora's rare and memorable on the lane. Refusing to question myself, I leap away from the crowd of harpies. At worst, I'll hit a wall. It wouldn't be the first time.
My fingers catch on a sinuous branch and I grin, closing my deceitful eyes. Relying on my sense of touch over everything else, I climb higher and higher, remembering how thick the trees had seemed from above.
I refuse to consider the possibility of falling. I haven't taken a fall since I was twelve, and it's not about to start now, for the entertainment of his highness, the king of jerks.
At long last, my hand scrapes against a cold, unfamiliar surface that feels nothing like the walls of my city. I lift myself up to the top of the wall, and finally dare to open my eyes.
I'm no longer in the undercity, but atop a thick, metallic platform, surveying the labyrinth from above.
I lift my gaze to the clear glass ceiling above, and almost immediately spot the king, standing in the battlement, eyes on me. He’s too far for me to see his expression, but I’d bet he isn’t pleased.
I grin. It’s not my fault if he didn’t bother to specify rules.
I shoot him my middle finger, and start to tread along the walls.
CHAPTERTWENTY-THREE
THE HEART OF THE MAZE
Ispot the green door, and I could have headed right for it, but now that I no longer have to endure all the voices of my regrets, I opt to aim higher.
What was it the king had said? If I solved the maze, I could take one of his crown jewels from its center.
Maybe I should take the high road and just get out of here. That would be enough in the way of retribution. It doesn't feel like enough, though. He attempted to humiliate me, and I can turn it around on him.
“Say your girl stays an hour, she will be honored above anyone in the court. Two, and she may have her weight in gold. If she stays till dawn, I’ll make her queen.”
I grin. I could stay right here for hours on end, waiting for the rise of dawn and have his crown for my efforts.
I have no desire to submit myself to his company for the rest of my days, but I imagine how ruffled he'll feel, knowing I had that option and chose to walk away.
Everything else he offered, I'll take.
I haven't paid attention to the time, but I've spent at least one hour here, and getting to the center of the maze and back ought to take one more. I only wish I weighed more, because the lanes are about to receive a hundred and twenty pounds of gold.
Glancing down to the path as I walk, I spot Adelaid curled up on the floor, crying, and I try to feel bad, but fail in that endeavor. She could always call for help.
It takes a while to reach the large, open circle, but I know I'm in the right place when I spot the willow tree planted at the very center, right in front of a glittering river so crystal clear it seems right out of a dream. Like everything else here. Good dream, bad dream, it's all just a side of the same coin.
Bracing myself for more onslaught, I climb down from the closest turn.
I expect the voices and visions to come back, so I close my eyes, but seconds pass and there's nothing but a soft breeze, the smell of lavender, and the sound of mating crickets chirping in the background.
Frowning, I advance into the clearing toward the tree.
"It is considered polite to curtsy in the presence of kings, you know."
I come to a stop, both confused and wary, because I recognize that voice.
His.
