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“We need to bandage that hand.”
I hadn’t realized how badly I was trembling until I glanced down at my punctured hand. I nodded shakily.
“She’ll be back in a moment, Revera. We’ll bring you some broth in a little while.”
I stepped back down to the wider part of the platform and nestled against the massive tree trunk, as far from the edge as possible. My lace dress had so many tears, it looked like I’d been in a fight with a large cat—and lost. My chest heaved up and down, but I couldn’t seem to calm my breathing.
Edith squatted on her ankles, ripping off a long piece of cloth from the bottom of one of the curtain-like partitions. “Your Nan is a remarkable woman,” she said. “Without her, I’d be dead.”
Blinking in surprise, I glanced at Ash to see if he had anything to say about Nan, but he wasn’t watching me. He was leaning against a sturdy branch with one arm propped up on an overhead limb and peering down at the forest floor, which had grown quiet. I was momentarily struck by how strong he looked. Admitting he was handsome felt wrong now that I knew who he was, but I couldn't forget the way I'd clung to him, trusting him to save my life—and he had. Movement to my right sent a nervous twitch through me, but it was only the young girl finally emerging, crawling on her hands and knees across the platform.
“She’s the reason we’re all still alive,” the girl said, her voice high and a little scratchy. She might have been ten years old, entirely too young to be in this monstrous place.
Edith glanced over at her. “My sister, Ferrier.”
The girl sat cross-legged an arm’s length away, a bright smile on her freckled face. Then she dropped her gaze to her lap. “The Labyrinth had forced me away from Edith, but your Nan found me. She brought me back to my sister.”
Edith patted Ferrier on the shoulder. “We owe Revera a debt we cannot repay. I told her I'd met a woman named Vera Rivers, and she told me to go after you. So I did.”
I nodded, still somewhat in shock at finding Nan here, but a burst of wind rustled the tree limbs, and my eyes followed the branches as a wave of fear coursed through me.
Noting my worried look, Edith said, “The tree won’t move. Your Nan’s got it under control, and her magic never breaks.”
“She’s a lock,” I whispered, trying to absorb it all. And I’m a key.
My magic might be unique, but it was fitful as a two-year-old. I bit my lip as Edith shifted so she could sit cross-legged beside my outstretched legs. I was itching to speak to Nan more, to learn about locks and keys, but my wounds were screaming for attention. I thought my pulse was finally going to have a chance to slow after escaping that moose, but it picked up tempo as if I were still on the run. Edith snapped her fingers at Ferrier, who handed her a small tin. My stomach growled loudly.
“Oh, food. That was the whole reason you followed me.” Edith pressed a hand to her forehead. “We won’t have long before something else comes for us. We need to doctor that hand, but we also need to cook.”
Ash stepped across the platform. “I’ll do that. You get the food.”
Edith shot him a skeptical look, but then nodded gratefully and descended one of the ropes to the ground below.
Heart hovering in my throat, I tensed as Ash folded his legs and sat beside me, his knee brushing against my thigh. He took the bandage and the tin, and then he took my hand, setting it on his leg.
I tried not to move even when I breathed. Ash’s warm, calloused hands lifted my wrist and my entire consciousness narrowed until the only reality was where his skin touched mine.
From the tin he scooped a mash that smelled of brightberry and whistletop blooms—magical plants created by the Guild for medicinal purposes. I never imagined they’d grow here. With one finger he gently tapped the ointment over my wound on both sides of my hand. His other hand held my wrist still.
I chewed my lips and hoped he couldn’t feel the tension roiling off me like steam. I dared not look up at him, lest he see how much pain and nervousness I was holding back.
An arm’s length away, Ferrier shoved her hands under her legs and rocked a little side to side. “Your Nan’s spells are what allowed us to build this fort. Her magic doesn’t need continuous energy.”
I nodded at her, grateful that I didn’t have to look at Ash. I was certain he could feel my thundering pulse.
“But it’s probably also how this Labyrinth was built in the first place,” Ferrier rambled on. “Otherwise, the amount of energy needed to keep it up and running would have destroyed the master of this place.”
At her words, I locked eyes with Ash, but neither of us spoke. It seemed none of them knew the truth, which meant Ash hadn’t given them his full name.
Only I knew that we sat with the man who built this prison and whose actions outlawed our magic. He stared at me, perhaps waiting to see if I would reveal his secret. For some reason, my lips remained pressed shut.
Ash released my hand.
“Done,” he said. “You should put some of this on your other wounds.” He set the tin beside me.
An unexpected emptiness filled me as he backed away and stood. When he felt me staring, his eyes flashed to mine, and I blinked, feeling foolish. The heightened danger of this place was messing with my rationality and emotions. That was all. In a survival situation, people helped each other. It didn’t mean anything.
Except that my heart was all fluttery as he gripped one of the ropes hanging from an upper branch and slipped down, out of sight.
