AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“What happened?” Ferrier muttered, her eyes no longer vacant but sharp and alert.
Tears poured down Edith’s face as her shoulders shook with quiet sobs. Her eyes lifted again to Ash, flicked briefly to me, and then moved back to her sister, who she dove to embrace. Ash stood and faced me.
And all the mist—every sparkling droplet of it—moved as he moved. Then it began to converge on him, slowly at first, every droplet condensing and moving from the farthest reaches in the trees until they lit upon him like an army of infinite fireflies.
His jaw worked, and I remembered he said he could taste the magic. He inhaled and every ounce of the blue mist disappeared into his body. My mouth hung ajar. Edith must have sensed something, for when I glanced back at her, her eyes were fixed on Ash. Ferrier, too, stared up at him from the ground.
“It’s you,” Edith said, helping her sister to her feet.
Ash turned so that he could see me and the two sisters. He nodded slowly.
“That’s why the Labyrinth always responded to you. Because…” Her voice trailed off.
“He’s the one who built it,” I said, my words smaller and quieter than I’d intended.
Ferrier squeaked and scrambled to her feet, tugging her sister farther from Ash.
“I’m also the reason you found what you needed,” he added, his tone a little sharp.
Edith wrapped an arm around Ferrier. “The Labyrinth only gives us what we need right before sending us another test. You’re the one who told us to never trust the Labyrinth. Never trust what helped us yesterday.”
Ash turned toward me, ignoring Edith. “Vera, you need to let your fears back out. The Labyrinth is angry, and it will not stop punishing you for shutting your fears away.” He hurried to my side. “I never meant to leave you, but when I stepped into that abbey, the door spat me out a long way away.”
I nodded and pushed open the door in my mind. My heart beat quickly, and panic spidered outward from my chest to my fingertips. My fears had returned.
Ash grabbed my shoulders. “Good. But you need to take control of your magic, now, Vera.”
I scowled, unable to drag any words out of my tight throat. Edith pulled Ferrier’s face against her chest and began backing away.
“Every time you tear apart a piece of this place, you risk all our lives,” he muttered, but the others still heard him.
Ferrier tugged her sister’s arm in fright as they edged away from us.
“Wait,” Ash said, lifting a hand toward the sisters. They hurried away faster, and he shouted louder, pointing at Ferrier. “I healed her.” But they only turned and ran. “I kept you alive,” he shouted at their retreating forms.
With my fears surging through my mind once again, I grasped for something nearby to clutch. There was nothing but the stone wall a few steps away, and I stumbled toward it, bracing myself against it. As my chest tried to draw in air, my throat closed until my breaths sawed in my lungs.
He squeezed my shoulders and pulled me against his chest. “Take control, Vera. You can do it. Bring your magic back to yourself.”
I took a deep breath and nodded. The silver mist around me flickered, and I feared I’d once again lose my ability to see it. As I had with the minotaur, I envisioned myself taking hold of the mist and pulling it toward me. The faintly glowing magic slowed its endless whirling and slowly converged on me.
“That’s it,” Ash whispered.
After another deep breath, pale water droplets beaded on my arms and hands, and the remaining silvery mist hovered calmly in the air.
Ash let go of my shoulders but didn’t step away. “I want to show you why I built this place, and you won’t like it. But I want you to know. And I need you to see what’s happening when you tear it apart.”
I briefly recalled Nan’s words about Ash—that the truth was nothing like what I’d learned. If what he wanted to show me would bring me pain, I didn’t want to see it, but I needed to know the truth about him.
His words about tearing apart the Labyrinth intrigued me. I lifted my hand toward his. If I could tear this place apart, then I could get back to my brothers, keep them from ever having to suffer this fate. Perhaps if he showed me how he built this place, I could find a way to tear it down and set us all free.
As my hand reached slowly for his, he said, “When I let you in, you will see a keyhole. Open it.”
I put my trembling hand lightly in his, and he guided it up until he placed my fingers on his forehead. My hand jerked as I pulled away, surprised by the way my hand on his head evoked memories of the way he’d kissed me.
“I’ve kept this truth buried inside me for eighty years,” he muttered. “It might come out a little forcefully. But I promise I won’t hurt you.”
I bit my lip and reached for his forehead again. He leaned forward into my palm, and a small breath breezed from my lips that moved the tiny hairs beside his face.
