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“No, my sweet girl.”
I rushed to her side.
“I am sorry for the way you felt. It’s my fault.” She patted my arm. “You and the others must go and find this door you speak of. I will stay here and search out every monster I can find. I may not be able to dispel them like you, my dear, but I will tie them to this place so that they can never leave, even if there is a door. I will buttress this place with all the magic I possess, so that Ash can leave without it crumbling down and loosing all these monsters into the world.”
Ash’s warm hand latched in mine, and I squeezed hard, a rush of tears warming my eyes.
“And you’ll need someone to lock the door behind you when you go,” she added with a small smile. “So that no one else will have to face the madness here.”
“Nan, you can’t!”
She waved me off. “I can and I will. It will take some time, but I will do it.”
Ash stepped around me and placed his other hand on Nan’s shoulder. “You’ll need someone to show you where all the monsters lurk. I will stay with you until it’s finished.” She patted his knuckles, then leaned her cheek against their overlapping hands.
Meanwhile, my heart imploded at the thought of leaving them both in this wretched place. I stepped toward them.
“My sweet Vera,” Nan said. “I’m sorry I caused you so much pain. Let me do this for you now.”
“Nan, I can’t lose you again.”
Her soft, cool fingers cupped my cheek. “You can’t keep me, either. Time will make sure of that.” She reached up to pat Ash’s face next. “But you can keep him. And together, you can find the happiness that was stolen from you both.”
Walking away from the fort tore a little part of my heart in two. Nan’s embrace lingered on my skin, and the warmth of her hands covering mine rattled my thoughts as we searched for Edith and Ferrier.
Goodbye would never feel sufficient. But there was no changing her mind. Ash’s presence ahead of me as we walked comforted me. He would take care of Nan until the end, of that I was certain. She would be the poles holding this place up so he could leave. Without her, he could never walk away from the Labyrinth.
“They’re just ahead,” Ash said, turning to face me. He took my hands in his and tipped his forehead against mine. Silver and blue mist entwined all around us.
Ash looked at me the way I’d dreamed of being looked at my entire life. I closed my eyes as I tried to burn this memory into my mind. A tear pressed down my cheek.
“Vera,” Edith’s voice pulled me out of Ash’s grip. I peered around him, the ghost of his touch still warm on my face.
I ran toward Edith. Ferrier walked out of the misty forest behind her sister.
“I can get us out of here,” I announced.
Edith’s eyes went wide.
“He explained it all. I understand it now.”
“But there’s no way out.” She glanced behind me at Ash, and a look of mistrust darkened her features. “Why is he here?”
“I saw everything. He’s not who you think.”
“Maybe he just made you believe that. Everything here is a lie, you know. You can’t trust him.”
Doubt slid a cold finger up my spine, but I shook away the feeling. “I saw inside his mind. What could be more real than that?”
Still her eyes squinted when she looked at Ash. “A way out, you say?” For several heartbeats, I thought she might say no. Then she pressed her hands to her face, and sobs burst from her mouth.
“There is a door,” I said, turning back to face Ash. “I saw it in his memories. He can take us there.” I hesitated before adding, “He built it as a door to death, but he built everything here to lie. The door doesn’t lead to death.”
Ash’s face went pale.
Edith emerged from behind her hands and gaped at me. Ferrier stepped up and looped her arm through her sister’s.
“What do you mean?” Ferrier asked.
