Chapter 31
Ryker
I glanced backat Ellery as the sun sank lower. Despite the blood streaking her cheek and staining her dress, she didn’t look at all deterred by her surroundings. Her shoulders remained back, and her eyes were watchful as they darted around the bushes.
The setting sun brought out the streaks of chestnut and chocolate in her dark hair. The cyan blue of her eyes stood starkly out against the deepening shadows.
When her eyes settled on me and narrowed, I felt her irritation. I bit back a smile when her gaze shifted away once more. She was a prickly, stubborn thing, and while it irritated me, I also liked it.
From somewhere outside the maze, a horn blew. We both stopped walking and turned toward the sound on our right.
Judging by the noise, we’d traversed at least a mile over the past three hours, if not further away from the party. How big is this thing?
“It’s over,” Ellery murmured.
Despite knowing we couldn’t find the bowl and make it out of here in time, her shoulders slumped, and her eyes closed. I could feel the disappointment radiating off her.
From what I remembered of her manor, it appeared prosperous. It was in good condition, clean, and the fields, while covered in snow, were vast.
I didn’t know what happened to change that, but she looked so defeated I almost rested my hand on her shoulder to comfort her. I stopped myself from doing so. It was a simple touch, but I didn’t want that level of intimacy with anyone.
“Are you going to turn back?” I asked her.
She glanced toward the darkening sky before shaking her head. “I’ve come too far to turn back now.”
And so had I. Turning away from her, I continued deeper into the maze.
Along the way, we encountered more snakes and rodents, but it was quieter in this section. For all I knew, that meant we were leaving this nightmare, heading back the way we’d come, or almost to the center of the labyrinth.
We took a few more twists and turns, hit another dead end and turned back, twisted around some more, and stopped when the hedges gave way to a vast expanse of garden with opulent benches and chairs set around it. Blooms were unfurling on some trees while others were full of flowers.
Many of the bushes didn’t have flowers yet, but their buds were thick and heavy as they prepared to open. The different blooms were a vibrant splash of color against the growing dusk.
An ornate bowl sat on a concrete stand in the center of the maze. The bowl’s reds, greens, and yellows caught the setting sun and cast their hues across the lush grass.
Ellery tensed, but instead of walking over to the bowl, she strode across the clearing to one of the benches and sat. She rested her hands on her lap as she stared at the bowl.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“How many amsirah have made it this far and witnessed how beautiful this is? Do you think King Ivan has ever come here?”
“No. Never.”
“Do you think King Leonidas ever came here?”
I glanced around the beautiful space. It was so tranquil, and the challenge of locating it was something Leo would have enjoyed.
“Yes,” I replied. “Plus, all those who maintain the labyrinth have been here.”
“You’re right,” she said. “They have all seen it, but who outside of them has been here? We’re a rarity.”
She closed her eyes and tipped her face back to bask in the fading sun. I forgot all about the bowl as my attention remained focused on her.
I couldn’t deny she intrigued me. I’d never met anyone quite like her before; she’d been willing to lose her hand for a scruffy child, rolled in the snow like a commoner, and now she sat on a bench, enjoying the triumph of having made it this far.
It was something I hadn’t planned to acknowledge. Yes, we’d made it this far but failed to do so in the time Ivan allotted us; this was another failure to me but not to her.
Despite preferring not to have much more to do with this woman, I moved toward her. The stone bench sank a little into the lawn when I sat beside her.
She opened her eyes, but it wasn’t to look at me. Instead, she focused on the multiple colors streaking the sky. “It’s beautiful.”
I hadn’t planned to acknowledge the sunset either. I’d seen thousands of them but couldn’t remember the last time I’d sat and enjoyed one. I did so now.
Despite every fucked-up thing that had happened over the past few years… no, throughout my entire life, I relaxed as I drank in the red, oranges, and pinks spreading across the sky as birds soared overhead. For the first time since the war with the ghouls started, the ophidians, and Leo’s death, some of the tension in my chest eased.
Outside of this maze, we were surrounded by some of the biggest assholes I’d ever met throughout all the realms. That was saying something, considering I’d spent months locked in the ophidians’ dungeon while being tortured.
But here, inside this garden, it was just her, me, and peace.
As I sat there, I became aware of her apple scent. I also detected blood and sweat on her, but her sweet apple scent was stronger and so very enticing.
When I shifted my attention to her profile, I was captivated by the small smile curving the corner of her full mouth. Sensing my gaze, she turned to look at me, and our eyes clashed.
As I stared at her, I couldn’t figure out what I wanted from her… was it to touch her, kiss her, or say something?
But I had no idea what to say. When my gaze fell to her mouth, lust hardened my cock as I contemplated what she would taste like.
While I suspected she might let me kiss her, I couldn’t ruin this moment of tranquility by having her stop me. Instead, I reluctantly shifted my attention to the sky as the colors faded and night descended.
When the shadows stretched around us, I knew it was time to go. I’d prefer not to leave this small bit of peace I’d found in a life that was anything but tranquil, but Ellery rose, stretched her arms, and examined the sky.
“My mother’s probably so worried about me,” she murmured.
My father was probably still pissed I was here and hadn’t considered the possibility I might get hurt. I’d survived the Ghoul War, Doomed Valley, and the ophidians. I wasn’t going to perish in Ivan’s maze.
She turned to walk back toward the entrance to the labyrinth, but I stopped her. “Aren’t you going to get a coin?”
Her gaze traveled across the beautiful garden to the bowl in the center. “No. I know what I’ve done, and that’s enough for me.”
I understood that for her, but it wasn’t enough for me. While she was content to keep the secrets of this maze to herself, I wasn’t.
Rising, I strode across the garden to the bowl in the middle. I stopped beside it and studied the mound of undisturbed coins in the center. No one else had made it into the center.
I dipped my hand inside, removed a golden coin, and flipped it in the air before sliding it into my pocket. Ellery’s eyes were watchful as I walked back over to her, but she didn’t say anything before turning and entering the maze again.