Raven repositioned herself at his ankles. “Come on, Marius. Make it home, and I swear I’ll give you and your mate the royal wedding of a lifetime.”
Harlow’s pride made her want to say she could plan her own wedding, but she squelched that knee-jerk reaction. Who was she to turn aside Marius’s family, after all? Glancing back at Raven, she raised an eyebrow and smiled.
Chapter Thirty
Marius stood before the gaping maw of an ancient stone doorway, next to a little girl who was far more powerful than her child’s body let on. She glowed softly beside him, her hand firmly in his, and stared into the darkness.
“Ready?” He tugged on her hand.
“Are there hunters inside?”
“I don’t remember any. But there are other deadly things. It’s constantly changing.”
“Can I keep my light on?”
He shrugged. “I don’t see why not. We’re not going to slip by anything in this labyrinth, Charlie. Whatever we meet, we’ll have to face it.”
Her glow brightened. “I’m ready.”
They stepped inside. The stone corridor narrowed and descended. He remembered this part. He’d made it this far before. Maybe once or twice. After a sharp left, the labyrinth presented them with a fork in the passageway.
“Right, straight, or left?” he asked her. “I went left before… but I don’t think I was successful.” He stopped himself from admitting that he thought he died.
“It changes.” She frowned.
“Yes, it does.” She was a smart kid.
“Which way do you want to go?”
He hung his head. He didn’t know which way, and the decision seemed impossible when a child’s life was at stake. He was staring at his toes when he realized there were markings under the dust. He brushed the debris aside. An arrow pointed straight ahead.
A grin spread his lips. Had he drawn that arrow? Or maybe one of the others. “I think we go straight, kid.”
She nodded, and they walked on. But soon, the passage ended at a stone wall. There was no visible way forward. A table lay set before them, candles burning, plates gleaming. Every manner of food was heaped upon golden trays at its center.
“I’m hungry!” Charlie lunged toward the table, arms outstretched.
“No, Charlie. You can’t eat that. Don’t ever eat anything in the underworld.”
“Why not?” She pouted, staring longingly at the feast.
“It makes you forget why you’re here. If you eat that, you’ll never leave.” He looked around the stone room for another clue, an arrow from a benevolent soul, maybe his own, with instructions on what to do next, but the floor was oddly clean of debris. Too clean. There should have been stones, dust. “This is wrong.”
“Do we have to go back?”
“It’s an illusion. Look how clean the floor is.”
She shrugged her little shoulders.
“Trust me.”
One of the candles flickered. “See that?” He pointed to the candle. “Airflow. There’s a way out. We just can’t see it.” He released her hand and rounded the table to examine the far wall. “Maybe we can feel it.”
The room behind him grew darker. He looked over his shoulder. Charlie was using one of the teacups as a snuffer to put out the candles.
“Charlie… I’m not sure that’s a good—”
The last candle went dark.
