“Ready?” she asks.
“No.”
She softens her expression as she looks up at him. “It’s all right. We don’t have to—”
“Come on.” He tugs her forward, and she hurries to match his stride, which is long at first, but as they approach another turn in the labyrinth, he slows to a shuffle.
The mist makes the air heavy, like the heart of the Wildthorne Woods, where a loamy, musty scent fills the air at all times.
Together, they peer around the corner as Elowyn holds out her light. It’s another straight path, longer this time, but the mist is thinner, and they can see farther.
“Here goes nothing.” With a longing look back toward the rose garden, Rominy trudges around the corner with Elowyn at his side.
The farther they travel along the hedgerow, the quieter it seems. The chatter of birds is long gone, and not even the whisper of a breeze breaks the muffled silence.
A dark sense of foreboding descends upon Elowyn. Perhaps Rominy was right. Maybe they should have gone back to the garden path.
Why put a labyrinth in their heartlanding if they aren’t meant to explore it, though?
As they reach another corner, Rominy stands closer to Elowyn, though whether he’s trying to shield her or take strength from her is hard to say.
It’s nice to imagine he’s trying to protect her.
Once again, they peek around the corner, this time into a more open space, and Elowyn relaxes until Rominy’s grip on her hand tightens.
“Elowyn...is that hedge...breathing?”
At his whisper, the faint movement stills, and then, as they clutch each other, a yellow slit forms in the glittering green bush. Elowyn’s heart hammers along with Rominy’s as the slit widens, growing rounder until a beady orb of black and yellow stares back at them.
“What kind of place is this?” Rominy hisses, but Elowyn doesn’t move. She doesn’t breathe. She doesn’t blink.
And then the yellow eye blinks instead.
Elowyn barely holds back a scream as the bush lifts away from the rest of the hedge.
Only it’s not a bush.
It’s a dragon.
Everyounceofsensewithin Rominy tells him to run. He knew this was a bad idea.
A place to rest, indeed. Rest with monsters.
“Don’t move,” Elowyn breathes through still lips.
“Please tell me you aren’t planning to make friends with it.”
When he glances at her from the corner of his eye, she appears to be holding back a smile.
Stars above, his wife has a death wish.
Can you die in the heartlanding? He’s not eager to find out.
If only they could wake up. Blink their eyes open back in the castle.
They should have gone swimming.
Of course, there are probably sharks circling in the water below their sailboat, waiting to gnaw on them. That might be a worse way to go.
