“Different how?”
It’s weird. I don’t think I’ve ever admitted this out loud before. “I was born tiny and sickly. For many years my parents were disappointed in me and felt I wouldn’t make a good leader, but then I got healthier. I got bigger. And they still weren’t happy.”
“Why?”
“Because they felt I was too soft still. That my body might have gotten stronger, but not my heart.”
“So you’re not cold and cruel. Who wants cold and cruel?” she asks, and then gives me a little smile that warms my whole heart.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I’ve always known I should be tougher. Harder. But Alette makes it sound like maybe me being me isn’t such a bad thing.
“No, really, there are enough cold, cruel men in the world. There’s a lot of room for sweeter men.”
I like the way she sayssweeter. Does she think I’m sweet?
“Normally, women are the softer ones.”
She wrinkles her nose. “And isn’t that a sad thing? Who wants to raise their son to be some kind of statue that doesn’t bleed? I don’t think that should be any mom’s goal.”
I think that was my mom’s, but I don’t say that. “Perhaps you’re right.”
Ahead, Oberon calls back, “There’s a clearing up ahead. We can stop there for the night.”
We break out of the hedge and see a decent-size clearing. Moonlight can actually filter in past the shadows of the hedge. It’s not exactly where I want to spend my night, but it’s promising.
Wordlessly, we drop our stuff and go through the same process as the night before. Each of us collects wood from around, and under, the thick hedges, then throws some of them into a pile. Oberon lights the fire, and we all set up our blankets and find our places on the ground.
I sit on the far side of the fire, watching the flames light up Alette’s face. Somehow, I’m having trouble reminding myself that fae women are supposed to be far more beautiful than human women. In fact, I’m struggling to remember what a single fae woman looks like. There’s just Alette, her long brown hair braided down her back, and those huge blue eyes of hers.Her skin is pale, and her cheeks are permanently a pink hue. She’s tiny, beautiful, and fascinating to look at.
You have to stop staring.
The crows call again. Their voices sound closer now.
Cassius says, “If I die in this maze, I hope I come back as a crow. They look out for each other.”
Ashton laughs, but there’s a thread of something sad in it. “If I die in this maze, I hope you come back as a duck. That would be hilarious.”
Alette laughs, too, a real one this time. For a moment, everything feels almost normal.
Then she glances at the walls of the labyrinth, at the way the hedge looms over us, waiting for us to relax. She visibly shivers, but I know it’s not from the cold.
“Let’s sleep,” she says. “I want to be ready for tomorrow.”
No one can argue with that logic.
We settle in, everyone a little closer to the fire than we need to be. I lay down last, eyes open, watching the flicker of flame on the inside of my eyelids, wondering what tomorrow will bring.Can we really save our people? Can we really bring back their magic?
Alette was supposed to come in here with four powerful kings, but in my eyes, she couldn’t have been paired with four worse people. We might wear crowns, yet I know for a fact that everyone of us is a miserable bastard who lives for their duty, while feeling completely empty inside.
How can we possibly be the ones to save our people, if we can’t even save ourselves?
But even in my dreams, I don’t find the answers.
22
Alette
It’s beenanother long day of walking, and we’re ready for a rest. Not just a rest. We’re ready to get out of our crispy clothes, to bathe away the sweat and dirt from the past few days, and certainly ready to sleep in a real bed rather than the hard earth.
