Even so, even through the panic, I was smiling when I leaned back against the door and sighed.
My tunic was most likely ripped, and I had a boy sitting there at the edge of my bed, grinning at me like I was his sun, and I’d just gone through some of the most intense feelings I’d ever felt in my life—but I was smiling.
The other Handssaw us coming out of my room together—and their maids and butlers did, too. Lida had left, thankfully, but the looks and grins and wiggling brows the others gave us were enough to keep me flushed all throughout lunch and workout with Asha and Hector. It’s not like they were surprised after Reggie had toldeveryonewe’d made out that night at the junkyard, but I still felt like I wanted to disappear into thin air every time I caught them staring.
March, on the other hand, could not care less. If anything, he wasglowing.
I kind of adored him for it even more.
Of course, I’d never say it. Too shy still.
Calren stayed with us through it all. He never left our side at the arena or at dinner. We didn’t want to rest before we ate, even though we were exhausted. Asha had really upped her game. She no longer required us to run laps. Instead, they put us in these tunnels with very low oxygen to see how long we could hold our breaths. And then they had these labyrinths underground in the outer part of the arena, whichshifted all the time, to test our orientation skills. We had to balance on moving platforms for minutes at a time, and climb ropes within a specific timeframe now, too.
Still, we wanted to save time so that we could meet up to go to the junkyard earlier. We still had a lot to talk about.
The situation with Calren had improved somewhat, I thought. He even spoke semi-normally during dinner, made jokes, asked questions. It still wasn’t the same. We were hesitant to answer, hesitant to even look him in the eye for longer than a tick. Whatever it was that had changed so much after the first trial, I was still hopeful that things would eventually go back to normal.
But in the back of my mind the dread remained, its source a thought I didn’t want to acknowledge at all for the moment:how much worse was this going to get after the second trial?
15
We were on our way to the junkyard not even an hour after we finally went to our rooms. I’d never bathed faster in my life, but all that sweat had to come off, or I was going to feel uncomfortable.
I was sitting by the door, finishing the mechanical eye I’d started to draw—how I imagined the Labyrinth’s eye would look if it had one. The eye that was always watching.
I’d never drawn things like this before. It felt…strange. So far out of my comfort zone, which was why I pushed myself to finish it.
When I heard doors opening in the hallway, I stepped out of my room, too.
A few of the Hands were ready, but we had to wait a few more minutes until all were out. Then, as silently as possible—moresilently than ever before—we made our way down the stairs and outside The Ever and didn’t say a single word until we were in the junkyard, standing by the giant lantern.
Then everybody started talking at the same time.
Something’s going on—those workouts killed me—I can’t believe the queens didn’t come talk to us yet eventhough we won—what is up with Calren?—what exactly happened at breakfast?—are we lying now, to the queens and to the whole world?—guys, why aren’t we talking to anyone?—why hasn’t anybody come to talk to us?
On and on we went for a little while.
Then Reggie called, “Everybody—shut up!”
His voice echoed in the tall ceiling. We all fell silent.
We were standing in a circle in front of the lantern, some of us were hyper, some scared, some confused.
“You made us lie at breakfast.” Russ was pointing at Silas, and at March standing right next to me.
“We did. It sounded like the Timekeeper didn’t know that we had each other’s memories still,” March said.
Shivers rushed down my back.
“So why lie?” Mimi asked.
“Because if we keep these memories, we don’t lose them. We can tell each other what we gave away,” Silas said.
“Are you saying that if they knew, they’d…what,take themfrom us?” Seth.
“Or maybe they would give them back,” said Anika, shaking her head. “We shouldn’t have lied…”
“They wouldn’t. You all heard Calren. He said the game would keep the memories,” I reminded her.
