We walked.
The loop seemed to be a little over an hour long, and each time we completed it, the mushroom would be there to mock us, and the flowers would come to life for a minute or two, to tell us to go back and save ourselves.
If only we could. If only there was another way.
The more time passed, the darker the entire forest became.
The darker the forest became—with nightfall, I would imagine—the more lanterns seemed to just appear on the branches here and there, illuminating our way, but also creating all those shadows that played with my sanity.
The creaks of the wood underneath us became heavier and louder as we walked. The branches seemed to groan more with each step, too, and the glow of those rings on the bark became more and more faded.
Like the Tree of Years itself was shutting down with us.
If it did so all the way, what would become of us?
“It was the same in that masquerade,” Reggie argued. Hewas the only one still trying to keep our spirits up, and I appreciated him so much more than he knew. “We all thought it was hopeless at one point, didn’t we?”
“Notme,” Mimi muttered.
“Well, notyou,Mim-Mim, but most of us,” Reggie said with a grin. “We’ll figure it out, you’ll see.”
“Go, then. Go on your way, if you dare, and try tofigure stuff out!” she snapped at him.
She liked Reggie (who didn’t?) but she was pissed off, and everybody knew she wasn’t serious. Reggie did, too.
That’s why he was grinning when he raised up his hands in surrender and said, “Okay. Fine, I’ll go. And I’ll be back to getall of youout of here, just like I did down there.” He turned around to walk back to the other side.
“Oh, c’mon, Reggie! Don’t listen to her. Come back!” Seth shouted.
Mimi waved him off with a roll of her eyes. “Oh, let him. It’s not like any of us is going anywhere, anyway.”
Reggie didn’t even turn his head, just kept going. He was walking away for real. I shook my head, smiling. Of course he was.
“I propose a break until he comes back,” Silas said. “Right here seems just fine.” Without even waiting for a reply, he sat near a thinner branch, rested his back against it, and closed his eyes.
“You know what—a break sounds really good right now,” I said. We hadn’t had one of those in a bit.
March didn’t hesitate. My hand was still in his, and he took us farther back as he searched for a place to sit, and everybody else did the same.
We, too, found a branch to sit against, and I adored how he never once let go of my hand, even when we settled down. I adored how he played with my fingers, how he analyzed them, then kissed the ones I’dscratched before magicking that axe to help us climb the slide tree. That’s what everybody was calling it now—the slide.
“Safe to say these trials are nothing like what I expected,” Levana said when they all settled down as well.
We nodded in agreement.
“I played a game with my classmates the week before I came here,” Russ said. “All twenty of them were to submit to me two ideas of what they thought the games would look like. So farnonehas come even close.”
“Who even comes up with these trials?” I wondered.
“Timekeepers, probably,” said Seth.
“No. Not Timekeepers,” Silas said. “They make sure the Labyrinth keeps running, but they don’t come up with the games.”
“Who then?” Mimi asked.
“I’m eleven-hours certain it’s the queens,” said Silas. “But maybe…maybe not.”
The queens.
