“Why the hell not?” Declan asks.
“Yeah,” Quaid adds. “Why not? They’re synergistic, you said it yourself.”
“Her and us,” he says. “That’s the synergy.” Then he points to Quaid’s glasses, which he’s holding in his hand. “Onlyher and us. Because if Declan and I combine, then things get out of hand. That’s what broke your glasses, Quaid. It was too much.”
“So what’s that mean?” I ask. Feeling weirdly disappointed. Because I like them both and I want them both. And now Aric’s saying it can’t happen.
“I think it means that we each have a synergistic power with you, Star. We make you more powerful and you make us more powerful. But’s a duo, not a triad.” Then he looks at Quaid. “Or a quad.”
“Wow, that’s weird,” Declan says. “His name is Quaid and with us he makes us a quad.”
“My name does not mean four, Declan. It’s not weird.”
Declan shrugs. “It’s still got a Q in it.”
Which makes me smile for a moment. But then I look up at Aric and find him frowning. I decide to confront his unease head on. “Why are you so worried?”
Aric lets out a breath. “I’m not worried, exactly. It’s just… you’re… special.”
I smile. “Thank you. I’d like to think so.”
But he doesn’t smile back. “It’s just…” Now he looks around the room. And suddenly I get it. We’re in some kind of… trap for him. He was stuck here, fighting the monster, all by himself. And now he’s probably worried about how we get out.
So I reach for him, taking his hand as I look up into his eyes. “Don’t worry. You’re not alone this time.”
And finally, he smiles. “You’ve said that already. But Star, I’ve got to say, even if you can help me get out of the maze again, I would never ask you to do that. Because you have no idea how bad it’s gonna be.”
