The whole time, those yellow eyes bore into mine. “Ready?”
“I…guess. All right.”
He nods briskly. Light spills from the gyre as its gears hum to life.
I stand stiffly, my arms wrapped around his waist. I know I should hate everything about this, but…Ishanna’s breath. His warmth, his scent, the firmness of his enormous body…it all seeps into me, stealing away my thoughts, along with every last scrap of my voice.
I wrench my attention downward, trying to escape his dizzying effect. But my gaze lands on his chest—his half-bare, perfectly sculpted chest, where a rhythmic flicker betrays the cadence of his heart. I stare at it, frowning.
Because with every beat, an echo rushes through my veins. Amriel’s heart flickers; mine thuds. Again and again, in perfect sync, like a call and response I never agreed to.
Horror unfolds within me. No. That can’t possibly?—
The world drops away.
My stomach lurches as nothingness swallows me up. It’s worse than last time, maybe because I’m already off-balance, maybe because of where we’re going. I cling to Amriel. His presence is an anchor, a solid point amid the chaos.
I hate him for it. I hate that my body instinctively seeks out his, that his curls around mine in return.
Then the world snaps into place, and I go stumbling. When I recover, I find myself in a dappled clearing where long grass trembles in the breeze. Lazy bees dip in and out of blossoms, while twenty paces away, the Wildwood rises like a wall.
My heart shrinks down to a cold, hard pebble. Up close, the forest looks even more menacing than it did from the solarium. Shadows cloak the trees, so thick I can’t see into them. I can’t see much ofanything, actually, except a darkened entrance at the mouth of the labyrinth, where a looming archway brackets swirling shadows.
I gulp. The idea of stepping through makes my stomach whirl all over again.
I turn, instinctually seeking reassurance, but Amriel is already backing away, already putting distance between us. His face is a frigid mask, empty of any emotion.
“The hourglass is that way.” He gestures toward the forest. “Go straight through, as best as you can manage. The Wildwood will try to turn you around. Don’t let it.”
I nod, my throat too tight for words.
He regards me for a moment longer, his expression unreadable. His grip on the gyre tightens, its light flaring once more.
“Wait.” The protest bursts out of me before I can stop it. “That’s it? You're just going to…leave me?”
He arcs an eyebrow. “What did you expect, Princess? A tearful goodbye?”
“No, I just—” I falter, but he’s right. WhatdidI expect? “No, of course not.”
His jaw tightens, an almost imperceptible hesitation. For a heartbeat, I almost think he might say something else. Somethingreal.
“I…” he starts.
I lean in, unable to help myself.
But he changes course, his attention shifting to the trees. “Just remember. Don’t let my Shadow catch you.”
“Right.” I sink back, the warning settling heavily in my gut. “Yes. I’ll…do my best.”
“Good.” His mouth curves into that intolerable sneer again. “And Princess?”
“Yes?”
“Try not to die.”
“I—”
But reality splits, and he’s gone.
