Maybe that’s why I relent with a heavy sigh. “Fine. Three … two …”
“One!”
Rose takes off, her loose hair flying behind her as her long legs propel her forward with an effortless grace I could not have matched even at the height of my athletic career. I stumble—out of practice—as I try to run, my wet shoes giving me littletraction as I attempt to push through the deep snow.
She beats me, of course, and is leaning against the back door of the cabin with a smirk when I catch up.
“Okay, maybe Iwasa track star.”
“Remember what I said about younotbeing a pain?”
“Yeah.”
“I take it back.”
She cackles. The sound echoes through the hollow, like a thousand ghosts laughing from the mountains around us.
I can feel Violet’s eyes on us from the window. She’s there, at the back door, waiting to help us take off our coats and shoes so we won’t track snow into the house.
Except it isn’tusshe is watching. It’s Rose. Even as Violet assists me in removing the many layers of shirts and hoodies I’d put on, her gaze never fully leaves Rose. Whether Rose notices or not, however, I can’t tell. She just smiles and says her thank-yous before heading toward the kitchen to help Poppy set the table for lunch.
“Is everything okay?” I ask Violet once Rose has disappeared around the corner.
She doesn’t answer at first, just looks at me for a moment before she says anything.
“Youtell me, Iris.”
I don’t know what to make of that response, but before I have time to ponder it for too long, she shoves the layers of clothing Rose and I stripped off at the door into my arms.
“Hang these to dry by the fireplace. Then come eat. Sol says your trials start tonight.”
IRIS
“Goodevening, Iris,” Sol says as I step into his bedroom later that evening. “Have a seat.”
I close the door behind me. My hands tremble a little, already reaching for the ends of my braid, and my legs don’t seem capable of stillness. As eager as I’ve been to find out what my trials will be, now that I’m faced with them, I almost wish for more time.
Sol is standing across the room, staring out the window into the pitch-black hollow. Once the door clicks shut, he turns to face me. He’s smiling, and that eases my nerves a little.
“I’ve done a lot of thinking,” he says, “and I’ve finally decided on your first task.”
“Yeah?”
For a moment I feel ashamed of the conflicting desperation and dread in my voice. Then I remember: This is Sol. My savior. My guide. He knows the darkest parts of me already. He is hereto help me. I don’t need to feel ashamed of my feelings around him.
He sits down across from me, mattress creaking as he takes his usual place on the edge of the large bed. “I know you’re eager, and I’m sorry I’ve kept you waiting. But I’m going to keep you in suspense just atiny bitlonger, if you’ll indulge me.”
“Don’t I always?”
“Mm. Don’t know about that. But I’ll take it,” Sol says. “When I was young, I was a very vain man. I cared so much about having the best clothes, the most toned body, the clearest skin. Hard to believe now, I know, with me looking like some scruffy mountain man.” He grins at me through his bushy beard. “But I swear, I was a real hottie once. Wait, does your generation call people hotties anymore?”
“Not really.”
“Wow. What happened to always indulging me?” Sol asks with a dramatic sigh. “But you get my point. I spent so much time every single day focusing on my physical form. And then, when I had my epiphany and left New York, I realized I’d spent far too little time focusing on what mattered—my soul.”
I nod along, though the longer it takes for him to tell me my trial, the more fidgety I become.
“Vanity is the enemy of growth. It’s a weed in the garden. Tothrive, to bloom, it’s important to separate yourself from your vanities. To destroy those tangible things we cling to, so that all of our attention—every bit of our focus—can be on our spirit.”
