Page 52 of Quarter Labyrinth

Astrid dropped to her knees. “No more. Let’s rest here.”

None argued. No one had the strength to.

Aiden dropped furthest away from Astrid to hug his knees close. He seemed to take up less space now than he had when Barrett and Charlotte were at his sides, and shrunk further into himself as the day went by. Clark had wagered me three coppers that Aiden would surrender before the day finished.

A few hours left, and Aiden remained. But he flinched with each wolf howl we heard.

Astrid stayed quiet as well. Gunnar took the silence as an invitation to fill the hollow spaces between us, until he was single-handedly holding the group together.

He leaned against a tree trunk to stretch his long leg before him and asked, “So, what are you all going to do if you win?”

Harald answered first. He’d found a patch of leaves which he fluffed into something soft for Tove to lay her head on beside him, and he stroked her hair while her eyes fluttered shut. “You all know we don’t intend to win. It’d be nice if we did, but Tove and I are just here to search for magic that can free us from our contracts, otherwise we will be slaves our whole life.”

The silence that followed was bitter.

“Welp, you’re depressing. Aiden?” Gunnar looked hopefully at the boy with dark hair.

“I’d sell it,” Aiden replied. He plucked strands of grass to curl them around his finger. “Sell every ship, take the money, and retire on a small island where no one will bother me.”

Gunnar chuckled “Greedy, I like it. Astrid?”

She was tracing the fish tattoo on her ankle, the one that marked her as Lady Luck’s chosen competitor. From how she retreated in on herself today, I wondered if Lady Luck regretted her choice.

I also wondered who Lady Luck’s other competitor was, the one who was meant to be an obvious winner.

“Sail, I suppose. It’d be nice to be in charge of something.” The way she said it was as if she didn’t truly care about the Silver Wings, or know anything about navigating the Shallows. It wasn’t uncommon. Most everyone in this labyrinth intended to enter no matter what the prize was. They’d been like Bjorn, bag packed and ready to sail as soon as the scroll on their island had unrolled, or like Aksel who paid heavily for a clue to the location.

Speaking of, we saw his ship in the harbor. But he’d yet to reveal himself.

My point was proven when Astrid added, “In truth, I’d hoped for a different prize. The man who won last labyrinth made a fortune off selling vials of his tonic that cures all sicknesses.”

“I’d only make the Pearls pay for it. The Seaweeds would get the tonic for free,” Gunnar declared.

Astrid shot him a look. “Okay, all-righteous-one. What will you do if you win?”

Gunnar shrugged. His chocolate brown hair frizzed in the humidity, tightening into little coils that framed his sharp face, and he tugged on one of the strands as he thought. “You all know I just got in because the labyrinth landed on my island. Orphan boys don’t usually get an adventure, especially not one like this, so I was just looking for a bit of fun. Now…” his voice trailed off.

I hadn’t realized he was an orphan. A few days ago, I didn’twantto know. As little as I knew about them, the better. But Gunnar, Harald, Tove, even Aiden and Astrid were becoming familiar travel mates.

If Clark and I didn’t win, I hoped someone from this group did.

We waited until Gunnar found his voice. “Sure, if I win, I’m going to captain the Silver Wings. And you know what—” he lifted his hand as if holding an invisible tankard—“I’ll bring each of you with me.”

We cheered, only quieting when Tove stirred.

Once she’d fallen back asleep, Harald spoke. “What about you two?” He looked at us.

I uniquely knew that I wouldn’t win. I glanced at Clark. If he won, he planned to give the ships to me. I planned to run the trade business as well as my father did, and use all resources necessary to track down my father until my family were whole once more.

Those words stuck in my throat. Clark answered instead. “If we win, us Seaweeds are going to rule the world.”

Guilt came in debilitating waves. I was using him. Attempting to make him reach the center first so he could give me the Silver Wings, so I could become their captain and he could go back to whatever life suited him—a life I’d spent years making clear wouldn’t include me. Yet he was willing to give me this anyway.

I ought to tell him I’d changed my mind. Beg him to take control of the trade vessels himself if he won. Tell him his dreams—whatever they might be—were worth just as much as mine.

That night, as we lay to rest, I laid beside him. “Clark,” I whispered.

He rolled to see me. His eyes were half-closed. “Huh?”

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