Page 72 of Quarter Labyrinth

I desperately wished to climb back in to hear what he asked of Delilah, but Clark would wake soon, and he’d have questions I didn’t care to answer.

Swallowing my curiosity, I took the path back to our camp and laid beside Clark just as he began to stir.

THIRTY-THREE

I managed a few hours of sleep before Clark nudged me. Harald sat beside him, the glow of early morning light behind him, as he cast worrisome looks at the group. Everyone else still slept, but Harald was wide-eyed and tense-bodied.

“We need to move,” Harald whispered to me and Clark. “I’ve been to Delilah, and she warned me that Leif Balgoran is on the move.”

“Leif is always on the move,” Clark muttered, rubbing sleep from his eyes. His red hair stuck up at all angles. “What’sthat got to do with us?”

Harald’s copper eyes slid to me. “Delilah said he’s hunting Ren.”

All sleep fled as Clark’s razor-sharp glance sliced toward me. My teeth grated together. I shifted to Harald. “Why did you seek Delilah?”

“Why does Leif seekyou?” Clark asked instead.

Harald elected not to answer my question, instead waiting for me to respond to Clark. With a sigh, I began clipping my axe and sword in their places and lacing my boots tighter. “We’ve run into each other a few times in the labyrinth, and haven’t got along the best. I might’ve turned him to stone once.”

“To stone?” Harald’s jaw dropped.

Clark’s mouth remained frustratingly pinched together.

“Temporarily, unfortunately. It was necessary, but I can understand why Leif didn’t care for it.”

Harald barked a laugh. “I would think not. His brother died by being turned to stonepermanently.”

My hands froze over the laces of my boots. The statue of Luke by the manor. It wasn’t a statue. ItwasLuke. Now I understood the tear Leif had shed at its base.

Then I’d turned him to stone. He must have been terrified.

“See, I didn’t know that.” I stood, fully armed and ready to run at the first sight of Leif’s dark hair. “I’ll be on my guard, I promise.”

Harald looked like he wanted to say more, but he stopped himself. “We’ll all watch our backs.” He went to wake the others before I could ask more about his time with Delilah, or if she’dsaid anything about me. Clark stayed at my side, a hundred words flashing through his expressions but none finding his lips.

“Leif won’t be a problem,” I whispered now that others were waking. I didn’t want them to think I had a huge target on my back and wasn’t worth the effort of keeping alive.

“Why does he track you in the first place?” Clark pressed. His eyes searched mine, the ones that always held warmth. Right now they were cold.

I made sure no one could hear, before whispering, “I’ll tell you everything later. I promise.”

He nodded once, short and chilly.

That wasn’t the only frigid thing. With my promise, the air pitched cold, a chill seeping to our bones. Leaves shook, shriveling upon themselves, and colors steeped toward gold, orange, and crimson that spread like fire through the trees. The cursed humidity dropped. Clouds shifted over the sun. A groan came from the labyrinth that shook the rest of the group awake, each of us looking between the others.

Summer was over. Autumn had begun.

I stared up at Clark.

“This is it. We were meant to leave the group in autumn.”

His jaw flexed, fingers tightening over his pommel. It wasn’t a fantastic time to leave the safety of the group now that Leif hunted me, and somewhere along the way, the group had become more than a safety net. It became allies. Friends. People I wanted to keep safe.

“It’s up to you,” Clark said, but I knew his answer.

It matched mine. “Let’s stay.”

A ghost of a smile twitched on his face before falling as swiftly as the colors had fallen from the trees around us. He’d turned icy along with the weather, and I didn’t know how to bring his warmth back.

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