Page 59 of Edge of Wonder

“You’re welcome, Alice.” An odd silence followed where we both stared at the water, afraid to say anything else.

I moved closer to the ledge and sat down, dangling my legs over the side. “After that last challenge, you must be looking forward to going home. Are you planning to visit your family when you’re back?”

Sebastian sat beside me, his feet almost touching mine. “I don’t know.”

“You should. I saw your face when Tessa said there was an issue back home. Deny it all you want, but you miss them. Now that you won’t have to worry about running into me, there’s no need to stay away.”

“It was never just about you. Maybe at first, but then more and more years passed, and it became too hard to go back. I don’t even know what I’d say.”

“Well, take it from a wallflower who just asked a group of guards to play their game. I bet all you have to do is knock on the door and say, ‘Hi, can I come in?’ Something tells me they’ll let you through the door.”

“Maybe.” He was quiet for a moment, then asked softly, “What are you going to do, Alice?”

I stretched my arms out in front of me and rested them on my knees. “Oh, you know, save a kingdom. The usual.”

“No. I meant after.”

I shrugged, picking at my damp skirt to pull it away from my skin. “A queen needs a king, right? I’m not really into the whole lone wolf thing like you are. Been there, done that. I think it might be nice to find someone to share things with.” I drummed my fingers on my knees. “This is going to sound strange, and oddly specific, especially to a cynic like yourself, but you know those couples that pick food off each other’s plates? I saw your parents do it once a million years ago. I want something like that.”

“You want to eat someone else’s food?”

I rolled my eyes. “Not exactly. I want that closeness. That person you share everything with, and it’s completely natural.”

“Even the bacon?” Sebastian teased.

“Yes, even the bacon.”

“I don’t know, Alice. People have been murdered for less.”

“I knew you wouldn’t understand.”

“No, I get it. I do. I just never thought about that kind of stuff until…” His voice faded and he stared up at the waterfall.

My knee bumped into his. “Oh, no. Is my romantic idealism rubbing off on you? Maybe there’s still hope for you yet. Take this waterfall, for example. An hour ago, I didn’t even know something this beautiful existed. And it was right here. Under our noses the whole time. I think relationships are like that too. You’re just going about your life, and then, bam! You find someone you didn’t even know you needed.”

A strange note wavered in Sebastian’s tone. “No oneneedsa waterfall.”

“Yeah, but once you’ve seen one, how can you ever unsee it?”

Sebastian cleared his throat, as if uncomfortable with some emotion, then pointed toward a grassy trail. “We should probably head back soon. There’s a path over there that will take us down to the water’s edge. You can rinse off.”

I peered over the ledge at the serene pool. The water was crystal clear and looked as if it had been lit from within by a neon glow. I calculated the drop. It was short, only about ten feet. Shire’s revelation that I was still sitting on the sidelines drifted through my mind. This moment was going to pass me by if I didn’t act on it.

Sebastian helped me to my feet, then headed for the trail. Reaching for the laces of my bodice, I quickly untied them and shimmied out of my dress, leaving me in a ruffled chemise. Night air rushed over my skin with an exhilarating bite. I kicked off my boots. When Sebastian looked to see why I hadn’t followed him, I pointed my toes over the ledge.

“What are you doing?

“Taking the shortcut. Jump into the water with me, Sebastian!”

“Alice, wait—”

But I didn’t. I took a leap of faith into the deep blue. I hit the surface and plunged to the bottom. The water was lukewarm and felt like silk weaving through my fingers as I swam toward the pulsing rush of the waterfall. I surfaced on the other side in a narrow alcove of smooth stone. Behind me, the waterfall appeared like a sheet of frosted glass, and I ran my hand under the spray, enjoying the way it tickled my palm.

“Alice!” I heard my name faintly through the rush of water. Ducking under the falls, I swam back to where I’d jumped. But Sebastian wasn’t there. I turned in a circle, searching the water.

Sebastian had probably taken the path and was waiting for me by the shore wearing one of his impatient scowls. I started to swim that way when he came up for air at the other end of the pool. He tread water, searching with frantic eyes before taking a lungful of air and diving back beneath the surface.

He hadn’t seen me in the shadows of the rock outcropping. When he surfaced again, I shouted his name. Sebastian whirled in the water to face me. Relief sank over his features before they hardened into granite.

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