by JA Wren
“I’m sworn to secrecy,” he gritted out. “And I promise, if keeping the truth about certain things wasn’t for your own good, I’d have no trouble defying those orders.”
Orders? He’d said the same thing to Hale.
Had this Nyx person forced him to a vow of secrecy? And if so, how? Even more curious…why?
He pegged her with dark eyes, oblivious to her internal questions. “But my number one priority is keeping you safe. You’ll just have to trust me.”
She wanted to. Desperately. And a large part of her already did, despite all the secrecy and questions surrounding him. But if he was going to keep shit from her, then she could return the favor and hold her cards close to her chest.
“Hard to do when I don’t know you,” she whispered softly.
It was true enough. She might feel a weird familiarity around him, but she didn’t know him. Not really.
The scariest part was that she wanted to get to know him a whole lot better, and not just with another hot round in bed together. She longed to know everything about this strange man who stirred things inside her she’d never felt before.
And that was dangerous while he was technically lying to her.
His face blanched, almost like she’d hurt his feelings. “You trusted the WillowWisp.”
“Yeah, and that almost got us both killed.”
Twelve
They arrived at the huge, stunningly intricate wrought iron gate she’d spotted built into the stone wall. Shrubs and trees surrounded it, vines curling around the stone arch. A tall lamppost stood near the entrance, crafted from antique-looking iron and more gorgeous detailing. Its base sank into the ground with bulging roots like a tree, part of the earth even though it wasn’t made from natural materials.
The trio of lanterns glowed beautiful amber, their flames dancing behind glass panels instead of glowing petals like the flowers inside the labyrinth. Their light enhanced the gold on the gate and made it shine brighter than the finest precious metal at a jeweler.
Asher finally set Rayna down on her feet—reluctantly, if she judged by his slow movements and the stubborn set of his jaw. When she wobbled, just a tiny bit, he kept hold of her hand, linking them firmly together as they entered a sort of stone tunnel, the ceiling vaulted in classic Gothic style.
Rayna recognized it from the architecture textbooks on Kally’s bookshelf, the ones she’d resorted to flipping through one night her BFF made her wait almost an hour while she got ready for a party.
A pang sliced through her. She had no clue where they were, and while she wanted Hale to let her stay, to give her the answers she craved so badly, she wasn’t sure if that meant she could leave for short visits. She’d miss her bestie if they were parted for any length of time. She didn’t even want to consider the whisper of forever ghosting through the back of her thoughts. That would kill her.
Kally was the closest thing she had to family. Real family. The kind you chose when your own abandoned you. Or never wanted you from the start.
She shook off her souring mood and vowed she’d find a way to see Kally. No matter what peacock-Hale said.
Wall-mounted lanterns lit the path, whether thanks to more Wisps or not, Rayna wasn’t sure. She stiffened as they walked deeper through the tunnel, the light growing brighter as they neared a huge, well-lit fountain. It glimmered blue and green, while crystal clear water cascaded over multiple white statues, their marble bodies carved with such detail it seemed impossible they were made from stone.
Would they come alive and attack like the others?
Rayna had definitely had her fill of murderous statues for one lifetime. Probably multiple lifetimes. She rubbed at the spot on her stomach where the stone feather had pierced into her and shivered at the black and flaking skin there.
While she was somehow always freezing, no matter the weather or how many layers of clothing she added, she was suddenly colder than ever. The memory of nearly dying chilling her to her core.
Asher tugged her closer, offering his endless warmth, and she leaned into him, thankful, even if she was still pissed at him for withholding information.
Hale must have noticed her reaction to the statues, because she waved her bony hand toward the fountain. “We’ll give you the official tour if you’re permitted to stay, but no need to worry about the statues. These are entirely different from the ones you faced in the labyrinth. Nothing in common at all.”
Hale smiled, as though she wasn’t flippantly talking about how they’d been attacked. How Rayna had nearly been killed. “Be sure to wave to them, though. They get so few visitors I’m sure they’d appreciate the attention.” Raising one perfectly tweezed brow, she added. “No need to fear them. I assure you they’re mostly harmless.”
Mostly harmless? And that was supposed to put her at ease?
Rayna frowned even as she glanced up at a male statue with hard, rippling muscles glistening under the water. His hand was outstretched, as though he’d been sculpted to look like he was reaching for something.
Steeling herself, and aiming to prove she wasn’t some weak, wilting wildflower, she lifted her free hand and slipped it into his. “Nice to meet you.”
The statue creaked to life and lifted her hand to his lips. Rayna shrieked. She tried to jerk back, but he gripped her in his stony hand and placed a hard, icy kiss to her fingers. It sure beat being stabbed, but, “What the—?”
“Oh, don’t mind him. He’s a regular old flirt,” the silver-haired man said as if that would explain everything. He laughed and shook his head, the collar of his outfit ruffling with the movement. “I believe that’s what added him to the Gorgon Fountain to begin with.”
Rayna tugged her hand free and the statue let her go, his smile waning while he eased back into position, unmoving once again. “Gorgon,” she repeated.
Asher was the one to take pity on her ignorance. Miracle of miracles he was willing to part with some information. “Surely you’ve heard of Medusa? Hair made of snakes? One look and she turned people to stone. Meet her victims.” He swept a hand at the fountain. “Well, a few of them, anyway. There are loads more scattered all over the world, but I’m guessing these are stuck here, though clearly they’re able to somewhat move. Don’t know how, though. They should be trapped, bodies paralyzed by Medusa while their minds remain active. Horrible fate, if you ask me.”
Rayna stared at the statues with new eyes, analyzing them as the realization they’d once been real people sunk in. The guy who’d kissed her—she decided to name him Dave because he resembled the true marble statue David—blinked at her, his stone eyelids creepy and sad all at once. She swallowed against the lump in her throat, then gave him an awkward wave and a strained smile. “Hi.”
His lips curved up and he dipped his head, curly hair shifting as if for a second it wasn’t made of marble.
“Come along,” Hale called.
Rayna eyed the statues, lingering on the figures around Dave as sorrow swept through her.
Asher was right. That had to be the worst fate. Stuck in one place as the rest of the world continued on around you. She wondered how long they’d been there. How much had they seen? Forced to watch but never allowed to participate.
She waved one last time as Asher tugged her along. Dave smiled, wider this time, and slowly twitched his fingers at her in a sort of farewell. Then he went utterly still, frozen in place while the water rushed over him.
Could he feel it?
Trickling water was calming. The rush of a hot shower soothing. But spending eternity under a fountain? That seemed more like endless torture to her.
A fate worse than death.
They reached the other end of the tunnel where sunlight streamed in through a massive stone archway. Her eyes stayed on the gray-ish blocks above, more vines twining over them in vivid green. Above the arch, Labyrinth Academy was written in gorgeous scrolling steel, glittering with hints of gold, and mounted onto the arched bricks.
Rayna stared, eyes
wide and jaw slack, but there wasn’t time to linger. Not when Hale took a sharp turn to the right.
At a quickened pace, they stepped into the expansive, circular grounds, too huge for Rayna to even begin to take it all in. The best she could do was glance over the multitude of grand stone buildings.
The dark charcoal spires she’d spotted outside in the gardens topped all of them, rising insanely high and decorated with more gold detailing twinkling in the late afternoon sunlight.
People—presumably students—milled around, some stopping to gape at their little group. Or, more accurately, stare at the new girl. She wished they hadn’t arrived on a Sunday afternoon when there were obviously no classes.
Would’ve been nice to settle in before she had to face the entire campus.
She didn’t even want to think about the alternative—if she wasn’t accepted. Back to her old life. To creepy stares from her neighbor. No answers. No college she could afford. She didn’t want that. Especially after having a taste of what could be.
And before she even got a chance to find out what they taught at this mysterious academy where potential students had to go through literal trials just to get a foot in the door.
Asher urged her to follow Hale when all she wanted was to explore the beautiful grounds and find out what classes were held inside the huge buildings.
Trees soon blotted everything else out, apart from the dappled light shining through the canopy of a mini forest. Lush green grass covered the ground while a meandering cobble path led in multiple directions.
Her gaze was drawn to one on her right, trailing it down to a barn-like structure. A cute guy stood near a horse as it grazed out front. The guy waved, giving her a friendly smile she awkwardly returned. The horse’s glossy black coat sparkled, but when he turned, he spread out a pair of great feathery wings.
Rayna gasped as he ran, working up to a gallop and then taking flight. The guy who’d been tending the horse chuckled and shook his head as he disappeared into the barn.
She paid him little notice, her eyes glued to the creature who now flew above their heads. He went higher and higher, his form growing smaller, until he was out of sight. She wanted to run, follow him up into the sky, but that was ridiculous.
She’d need wings for that. And while she’d experienced a lot of weird shit over the last few months, wings had never sprouted from her back. That was one quirk she might have been happy about. Welcomed, even. But nope. Instead she got tar-covered sheets and crispy houseplants.
No wings.
What a bummer.
One thing was for sure. This was no ordinary academy, and while that should probably freak her out—murderous statues and creepy wolves and all—the stranger it got, the more hope swirled inside her.
She might finally get answers about her quirks. If they let her stay.
Then again, Nyx had promised answers in her invitation, not automatic enrolment. There was no guarantee she’d even need to stay once they explained what the hell was going on with her. For all she knew, it was a quick fix, and then they’d send her on her merry way. Back to her old life.
No.
She had to find a way to stay.
She refused to go back to her boring life after everything she’d seen in the labyrinth.
Thirteen
Rayna was still daydreaming about the horse—what it would be like to fly up there with him and feel the wind on her face—when they approached a huge building.
More tall, charcoal spires jutted high above and sported gold detailing. It also decorated the rounded windows, each embedded into the structure so it was almost impossible to see the glass.
The walls resembled medieval castles, made from packed stone in varying shapes and sizes. Creeping, vibrant green vines climbed up the building, covering at least half of the walls and curling around the windows, though they were kept neatly trimmed so they didn’t obstruct the views.
The place was gorgeous.
And kind of eerily ominous.
Especially with the gold statue—hey, at least it wasn’t marble—right in front of the entrance. An oversized man wielding a long spear sat perched on top of a regular horse, sans wings. Given the general tendency for statues to come alive in this place, Rayna eyed the guy carefully as they passed, half expecting him to jab the spear through her heart.
But it didn’t move, not even a flinch.
Huh. Maybe only marble could be animated.
A set of heavy wooden doors swung open and they entered the building. The interior was even more stunning than the exterior, though she hadn’t thought it was possible. The vaulted ceiling stretched high up above like an old cathedral. Dark, wooden arches greeted them, the elaborate craftsmanship a work of art Kally would definitely drool over if she ever saw it.
Every inch of dark wood had been varnished to a high gloss. Like an egg or sugar wash on baked goods.
She snickered at the thought and received a pointed look from Hale. “Sorry.”
Peacock eyes narrowed further. “Does something amuse you, Miss Knox?”
Rayna pressed her lips together and shook her head, wishing she hadn’t drawn attention from the hard woman. With another glare, she turned to a reception desk—same glossy wood—and spoke in hushed tones to a full-figured lady with fifties-style glasses perched on the bridge of her nose.
She was surprised there weren’t more people bustling around. Just their odd group and the reception lady. Otherwise the building was empty. Not even a measly security guard. Sure it was a Sunday afternoon, but she’d expected a busy academy, not an abandoned museum, like something out of an apocalypse movie.
Asher squeezed her hand, reminding her he still held it tight in his grip, but she wriggled her fingers free. She didn’t want his comfort. Not now when they were here so he could divulge all kinds of information he wasn’t willing to share with her.
He let out a deep sigh she swore held a touch of sadness, but he didn’t try to take her hand again.
“This way, please,” Hale called.
They followed her down a long corridor lined with oil paintings of what had to be previous headmasters and mistresses. A lot of them. Too many to count. The styles varied greatly, changing with every portrait like they were stepping back through time. Rayna wasn’t an art buff, but she could recognize the different eras thanks to the books lying around Kally’s apartment.
The fashion choices depicted in each portrait helped set them apart, too. High collars and frills slowly modernizing.
Her boots clicked against the black marble floor with its gold flecks sparkling like the ground was really made of a starry sky, clouds and all. She half expected a moon—wait, there it was.
The three moon phases, with the full moon in the center and the two crescent shapes mirrored on either side, had been embedded into the marble. It glowed like a real moon shining from above.
It was amazing they even let Rayna into the fancy building, what with her current ragged appearance and all. Then again, her bloodied and dirtied clothes were thanks to their labyrinth, so if she smudged something with grime it really was their fault. Not hers.
When she glanced up from staring at the high-sheen floor, they stood in a rounded room, several corridors branching out in all directions, the triple moon at the very heart of the space.
Hale turned down the hall to the right and pushed open a door with her name embossed in gold leaf. Headmistress was written in big, blocky letters above it, confirming Rayna’s earlier suspicions.
Too bad she wasn’t just head of admissions. Rayna doubted she’d ever be allowed admittance into their privileged academy with Hale at the helm.
Hale stepped inside the office and called over her shoulder, “Come on in. But don’t touch anything.”
Rayna barely resisted rolling her eyes as she led the way, Asher trailing behind her, and the silver-haired man taking up the rear. She still didn’t know his name or what he did around this place, but it was clearly important enou
gh to warrant an invitation to join them.
Maybe she should try to butter him up in case he could sway Hale into letting her stay.
“Lucia should arrive shortly with the triplets.” Hale perched on a huge wingback chair behind a monstrosity of an antique wooden desk.
Apparently, she’d never heard of subtlety.
The headmistress waved her hand and motioned for them to take a seat on the opposite side of the desk.
Rayna eyed the old chairs with their crushed, navy velvet fabric and thought better of ruining them, doubting Hale would forgive her for that one. Even if her current state was their doing. “I’ll stand, thanks.”
Never mind her legs felt like jelly after the long walk and even longer day. Had it only been a few hours ago when she woke to Asher beautifully naked in her bed?
Should’ve stayed there. She wouldn’t be covered in her own blood, woozy from the loss of it, and about to get evicted from the place that had promised answers then denied her.
Well, technically the mysterious Nyx had been the one to offer answers.
If she was removed from the Labyrinth Academy, could she find Nyx and get her answers that way? It sure would’ve been easier than going through the gauntlet from hell first. But clearly that had been part of Nyx’s master plan or whoever they were wouldn’t have sent the invitation.
She wished Nyx had simply knocked on her front door and explained everything then and there. Would that really have been so difficult?
Asher shifted on his feet beside her and a twinge of indecision tightened her stomach.
Sure, it would’ve been far simpler if Nyx had laid it all out from the start, without all the wizard behind the curtain bullshit. But if that had happened, would she have woken to find the man in her bed?
Maybe.
Maybe not.
Even if she did, they wouldn’t have spent the day in the maze—sorry, labyrinth, she corrected herself in a Hale-like voice—together.
And they definitely wouldn’t have met Tink. She might still have a dubious relationship with both of them, but…thinking about never having met them caused a weird ache in the center of her chest.
