Chapter 30

Ellery

"What are you doing here?" I asked again.

His shrug caused my teeth to scrape together. Nothing was serious to this man.

We were desperate for the money King Ivan had dangled like a worm before a fish, and he wasn't, so why would he bother to enter this maze?

"I was bored," he stated.

I blinked at him as his words sank in. I didn't know who I disliked more… him or King Ivan.

"You were bored?" I practically squawked.

"Yes."

I blinked at him again as I tried to process his flippant answer. "Well, we certainly can't have that, can we?"

His mouth quirked in a way that made it impossible to tell if he was trying not to smile or scowling again. Either way, I refused to look away as I held his gaze.

"No, we can't," he finally said. "Now, I'm going to find that bowl of gold coins."

I looked up at the darkening sky. We had to have been here for at least two hours; even if we could find the bowl and the coins, we wouldn't have enough time to get out and claim the prize.

"We'll never make it out in time," I muttered.

"No, we won't. Are you coming with me or not?"

I glanced back the way I'd come as I debated this. I had no idea which way was out of this endless Hell anymore, and it would probably take twice as long to get out of this thing than it did to get here.

There was no way either of us could claim the prize, but I'd come this far and couldn't bring myself to turn back without finding the bowl. At the very least, I had to know if it existed.

I'd prefer not to finish the journey with Ryker, but I wasn't foolish enough to turn down anyone's help in this place, especially now that there was no prize to claim. It was all a matter of pride, and I had plenty of that.

"I'll join you, milord," I said.

This time, his lips twisted into a genuine smile that made butterflies erupt in my stomach. Does he have to be so damn big and handsome?

"There's no need for that. Besides, after you told me I'd fit in here for allowing them to take the hand of a starving boy, I think we can acknowledge you're not one for pretending politeness."

My face burned. I almost pressed my hands against my cheeks to see if they'd caught fire.

"I… ah… I shouldn't have said that," I stammered.

"No, you shouldn't have. Now, let's go."

When Ryker turned away, I stared at his back as I tried to will the fire in my face out, but it wasn't working. It would mortify my mother if she knew what I'd said to him and what passed between us.

It would also be the thing she was least horrified about if she ever learned her precious, wild daughter was also the Hooded Robber. She'd probably die and then roll over in her grave before popping out and dying again.

Joining him on this hunt and spending more time with this man was a bad idea, but my pride refused to let me turn back without knowing the answer to this maze. And my common sense told me continuing to go alone could spell my doom.

I'd made some pretty bad choices in my life, like becoming the Hooded Robber, but I wasn't ready to die, especially not in this place. I refused to be the ten minutes worth of entertainment King Ivan and the higher-ranking aristocrats would get out of watching him carry out my body.

I glanced at the fallen knife before picking it up. It might not be my best decision, considering Ryker was on the hunt for the Hooded Robber, and I'd stolen the weapon, but I couldn't leave it behind.

My biggest weapon in this maze was my lightning, but that was a surefire way to get myself killed, imprisoned, bred, or something equally awful.