Chapter 32

Ellery

It didn't take as longto find our way out as it did to reach the labyrinth's center. I didn't kid myself into thinking it was because we somehow knew what we were doing on the way out, there just weren't any creatures attacking us.

I doubted they all went to bed at night. Instead, I suspected King Ivan had somehow pulled them back once the game was over, or maybe they'd been trained to retreat with the blowing of the horn. No matter what, they were all gone, something I was sure the servants who worked on the labyrinth were extremely grateful for.

I wondered how many amsirah remained lost in the maze as we emerged, but I wasn't going back inside to find out.

We both stood in the shadows of the exit, surveying the party unfolding on the lawn. Then, Ryker spoke. "Good night, Ellery."

"Good night, milord."

A smile crossed his lips before it vanished. "Let's not start pretending now."

I couldn't stop myself from grinning at him. He irritated me to no end, but sometimes I saw hints of the more laid-back man who had stayed at our manor, laughed with my parents, and captivated me.

"No, let's not," I murmured.

He didn't reply as he strode proudly out of the maze and crossed the lush grass to where a fire burned, music played, and fresh food sat out. King Ivan remained on his throne, in the center of the festivities, with a woman perched on his lap.

When there had been a chance for me to win the money, I was looking forward to walking across this grass and handing King Ivan my gold coin. Defeating his maze would have pissed him off, but I would have gladly done it.

Common sense told me to keep my knowledge of the maze's center to myself. However, I would have loved to toss a gold coin in the king's face.

Maybe I hadn't won the carisle, but I'd succeeded where most failed. I wished that prick could know about it, yet there was no sense putting myself on his radar when I couldn't claim the prize.

He couldn't know about me, but he could know about Ryker. I smiled as I leaned against the hedges and watched the large, frustrating man enter the party.

Many amsirah turned toward him as he strolled into the immortals gathered around the bonfire. He was impossible to ignore, as he was bigger than everyone there and exuded an air of confidence and power.

My skin tingled, and I swallowed to get some saliva back into my suddenly parched throat as I recalled sitting on the bench with him while enjoying our small victory. When our eyes met and held, there was one exciting, hopeful second when I believed he would kiss me.

The more astonishing thing was… I would have let him.

Most of the time, I didn't like the man. The years had taken away his more jovial nature and turned him into an indifferent asshole.

While he didn't look down on others like his father, he wasn't the man who had sat in my manor six years ago. The war had changed him, but who wouldn't be changed by it?

Maybe I was being too rough on him. I'd lost my father to the ghouls, but I didn't know what Ryker had endured, and I didn't know what happened to him after the war. From everything I'd seen, he looked the same, but something had changed him.

I inwardly berated myself for being too judgmental. The war and subsequent fallout had turned me into a thief, so who was I to criticize the actions of others?

Still, I had to keep my distance from him, but there was a good chance that, after tonight, I wouldn't see him again for years. The possibility wasn't as appealing as I'd hoped it would be.

Absently, I twirled a loose strand of hair around my finger while watching him. I couldn't deny he was appealing, and a part of me wished he'd kissed me.

I'd be insane to get more entangled with him. We were too far apart socially, and he was still ruthlessly hunting the Hooded Robber, but I wanted to kiss him.

What does he taste and feel like?I couldn't stop my hand from going to my lips as they prickled with the memory of his nearness and the anticipation that gripped me on the bench.

His kiss would be completely different from the others I'd experienced. With those boys, we were little more than children fumbling around and trying to figure it out.

Ryker was a man who knew what he was doing. In the maze, I was glad when the moment passed; it was for the best, given everything I knew about him and me. Now, disappointment filled me.

Ryker arrived before King Ivan, pulled the gold coin from his pocket, and flicked it into the air. Some of the laughter and chatter died away as King Ivan caught the coin.