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I paused. Her voice was f lat, no emotion at all, no indication of what she was feeling. Unsure how to proceed, I answered simply. “Yes.” A few heartbeats of silence. When she spoke again, I could hear her smile, but it was as bitter as the fading autumn leaves. “I can see why you love her so much.”
I closed my eyes. “Ari—”
She stood quickly before I could say more, though she didn’t turn around. “I know. I’m sorry, Ash. I…” Her voice caught, and she pushed back her hair, speaking more to herself than to me. “I didn’t think it would be this hard.”
I watched her, in the f lickering shadows. I watched the firelight rippling off her silver hair, the way her body moved, graceful and sure.
And, I was suddenly reminded why I’d fall en in love with her, all those years ago. She was as beautiful as those days when I was that young, arrogant prince, and time had not dulled her perfection. I thought about what Meghan had told me: that fate had given us another chance; Ariel a was back in my life, and I could be happy now.
Could I be happy with Ariel a?
I shook my head, veering from those thoughts before they got too tempting, feeling another thread of my essence unravel. It didn’t matter, I realized through gritted teeth. I could not abandon my quest, regardless of my feelings. I swore that I would find a way to return to Meghan, and I was bound to that promise. I couldn’t go back on my word, even if what I searched for was impossible. Even if Meghan was no longer waiting for me, that she had said her goodbyes, that she had let me go. I could not give up, even now.
Even if I died, and took everyone with me.
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“Finally awake, are you?” The Wolf melted from the shadows, a piece of the night becoming real. “I was tempted to rip out your throat while you slept and put you out of your misery, little prince. Watching you sleep was becoming tiring.” He licked his jaws, where a dull coating of red spattered his fur, and bared his teeth. “We’ve wasted enough time here, and I am getting bored. Do you wish to reach the Testing Grounds or not?”
“Yes,” I said as Puck joined us, carrying several mushroom kebabs.
“It’s time to head out. Where do we go from here?” Ariel a closed her eyes. “We follow the River of Dreams,” she murmured, “past the Briars, until we reach the final barrier, and then the End of the World. Beyond that, the Testing Grounds await.”
“You make it sound so easy.” Puck sighed, stuffing another truff le in his mouth. “Past the Briars you say? And then beyond the End of the World?
How long is that going to take us?”
“As long as it takes,” I said firmly. “As long as I have the breath to keep going, I will. But that doesn’t mean the rest of you should do the same.” I gazed around the group, meeting the stares of my companions. “From here on out,” I began, “it’s going to be even more dangerous. I won’t ask you to stay with me. None of us know what lies beyond the Briars, at the End of the World. If you want to go back, do so now.
I won’t hold it against you.”
My gaze caught Ariel a’s as I said this. “I can go on alone, if I must, if being around me is too dangerous or hard or painful to go on.” I would save you my fate, if I could. I will not watch you die again.
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“Hmm. Hey, ice-boy, hold these for a second, will ya?” Puck asked, holding out the mushroom kebabs. Frowning, I took them, and he struck me upside the head, not hard, but solid enough to rock me forward a step. “Stop being so damned fatalistic,” he said as I turned on him with a snarl. “If I didn’t want to be here, I wouldn’t be. And you know you can’t do it all by your lonesome, ice-boy. Sooner or later, you’re going to have to start trusting us.” I laughed at him then, bitter and self-mocking. “Trust,” I said f latly.
“Trust requires the faith of both parties, Goodfel ow.”
“Enough,” the Wolf growled, baring his fangs at us all. “We’re wasting time. Those who wish to leave, leave. But I believe the consensus is that everyone is staying, is that right?” No one disagreed with him, and he snorted. “Then let us go. I have no idea why two-legs wish to stand around and talk so much.”