Sev said nothing, but stepped in front of Chord and traveled back down the way they’d come. Chord already felt lost. He couldn’t remember if they’d turned right or left to get to this section of the maze. Sev evidently knew and turned right, then left, then left again, and right. As they took yet another right, Chord stopped, mouth falling open as his gray eyes landed on the mound of rose petals at the beginning of the maze.
Chord's head swiveled towards Sev. “You really are a genius.”
Sev shrugged. “It’s not as extraordinary as it sounds. In fact, it’s rather a burden at times.”
“Being a genius?”
“Never having a moment of mental rest. It’s been years since I’ve had a full night’s sleep. I typically average about four hours.”
“Four? Man, I practically have to pump my veins full of espresso if I get less than seven.”
“I’m used to it now. And I suppose it’s not terrible. I get quite a lot of work done.”
Sev paced slowly up and down the corridor of roses with his hands clasped behind his regally straight back. His face was all sharp angles and smooth plains in between. His shoulder-length black hair was the only part of him not put together, falling into his dark eyes when his head tilted downwards. Sev was actually rather attractive...when he wasn't talking about dinosaurs.
“You know what you need?” Chord bent to pick up a handful of petals, letting them fall, one at a time, to the ground.
Sev stopped his pacing and turned to face him. “What?”
Chord looked up with a sly smile. “Sex.”
Sev’s eyes fixed on the petals in Chord’s hands. A blush crept up his cheeks, so his complexion now matched the color of the roses.
“I—Well, I mean to say, I’ve never…” Sev trailed off, looking flustered.
“Ah.” Chord smiled wider now. “You’re a virgin?”
Sev’s eyes widened fractionally. “I suppose that is the most accurate description. I’d prefer to think of it as an art I’ve yet to study.”
"Oh, it's an art all right." Chord dropped the rose petals all at once, taking a step closer to Sev.
AURORA
Aurora and Gray sat in the corner of the maze, blanketed by silence. She should have put it together when he told her his uncle was a New York firefighter and that he’d died fifteen years ago. She should've asked more questions. But she’d been too worried about coming off as interested. Stupid, selfish, negative her. Here Gray was… this upbeat, positive ray of light with this horrible, dark history. And then there Aurora was—this pessimistic black hole who only saw the worst in people. Granted, she had a dark history all of her own. But she wasn't about to divulge that.
Her eyes moved to Gray’s blank face. He stared, unfocused, at their clasped hands, and Aurora had a feeling he was far away from this place. No wonder the enclosed maze had triggered those memories. He felt trapped—like his uncle had been.
“I told Chord we would meet back at the beginning of the maze when we found you. So, whenever you’re ready…” Aurora said gently.
“Stop,” Gray cut in.
“Stop what?”
“Talking to me like that.”
“Like what?”
“Like I’m this fragile baby bird or something. That’s why I don’t tell people that story. Because they start looking at me differently and treating me differently. Like I’m a piece of fragile glass that could break at any moment.”
Aurora shrugged and stood up, relieved to receive permission to return to her bitchy self. “Fine. Then quit moping and get your ass up so we can meet Chord and Sevastion.”
Gray seemed taken aback at first, but then the corner of his mouth curled up into a lopsided smile.
“No need to get all snarky with me,” Gray said, sounding more like himself.
Rolling her eyes playfully, Aurora turned and followed the trampled path of petals back the way she came, Gray trailing behind her.
They rounded the last corner to the beginning of the maze, and Aurora took in the scene before her with a bemused expression. Sev was pressed against the checkered wall, and Chord stood before him, leaning one hand against the wall by Sev’s head. A seductive glint flashed in his eyes, and Sev appeared partly confused and partly scared. Chord turned his head, spotting Aurora and Gray. He stepped away from Sev.
“Took you guys long enough,” Chord said, acting as though they hadn’t just caught him attempting to seduce Sev.
“Hey, at least I found him,” Aurora countered. “Now we just have to find a way out.”
Gray tensed beside her as if he’d just now remembered he was still potentially trapped in a maze.
“Leave that to Sev here,” Chord said. “He can probably calculate his way out.”
The three of them looked to Sev who just nodded his assent and walked forward. They followed him through the black and white maze, trampling the red petals as they went. Aurora couldn’t see how he could know his way out and wondered several times if he was just bluffing. But then they came upon a large square clearing with a red trapdoor set into the floor.
They’d made it to the center of the maze.
Aurora regarded Sev in awe. “How did you do that?”
“Calculations,” Sev answered, shooting Chord a wry look. Chord’s eyebrows shot up at this.
Gray was the first to approach the door and pull it open, revealing yet another black hole.
“Whose idea was it to go exploring again?” said Chord. “They deserve to be pushed overboard if we ever make it out of here.”
“I believe this was your brilliant idea,” Aurora said.
“Ah...then I shall throw myself overboard.”
Gray ignored Chord and dropped down into the hole, eager to escape the maze. Aurora landed on her feet beside him in the middle of a dark passageway lit by sconces set in the stone wall every ten feet or so. Dropping down beside them, Chord groaned in frustration and Sev went about his usual study of the surroundings.
Without speaking, Gray set off at a brisk pace down the corridor. The others followed. A shadowy door materialized ahead. Please don’t be another maze, Aurora thought. Gray reached out to turn the knob, relief washing over his features. They emerged into the library.
Chord dropped melodramatically to his knees as he crossed the threshold into the gargantuan library. "Thank Jesus, Mary, and Joseph."
Aurora wanted to point out that the library was on floor seventy-something. Meaning, they would have had to go up several flights to get there. But they had fallen or jumped down into every room they’d visited… surely, the others realized this. Sev did, Aurora thought, judging by the way his narrowed eyes fixated on the floor number mounted on the wall as they exited the library. If he did realize, though, he said nothing. So neither did she.
"Let's do something normal now," Chord suggested.
"Gladly," said Gray.
Normal wasn't the right word to describe the remainder of their night. But at least they didn't get trapped in another maze. The majority of the evening was spent riding the roller coaster, eating, riding the carousel, and eating some more. They rode the roller coaster and bumper cars before hitting the candy shop, the chocolate fountain, the ice cream shop, and the sugarcloud stands.
Samuel had been right about the sugarclouds. They were the most pleasant things to touch Aurora’s tongue. She found it difficult to stop eating them. Especially when she discovered that dipping them in the chocolate fountain doubled their deliciousness.
When the clock tower on the top deck chimed two in the morning, Sev bid the others farewell. Aurora, Gray, and Chord kept themselves occupied until dawn broke across the horizon. Chord had kept up a steady stream of drinks throughout the night and slurred something about sleeping in the hot tub, leaving Gray and Aurora alone at the front of the ship.
Gray was more subdued than usual. Earlier, he'd laughed and talked to Sev and Chord, but now the two of them were alone again, it seemed he was regretting what he’d told her. If
she was honest with herself, she regretted him telling her too. Now, it was significantly harder to convince herself that he was just like all of the other asshole guys. That he wasn’t worth wanting. But, luckily, she wasn't honest with herself.
Unlike the back of the ship and its giant wooden swing set, there was absolutely nothing at the front. Past the shops and the rides and the food carts, the bow of the ship was just open space. Gray approached the rail and peered over, down into the sea, his eyes distant. Aurora strolled to the foremost point of the ship and climbed onto the railing, grasping the spire-like pole jutting into the sky for support. Suddenly, she let out a loud, long cry of excitement and bellowed, “I’m the queen of the world!”
Gray jumped, startled out of his reverie. Then his expression lifted into a broad smile.
“Try it,” she encouraged. “It’s kind of liberating.”
Aurora climbed down and waited. Gray eyed her for a moment before pushing away from the railing and walking slowly to the spot where she stood. Flashing her the slightest of smirks, he moved her aside and stepped up onto the railing. He took a deep breath and shouted, “I’m the king of the universe!”
Aurora chuckled. “It’s supposed to be king of the world, actually, but good try.”
He smiled slyly. “But you said you were the queen of the world, so I had to take it a step further.”
Reluctantly allowing herself to smile fully up at Gray, she tried not to get lost in his hazel eyes. “I can top that.”
After a few rounds of “I’m the queen of every single atom ever!” and “I’m the king of all the nuclei of all the atoms ever!” they decided they were delirious from lack of sleep and left the top deck.
Riding the elevators down to their rooms, they arrived at Gray’s floor first. He stepped off, but kept a hand inside, preventing the doors from sliding shut.
A timid smile danced on his lips. “Goodnight, Aurora.”
“Night…” she said barely louder than a whisper.
Their eyes remained connected for another moment before Gray stepped back, letting the elevator doors close behind him, leaving Aurora to her cocktail of convoluted feelings.
Seventeen
AURORA
Aurora awoke a little past noon. The thick curtains on the porthole windows were deceiving and dangerous, effectively keeping out the sun so the occupants of the room could sleep through the day and into the night. Luckily Aurora’s internal clock was still on substitute teacher time, and the gurgle in her stomach alerted her to her hungriness—despite her overindulgence on sugarclouds. Brielle’s bed was empty, which was perfectly fine with Aurora. The southern belle could sleep on a pool chair for all she cared.
Throwing off her covers, Aurora pushed back the thick curtain and peered out the round window at the vast expanse of ocean. Waves crashed at the base of the ship, and the water appeared to be glowing eerily. She reminded herself to ask Sev if there was a scientific reason for this. The sunlight on the water filled Aurora with a strong urge to sunbathe or wade in the shallow heated pools on one of the open decks.
Living in Seattle had cursed her with milk white skin and only a dusting of freckles. But she figured maybe if she slathered her body with sunscreen, she could stand to be in the sun an hour or two without turning into a lobster.
Because she never swam in Seattle, the only two swimsuits she owned—a red one with ruffles and a blue one with sequins—still looked new. The red one was sexier, and the blue one was more fun. Seeing as how she would rather discuss Bible verses with Brielle than being hit on at the moment, Aurora changed into the blue suit before throwing on a ragged cover up that she’d had since she was seventeen. It used to be a bright daffodil yellow, but was now the color of butter.
Either people or towels occupied most of the pool’s seating area. Well, the towel will be just as comfortable on the ground, Aurora thought, snatching one off of a chair near the pool and tossing it aside.
Discarding her butter-colored cover up, she laid the chaise as flat as it would go and turned over on her stomach. She pulled out her book to read, but the moment her eyes took in the words they grew heavy, and she put it right back down, along with her head. The rocking motion of the ship and the warmth rising from the deck quickly lulled her back into a deep sleep.
She was running through a field towards a dilapidated castle beside a young man with a head full of dark curls. She couldn’t see his face, but his profile looked familiar.
“He’s coming,” he said.
And the sound of his voice resonated in her chest. She’d heard that voice before.
Then the voice changed.
“Wake up,” it said. “Auroraaaaaa!”
She was jolted awake by something heavy pressing into her back.
“What the—?”
“Good morning sunshine!”
Chord. The massive thing on her back was his ass.
“Is it proper etiquette in Utah to sit on sleeping people?” she groaned.
“No. But it is in California, which is where I live now. So, I go by their rules. Is that a thriller novel? I’d have pegged you as an erotica reader.”
“I prefer to masturbate in private, usually.”
Chord let out a bark of laughter. “I knew I liked you.”
He climbed off her back and swiped the towel off of the chair beside her, throwing it over his shoulder. “Do these people actually think leaving these on their chairs will keep assholes like us from stealing them?”
Aurora shrugged and lay her head back down on her arms. For the next half hour or longer, she listened to Chord’s ongoing observations of the people in the pool area. According to him, several girls needed to be wearing more clothing than they unfortunately were. She was also treated to his many exclamations each time an attractive man walked by.
“Did you see the ass on that guy?”
“Unfortunately, no,” Aurora grumbled.
“All this man candy is making me want actual candy. And maybe some real food too. I’m gonna get something to eat. You want me to bring you back something?”
“Anything,” Aurora said. “Everything.”
Chord took her suggestion literally and returned with an armful of plates. At the sight of the food, Aurora gathered the strength to sit up. Chord spread the bounty across the ends of their chairs. Hot dogs, pizza, hot wings, sushi, pasta, sweet potato fries, ice cream, sugarclouds, and mounds of fruit covered in chocolate.
“How did you manage to carry all of this?” Aurora laughed, popping a tuna roll in her mouth.
“Food was at stake. The way I see it, there are only two things worth putting forth any amount of physical exertion: food and sex.”
Aurora rolled her eyes. “I’ll agree to disagree on that subject.”
“So, what’s up with you and Gray?” Chord asked. “Did you two come here together?”
Aurora snorted. “In a sense. He sat beside me on the plane. That’s about the extent of our relationship.”
“Really?” Chord sounded surprised.
“Yeah, why?”
“I just have a gift of detecting sexual tension.”
“And?”
“And the tension between you two is off the charts.”
Aurora’s eyes cut sideways. “Not all tension is sexual.”
Chord laughed before stuffing a sugarcloud in his mouth. “Sure it’s not.”
GRAY
Gray awakened with a start after a restless night of troubling dreams he couldn’t explain. Screams and fire and wings and the taste of salt. He took a cold shower in an attempt to wash away the images before leaving his stateroom in search of sustenance.
At the elevators, his hand hovered over the down button before he convinced himself that, if Aurora were awake, she wouldn’t be in her room. And, if she were sleeping, she wouldn’t want to be woken up by him. So he traveled up to the top deck alone.
“Gray,” a drawling voice called just as he exited the elevator.
His face st
ruggled to build a smile as he turned around to see Brielle running up to him. His energy tank was resting on empty. “Hey, Brielle.”
“What’re you doing up here all alone? Is Aurora still sleeping? She was when I left the room, but that was a few hours ago.”
“I don’t know. I didn’t stop by her room.”
Brielle looked confused. “Aren’t y’all dating?” Gray hesitated before shaking his head. Brielle’s face brightened. “Oh. I guess I just assumed when I met y’all in Juneau…”
“Nope. We met on the plane.”
“Interesting.”
Gray raised an eyebrow. “What’s interesting?”
“Oh, nothing,” Brielle said cheerfully. “Have you eaten yet?”
Gray shook his head, and Brielle enthusiastically offered to join him for lunch. He accepted, forcing the reluctance out of his voice. He had never had a problem with religious people before. He’d always felt it was their choice to believe what they wanted. But Brielle’s judgments of Chord last night, in addition to her obvious, unwarranted infatuation with him, grated on Gray’s nerves a bit. But, both his mother and uncle raised him to be a gentleman, so he quietly followed Brielle to the buffet.
Luckily he was starving, and his plate was piled high with food, so all he had to do was take large bites and chew slowly as Brielle prattled on about things he cared nothing about. Unfortunately, she wasn’t done with him when they finished eating and insisted on joining him as he strolled down the deck.
As they passed by the pool area, a familiar laugh hit his right ear. Head swiveling around, eyes searching, he spotted Aurora in a blue sequined bikini, lounging on a flat deck chair beside Chord.
Without thinking, Gray advanced towards them, temporarily forgetting about Brielle—a difficult task given her constant, high-pitched rambling.
Apparently, Chord was in the middle of a joke. “—And then I was like, ‘Saying that people are incapable of change is just giving them an excuse to continue sucking at life.’ She didn’t think that was very…” He broke off when he noticed Gray approaching.
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