I shouldn't have been shaking.

These were the same halls I had walked a hundred times in the past few months. And it wasn't like I couldn't see, either; the darkness proved no obstacle to me. So there was no reason to be afraid. No creeping monster lurking just around the corner. It was just me and the mildew that hugged the walls.

So why was I shaking? And why was my breathing so uncontrolled? So erratic?

Everything's fine, I reminded myself, clutching the thin slip of paper tighter in my hands. I didn't have to see it to know what it said, as the amount of times I read over it burned the message into my mind.

Thomas,

We'll be at the maze at the moon's peak tomorrow night. Bring Angelica.

The messy, curled letters gave away who had scratched them down immediately. It was such a short message, lacking any connection or emotion that could have existed, but then again, nobody every really doubted Washington's mastery of being concise.

"Everything okay?"

The voice startled me out of my private thoughts. I forced a hard look, trying to keep my worry hidden from the prying eyes of the guard. "That is none of your concern," I snapped, chin raised despite how awkward it all felt. "And I would greatly prefer it if you chose to shut your mouth."

"Of course," the guard said, practically stumbling over the words. "My apologies." She turned away, her hand resting on the handle of the sword neatly belted to her side.

Of course she didn't trust me. Nobody did. Not even the people I was risking my life to protect.

Finally, the tight walls of the cobblestone corridor tapered off, bringing us to that same dark cavern. I swallowed, pushing down the rising memories, the instinctive fear, and the knot of worry.

Everything's going to be alright, I told myself again, balling my hands into fists to stop them from shaking. "Well," I said, nodding to the guard. "Thank you for your help in escorting me, as I clearly had no clue where I was going, but I think I can take it from here." It wasn't hard to infuse the dryness into my tone.

The guard hesitated a moment. "My apologies, but I have strict orders from the King to stay with you at all times."

I let out a huff of air that tingled with electricity. Damn George. Why does he have to keep interfering? This would be a lot easier if he just trusted me.

Strangely, a twinge of guilt rose up to my throat, almost making its presence known through my voice, but it wasn't strong enough to weather my protests to its mere existence. I managed to push it down and shake my head, as if expelling the thought altogether. I couldn't afford to care about the people I hurt.

I'm willing to do whatever it takes.

Who was I trying to convince?

The guard noticed my silence and took it as disapproval, if not anger. She stepped a bit away from me, careful to make sure there was just enough space for her to draw her sword and disarm me if something should go wrong. We passed through the darkened tunnel in silence, and though I strained to hear, there was absolutely nothing.

Finally, after what felt like an eternity and a second all at the same time, we were standing right outside the only occupied cell. My gaze lingered on the one right next to it for a second too long, unable to escape the damning stare of the chains hanging slackly from the wall. If I so much as misstepped, how long would it take before I found those chains digging red lines into my wrist once more?

The figure in the cell shifted. "Hello?" Her voice was hoarse from lack of use, rasping against the sides of her throat. A fire popped to life from the palm of the guard. It illuminated the hard lines in the guard's face, the hatred which had completely devoured the previous expression of fear and anxiety. I swallowed as discreetly as I could and turned back to Angelica. If it was up to the woman standing next to me, she'd be dead.

"Leave us," I said to the guard.

"I can't—"

I flicked my hand, and she came crashing to the ground. I softened her landing at the last second, right before her head came into contact with the hard cobblestone floor. A heartbeat passed, and when she didn't so much as stir, I returned my gaze to Angelica.

"Well?" she asked, shifting so she could get a better look at me. "What are you going to do? Oh, and thanks for abandoning me, by the way." Sarcasm dripped from her voice like poison.

"I'm going to get you out of here."

A pause followed my words. I peered through the darkness, but even despite my enhanced vision, there seemed to be a shimmer of magic obscuring the insides of the cell. Finally, she laughed. Low and hard, and at first, I thought she was coughing. I waited impatiently, but her humorless laugh soon turned into one of hysteria. One of madness.

"Shit," I swore underneath my breath as I reached for the lock. It could possibly take me hours to decode and counteract the kind of magic keeping her locked inside, and we didn't have that kind of time. Plus, my hold on energy was far diminished down in the confines of the dungeon. There would be no controlled outburst. A burst of energy exploded from my palm, cleaving the iron bars in two. Little bits of shrapnel bombarded me, stinging into my skin and marking their existence with burns, but I forced myself to ignore the pain and the heat that tore through me.

Her laughter died as the explosion rocked the corridor. We didn't have much time before soldiers stormed down here. If I was lucky, I could cover this up. "What are you playing at?" she demanded, her eyes bearing into mine.

"Here," I said, summoning a small object with a thin handle and shoving it into her hands. "We don't have much time, let's get going."

She stared down at the object inquisitively, then risked a glance back up at me. "A hairbrush?"

"Yours is a mess."

"Not the time."

"Do you want to go or not?" I asked.

"Why would I follow you?" she returned carefully. There was no demand behind her voice, no accusation. Just worry. Thinly veiled worry. "How do I know you're really you, and that you're not just leading me into a trap?"

"Because you don't have any other option."

"There's always another option."

"Angelica, please. It's me, okay? I promise." I reached out a hand for her to grab, waiting. Part of me was prepared for her to flinch away, for her to cringe and shake her head. None of me was ready for her to grab it and fling her arms around me, pulling me into a hug that was undeserved but not undesirable.

"I trust you. If you make me regret that choice, you will be sorry."

I laughed, or at least attempted one. "Prison hasn't changed you. But come on, we have to get going before the King notices."

"What's the plan?"

"Wing it and hope for the best."

"That's the plan? That's an awful plan."

"Well, I'm currently open to suggestions."

She sighed, shook her head, and darted forwards, leaving me to follow.

"So what happened? They're waiting for us by the maze, I'm assuming?"

I almost jumped at the sudden bark of her voice echoing through my ears. A lump of worry sat heavy in my throat, making it almost impossible to swallow. Smart. This way they can't hear us.

"Well, I do have a few tricks up my sleeve."

I was about to respond to her, when an overwhelming tidal wave of fear, hunger, and downright exhaustion swept over me. I involuntarily let out a gasp of air, not even realizing I was doing so. It took me a moment to pin down where the eruption of anguish had originated from. As though realizing what she had broadcasted for everyone to feel, the emotions quickly died away all at once.

Angelica? Are you alright?

"What? Oh. I'm fine."

I picked out her shape in the darkness. Her back was pressed against the wall, and only then did she stop moving. Her hair concealed her face, hiding her emotions. I pressed my hand against her shoulder, to which she flinched as though she had been stung.

"I'm fine."

"Let me help you," I said out loud, my voice echoing through the corridor.

She paused a moment before caving in. I let as much strength as I dared to let go of flood into her body. Angelica paused for a moment, looking up at me, then lifted her palm. A spark of magic flickered, then went out immediately. "Well," she whispered, and it sounded as though it took everything she had just to get the words out without falling apart. "It's something."

"Angelica, I'm so sorry, I—"

"Hey, whatever," she said with a soft laugh that was as thin as gossamer. "I'm alright. We have to keep moving, anyway, right?"

I nodded, gently taking her by the arm, and guided her through the maze of hallways. Once light flooded into the corridor from the torches, and my grip on magic came flooding back to me, I teleported us as far away from the dungeon as we could get without disturbing King George.

A soft night breeze hit my face, tossing my hair back. Angelica stumbled forwards, and when I caught her, she clung tightly to me, and I gave her all the time she needed to reorient herself. "Let's never speak of any of this again," she mumbled under her breath.

"Oh, I'm telling all of my children about it one day."

"Bold of you to assume you're going to live long enough to have children," she hissed out, a smile only breaking her face when I couldn't fight back a small chuckle. If she was joking around and being horrible to me again, then whatever time she spent down there didn't completely break her.

"Come on," I said, pulling her along. "We're almost there."

I started forwards, when a loud, echoing voice boomed over the garden. My throat tightened, but I should have expected something like this would happen, knowing my rotten luck. I paused, lifting my head, and turned to face the guard who had spoken.

"What do you think you are doing?" he demanded. It took me a second or two to recognize General Clinton amid the sprawling of vines. A bright, yellow light illuminated the sharp edges of his face. I had to squint at first to adjust my eyes to it, and I think that's what he wanted.

"Have you been demoted to guard duty?" I asked, giving myself enough time to reorient Angelica so my fingers were digging into her wrist. She let out a soft yelp of pain. Sorry.

"It's fine. I'm fine."

Lies, of course, but I didn't have the time to argue with her.

"That's not the point! What are you doing with her?" he asked, his gaze flicking to Angelica.

A growl rose in her throat, but before she could snap at him, I cut in with a small shrug. "Intruders in the dungeon. George asked me to grab her and take her to the maze before they could get to her."

"Don't refer to the King like that," Clinton snapped.

"What? You don't like how I call him George? That's surprising. You should hear what I call him some nights when we're alone."

The light in Clinton's hand flickered to a nice, embarrassed red when he caught my meaning. "Give me the prisoner and return to your own cell, monster."

"Ooh," Angelica said. "I don't think you should have done that."

"And why not?"

I waved my hand, sending him flying through the air at a rapid pace enough to break his neck when he hit the gazebo and landed in a heap at the floor.

"Nice," Angelica commented wryly as I let go of her. "Do you and—"

"No."

"I'm not judging you know," she said, nudging me in the arm. "You have to do whatever you have to do."

"If anybody else learns of this conversation, you're dead."

She snorted, then the smile came crashing from her face as she turned away from me. A silence followed. "Angelica," I said softly, carefully setting my palm on her shoulder. The canyon between us was getting wider by the minute, and I had absolutely no idea how I was going to bridge it.

"It's fine," she said, shaking her head. "It's fine. Let's just keep going, okay?" She pushed onwards, maneuvering out of my grasp. "We're almost there."

Never had the few hundred yards across the garden ever seemed so long. Angelica fell into pace besides me, but as a flash of dark blue flickered against the dark, menacing entrance to the forest, she rushed forwards and threw her arms around the person waiting for us.

Washington smiled, but she let go before he could return the gesture. "Are you alright?" he whispered. Lafayette rose up from the stone next to him, his grin exploding when he caught Angelica in his arms.

"I'm fine," she said, letting go of Lafayette and turning back to me. I scanned the entrance of the forest then looked back up at Washington. My heart thundered in my chest, my mouth dry with anticipation and fear. I didn't want the answer to the question I had yet to ask.

"Where's—"

"He is not coming," Lafayette whispered softly, stepping up to me and placing his hand on my back. "I am sorry, Thomas, but—"

"No," I said with a forced laugh, shaking my head. "No, don't worry. It's fine. I understand."

I understood, but I hated the fracture in my chest, the gaping whole.

"He wanted me to give you this," Washington said, holding out a thin, hastily folded piece of paper. I unfolded it with hands that couldn't stop shaking, my eyes devouring the scrawl of the messy, curled letters.

"Oh," I said when I had finished. It was all I could say. I pocketed the letter, blinking furiously to stop my eyes from tearing up. "Well, I guess I'll be staying a little bit longer then," I said with a laugh. There had been something else wedged between the folded letter that had fallen out. I kneeled down to pick it up, running my fingers across the smooth, green surface. "What's this?" I asked, twisting the ring of vine around. On one side bloomed a single flower, light blue and sweet-smelling.

"Alexander asked us to give it to you," Washington said carefully. As though I would break at any second. "He said it should help you remember if you were... well, if you were to forget again."

"Oh, well, uh, thank you." I slipped the bracelet around my wrist, taking in a deep breath. A small wave of comfort rolled through me, a gentle coolness to combat the raging fire. It was hardly anything, just a single vine weaved into a ring, but in that moment, I promised myself I would never let go of it again. "Thank you," I said again.

"Thomas," Angelica said, stepping up to me. "Be careful, okay? Don't do anything stupid."

"Sorry, Angelica. But I am stupid. And doing stupid things is in my nature." I nodded, saying my goodbyes as quickly as I could to get through them. And then I watched as the three of them disappeared into the forest, Angelica leaning on both Washington and Lafayette for support. Even after they were gone, I fell to the ground and sat there, staring at the undergrowth. Maybe I was hoping they'd come back. Insist that I couldn't stay on my own. Or perhaps I was waiting for him to appear out of the shadows, with his gentle smile and his beautiful eyes. Perhaps I was waiting for him to take me by the hand and whisk me off to safety.

He never did.