"I've got it," Luke whispered as he drew near to Maura. Her eyes gleamed with excitement as she peered at the small bundle hidden within his hands.

"Good. All we have to do now is find Evelyn. Which way to the labyrinth?"

"This way," Luke said, concealing the queen's vial within the pocket of his pants. Then he turned and, staying close to Maura, began leading her from the common area into the lower, more secluded levels of the castle. "As I said," he added in a low voice. "I don't know if we'll be able to find her."

She laughed under her breath, though he recognized the nervous undertone. "Your optimism is refreshing."

After following several twists and turns down dark and mostly vacant corridors, they made it to the opening of the labyrinth. There was no need for a bolted door or guards to make sure the prisoners didn't escape. Luke stepped across the threshold but stopped when he noticed that Maura had fallen behind. "What's wrong?" he asked.

She peeked around the corner, looking to both the left and right. There was nothing to see but thick stone walls glazed with damp and moss. "Are you sure we can't get lost in there?"

"I'm sure. I've been in here so many times I could walk the labyrinth in my sleep." He held out his hand, but she didn't immediately take it. "Maura," he said. "You asked for me to trust you. Now I'm asking you to trust me. I won't let anything happen to you."

Her eyes hardened with resolve and she nodded once. "Okay. Let's go."

Maura entered the labyrinth ahead of him, surprising him with her sudden burst of fearlessness, but she quickly rejoined him when she seemed to remember she didn't know where she was going. For several moments they neither saw no one nor spoke to each other, but then they came upon a man sitting on the ground, his back pressed against the stone wall and knees drawn to his chest. Maura immediately went to him and knelt on the ground.

"Have you seen Evelyn?" she asked. When he didn't respond, Maura shook the man's shoulder. "Have you seen Evelyn?"

The man slowly raised his head. "Who?"

"Evelyn," Maura said impatiently. "The queen's handmaiden."

The man's words came out slowly. "I haven't seen anyone in . . ." He shook his head, splaying his hands as though they contained the answer. Though he appeared young, his eyes held the unmistakable look of defeat, making him look ancient. "It's been so long," he said, his voice raspy with disuse. "You are the first."

Maura looked over her shoulder at Luke. "They roam the labyrinth alone," he explained before she could ask. "Every faery down here is in their own personal prison. No two paths are alike. That's part of the labyrinth's magic."

Maura returned her attention to the man, but he had buried his face in his knees. "Does anyone ever get out?" she asked.

"Only after they've served their sentence."

"How long is that?"

"When the queen is satisfied," he said. "Come on. We should hurry if we have any hope of finding Evelyn. The longer she stays in here, the more entrenched in the labyrinth she'll become." Maura placed her hand on the man's shoulder, squeezed, and then they took off, leaving him behind.

"How were you able to get the vial from your mother?" Maura asked as they continued on their way.

"She was in pain," Luke replied. "I made her a tea to help her sleep."

"Clever thinking," Maura said. "How long do you think she'll be out.

"Not long enough," Luke replied. "And once she wakes up and discovers that the vial is missing, she'll know that I took it."

"Will she think to look for us down here?"

"Maybe not right away, but—"

"Evelyn!" Maura yelled.

Startled by her sudden outburst, Luke stopped in his tracks. Annoyed, he grabbed her arm. "What are you doing?" he hissed.

"If you think we're going to find Evelyn by just stumbling around this place and hoping for the best, we'll probably be here until I'm eighty."

"But" he started to say. Then he released her arm and yelled, "Evelyn! Evelyn, where are you?"

Maura joined in: "Evelyn, answer if you can hear us!"

They continued to call for Evelyn until Maura abruptly reached out, inadvertently brushing her fingertips against Luke's stomach. "Shh!" she whispered. "Did you hear that?" They listened for several seconds.

"I don't hear anything," Luke said, his eyes on Maura's fingers still lingering at his waist. All he could hear was his heartbeat in his ears.

"Evelyn!" Maura yelled, her hand now clutching his shirt. "Are you there?"

"Maura?" The voice was indistinct and sounded very far away, but it was definitely Evelyn.

"We're trying to find you!" Maura yelled.

Luke placed his hands around his mouth to amplify his voice. "Stay where you are and keep calling to us!"

"I'm here!" Evelyn cried. "Oh, please hurry!"

They followed Evelyn's panicked voice, navigating the many twists and turns of the labyrinth as quickly as they could.

They turned another corner, colliding with a girl standing with her forehead pressed against the wall. "Sorry," Maura said. "I didn't mean—" And then she gasped. "Oh my God!"

Luke felt suddenly sick. He recognized this girl.

"Katherine?" Maura said, brushing the girl's hair away from her face. "Katherine, it's me. Maura."

The girl looked at Maura when she spoke, but Luke could see there was no spark of recognition.

"What's wrong with her?" Maura asked.

"Her essence," Luke said. "It's gone."

"But she's alive," Maura said. "She's been here all along." And then she asked the question Luke feared: "Did you do this to her?"

Luke bristled at her words. He knew she didn't mean it like that, but he was also the one responsible for ruining this girl's life, for putting her family through hell. For taking something away that he didn't know how to give back.

"My mother uses Essence to nourish herself and her court," he said. "What is left after that is . . ." He gestured toward the girl, not saying anything more.

"But she is alive," Maura insisted. "She's not dead. Just because she's different now doesn't mean she's any less valuable than she was."

"Maura . . ."

"She's got a family that misses her," she continued, her voice wavering. "A family that loves her and is desperate to have her home. The entire town has been searching for her, and the other two missing girls!" Maura ran her hand down the girl's dark hair, tucking it behind her ear. "She's my friend."

Luke didn't know what to say. Fortunately, Evelyn saved him from having to say anything at all. "Luke! Maura! Where are you?"

"We can't leave her here," Maura insisted.

"We'll come back for her," Luke said, desperate to keep going. "Right now, we need to find Evelyn."

Luke watched indecision give way to resignation. "Don't go anywhere," Maura said to Katherine, though the girl did not indicate that she had understood the words. "I promise I'll get you out of here. I promise I'll get you home."

"Luke! Maura!"

"It sounds like she's this way," Maura said, setting off once again.

Finally, they found the queen's banished handmaiden. She was sitting on the ground when they saw her, but she sprang to her feet when they rounded the corner. "Thank goodness!" Evelyn said, wrapping her arms around them. It was obvious she had been crying. "I wasn't sure you would come."

"I told you I would," Maura said.

"Wait," Luke said. "Did you plan for Evelyn to get sent here?"

"It was inevitable," Evelyn said.

"You took a risk."

"One that paid off. Siobhan needs to believe she is in control. I betrayed her, Luke. I betrayed our queen. Let her believe I am no longer a threat."

"We have to get you out of here," Maura said when Luke remained silent. "Can you open a portal to the human realm?"

"Magic does not work within the walls of the labyrinth," Evelyn replied. "I can open a portal anywhere else within the castle."

Maura nodded. "Fine. Take my hand and don't let go."

Holding hands, Luke backtracked through the labyrinth, leading them toward the exit. "We're almost there," he said.

Just as they were about to reach the way out, someone stepped into their path. A girl.

"You are the one," the faery said to Maura.

Maura glanced at Luke and Evelyn, but they offered no explanation. "The one?"

The faery stepped forward and reached out to trap a lock of Maura's hair between her fingers. Then she recited:

Child born of noble blood—

a mortal from immortal love—

to break the spell and set us free

from Queens' eternal legacy.

"You're Nicolette," Luke said. "The prophetess."

"I speak only the truth," the faery replied. "Those who hear my words are free to use them how they will."

"You served the queen before my mother," Luke said.

"I have served many queens," the faery-girl replied. "Deidre was a particular favorite. She was not unkind."

"This . . . rhyme," Maura said.

"Prophecy," Evelyn corrected.

Maura waved her hand in dismissal. "Prophecy. Whatever. What does it have to do with me?"

Nicolette's face blossomed in a smile. Then she leaned forward and said into Maura's ear, "My sweet girl. It has everything to do with you."

*****

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