"What?" Both him and Luke spoke. I looked down to avoid both stares.
"Nyx didn't throw me in. You had fallen and it was too late to catch you, so I went after you."
Charlie didn't speak. I couldn't tell if he was mad, and I didn't want to look at him because I suspected he was. A drop of water landed on my back, tempting me to turn around. Charlie was crying. He saw me poking at him with wide scared eyes and shook his head. He pulled himself onto his knees in front of me and hugged me. His tears dampened my shoulder but I didn't mind. I hugged him back, worried it might be the last chance I got the opportunity to. He pulled away and I let my hands trail after him.
"You're an idiot," he said. But he was smiling.
"I know." I was tempted to say something cheesy, like but I'm your idiot! But I figured now was not the time. He pushed himself forward with his good leg and landed on top of me. I fell backwards as he kissed me. He was still crying, making his lips taste salty.
"Thank you," he whispered as he pulled away. We probably would have sat there for hours, but Luke interrupted us and coughed awkwardly. He was holding two backpacks, one of which I recognized as the one Damasen made us. I blushed and got up, helping Charlie get our backpack on. I wrapped my arm (not the broken one) around his waist to help him walk and he slung his arm over my shoulders. I pulled my dagger from my belt loop and placed it in our bag. Luke's eyes lingered on the weapon but he didn't mention it. He'd given it to my mom, and she'd been heartbroken when she lost it. Now, somehow, it was mine. I didn't take the time to explain this to Luke.
Luke had set Charlie's ankle in a makeshift brace but it was still best if he not walk on it. I wished we had some ambrosia. I hated seeing the level of pain he was in. I was used to seeing him in pain by now, but that doesn't mean I liked it. Daedalus sat at his desk looking over old papers. He hadn't moved since we arrived. He hadn't even spoken, not that I was complaining.
He's planning something.
"Are we ready to go?" Charlie asked. Luke sighed and looked around the workshop. There weren't any windows anymore, contrary to when my parents were here. Luke had spent almost the past forty years here, mastering the labyrinth. I wondered if he was prepared to leave it behind.
"Yeah, we're ready," he said. "Let's go," he urged Daedalus, who grumbled in annoyance and stood, gathering a pile of papers into a satchel. Luke pressed his hand to the wall and a doorway appeared. Daedalus scrambled through first. Luke motioned us through next, and he was the last one out. The arch closed behind us.
The hallway was chilly. It was darker than the one we'd first landed in. I noticed spider webs in the corners and huddled a bit closer to Charlie. Despite everything I'd seen and everything I'd fought, I still hated spiders.
Luke took the lead. He didn't look like he had any idea where he was going, which lead me to have a few concerns about his plan.
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"Not sure. The more you think about it and the more you plan, the more the Labyrinth changes," he answered. Well, that's probably why my mother hated it so much. She always had a plan. Unfortunately, I was a lot like her.
We soon came to a dead end with two hallways leading out from either side. I wanted to go left, something in my gut told me to go left. Maybe it was the arai. Luke turned right. I gazed behind us towards the other tunnel but it looked exactly like the one we were in.
Ahead was a small wooden door, small enough that I would have to duck to get through. The door looked almost exactly like one from one of the cafes at Camp Jupiter. Luke opened the door, crashing my hopes of this actually leading to a nice comfortable cafe.
The room looked like a typical room. Hardwood floors were beneath us, looking newly waxed. The walls were grey and there was a popcorn ceiling. It was oddly familiar.
"This is my bedroom," I said. There was no furniture in it, which is why it took me so long to recognize. There were no photos on the wall, no crayon markings on the floor from my childhood attempts at architecture designs. I felt a lump in my throat. It shouldn't have taken me so long to recognize my own bedroom. The other thing that threw me off were the two red doors on the opposite side of the room.
"This is my bedroom," I repeated.
"The Labyrinth likes to play tricks, it plays with your mind. This isn't really your bedroom," Daedalus explained, a hint of pride in his voice.
"No, but I'd say it's pretty close," a new voice said.
