The Pain in Our Veins (Maven Time Travel)

Chapter Seven

Jon catches me as I return to the gardens, nearly tripping me into the nearest thornbush. "You cannot go with her." He gnashes his teeth. "The Scarlet Guard will demand your head, and Mare will know you're too weak to fight against it. You will die in lonesome agony and you will deserve it."

"I deserve many things, Jon, none of which you have the power to enact." I walk past him. "That cycle is mine."

"Will you brand your name on it?"

"Get a new joke." I fondle the knife in my pocket, but it is little comfort. What would Mare think, if she knew of my scheming? Nothing good, certainly. Yet I cannot help but yearn for a partner in my madness. A soul as dark as my own, unflinching in the face of unyielding cruelty. Perhaps I will make her so.

"Hmm. Splendid idea." Jon grips my shoulder. "If I had a child for every knife you've stuck in Mare's back, I'd have an awful lot of babies for you to murder."

"It was one baby, Jon. One. Step up your game."

"Would you rather stick something else in her?"

"We're done here."

Snicker. "Gonna pretend you already have, I see."

"I'm a virgin, thank you."

"You say that like an accomplishment."

I scowl. "You're gonna die alone!"

"Not like you haven't."

I trudge past him and his incessant rambling, halting at the garage door. There's one way to sneak from the palace unseen. One way to bring her with me without fanfare.

Cal peers from behind a sheet of metal, frowning. "Didn't you call it a death trap?"

"It is."

"What changed?"

"I decided I want death." I waltz over to the handles, gripping them as if I were already on the road. The cycle is a sleek contraption, one that I nearly topple off as I mount. "Think of it as a bonding exercise."

Cal squints. "You're up to something."

"Up to seeing what my big brother has been building in his garage." I chuckle. "You're down here so often, I thought you were building a bomb."

"You're holding the handles wrong."

I tut. "Poor design."

Cal pries my fingers from the Cycle and rights them, standing behind me as I place a foot on either side. "Balance," he tuts. "Your center is off."

I grit my teeth. I can't remember the last time I was this unsteady, let alone when Cal was the one to keep me upright. Nuisance. I ought to kick him for his troubles. But I hold back until he finally gives up, massaging his forehead. "Come back tomorrow."

"That'd be too late!"

"Too late for what?" His brow furrows. "Mavey, what's wrong?"

"It's stupid." I crouch at the door, muffling my face with my arms. Jon was right. I'm not built for this. It doesn't matter how badly I try, Cal will always be several steps ahead. He doesn't even know we're playing, and he still manages to win.

He kneels beside me. "C'mon."

"No."

"Look at me."

Grunt. "I'd rather die."

"No one succeeds on the first try, Mavey." He tuts. "You know that."

"Funny. I watch you do it all the time."