The Sound of a Siren's Call

29.) The Perfect Liar

When I finally woke up in the morning, part of me had thought that the night's events had been a dream.

Ryan was next to me. "Whatever you do, don't show any sign that you know anything."

So it hadn't been a dream.

"Sure thing, boss."

She beamed, the corners of her mouth shooting up. I followed her out into the dewy morning. She made sure we were in the throng of witches.

Whatever you do, don't show any sign that you know anything.

That proved easier said than done. The centaurs stared me down. They knew.

Ryan practically stared through them. I tried to do the same. I took my place at the wheel and they stood with their wood.

Then it really got hard. The biggest one came trotting toward us.

Everyone looked surprised and genuinely confused. Ryan's face remained perfectly neutral. I had no idea what the man said, which made my task significantly easier. He turned to me and pointed accusingly. Ryan stood and said something, and the attention was shifted away from me.

I kept spinning trying to ignore the way his hooves stamped as though he was about to charge. I took a deep breath.

I didn't meet his eyes. Eventually, a guard made his way over to us.

The centaur had no choice but to leave us alone. Were the centaurs in on Ryan's plan? Was there a chance she was wrong?

I worked harder. I had no idea what I'd done. I'd only heard one side of the story and I'd let that be enough. My father would've had my head.

He'd said that there always had to be multiple sides to the story. Only after you knew all of them could you discard all but one.

I'd contributed to something that I didn't even know if I agreed with.

You'll see.

Those weren't the words of a girl who had nothing to hide. I'd been too swept up in the moment. I'd been too absorbed in the girl to notice her actions.

I looked over at her, smiling smugly to herself. She was a conniving, lying, beautiful, complex girl. She caught me looking at her and her smile lost its smugness.

I smiled to myself. Why did I smile to myself?

I'd never cared about how a liar had felt about me before. Why now?

I forced myself to look away from her. She was definitely hiding something, and I couldn't let myself trust her until I knew what.

"Water?"

She passed me a canteen. I took a swig and our hands touched when I passed it back. Her olive, almost tawny skin sent shocks up my arm. She met my eyes, and I pulled my hand back. 

You can't trust her. You can't trust her. You can't—

"Thanks." I looked up at her.

She nodded indifferently and went back to talking to someone else. I took a deep breath and looked back at the string.

Wherever the feelings had come from, I wanted to return them.

I tried to turn my thoughts to something other than Ryan. I tried to force myself to puzzle out how I was going to get to Castor. I was running out of wool.

Ryan had more wool.

I reached down and took it. The guards seemed to have their attention on us. You could've cut the tension between us and the centaurs with a knife. There was little chance I'd get to Castor.

I furiously spun the string.

My stomach rumbled. It couldn't even be noon yet, but missing the one meal of the day that they served at the camp had impacted me more than I was willing to admit.

I ignored Ryan as she made a plea for the stash again. I tried to pretend I could see through her.

I wouldn't be able to see Castor before dinner. I had a sinking feeling I wouldn't be able to pass letters as quickly as I wanted to. Especially because of how much time I'd need to spend with Juniper.

Her and Castor would understand. I hoped.

The sun shone on Ryan's hair so it glistened. I looked away.

The day couldn't pass soon enough. Each second was made longer for racing thoughts. Eventually, I resorted to counting and repeating nursery rhymes to myself to keep my mind from wandering.

We missed our quota again, but I'd prepared myself for it. Plates were still at our usual spots, mocking us as they stayed empty. I picked at the edge of my plate and as it moved, I saw a slip of paper under it.

I opened it, and it was Castor's letter. I looked at the back of his head and slipped the note into my pant's pocket. He didn't try to talk to me when we marched back to our quarters.

The centaurs glared at me, and I met their stare.

I'd made a mistake. I was sure of it now. I'd made a mistake because I was distracted.

Ryan walked happily next to me. I knew it wouldn't happen again.

She had a plan, and I knew she'd never tell me before it was too late for me to anything—for better or worse.

I smiled at her.

The weight of her lies kept my fluttering heart from flying away. Leland walked between us, seeming blissfully unencumbered by worry or guilt.

Their hands swung back and forth. I had to figure out which words out of her mouth were lies.

She smiled back at me, and the gesture didn't send thrills through me like it had earlier. She wasn't as perfect after I was sure she'd been wrong. The sun set on us sharing what would've been a perfect moment had we not fundamentally disagreed on so many things.

I didn't know how I felt about her master plan, but I knew the centaurs would not stand with her.

"Good night, Arriana."

Good night, guys," I signed back.

She was playing with me. I had to believe that or my heart would fly away without the rest of me.