Free Labyrinth: Acropolis Series Book II by R.K. Ryals Page B

people.
    "I will guide you to the labyrinth," Marcas
says evenly. "Once there, you will be on your own."
    Marcas turns away then, and I catch a
glimpse of his face as Dayton takes his hand in hers. This isn't
easy on him. He's a leader sending the children of powerful Demons
in to retrieve a spear he wants to go after himself. But he can't.
Enepsigos' alliance depends on the children of Tephras, Onoskelis,
Pleidas, Ephippas, and Iudal. Even Enepsigos' only daughter, Emma.
Enepsigos' orders are clear. Marcas has proven himself the ruler of
his kingdom. He sacrificed himself to prove his worth once. But
every kingdom needs heroes. Every kingdom needs someone to look up
to, an army willing to sacrifice themselves for the same cause.
Every kingdom needs its legends, its motivation to continue. In one
fell sweep, Marcas will be solidifying an alliance, Enepsigos will
be strengthening her own kingdom, and Marcas will be acquiring his
heroes. It is the stuff of legend. If we survive.
     
     
     

Chapter 11
     
    Emma
     
    "You realize you don't have to go," I say
quietly.
    Deidra, Ace, and I are the only ones left on
the field. It's late afternoon now, a couple of hours away from
twilight. I'm tired and sore, the training, lectures, and
revelations revealed to us still swirling in my head, and I'm
sitting on the ground, my hands behind me. Deidra looks up at me,
her young face serious, her big brown eyes, wide.
    "I can't not go," she says firmly, and I lean against Ace,
letting my hair fall forward to hide my expression.
    "You're not part of Enepsigo's orders, Dee,"
I point out, using the nickname I'd adopted over the past couple of
weeks. Marcas had mentioned each of our parents, but he hadn't
mentioned Deidra's. I'm not sure what that means, but I hope it
means she doesn't have to go.
    Deidra throws herself backward, her eyes on
the sky as she puts her head in my lap. The day is nice. It's a
mild day for March, a slight chill in the breeze, with blue skies
and the kind of white, fluffy clouds I used to stare at with my
mother as a child, picking out ridiculous shapes from marshmallow
fat billows. I can see the clouds' reflection in Deidra's pupils as
she turns her gaze to me.
    "You know, my mom left me on the
doorstep of complete strangers, " she says suddenly. "I was only a
baby. Just a baby, and the
people she left me with were horrified. They sent me to child
protective services, and I was passed around the system. No one
wanted me. I was a fussy baby, a temperamental toddler, and I spent
most of my childhood playing pranks and causing trouble. I liked
tricks. I even thought once I might be a magician."
    I laugh at that. "Nothing wrong with wanting
to be the next David Copperfield or Criss Angel," I say. Deidra
grins.
    "I didn't think so either, but then the
Guardians came to take me to the Acropolis two years ago, and I was
told I was the daughter of an imp. Imps, they said, were notorious
for abandoning their half-human babies. They said it with
such disgust , Emma, and I knew
then being an imp wasn't something to be proud of. Even other
Demons dislike them. And, again, no one wanted me. No one liked me
simply because I was an imp."
    I look up at the clouds because I don't want
her to see the pity in my eyes. I lift a hand and place it casually
in her hair. Something about Deidra tugs on my heartstrings. Maybe
it's because I know she was bullied, not only from humans, but from
her own kind. And maybe it's because deep down, Deidra has a kind
heart, a really kind heart.
    "You could still be a magician," I joke.
    Deidra rolls her eyes, her fingers tugging at
stubborn blades of grass.
    "I'm going, Emma," she says quietly. "I want
imps to be remembered for something more than practical jokes and
abandonment."
    Her words, her determination, are too big for
her small, young body, and I feel tears threatening the back of my
eyes.
    "None of the Demons have tried to stop me.
Not even the hybrid king. It kinda gives me hope. Maybe I'm