Chapter 145

Kit was almost to the exit of the labyrinth. She could feel it. While she was slightly disappointed that none of the Representatives she was hoping to potentially spend the evening with had caught up to her, the idea that she could be successful where her mother had assumed she would fail was enough to make her keep running, despite the fact that her lungs were burning and her legs ached.

The raindrops were increasing. Large drops splattered on her arms and wet her hair. Still, she pressed on. Even when a rumble of thunder caught her off guard and almost made her shout, which might’ve given away her location, she stifled her scream and kept going.

Once she’d passed the fountain, she realized she had a good chance at getting out with all of her ribbons. She doubted any of the Representatives could’ve made it there before her. She fully expected anyone who was fast enough to lay in wait and pounce on her as soon as she stepped out of the passage, but when that didn’t happen, she thought she might be able to sprint to victory, so long as she didn’t get lost.

But now, she was beginning to think she might be disoriented. The feel of wide open spaces lay somewhere off to her left. She just needed to figure out how to reach that cavern of freedom. Turning right at the last intersection had been a mistake; she needed to go back and head the other direction.

Before she even reached the end of the path, she could see a large wall of green ahead of her and knew it had to be a dead end. There was a chance a narrow passage was enclosed up there, shrouded by the other shrubbier, but she didn’t think so. She cursed under her breath and started to turn back, but then she had an overwhelming feeling that she wasn’t alone. She didn’t need to face him to know he was there. A deep breath and a moment of inner silence was all it took. The disappointment at not winning was immediately replaced with the knowledge that her mother would have no choice but to allow her to enjoy her time in his arms since he would have won the contest fairly.

When Kit swept her gown behind her and swiveled to face him, Eli was standing a good ten feet behind her, nearer to where she’d taken the wrong turn than to where she stood now. His hair was dripping wet, and he had a gleam in his eyes. It wasn’t the spoils of victory he was coveting, though. She knew that look too well. It was longing—not for a prize, but for her.

Kit’s eyes immediately went to the deck, and she realized her mother was no longer watching them. She assumed the thunder must’ve scared her down. Taking three quick steps back in his direction, she brushed her wet hair off of her forehead and prepared to remove a ribbon.

“You should’ve stayed to the left,” he said, resting one hand on each side of the passage, the shrubbery here narrow enough for him to do just that. “You were almost out.”

“How long have you been following me?”

“I’ve always been right behind you, Kit.”

She swallowed hard, knowing his statement had nothing to do with the maze, nothing to do with the Choosing. She closed the gap between them, pulling one of the ribbons from her left wrist free as she went.

“Wait,” he instructed before she held it out to him. “You don’t have to do that, not unless you want to.”

Cocking her head to the side, Kit asked, “Would you pretend I won when you really bested me?”

“Kit, you’re not a trophy. I don’t want to be with you because I won you. I want you to choose to be with me.” He ran a hand through his hair sending sprinkles of rain up into the air before he rested his hands on his hips, his face conveying his consternation beyond anything words could ever express.

Stopping right in front of him, Kit let all of the anger she’d felt at him a few days ago wash away with the rain. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind what she wanted. The sprinkles seemed to multiple as she reached out and took hold of his wrist, wrapping her ribbon around it and tying it securely. “Congratulations.” Staring into his eyes, she tried to read him, but his expression had morphed, and she wasn’t quite sure what to expect.

Until Eli’s hands were on either side of her face, and then she found herself pressed up against the greenery, his lips on hers. Taken off guard, Kit exhaled sharply, but then the feel of his hands on her flesh, the taste of his kiss, mingled with the fresh rain, overcame her, and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him closer to her until she felt consumed by this man she’d been longing to be with since forever.

Eli pulled back, but she wasn’t ready to release him. Kit’s hand slid up to the back of his head, and she pressed him back to her, finding his lips with hers, wrapping her other arm around him and holding him against her. In that moment, everything else melted away and there was only the two of them, raw and real in the rain, and all she wanted was to feel his skin on hers, to take all of the emotions encompassed in years of impossibilities and turn them into reality. No matter who else she belonged to, no matter how much she cared for the others, in that moment, she was Eli’s, and he was hers.

He released her lips but kept his hands where they’d fallen to rest, one on her hip, the other on her waist. Gently, he leaned in and kissed her once more sweetly on the lips, and Kit knew she’d never see the rain the same way again. “I love you, Kit. You should know that. I want you to know that.”

The scent of him mingled with the fresh rain as she inhaled deeply and stared into those emerald orbs. “I love you, too, Eli. I have since... always.”

A crooked smile formed on his face as he took in what she had said before he nodded once and then kissed her again before taking a step back. “We should hurry, before the queen calls the competition because of the rain.”

“Or others catch up.” Again, his head rocked back and forth, but he didn’t seem too worried about that. Kit wrapped her arm through his and pulled up her skirts with her free hand so as to keep her feet tangle free, and they went back the way she’d come.