"Yes," she said. "Afraid that they might lose him forever." Because he chose someone over them. Not because of kidnapping or theft or anything like that. "My mother was the same way, every time someone from the outside came to visit us. She was convinced I would try to sneak away with them. And to be honest, I thought about it, sometimes."

She hadn't exactly been the most obedient daughter.

Which ultimately had saved her life. In a poem or song, it would have been the ironic twist of fate. In her reality, it just made her...kind of sad. Painful. Like an open wound.

Ariadne's eyelashes fell. Their last fight often echoed in her ears in the quiet moments. In the place between dreams. But she was wide awake, listening to it now.

"You can't keep us away from the world forever!"

"You don't know the first thing about the world!"

"I know that it's better than you!"

She pinched the bridge of her nose, squeezing her eyes shut. Regret and shame filled her throat, nearly choking her.