Page 40 of Knotted By the Triad

“No,” I told her.

“Yes, we did.”

“This one is different.”

“How?”

I stared at it for a moment. “It has more rocks.”

“It's the same stream, Zuri.”

“There are thousands of streams in the world.”

“And we've somehow found the same one three times.”

“Twice.”

“Three.”

I stepped across it. “We're wasting time arguing.”

“We're wasting time because we're lost.”

“Temporarily directionally challenged.”

“That isn't a thing.”

“It is now.”

Allie muttered something under her breath and followed me across. Another half hour passed before even I had to admit this wasn't working. Not aloud, obviously. There were limits to personal growth.

My legs hurt. My feet hurt. I was hungry, and I was beginning to suspect the robbery had already happened without us. Eventually, I spotted a large rock beside the path and dropped onto it.

“I need a minute to regroup,” I told Allie.

Allie didn't argue. She sat beside me and pulled the black material away from her mouth.

“We should go home, Princess. We can find some different smugglers to rob tomorrow night.”

“But,” I started.

She spoke over me, which further showed how frustrated my poor maid was.

“We've been out here forever,” Allie continued. “Even if we find the warehouse now, what if they've already left and taken the money with them?”

That was exactly what I'd been thinking. I leaned forward and rested my elbows on my knees. All that work for nothing. I'd had one job tonight. Get money. And I’d failed. I needed that money so I wouldn’t have to depend on Kai, Daemin, and Zian for every little thing.

I didn’t even need a lot of money. Just enough to take care of myself while I figured out what the hell I was going to do with my new life inside this crazy ass book. I sighed, angry with myself for knowing this story well, but still not being able to navigate it properly.

“I guess you're right,” I muttered. “It’s my fault. I got us lost. I’m sorry.”

Allie's eyes widened. “What?”

“You heard me. I said I’m sorry.”

“No, before that. You just said I was right. I wish I had something to write with. I'd like to record the date. Whenever I was right before, you always refused to admit it. Now, you’re even apologizing too.”

I nudged her with my shoulder, and she laughed.