Page 152 of Dancing for the Minotaur

And then there were the stories—all of the stories told over and over again.

How Taurex had burst into the apartment and “taken out the bad guys,” though thankfully neither child seemed to have witnessed much of the actual violence. How he had cut the ropes off their wrists. How Lisa had dreamed he was coming to save them and how he had carried them upstairs to his penthouse afterward and given them milk and cookies while he called Terra.

Every retelling hurt a little more, because with each one Terra found herself remembering not the enormous horned warrior who had apparently killed four armed men without hesitation, but the Taurex who had carefully chosen gifts for her children at the Monstrum Market and bought her mother a glowing plant because he remembered Lucy’s health problems.

The memories made her sad and restless—so much so that her mother noticed.

“You miss him,” she said one evening after the children had gone to bed.

Terra was standing at the kitchen sink, rinsing dishes before putting them into the ancient dishwasher that definitely did not grow fuzzy vines to clean them. She kept her back turned as she answered, trying to sound casual.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Mmm-hmm.” Her mother sounded skeptical.

“Mom…” Terra said warningly.

“I’m just saying, honey, you sigh every time one of those kids mentions ‘the Bull-man,’ which is about every ten minutes.”

Terra shut off the faucet.

“It doesn’t matter.”

“Why not?” her mother asked.

Terra turned to face her at last.

“Because he doesn’t want me anymore.”

Lucy actually laughed.

Terra put a hand on her hip.

“What’s so funny?”

“That man saved your children from a kidnapper, gave you enough money to finish school, and looked like somebody ripped his heart out when he had to say goodbye to you, and you think he doesn’t want you?”

“He doesn’t,” Terra insisted, though the words hurt as she said them. “Not anymore. I rejected him. I accused him of wanting to own me. I practically acted like I thought he was going to murder me in my sleep!”

Lucy’s eyebrows rose.

“Well, that was not your finest moment, but you were scared.”

Terra rolled her eyes.

“Gee, thanks, Mom.”

Her mother shrugged.

“You want me to lie?”

“No.” Terra sighed. “Just maybe don’t be quite so truthful all the time.”

“Maybe you ought to call him.”

Terra shook her head.

“He made it pretty clear he didn’t want to see me anymore.”