Page 64 of Of Monsters and Mazes

I lifted Pumpkin by his sides, and the plump little thing clung to my pant legs with his tiny claws as I tugged him from my lap. Whether Sela were to make it here in time or not, I was definitely keeping the cat. We’d bonded.

Setting the rotund miniature predator on the floor, I dusted off the shed fur and wandered over to the portal room to see what was amiss. It was always possible that it was just a servant tittering off to clean up the mess Sela was making, but my intuition told me that wasn’t what this was about. Sure enough, the Orange Portal was the one crackling from recent use.

Next I stopped into Rai’s room, where, as I suspected, there was no sign of my Minotaur.

Fancy that.

I hadn’t ordered him to go back into the maze yet. This was all very odd indeed. Maybe I’d been letting my subjects run too far amuck this year. I wasn’t worried about the girl actually making it through the maze—even if she did, I had no obligation to actually follow through with my promise, so it didn’t matter. She was mine by decree, either way. But it was still a bit concerning that she was getting so close with all of her limbs intact.

I didn’t want to be the one to hurt her, but why didn’t anyone else want to hurt her? She should have been fighting for her life, when it seemed like both of the most dysfunctional deities I knew were fighting over who got to have her in their life. Quite frankly, I hadn’t even realized that red haired bastard liked women.

And now Rai was acting outside his commands to meet her in the next sector, right after that questionable show of his Yellow Sector games. There was no way he fancied her too. He’d never been with a woman, let alone a human. The only things he’d ever run through another person were his horns. If even he started enjoying cute banter with my Fraulein, I was going to start worrying I’d picked too well.

To be honest, I was getting a little peeved watching everyone else having their fun and precious little conversations and bonding moments with her. Maybe it was time I stepped in too.

With a snap of my fingers, I created a portal for quick easy transport. I always left general teleportation options for Rai to use in my Portal room, but I preferred more direct movement for myself. And today, I knew exactly where I wanted to pop in.

In an instant, I was sitting cross legged atop the orange wall just above the door separating the Yellow and Orange Sectors. My tribute, my Little Nightmare, and the annoying fox approached cautiously. Sela was oblivious, but the other two, predictably, noticed my presence as soon as I’d arrived.

“You are spectacular, Fraulein. To think I had to bribe you to come here, and now you’re wandering around with an entourage of the best and worst Tartarus has to offer.” I smirked down at my subjects, eliciting a squeak and a jump from my darling Sela. Theron avoided eye contact, while the fox was unmoved by my entrance. The Olympus spy couldn’t even be bothered to feign surprise. There was nothing I liked about Alessi.

“What can I say? I’m a magnet for terrible men.” She shot back immediately, not missing a beat. I would have laughed, but Alessi laughed first, and I didn’t want to be associated with an Olympus sense of humor either.

Theron gave her adequate side-eye, and I would much rather associate with that reaction.

“Really? We’re the terrible ones?” The Dream Weaver shook his head with disgust.

“Is that an honest question?” Her ability to pick fun at my Little Nightmare, and his willingness to take it, was even more adorable in person.

“She has a point.” The fox agreed, pandering to the woman for no obvious reason. That was more annoying in person “You lot are insufferable, but Sela is a breath of fresh air.”

I shifted slightly in my seat, and it didn’t escape my notice that both Theron and Alessi slid one foot ever so slightly forward, as if preparing for confrontation. Small, subtle, protective gestures that were incredibly telling. By the looks on their faces, I’d venture a guess that neither man even realized he’d done it. I’d expect as much from Theron by what I’d seen, but to have the fox on her side?

I definitely picked my tribute too well this time.

But it was still salvageable.

I snapped my fingers, and two portals took Alessi and Theron over to the other side of the Orange Sector door before they could so much as whine in protest. I’d let her keep her little posse for the coming sections, but I wanted some alone time with my tribute. It had been much too long that I’d been letting her run around unchecked.

Sela looked frantically back and forth at where her companions had once been, instant panic all over her lovely face. I jumped from the partition, and landed gracefully on my feet in front of her.

“What did you do to them?” My adorable button of a tribute always spoke with such hostility, while everyone else had been so calm and casual.

I liked that about her.

“They’re just on the other side of that door, waiting for you to rejoin them. They’ll be fine, I promise.” I shook my head at her absurd worry, as if anyone was as vulnerable as she was in this realm. “But enough about them. I’m here for you.”

“What do you want?” She took a step back, and I wasn’t used to seeing her cower. But then, she’d been through a mildly eventful Labyrinth up until now.

“I’m just here to check in, Fraulein. No more, no less.” I waved a hand dismissively. “It’s been long enough since our last meeting that I would hate for you to forget about me in favor of lesser men.”

“How could anyone ever forget you?” Her words were touching despite her sarcastic tone.

I placed my hand over my heart, moved by her sweet nothings. “You’re too kind.” I reclaimed the step between us she’d taken, and I lifted her chin to better align our eye contact. “So tell me, what’s been your favorite part of the maze so far? Was it the Centimane? The disappearing walls? The whip?”

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn’t retreat. “I liked the part where you were leaving me alone.”

“Really? That was your favorite?” The corners of my lips ticked up, and I roughly and abruptly grabbed her by the waist to pull her against me. She stumbled but quickly caught herself with my support. “Are you sure it wasn’t this?” I activated the vibrator Rai apparently had the mind to give her, and she immediately jerked back. I kept my hold firm to prevent her from buckling.