Page 70 of Of Monsters and Mazes

“I’m not here to help you.”

“I know.” She nudged into the crux of my shoulder, burying her head into my scarf. I swallowed, wrapped my arm around her, and gently stroked her back. All instinctive actions, but they weren’t affectionate. We weren’t actually bonded. It just felt right.

“I’m not your friend.” I spoke softly, more for myself than for her.

She tilted her chin up at me, and she held me with her eyes. Then she leveraged herself upward, pulling up by my shoulders, until our faces were in line. That was when she pressed the most painfully delicate kiss to my lips. Her touch was careful and slow, and she lingered against me for long enough to have my heart near exploding.

“I know.” Butterfly breathed hot against my lips before she pulled away and settled back beneath my bicep. “You are much more than just a friend.” She said before nuzzling deeply into my scarf. She let her eyelids drop, and it wasn’t long before her breathing took on the familiar tone of sleep again.

I exhaled slowly through my nose, my mind still reeling.

More than just a friend? I squeezed her more tightly to still the slight tremble buzzing through me. I moistened my lips with my tongue, telling myself it wasn’t to chase her lingering flavor. And I forced my mind into pure cognitive dissonance as I closed my eyes to join her in that peaceful dream. A little sleep would do us both some good.

Chapter 37

The portal had dropped me by the door that separated Orange and Red. The precise location of each of Master’s default portals had been fixed to head off a tribute rather than sneak up on one. It was easier to assure she didn’t get away while blocking her path than chasing her, after all. It didn’t matter much to me either way though. It would be a cold day in Tartarus when a tribute somehow managed to outrun me in a dungeon of my own design.

I vaulted over the bog to shorten my route, and weaved through ferns and palms. Ordinarily, it was a comfort for me to run through the trees, execute precise direction changes, hunt, and stalk prey, but my whole existence had become strained since that one fateful mistake. Which was why, now, nothing would get in the way of this mission.

Though I’d also sensed Master’s presence in my Yellow Sector, as his power signature was impossible to miss while he was between my walls. I couldn’t help but worry that he might be the one barrier that keeps me from the tribute. Though I couldn’t read his emotions, her mix of fear and not-quite-disdain had come through loud and clear.

But he hadn’t harmed her. Nothing bad at all translated through our bond, actually, so I didn’t understand what he’d been doing there. He’d portalled both Theron and Alessi into the Orange Sector alone, then he’d allowed Sela to rejoin them on foot shortly thereafter, so it wasn’t as if he’d terrorized her or put a stop to the quest.

He wasn’t one to personally interfere with his own game generally. That would take the fun out of it, he’d always said. On a normal year, I wouldn’t have minded just leaving her to be tormented for the sake of his entertainment, but while I could handle the pain, I could not handle the needs that flared every time she encountered Master, the Fox, or the Dream Weaver. The aggression and lust of the last challenges was still pumping through me with vicious abandon, and I was no longer interested in trying to parse through what were my emotions versus hers.

Still, while the King had returned to the castle for now, that didn’t clear up his continued presence in her journey. Master was entirely too involved with the girl.

We all were.

But I could change that for myself at least. I could string her up and drain her of her blood, and that would officially sever our tie. It would be difficult, considering my body could sparsely take on injury within my domain, and she was reaping the benefit of my forced and rapid healing, but I was dedicated. I would bear with the pain of my horn through her chest for an hour if I needed to. Master might resent me for it, but he’d get over it. He’d already had plenty of tributes, and he would have plenty more.

Not to mention, I was growing fond of Pumpkin and wasn’t looking forward to giving him back. The cat would never age in our realm, so it only made sense to rescue him from the unfortunate atmosphere of Earth, where he would eventually pass from a construct as worthless as time.

I was doing everyone a favor. Sela was the least important thing in Tartarus, and she only made this place worse by being here. I regretted everything about the misguided compassion that had helped her in the forest, not knowing what she was. I’d only entertained this event for Master’s boredom and my own desire to please and serve him, but if it started to mess with the entire balance of my mind, I felt justified in eliminating the threat. He could activate my collar again if he didn’t like it, but he couldn’t keep her safe from me forever. I’d make sure he didn’t get a say until after the deed was done.

I waited, hidden by ferns, while the Dream Weaver crafted an entire sleeping arrangement for the girl. He was always sensitive about quality sleep. It didn’t matter whose it was. Despite his obvious disloyalty towards the king, he still gifted him the finest pillows every year. It might have been cute if it was from someone even marginally trustworthy. But we all had our uncompromising priorities. Theron valued dreams, Master valued games, I valued my freedom, and Alessi valued… Theron, I guess? It was hard to know with the man from Olympus.

I continued to observe from afar as the girl curled up in bed, while Theron and Alessi sat together by a campfire. I could feel the blissful warmth as her mind sank into unconsciousness, and I found the most peace I’d known since she’d arrived. For this moment, I felt free of her. Her mind was quiet, she wasn’t in pain, and there were no overwhelming feelings of any kind. It was a welcome break from her constant stress, fear, and desires.

I approached her cautiously and silently, not wanting to alert the others to my presence. They both seemed quite preoccupied with each other, and it was easy to mask my magic signature when we were surrounded by it.

The girl’s face was calm, and her breathing was steady. She had a slight whistle as she inhaled through her nose, similar to a snoring mouse. She seemed so small and meek and cute when she was all curled up under the thatched blanket.

I shook my head to banish that disgraceful thought immediately. Pumpkin was cute, Alessi was cute when he was a fox, and Sela was a thorn in my side. I couldn’t start getting it twisted. This blood bond was going to be the death of my sanity, if I didn’t figure out how to be the death of her first.

Was that being unfair? It’s not like she’d chosen to come here. She’d never asked me to share my blood with her, and she’d never asked for the Labyrinth. None of the tributes did.

I didn’t.

Stop projecting.

She was the only thing that imprisoned me more than the maze itself.

I tugged at my collar, tensing my fingers on the snug leather. Then I heard Alessi growling at Theron, and I immediately retreated out of sight again.

Right, I needed to disable the both of them first. Murdering her in her sleep was complex enough in an isolated room. It was impossible with someone as powerful as either one of them, armed and prepared to interfere. Though I’d lived several thousand years, they both had existed for were many, many, many times that small span of time. The only reason I’d have a chance against either of them was because I was inside my maze. But even then, it would be safer to wait until their guards were down.

Alessi disappeared into the jungle, and Theron approached the girl. He crouched down beside her and touched her face affectionately. There was nothing platonic about the way he looked at her. Anyone could see that. Not in the way he brushed her hair behind her ear with his fingertips, or in the way he lingered on her temples. I closed my eyes to concentrate on her feelings, wondering what kind of dream he might be passing down our painfully linked bonds, but nothing came to me but calm.