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Ryshi allowed a wry smile to twist his lips. He could be wild and reckless and occasionally self-destructive, but he wasn’t stupid. He wasn’t going to dwell on the reason this female was becoming a vital part of his world. Better to tell himself he was too busy preparing for whatever they were about to face next than to ponder his strange fascination with his companion.
Tumbling through the gateway, they landed on a hard patch of ground. Ryshi grunted at the sharp impact, but with one graceful motion he was on his feet, prepared for an attack.
Nothing happened.
There were no demons, no lightning, no hint that there was anything or anyone in the area. That should have eased Ryshi’s tension. Instead, he muttered a curse as he caught sight of the high hedge that surrounded them as far as the eye could see. Overhead a thick blanket of clouds hung in sullen stillness, as if longing for a breeze to stir them to life.
Sofie tugged her fingers out of his tight grasp, glancing around with obvious approval. “Now this is what I expected when we entered the labyrinth.”
“Don’t be fooled,” Ryshi warned.
“Fooled by the hedges?”
Ryshi frowned at her dry tone. He’d been equally confident when he’d first arrived in this spot. What could be hard about a mundane human maze created out of a bunch of bushes? It’d taken hours, or perhaps it’d been days and weeks—time moved oddly in the labyrinth—before he realized he was in genuine danger.
“This area took me the longest to escape.”
Sofie touched the dagger at her side, no doubt expecting some hidden monster to leap out of the hedge.
“Why?”
“The exit keeps moving.”
“Then how do you find it?”
“Luck.”
She sent him a glance of disbelief. Clearly she didn’t like the thought of depending on a fluke to get out. He didn’t like it either.
“Seriously?”
“Yeah. And that’s not the worst.”
“I’m afraid to ask.”
He nodded toward the three separate openings that were visible in the hedge. They were arched, and neatly trimmed, and wide enough for a troll to easily enter. They were also identical. It made it impossible to know which one might lead to the exit.
“If you take the wrong path it dumps you back to this entrance,” he said.
“Are there hidden dangers?”
“Not physical dangers, but there’s something in the air.”
There was a long pause, as if Sofie was waiting for him to continue. “Poison?”
Ryshi didn’t blame her for appearing confused. Demons were impervious to toxins that might pollute the air. Not to mention the fact that vampires didn’t breathe. He forced himself to recall his journey through the hedges, a shiver racing through him at the memory. It was something he’d done his best to forget.
Turning his head, he studied the nearest entrance. Once he stepped inside the maze, there was a thick shadow that had pressed against him like a death shroud, threatening to destroy his will to continue.
“It’s hard to describe.”
“Try,” she commanded.
Another shiver inched down his spine. Ryshi adored hot nights in his desert Oasis, surrounded by satisfied guests who came to his parlor to enjoy the hookahs and the sand sprites who swayed and danced in the moonlight. The soft music, the hum of low-spoken conversations, and the constant buzz of demon magic that filled the air. Even during the day there had been the chatter of his staff as they’d bustled through the large club, cleaning away the debris from the night before and preparing for another evening of entertainment.
He hated being alone. And the thick silence of this place only added to his misery.
“It feels as if you’re being smothered in defeat,” he finally muttered.
