“Or….” Declan counters. “We have to kill it in here.” He points to the ground.
I’m nodding. “That makes sense.”
Declan stares at the land on the other side of the archways. “It would explain why no one has found that place yet. Because if you think about it, thousands of people have run this maze in real life. I always thought the goal was to kill the monster, and that they all failed until your brother came along and took the Minotaur out. But what if the gods knew something about thisParadise place and the goal wasn’t to kill the Minotaur, just get past it to find this room where the doors are?”
I’m nodding as he talking. “Which is probably the center of the maze.”
“What do you think that paradise really is?” Declan asks.
“No clue. But back in the jail, Quaid said some cult was after me, remember?”
Declan nods. “Yeah. Helix, or something.”
“Maybe it’s not me they want, Declan. Maybe it’s this room?”
“Maybe you’re the key to the room, Star. Ever think of that? Because it was your brother who killed the Minotaur. Thousands have tried, only he succeeded. Maybe this maze is connected to you by a bloodline?”
“Why wouldn’t they just get one of my sisters then?”
He points up to the domed ceiling. “They’re up there. In the night sky. And you’re not, Star. You’re down here. You’re the only one they have access to.”
I smile, once again reaching up to lightly brush my fingertips across the feathers of his ear wings. “I want to know what’s on the other side. Do you?”
He nods. “Yeah. Should we go back now? So we can tell the others and make a plan to get the hell out of this dump and spend he rest of our lives in Paradise?”
I don’t even have time to open my mouth to respond before I’m sucked back into reality. Which is a nice place to be, even in comparison to paradise, because I’m on top of Declan and we’re still coming.
I’m moaning and writhing, and he’s got a death-grip on my hips.
We’re back in Aric’s room and both he and Quaid are watching as Declan and I finish.
I collapse onto top of Declan’s chest and he wraps his arms around me. Neither of us says anything, we just enjoy what’s left of the peace we found for as long as we can.
Which is only a handful of seconds. Because Aric says, “Well? What happened?”
Reluctantly, I roll off Declan and we both get to our feet. He hastily tucks away his dick while I scramble around, searching for my clothes.
Quaid is holding my dress. Like he was waiting for my return. He extends his hand, offering it to me.
I smile, sheepishly, because I suddenly remember that I told him Declan might be up for his brand of kink. It’s like he’s reading my mind because he shoots me a wink, whispering “Was he fun?”
I blush now. But I also nod. “He’s very fun, Quaid.” Then I wink back.
After I pull my dress on, I turn to Declan, who is already deep into the explanation of what we saw and figured out.
Aric is nodding as Declan explains what we think the maze really is. “That makes sense. And my father must’ve heard the rumors, like you say, and sent me in to find the way to the doors to Paradise.”
“Well,” Quaid says, “I guess we’ve got it all figured out. Now we need a plan to get past the Minotaur without killing it. Which seems harder, if you ask me.”
“Not really,” Aric says. “Not with all the powers the four of us have collected. The song is a cheat. A map to the whole maze by way of the glowing symbols on the walls.”
“But we don’t know what the symbols say,” Quaid says.
“No, we don’t,” Aric admits. “But your glasses should be able to decipher them, right? Are they working now?”
“Better than ever, actually.” Quaid looks at me. “It seems like the sex really did add to their power. It’s so weird.”
I shrug. “Well, according to what I learned with Declan, I’m capable of shifting the night sky so I guess upgrading your tech is very small in comparison.”
