Page 118 of Her Ivory Flame

A large hedge maze to the north side of the mansion, small fae lights spread throughout and a large stone structure in the middle with a little pond.

Kaden dove down and gently landed at the entrance of the maze, his arms letting go of her as soon as she was steady.

“A maze?” she asked with raised brow.

“You are too focused on what the future brings and not what is going on now.” he started, his arms crossing in front of him. “So we are going to have a little fun.”

She gave him a weary look and could see his demeanor start to change into something more tense. Her heart started to race but she kept herself planted in the spot she stood waiting for him to finish.

“I’ll give you a thirty second head start and you will need to make it to the middle of the maze before I catch you.” His eyes darkened and she swallowed hard.

“What happens if you catch me?” she said with a shaky breath.

He stepped closer to her, his hand grabbing the nape of her neck and tilted her head up closer to him so she could feel his breath on her lips.

“You don’t want me to catch you.” he purred, his free hand gripping her hip and thrusting her forward against him. “I don’t know if you could handle it.”

All the air in her lungs deflated and she could barely hear her surroundings over the pounding of her heart.

“And if I win?” she whispered.

“You get to choose whatever you want that I’m capable of giving to you.”

Her hand pressed against his chest, his face dipping down next to her and kissed her neck before his lips stopped at her ear.

“Run, princess.” He snarled as his hands left her body, their eyes connecting and she shuttered a breath.

His eyes were black and she knew right then he was the lethal predator she always knew he was, and she was the prey.

Chapter 45

Precious seconds had already been wasted from her staring at him for longer than she should have and she launched herself into the maze without looking back.

They had never set rules, and she was stupid not to ask since he could easily fly up to catch her. She knew Kaden well enough that it would be too easy for him to try it, and she could hear his footsteps in the distance behind her.

She had never been in such a maze, and with it being dark she was completely out of her element.

Branches scraped her face as she ran down the row of hedges, taking sharp turns and praying she didn’t come to a dead end. It was endless, her lungs starting to burn as she kept running, only having to turn around a few times and was lucky Kaden didn’t get to her.

The air was thick and she could feel him closing in on her, their thread between them vibrating and she could feel a small amount of anxiety coursing through her.

Part of her wanted him to catch her, wanting to know exactly what he wanted to do and make her decision obsolete.

Maybe he wanted to ravish her right here on the grassy ground, or maybe she had misunderstood what was going on between them and he would just make her do some awful training exercise.

It would be the easy way, but she knew what this was truly about and she gave him some credit.

If he caught her, she would have to adapt to her situation without her sword and without her power. This would either prove to herself she could survive, or prove she was a hopeless cause.

Her foot slipped out from under her as she rounded a corner, her hands catching her on the ground and she shot herself up to keep up her speed.

Seconds later she slammed into a wall of green leaves scratching her arms and she looked around for another way, but the only opening was behind her.

The hairs on her skin started to rise as she heard him come around the corner, her eyes landing on the massive shadow a few yards from her.

This time, his eyes were glowing bright, but his face still held the same menacing stare and she realized why so many people wereafraid of him. If she didn’t know him, she would think she was facing off with death itself.

“Game over princess,” he growled.