Page 37 of Of Monsters and Mazes

I skidded back over to her, taking three icicles through my side in the process, while catching two more before they could connect with her head. The ice melted as it touched my skin, and I shielded her with my body as I got a grip on her again.

Rai controlled every inch of the maze. It was connected to his soul, and so long as he wanted to watch her squirm, he wouldn’t let up. Still, this was too far. His chance of killing her was way too high. Either he was disobeying Jericho for the first time ever, or he was actually counting on me to save her.

What a wild thought to think there could be any unspoken trust between us.

“Thank you.” She somehow managed to shout as I got her up and ahead of the barrage again. Though it was futile to expect her to keep pace, even more so now that she was injured, and I knew that all too well.

Not the least of which because I’d made a wrong turn in trying to save her. We hit a dead end, and we shared a mortified glance at the realization we had to run back into the fray.

Fuck you, Rai.

With a shake of my head and without further hesitation, I yanked her against me, eliciting a soft yelp, then I hoisted her up into my arms, princess style. Turning on my heel, I grabbed her injured leg long enough to burn the wound closed, while she clung to my shoulders without protest.

“Do you trust me?” I asked as I squeezed her tightly against my chest. The ice blades were speeding towards us. There was only one way to go.

She stared over her shoulder in wide-eyed horror. “No! Fuck no I don’t! What are you doing?” Her voice was frantic and shaking, yet she still tucked in more tightly against me, closing her eyes and squeezing me with growing desperation. She could have fought me and tried to run the other way, but instead, she nuzzled against my chest and held perfectly still in a small expression of faith.

That shouldn’t have made me grin as much as it did.

“Good, because you shouldn’t.” I responded by giving her a reassuring squeeze, then I concentrated my heat into the surface of my skin, to assure anything that got through would melt before it could penetrate. I bounded forward, keeping my grip on Butterfly despite the slick sweat that poured down her exposed skin under the influence of my body heat. The icicles turned to steam in my atmosphere, while the frozen floor started to slush and crack under my heels. I shielded us both as I skidded around the last corner and made the final charge.

Blue turned teal turned green as I rammed through the door, head down and horns first. The wood gave instantly under my strength, and we crashed into the thick vegetation of the next segment of the Labyrinth. I couldn’t keep my footing, but I still managed to rotate onto my back before landing in the spongy grass of the Green Sector, assuring I didn’t crush Butterfly under my weight.

Once the symphony of ice ceased, and it was clear we were somewhere marginally safer, Butterfly climbed off of me and dusted herself off. It took all of four seconds before her hands were on her hips and she was pursing her lips and glaring at me.

Cute as she was when she was angry, I was far more focused on assessing her injury now that we had a moment of calm. Though I cauterized the wound, it would still need to be bandaged and disinfected.

At least… it would have...

Only, that once gaping, bloody hole on her leg was completely gone. There was no trace of my burn, and no proof that it had ever happened at all. If not for the blood that still stained her skin, I might have questioned if I’d imagined the whole thing.

What the fuck does that mean?

Chapter 18

I scrambled off of Theron and caught my breath with desperation. While I was thankful he had saved me, I was still processing everything that just happened. I felt betrayed, angry, terrified, relieved, hopeful, and conflicted all at once. He got to his feet and dusted off, amidst a backdrop of dark green walls thick with ivy. His expression appeared unbothered, like nothing was said, and I had no reason to look at him any differently.

“Was all of that true?” I asked, needing that confirmation, but not wanting to jump to conclusions. If there was any chance it wasn’t, I wanted to give him the opportunity to explain himself.

“Was all what true?” Theron dismissed the obvious, and that only made me more angry. I would have rather he just owned it than pretend it hadn’t happened.

“The stuff about intentionally misleading me and making sure I didn’t make it to the castle. That your job was to make me fail.” I managed the words, but the lump in my throat was thicker than it should have been. I absolutely didn’t trust him, but… well, I guess I wanted to. His only offense was purely imaginary, and I didn’t entirely hate traveling with him.

He was more helpful than I’d given him credit for with both the big and small gestures to keep me safe and moving. No one had ever done anything like that for me, and maybe I was being over-sensitive simply because I was so used to the bare minimum.

But he wasn’t showing me the bare minimum or even the bare medium. The guy was going above and beyond, while telling me he didn’t care.

I wanted to say I’d misjudged him, but what if I hadn’t? Suddenly I felt like I’d been falling for a customer service smile, when he was talking shit about me to his coworkers as soon as I was out of earshot.

So dumb. How bleak was real world dating that a man with devil horns and a scar drawn smile, who casually burns people alive no less, was the first man in a decade to finally break down my barriers?

Bleak enough that Jericho got me here, I suppose.

“Of course that was true.” He rolled those electric blue eyes, and the lightning in his irises sparked through the motion. “Why else would I be travelling with you? Because I just enjoy your company so much? Because I’m so taken with one of the ten thousand weak humans I’ve come across? Don’t be ridiculous.”

“Then why did you help me?” My voice was barely more than a whimper. I really was pathetic.

“Because I had to. If I didn’t, you would have died, and then I would have failed, and Jericho would be incredibly annoying about it.” He wouldn’t look at me as he spoke anymore, and somehow that made it all feel disingenuous. Or maybe I just wanted to believe in him that badly. “Why are you surprised? I already told you I’m just here to keep you alive, not to help you along.”