Page 41 of Of Monsters and Mazes

“We’re acquaintances at best, really.” I dismissed it all with a wave. The last thing I wanted to discuss this morning was my rocky relationship with the Dream Weaver. Not when there was a beautiful woman begging for my attention. “It’s a terribly uninteresting story in my opinion. But you are not remotely uninteresting. I’d be pleased to make your acquaintance.”

She opened her mouth to speak, only to stop when Theron stepped in front of her. “You don’t need to know her.” The narrowing of his eyes was subtle but easily detectable if you knew what to look for. And much to my disdain, I knew what to look for.

How curious. Why would he be getting his hackles up over a tribute? If I was interested in her before, I absolutely had to know her now. Theron hated everyone and everything, myself included, so for him to be protecting someone, she must have been something special.

I stepped forward, so I was chest to chest and nose to nose with the pretty devil. He didn’t fight me as I gripped him roughly behind the neck and whispered into his ear. “You know that only makes me want to know her more, don’t you, Sweetheart?”

“Why are you still here? I thought you were going back to Olympus.” He hissed under his breath. He spoke quietly enough that I could tell he didn’t want our third wheel to hear.

“Why are you protecting one of Jericho’s human girls? I thought you ‘hated’ him.’” I near scoffed, but I still kept the volume between only us. “Or was it that you love him? I can never remember which with you, you send so many mixed signals.”

That prompted the Dream Weaver to jerk from my grasp. Cute. And pointless. There was no world where he overpowered me. When my grip proved stronger than his neck, he shoved me hard to force me back to a safer distance.

He twisted back to the woman behind him, and after a moment’s contemplation, he opted to accept the inevitability of our introduction. “Butterfly, this is Alessi. Alessi, this is—”

“Sela.” She jumped in, ignoring his attempt to bridge the gap. I liked her already. “My name is Sela.”

“Enchantée, Sela.” I took her hand and bent to kiss her knuckles. “My name is Alessi, but some know me as the Teumessian Fox, the most elusive creature in the Kingdom.” I allowed my lips to linger on her warm flesh, and I couldn’t help but notice the tension in Theron’s shoulders. He watched my every move like a bear with her cub. He was a protective one, to be certain, even if he’d never admit it. It was one of his quirks, and I quite liked that about him. It was likely a significant factor in our now too long friendship. Or whatever it was that we had nowadays.

As I lifted my gaze back to her sparkling, sapphire eyes, I couldn’t help but notice the speckling of marks on her wrists, taunting my periphery.

Oh, that’s rather interesting. And telling.

This might just be exactly the turn of events I needed.

Chapter 20

“What brings you to the Green Sector, Sela?” This strange, red-haired, fluffy-tailed, formerly fox-eared man asked, as he slowly stood back upright. His grip lingered on my hand, and his sharp nails grazed my palm as he held me. I felt them retract as he squeezed my fingers gently before letting me go.

Alessi’s unnaturally vibrant red hair—a color that matched his fluffy tail—was tied back, while a finely tailored and heavily decorated suit hugged the lean shapes of his body. He smelled heavily of lilac, his costume resembled some strange cross between a medieval aristocrat and a conductor, and his animal ears gave him a couple extra inches on Theron. Most notably though, his catlike eyes were a beautiful, sparkling amber, similar to Pumpkin’s. He was like my fluff ball come to life as a gorgeous man, and I should probably ask myself why that did something for me.

It was a wonder I’d made it this far in life without going to therapy. A wonder or gross negligence.

“I’m working my way through the Labyrinth to get my cat back.” I answered honestly, but some survival instinct in the back of my mind wanted to ask Theron for a briefing on whether I should be trusting this guy or not.

Because Theron was so trustworthy himself…

Sigh.

“Obviously she’s a tribute.” Theron scoffed. “Why the fuck else would anyone risk life and limb to meander around this hell hole?”

“A tribute, yes.” Alessi confirmed with a nod. “But even tributes have motivations. They have feelings, you know. Just like foxes, and just like devils do.” The way he raised his brow at Theron seemed like a silent conversation I wasn’t privy to. Their spat didn’t feel entirely platonic to me. “Just like you do, in case that subtext was lost on you.” Alessi made one last jab, but Theron remained still and standoffish. His arms were crossed over his chest and his stance was wide and defensive. Considering I was also annoyed by the so called Dream Weaver’s current denial of his feelings, I felt a tinge of solidarity with Alessi. This bastard was textbook Tsundere, in my delusional opinion.

But Alessi was a mystery all his own, and his appearance didn’t track with everything else I’d learned about this place.

“Are you also a devil?” I asked our new companion. Alessi didn’t have any obvious horns. Unless his horn was also his—don’t look down, Sela. I chastised my brain before my eyes could examine his dick for its sharpness.

His orange eyes practically sparkled at the question, and his lips cocked to the side in a smirk “Sweet Bijou.” He purred. “I cannot wait to teach you everything about this world.”

“He’s not.” Theron interrupted. He seemed rather irritated and on edge, despite having technically been the one to save Alessi from the vines. “He’s from Olympus, so he’s the exact opposite of a devil, and he shouldn’t be in Tartarus at all. He’s a blight on this whole realm.”

Alessi full blown snort laughed. “Your bitterness is unbecoming. But then, what else should I expect from someone who put Jericho before someone who actually gives a flying fuck about him.”

Theron’s eyes narrowed, and the lightning in them sparked violently. “Is that what you think?” He growled through gritted teeth. “That’s hilarious coming from an Olympus spy.”

Oookay, there were some deep grudges here, and I really didn’t have time or patience for them. “Will you two stop fighting for four seconds?”

“One, two, three, four.” Alessi counted quickly, before he resumed glaring at Theron. Something about the look he was giving him seemed more playful than genuinely angry though. It reminded me of the look on Pumpkin’s face when he was brutalizing a toy mouse full of catnip.