Page 46 of Of Monsters and Mazes

I didn’t know if that was supposed to be an endorsement in Jericho’s favor, but it oddly sounded like one.

“Does Theron know that’s why you haven’t left?” These guys were almost adorable, if I was being honest. So emotionally repressed. Just like human men.

He remained silent for enough time that it was adequately telling, then he turned to face me. “We have a long journey ahead if you’re looking to get to the center of the maze before the Twilight Clock runs out. We can discuss this another time.”

Yep.

Repressed. As. Fuck.

The conversation fell silent between us, and I resumed following Alessi through the Green Sector until the vines on the walls started to fade to a more yellowish-green. I stared at the gradient along the pathway, fixating on the way the twists and turns of the plants interwove within themselves. I was so fascinated, I didn’t notice the large limb crossing the path until I tripped over it and went stumbling straight into the Ivy. My eyes rounded as I felt the vines reach out and wrap around me in a violent hug.

I hadn’t even had time to scream before Alessi caught me in a nimble quickstep. He swatted away the vines before they could dig in, as though they were little more than annoying flies on the walls.

“Careful, Bijou. It’s easy to get lulled into a sense of safety here, as it’s one of the simpler sectors, but the traps here are still quite deadly.” He rubbed my shoulder, while I fixated on the small cuts on my wrists. In a matter of seconds, all that remained of the attack were a few small snags in my clothing and the dried blood on my skin.

I wouldn’t expect wounds to close so quickly in my normal life, but Theron had said this healing speed wasn’t normal even within the magic realm. What did that mean? Why would my body not be “normal”?

“Hmm, I’ve never seen a tribute heal so fast.” Alessi said, looking me over.

“Theron said the same.” I rubbed at the dots on my arms. The scars from a dream that didn’t truly happen were the only marks that never went away. “Why would that be?”

Alessi grabbed my wrist and gently broke skin with his claws, connecting the dots down my forearm with a trail of blood. I winced at the pain, but the cuts closed as quickly as he made them.

Though I couldn’t help but notice, when he traced the well placed points, the pattern drew the perfect shape of a butterfly.

Cheeky devil.

“You heal faster than I do.” He blinked his amber eyes with surprise. Like he wanted to test the theory, he pierced me more deeply with his thumb nail. When I yelped and jerked away, he clamped down his grip and held me firmly. We both watched as my body healed around his nail, until the only injured space was where his claw resided inside me. He plucked the sharp point from my arm, and the wound closed completely. “Oh, I think I like this little feature.” A wicked grin crossed his lips, and the soft orange light up above reflected off his sharp fangs. The glow felt innately menacing. “You’re going to be fun, Sela.”

“I don’t understand. I’m human. There’s nothing special about me.” I took a step back to process it all, and he responded by grabbing me by the waist and pulling me against him.

“A human with marks of a devil.” Alessi placed his palm on my cheek, and I stilled as he examined my face. I held my breath while I locked in eye contact, and the fox used his shifted claws to cut a line down to my jawline. “The kind that only belong on an angel.”

It sounded poetic, but it was difficult to focus on his words when he drifted down to my neck, his nails still a millimeter deep, as he sliced a thin line along his path. He cut down to my shoulder, then drifted back up, lingering just beneath my ear.

“That hurts.” I said in a tone too breathy to be discouraging.

“But you’re already healed.” He tightened his hold on my waist, so I was completely flush against his body. My heart beat faster as he scratched four deep lines across the side of my neck, just beneath my pounding pulse. His path followed the underside of my chin, then rounded back up to my lips. He slipped his bloodied thumbnail into my mouth, letting me taste the bitter copper on the blade.

Then he clamped his grip down hard, securing my chin between his thumb and forefinger so I couldn’t look away. His gaze dipped to the warm, dripping liquid, trickling down to my collarbone, having escaped from cuts that had already closed and lost their bite.

“Do you like that, Bijou?” He asked with such intention, I near shivered. If he knew anything about the marks Theron left on my arms, why they were there, and what kind of scenario they’d come from, he likely already knew the answer to that question.

I didn’t respond with anything but a slow, telling blink and a shaky exhale. I was otherwise frozen, letting him test the limits of my healing on the most vulnerable part of my body. The rush of adrenaline from the possibility he might go too far mixed with an unexplainable warmth in my core, and I didn’t know how to explain any of it.

Alessi studied me with unexpected endearment as he stroked his claws along my pulse and playfully scraped across my throat. His cuts were shallow but well placed, and he effortlessly had me trembling on every pass.

“Very fun, indeed.” He whispered as he released me.

My heart was thumping in my chest, my mouth had run dry, and I was at a total loss for words.

With that, Alessi stepped back, leaving me stunned and uncertain. He chewed on his lip before glancing at the yellow door up ahead.

“We should get moving. It’ll be harder to relax with the clock ticking so loudly, and understanding this little quirk of yours might take some time. But I’m sure with some experimentation, we’ll figure it out.” The suggestion in his tone was not lost on me.

He turned towards the exit of the Green Sector, and I swallowed the huge lump in my throat the moment he wasn’t looking.

I think I miss the nails.