Page 51 of Of Monsters and Mazes

I likely could have helped him if he would explain what the hell was wrong with him, but maybe this girl was disrupting him through the maze somehow.

I wouldn’t be entirely surprised if Theron was off causing him unexpected problems. Those two never got along. A shame, really.

With a shrug, I left my pet to his convulsing and dry heaving, feeling oddly defeated by the debacle. I guess I’d be staying within earshot for a bit.

Soup.

The thought entered my head like an arrow through an apple, and I pounded the side of my fist into my open palm with certainty. Rai probably just needed some soup, and then he would be right back to his old self, riding my lap while humans were being torn to shreds in his Labyrinth.

I headed toward the kitchen to demand my servants prepare a meal. I’d get him sorted first, and I could just watch Sela from afar in the meantime. I’d like to mess with her again, but perhaps the Yellow Sector wasn’t the place for it. Not until my Minotaur was in good health anyway.

No matter. If she made it through, there were plenty of enjoyable challenges still ahead. Priorities lied with the immediate issue. She was still a distance second.

Chapter 26

Sela gathered her wits about her at a faster rate than I might have expected, while also experiencing a more extreme reaction than I would have expected. Whatever enchantment was healing her so quickly, it also seemed to be reacting heavily to the serum.

Was it possible that the relaxant was activating due to Theron’s tie to her? That couldn’t be it, could it? I didn’t understand how she had those marks on her at all, quite frankly. I’d only ever known them to be possessive claims that a devil could place on an angel, only a few notches above an enslavement brand.

Though I was assuming they were Theron’s, I suppose it was possible they could be from another devil. Some beast could have fed her their blood. But there were no angels outside myself in Tartarus—certainly not in the Labyrinth. Jericho was very picky about who he involved in his games, and I knew every single person who made it onto that short list.

Whatever the case, I’d have to just accept it as a lucky development, since her ability to stand and vaguely function meant we could still progress. Though she didn’t look entirely sharp, and I worried that would become a problem as the next options were presented to us.

Both the pills and the injection were the same formula. That much I could discern from scent alone. The feeling of paralysis and nausea was temporary, especially for someone like myself, and ultimately the drug just served to lower inhibitions and open our minds to new experiences. Awful ones. But ones that no one in their right mind would accept otherwise. It wasn’t far off the wine we drank in Olympus, though I greatly preferred ingesting a fine flavor of artisanal grapes, versus intravenous injections. Heaven forbid the people of Tartarus ever dabble in anything pleasant or sophisticated.

I watched each uneasy step as Sela approached the wall. I couldn’t help but think she likely would have been safer going it alone. Her singular challenges would have, more likely than not, focused on breaking down her deepest fears or forced her into physical discomforts, neither of which would kill her, technically. Her body was safer on her own, but mentally she was better off with me. I could take on the brunt of most horrors, and she would at least feel like she had someone there for her. Considering her rapid healing ability, it made more sense to subject her to bodily harm than psychological, so I could encourage her to pick the less traumatizing challenges.

I shouldn’t have cared, but every interaction with the lovely woman sent an unexpected zip through me. I’d blame that on the connection to Theron, too.

The last time I’d participated in this team challenge to get through the Yellow Sector, he’d been at my side. There were no stakes, and no compelling reason for us to go forward. We didn’t have to navigate the maze at all. The only reason we bothered to venture in was due to boredom and looking to toy with death. Two dumb monsters playing with fire. It was date night, essentially. But that day was a lapse in judgment from the both of us.

We didn’t talk about that anymore.

Many days in my immortal existence went by without a second thought. Even ones filled with atrocities and great pleasure all started to blend together after a point. But the moment we were prompted to confront feelings and truths neither of us wanted to talk about, I had opted to return to the start of the maze.

I should have done that on the last challenge.

Really, I should do that on the coming challenge, whatever it may be. There was no consequence to me if the Twilight Clock ran out.

And yet.

The thought of letting Sela become one of Jericho’s concubines seemed inherently wrong somehow, and I was determined to assure it was never a reality. Those poor souls never lasted long.

Maybe that was more about Theron than myself as well. Clearly he wanted her safe, or he wouldn’t have left her with me. He knew as well as I did that if he had also stuck around, Jericho would get jealous and only make all of our lives harder. Not only that, but Theron had obligations that I absolutely did not. It was the right move for him to pass the baton,

Internally, I sighed, but externally, I remained unbothered. I needed to get over him at some point. It was a wonder he’d managed to remain such an irresistible fixation for so long. Though I wasn’t sure that playing with a woman he marked was going to do much to get me over any of those emotional hurdles. Then again, protecting a woman he liked for the sake of his happiness was possibly the best way to get to the other side of that maze.

With a quick shake of my head, I returned my attention to the tribute who braved the Labyrinth for her cat. Helping her would also mean she’d leave Tartarus to return to her home realm, so the end results were really a wash for my motives.

“How are you feeling?” I asked her as she approached the boxes. She was still a bit wobbly, but she was fighting through the after effects of the injection like a champ. That shouldn’t surprise me anymore.

“A little light headed, but otherwise I’m fine.” Light headed was normal. That was similar to how I was feeling at the moment. Light and empty headed and unable to keep my mind from wandering towards all the most pointless, unpleasant, and frivolous things.

She reached out and grabbed the handles on the cubbies, uncertainty in every shift in her body language. She was adorable when she was nervous. Like a cowardly lion facing down a confident dove, she didn’t even recognize how fierce she had to be in order to keep pressing forward so relentlessly, and how little power the Labyrinth would have over her if she kept up that resolve.

Sentimental thoughts again. That must be the drug talking. Intoxicating truth serums were not remotely enjoyable.

The panel slid smoothly on its rail. I looked over her shoulder to see what was in each hole in the wall as she revealed their contents.