Page 57 of Of Monsters and Mazes

Anyway.

Four cubbies appeared this time before I could think on any of that any deeper. Thank fucking god for timing. Or thank Olympus? Or the devil? Or whoever it was I was supposed to thank down here. None of those entities seemed worthy of gratitude at the moment, so maybe I should just thank myself. Whoever was supposed to be watching over me had clearly fallen asleep on the job.

I avoided an audible groan, then I approached each one and slid them open smoothly.

A hammer and nails rested in the first glass box, and I found myself immediately thinking of Theron again.

Nope, Noooo. Hell no. Not picking that shit.

Ropes and blindfolds were in the second. I’d put those on the maybe list. If I was lucky, maybe the challenge would involve hog tying Alessi while I channeled my inner dominatrix. I think I could handle that. Tartarus owed me some petty revenge.

The third sported knives, nipple clamps, and collars. That was a lot to process, and the possibilities were a bit more endless than I was prepared for. Yeaaaah, all good on that. Thank you but no thank you.

And the last one was… empty? Was that, like, kink free missionary sex? No toys or pain or anything—just happy little orgasms and getting my pussy rocked?

No, that was too simple. It had to be a trap. There was zero chance that I was going to move on from here without some sort of traumatizing regrets.

Plus, these choices weren’t necessarily sexually charged at all. I was just assuming based on my current lived experience and the very secure vibrator still nestled between my over stimulated pussy lips. But maybe the rope meant I had to scale the wall with a blindfold. Maybe the nails, the nipple clamps, and the knives were… uh… part of an arts and crafts project? Maybe the empty box meant “No challenge! You’re free you pretty, perfect, awesome tribute girl!”

I sighed as I glanced from one box to the next, thankful the only countdown this time was the clock ticking above. I still had forty eight hours to get to the castle, which seemed like more than enough time considering there were only two sectors left beyond this one. Here I thought Jericho was being unreasonable, but this was going quick and easy, all things considered.

Granted I’d had a lot of help up until this point, but Alessi didn’t seem in any hurry to ditch me, so presumably that assistance would continue. He owed me, if the amount of joy he was getting out of playing my body was a form of debt.

I thought it was.

My gaze wandered back to the nails.

Theron was still nowhere to be found. I really thought I’d be able to count on him, but he was currently a huge disappointment. But then, what man wasn’t, you know?

I really needed to stop thinking about him like that. He was a devil here to sabotage me, not my friend.

Forcing my mind away from that depressing thought, I opted to talk myself through the puzzle at hand.

“So the obvious choice is the box with nothing, which leads me to believe it’s not the obvious choice at all.” I pouted to the companion I was quickly becoming entirely too intimate with.

“Look at you, learning. Who knew even the most stubborn humans could be taught?” Alessi’s amber eyes blended in well with the gold of the Yellow Sector. And his attitude blended in well with the psychopaths of the Labyrinth.

“It’s no wonder you let Theron fuck you. You’re both just so charming and compassionate and understanding. You must have felt like instant soul mates.” I shot back with a puff to my cheeks.

Alessi’s jaw dropped in full offense. “Whoa now, why would you ever assume I was bottom? I’m technically an angel, and he’s literally a devil. I was born on top of him.”

With two raised brows, I made an exaggerated point of looking him up and down.

“Seriously? Considering the way you play with your tail like it’s your emotional support puff ball, no way you’re taking control of a guy with those kinds of muscles and scars. You’re just like me when I—” I stopped myself, realizing I just walked into the totally wrong point.

“I’m just like you in the sense that I must fantasize about being dominated by a powerful psychopath?” He finished my sentence with words I was definitely not planning to say, and he seemed incredibly proud of his completely wrong answer.

“No, in the sense that you aren’t as tough as you pretend to be.” I whispered, unable to stop my cheeks from flaring again. “And sometimes it’s nice to let someone else take charge for once, when you’re used to always doing everything yourself.” Those words were even quieter, so much that they were barely there at all.

Alessi blinked with surprise and astonishment. “That’s… so cute.” He uttered with a laugh. “You are truly a precious gem in a maze of coal, Bijou. So innocent and pure.” And now he was stifling his body shaking laughter. One hundred percent he was making fun of me.

“I’m not that innocent, and I’m not that pure.” I fired back, trying to take back some dignity here. It’s not like I was some blushing virgin. I’d been with plenty of men. Sure I’d never actually culminated any of those men into lasting relationships, but it’s not like I was an untouched princess.

“How so?” He asked without any pause to his laughter. I flattened my lips in a line. “You think laying on your pillow while you take a dick or twenty in missionary position makes you wild and filthy? Because that is the only explanation as to why you would think the Dream Weaver, of all the devils in Tartarus, might be rough, and dominant, and want to protect you.”

“He… he did protect me though.” I fiddled with my fingers and glanced to the side in embarrassment.

I knew Alessi had obviously spent more time with Theron than I had, but that didn’t change all of the things Theron had done for me throughout the maze. If I hadn’t run into Alessi and ignored Theron’s request to let the wall eat him—a decision I currently mildly regretted—he’d probably still be here and still be keeping me safe. I didn’t think either of us believed that he would actually sell me out in the end.