Page 87 of Of Monsters and Mazes

We continued to dance, moving gracefully across the glittering tile. The King of Devils dominated my steps, with clear intent to lead me somewhere specific. It wasn’t until he twirled me by the fountain, then dipped me over a still, glassy pool, that I caught the first glimpse of my own reflection.

I was wearing a ball gown that was cinched around my waist with a black corset, then fanned out with an A-line skirt in a shade of green that matched the devil’s eyes. Our outfits were coordinated with enough unique flare to feel individual, but similar enough to present as one. He looked truly like a King among commoners and a devil among men. I looked like the dazzling queen that belonged by his side.

The King of Devils. The man with the charming smile and clever poetry that brought me to a hell beyond my wildest imagination. The man who took my fucking cat.

“I don’t have time for this.” I shook my head, but couldn’t find a way to break the spell of his gaze. “I still need to make it through the maze to take Pumpkin back.”

“Don’t be in such a rush.” He kept me close, and I let him have that control. I couldn’t seem to will myself to fight it. “Your Pumpkin is perfectly safe and sound, and the Labyrinth isn’t going anywhere. Take some time for you, my queen. Let yourself be pampered. There’s no reason you can’t live in comfort and luxury within my castle. Why run away to a miserable and lonely existence among human men, when you can have unlimited power, eternal life, and eternal youth? All you have to do is stay with me.”

The words were nice. Soothing. I hated Jericho though, didn’t I? I racked my brain trying to recall why, but that space in my memory was hazy, as though it was locked in a box where I hadn’t been allowed a key.

Maybe I’d never had a good reason at all, and I’d just told myself he was evil. He’d drugged me and kidnapped me. Those were evil things weren’t they? But was I happier before he’d done so?

Probably?

I must have been.

I’d worked so hard and accomplished so much in my thirty-five years of life, how could I throw all of that away for a flight of fancy. Men were always temporary, but my achievements were permanently my own.

“But what about my job? I have a lot of people who depend on me.” I said next.

Was that why I hated him? He took me away from my work? No, that didn’t sound right either. It had to be something worse than that.

“The same people who only respect you if you jump through the right hoops, perform the right rituals, and never speak too loudly, dress too boldly, and live too honestly. Those people would turn on you in an instant. You have no obligation to be their puppet.” Those words struck something deep inside me, searing me deep in my hard earned confidence.

The problem was, I knew he was right. I’d built my career over a lifetime, but I continued to make concessions every day, dulling my shine, and wearing a coat of barbs to assure I never disrupted the delicate tower I’d built. To stay in power, I couldn’t be whoever I wanted to be. I couldn’t be too pretty, too loud, too commanding, or too opinionated. I had to be just the right amount of everything, like I was baking a soufflé that would collapse at the first loud noise.

But those were the sacrifices I had to make to get what I wanted, and I was okay with that, wasn’t I? I didn’t care about “feminine things” because that would lessen my credibility and have everyone questioning my intentions.

So I hid and suppressed it all, and I built a place for myself among the expectations and rituals of the powerful. And they let me have power. They listened to me now. I’d earned that.

That was real, right?

Our waltz continued, but I felt numb as the revelation sank deeper. My words barely came out in more than a whisper when I tried to argue. “Maybe that’s so, but I’ve worked so hard for that crown. If I give up while it’s made of sand, I’ll never be able to forge it into glass.”

“That’s where you’re mistaken.” Jericho shook his head, then he pulled me in close and dipped me low. “Your crown is made of diamonds, Sela. You’ve simply allowed the world to tell you it’s still but fragile shards.” He pressed a delicate kiss to my lips, and I let him do that too. He felt right against me, and the way he secured me so tightly to his chest felt safe and warm.

He wasn’t safe. He was still the devil king.

But maybe…

He pulled me back upright, never breaking our connection. I didn’t try to either. He was sweet and spicy vanilla and nutmeg, and his tongue was perfection in my mouth.

I lamented our separation when he stopped kissing me long enough to whisper softly against my lips. “In the realm of devils, no one disrespects their king.” He melded his mouth into mine again, and I savored that taste of the richest dessert that only Jericho could share with me. “And no one questions his power.” He speared my lips, and I skated my teeth over his tongue in response. His flavor was intoxicating, and I was drunk on his dominance. “Because this realm is carved in merit that no one can challenge. And you, Fraulein, have always been an indisputable queen.”

The dancing stopped, and the ballroom disappeared. We were alone now, somewhere new, just me and Jericho and my unshakeable haze. He walked me backwards, and my knees buckled when they touched the soft silk of a fine comforter. I fell backwards onto the bed, and he took the time to remove my heels, one at a time. The lord of the entire realm knelt before me, and he touched a soft kiss to the tops of each of my feet, before he approached me on the bed.

I let him press me down into the plush silk with his mouth, and I swallowed his sweet kisses, while he devoured my gentle moans. I let him possess me. I wanted him to. I wanted to know his body, his soul, and I wanted him to claim me on his bed. Why had I ever been fighting this? Why couldn’t I be his toy and his queen?

He climbed further on top of me, his knee between my legs, sinking into my oversized skirt of tulle and silk. His hands on my wrists, he pinned me beneath the weight of his body, and a sense of satisfaction and comfort flooded through me. His powerful muscles were security embodied, and his possessive grip painted me as precious and worthy of his protection.

He was the strongest man in Tartarus, and he was begging me to stand by his side as his equal.

Wasn’t that the ultimate victory?

He unhooked the front of my corset, then he stole his tongue from my mouth, so he could start fluttering kisses down my jaw line. He followed the side of my neck, pecked and nipped past my collar bone, then tapped the softest touches atop my breasts. I closed my eyes to better focus on the feeling. His touch was hot and wanting, like another devil I knew.

I laced my hands through his soft auburn hair, then gripped each of his thick horns for purchase.