Page 55 of The Labyrinth

I shook my head, despite him being unable to see it. “I’m not letting you deal with this alone.” We were a team, weren’t we? We shared the burden. And if he felt like they needed to be dealt with, then I would be there for him.

“What, you don’t want her to see you kill me? I just watched her kill another human with a hammer. I think she can handle a little violence.” Doyle waggled his eyebrows at me, and I suddenly felt very sick. I couldn’t let him see it though. I couldn’t let him know he had struck a nerve, played on the guilt that still lingered in my belly. I would be strong, untouchable.

Ten shrugged, an easy, carefree gesture so at odds with the situation. “I thought I would hurt you until you told me where the rest of the council is. I could pull your intestines out, inch by inch. I could very carefully open each vein in your arm until you bleed out over this alley, completely alone. I heard that’s an agonizingly slow way to die.”

“Mal left the city, and Neo is hiding out at home.” The words came out in a rush, all at once. “Just let me go. I gave you what you wanted.”

Ten scoffed. “That’s the thing about your council. You’re all about a better Labyrinth, a better world for monsters. But when push comes to shove, you turn on each other in an instant to save your own skin. It’s disgusting, really.” He reached out, and with a quick and efficient twist, snapped Doyle’s neck. He dropped with a heavy thud, and Ten kicked at the body. “You... you are the ones who make me ashamed to be what I am.”

He quickly turned to face me, placing his hands on my shoulders. “Are you okay? I’m so sorry you had to see that.”

I rested my hands on top of his. Surprisingly, I was okay. I felt nothing looking at Doyle’s crumpled body. Nothing except acceptance, and a quiet sense of reassurance that he wouldn’t bother me again. “I’m fine, Ten. That needed to happen.” I looked up into his eyes. “Now what?”

He looked down at me, taking me all in, making sure I was actually okay. “Now, we get Hades to deal with this mess, and go get you that donut you were looking at.” He stroked my cheek with his thumb. “Then we go and find the last two members of my father’s council and make sure none of them can touch you ever again.”

Chapter24

Ten

Rissa’s excitement over a donut so soon after she had watched me kill someone kind of made me laugh. I really should’ve made her leave the alley, especially considering it was her first day back on her feet, but she was insistent, and he had made me so mad. My father’s council disgusted me. They encouraged each other’s twisted worldviews, and then turned on each other when the going got tough. I might have changed things inside the Labyrinth that had been the same for years, but at least we had loyalty inside my council. At least we had each other’s backs.

I snagged one of the kids at the market, and had him run off to find Hades to deal with the body. It was noon, so he was probably at the bar. He wouldn’t be too hard to find. And me killing a man in the streets would be enough excitement to pull him away from whatever he was doing.

Rissa walked next to me, happily munching on her sugared donut. “I thought cake was the best thing I had ever eaten,” she mumbled through a full mouth, “but why didn’t you ever tell me about donuts?”

It was incredible to see her coming back into herself. I knew she still ached, still grieved, and that feeling would likely never go away. Killing someone changed you. But you adapted. You learned how to acknowledge it, accept it, and move through it. I shook my head. “I’m sorry. Please forgive me for not introducing you to donuts sooner.”

We strolled through Solaris, past my house. I was set on finding Neo today, and Rissa was quite insistent that I wasn’t leaving her back at home. So together we walked, one of us planning on killing for the second time today, one of us happily eating a donut. It was an odd juxtaposition, but I wasn’t about to complain and jinx anything.

Neo was the one who had drugged Rissa as Doyle carried her downstairs. As Griffin held me back, I watched him drop the chloroformed rag over Rissa’s mouth and nose, and watched her stop struggling. He would pay for that.

I felt bad for the last death. I really should have dragged it out a bit, for Rissa’s sake. Doyle deserved to suffer for touching her. His death was too quick, too painless. I wouldn’t make the same mistake again. “I’m sorry,” I muttered, not expecting the words to leave my mouth.

“For killing Doyle? Don’t be. It honestly makes me feel safer. Like he won’t be coming to look for me, and throw me back into the Cage.”

I grabbed her hand, pulling her close. “He won’t. None of them will. No one else will ever lay a hand on you again, that I promise you. But no, I’m sorry for killing him so quickly when he deserved to suffer for what he did to you.”

Rissa laughed quietly, leaning into me. “I don’t have to worry about him anymore. For that, I’m grateful, no matter how it happened.” She was quiet for a moment, popping the final bit of donut in her mouth. “Ettie would love these.”

“You should bring her some.” The words escaped me before I could stop them. I had told her we would visit her family, but that was before the Cage. I wasn’t sure how safe it would be for us both to leave the Labyrinth now. There was so much unrest. “I mean…”

She stopped, smiling sadly at me. “It’s okay. I’m not sure I’m ready to see them yet either. I’m not the same person I was when I left. What if they don’t accept me?”

My heart tightened, grieving for her. The thoughts racing through her mind must be destroying her. “They will. They’re your family, Rissa. They’ll love you no matter what. And if they don’t, then you still have me. You will always have a place here. Always. I don’t care how many people I have to kill to make you see that.”

“Will people acceptus, though?” she asked. She had a bit of sugar on her lips, and I wanted to lick it off, kiss her deeply.

“I don't care if people do or don’t. They can accept us, or they can leave.” I pulled her in front of me, staring deep into her eyes. “I mean that with every ounce of my being, Rissa. You and I, we’re meant to be. Now, come on. Let’s deal with this piece of shit so we can go home.”

I tugged on her wrist, and she followed me down the street, until I pulled her further forward. Despite the dynamic we had inside the house, and within the bedroom, she belonged at my side in everything else. I wanted to make sure everyone else was aware. I stopped in front of Neo’s house. It was similar to mine, built in a time of opulence and luxury. And if Doyle was to be believed, he was hiding away inside. I looked down at Rissa. “Do you want to wait outside?”

She shook her head, messy waves tossing from side to side. “No. Whatever is waiting for us inside is both of our problems.”

I fought to hide the smile spreading across my face, and headed up the stairs. I rapped on the door once, and an elderly butler answered the door. “Hello?” His face dropped into a mask of shock when he saw who was on his boss’ front stoop.

“Is your employer home?” I snapped. My anger grew inside me once more, having only dissipated mildly watching Rissa eat her donut. But it was there, waiting for Neo. I wouldn’t make the same mistake this time. Neo would suffer.

The butler nodded, looking wide-eyed between myself and Rissa. “He’s…um…he’s in the drawing room.”

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