Page 24 of The Labyrinth

“Good. Take care of it. The last thing we need is a city full of weak people when the Ravens attack. It would be all too easy for them to take over if we aren’t all prepared. That means every single one of us.” I looked over to Fletch again. “I need you to make sure the women are prepared in case of a break in. You don’t need to arm them, but make sure they know what the Raven’s war face paint looks like, so they know who to fight.”

“I’ll get on it when I get back,” he muttered. “God knows some of those creatures would be all too happy to be given permission to throw a punch.”

I rested my hands on my pants, scratching my nails across the cotton material. The room felt too small. There wasn’t enough air. Was Rissa okay upstairs? Or should I make an excuse and go check on her? “Are we good then? We can meet again in two days time to see where we’re at.”

Jobs assigned, the men rose, and headed toward the door. All of them, except for Griffin. He lingered, taking a step closer to me. I watched him carefully, wondering why. The others were waiting at the door for him. I tipped my head in their direction.

“I’ll see you guys in two days,” he called over his shoulder. “I just have to clear up some half-human stuff with Ten, first.”

The door closed behind them, and Griffin returned to me. He seemed almost nervous. “Look…” he started. “Fuck. I don’t want to be having this conversation.”

“So don’t,” I offered. I wasn’t sure what he had to say, and I wasn’t sure I wanted to know, either. Whatever it was, it couldn’t be good.

He snorted. “Thanks for that. But, look, I don’t know what you’re doing with…her…but you need to be careful, okay?”

My heart froze. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.” He couldn’t possibly know about Rissa already, could he? No. It was impossible. Unless…

“Cut the shit, Ten. We’ve been friends too long.” Griffin shrugged his shoulder. “I couldn’t care less who you stick it in, but other people might. The city is looking for any reason to take you down. She might be that reason.” He slapped his hand on my shoulder, something only he could get away with. Anyone else would have their appendage chopped off. “Just make sure she’s worth it.”

Before I could muster up a retort strong enough to reflect how I felt, he was gone.Fuck. For fuck’s sake. I knew I hadn’t exactly been subtle about getting Rissa out of there like I had originally planned, but for Griffin to already know? Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. Fucking Blaze and his big mouth.

I peeked out the living room window to make sure they were gone before racing upstairs toward Rissa.

Maybe I had screwed us both with my selfish intentions, bringing her here. Maybe I had sentenced us both to death. Maybe nothing would come of it, and Griffin was talking nonsense about shit he didn’t know. Or maybe, he knew exactly what he was talking about, and I had fucked it all up.

Just make sure she’s worth it.

As I stood on the other side of the door, hearing Rissa stumble to her feet, knowing she had been waiting for me that whole time, Griffin’s words cycled around in my head. I couldn’t be certain. Not yet. But I had a feeling she was “worth it.”

There were ways “worth it”could be put to the test. I intended to try all of them.

Chapter11

Rissa

Had it been an hour since Ten left me, or only a few minutes? Time seemed to work funny outside of the village. It was as if I had been here for years, yet only just arrived. Ten and I seemed to have known each other for a lifetime, but it was only yesterday he walked into my life. I leaned against the door, the wood cool against my back. Later I would give him an earful for leaving me here. For now, I knew it wasn’t worth the risk.

Eventually, I grew bored and began to explore my surroundings. The room he’d left me in was quietly elegant. Stark white bedding, whiter than anything I had ever seen, covered the ornate bed. The windows were covered in heavy drapes, but when I peeked through them, I found a view onto the quiet streets of the Labyrinth, surprised they weren’t barred like my cell.

Soft conversation filtered up the stairs, men’s voices. And while Ten wasn’t exactly the safest person to be around, my experience with Grey made me nervous to interact with anyoneotherthan him.

And really, didn’t we all have a dark side? Maybe Ten’s was just a bit deeper than most, a shade typically hidden in the shadows of the world. But he had also offered me food, fed me from his fingertips. Would a bad person do that?

If they were trying to sucker you in…No. It wasn’t like that. Or maybe my hopeful thoughts were bubbling to the surface, wanting Ten to begood. Wanting my imaginary scenario to be real. I needed to keep my head on straight if I was going to survive this new world.

The front door opened and closed a few times, and after a couple silent moments, footsteps sounded on the stairs. I stumbled to my feet, legs stiff after sitting in one place for so long. If someone other than Ten was going to enter this room, I wanted to be ready.

The door wasn’t kicked open. A key slid into the lock, and I backed away. Ten stood on the other side, taking me all in. I shivered as he ran his gaze from the top of my head to the tips of my toes. It was electric, this feeling, knowing his attention was all on me. Knowing he wanted me. I knew I wasn’t imagining that. That was real. It was almost tangible, alive between us. He was beautiful, too. All rich purples and broad muscles, the lines of his face sharp like the stone that lined the house, and those wonderful dark horns twirling up to the ceiling.

He took a step closer. “I believe we were interrupted before, deliciae.”

I wanted to stay still, to press my body closer to his, but my instincts made me take a step backward. “Were we?”

“Yes.” Another step. A smirk pulled across his dark lips, and I could’ve sworn his eyes twinkled. He was enjoying this. The chase. The capture. “I believe you have some apologizing to do. What was that you screamed at me as I locked the door? Something along the lines of,fuck you, Master.”

Fuck. I was screwed. “I mean. I called you Master, though.” I tipped my head, and as an added measure threw on an extra, “Master.”

Ten shook his head. “I told you, Rissa. Respect is important to me. Cursing at me makes me think you don’t respect me.”

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