Page 43 of The Labyrinth

Ten saw something in me, something I wasn’t even sure I saw myself. I had spent so long worrying and caring for my family, I had forgotten what it was like to have needs of my own. That it was okay to be my own person. To remember who I was, every once in a while. Because before the dust had gotten worse, and before my father had died, and before Ettie, I’d had dreams, too. I’d had dreams of getting out of the village. Of dust not being the only thing I ever saw. I knew there had to be somewhere out there in the world that wasn’t dust.

The funny thing was I had found it in Ten. I had left the village. I had found a home that wasn’t dust, a life where I could remember what it was like to be myself. The only thing missing now was my family. A pang of longing shot through my chest. I had everything I’d ever wanted, except for them. I even missed Lars. Ten seemed to be in a good mood tonight, content even. Now was a good of time as ever.

“I want to visit my family.” The words choked in my throat, coming out quieter than I intended. I tried again. “I want to visit my family.”

“Hmm…” Ten hummed, running his hands across my shoulders, dripping the hot water down my arms, a reminder of the sins that lingered there. I had left my family to the dust, after all. I didn’t know what Ten would say. “Okay.”

I immediately jumped on the defensive. “I wouldn’t go back to stay, of course. I just miss them. And I—wait. What did you just say?” I spun around in the bathtub, water sloshing over the sides.

Ten smiled at me. “Okay. But, I go with you. And we go at night.”

I nodded eagerly. “Okay. I just…I can’t believe you said yes. I was ready for a fight.”

“I told you I wanted you to be happy, and I meant it.”

I leaned forward to kiss him, but stopped midway when there was a loud knock at the front door. “Are you expecting Griffin?”

“No.” He lifted me off him, getting out of the tub. The banging at the front door was loud and insistent, rattling my core with every knock. Something wasn’t right. Maybe the Ravens were in the city again, and he would have to leave and go fight. Ten wrapped a towel around himself. “Stay here.”

But before he could leave the room, we both heard the front door fly open, smashing against the wall. Someone was inside the house. Blood rushed to my head, filling my ears with a vibration I couldn’t control.

“Fuck,” Ten muttered. He grabbed me and hauled me out of the tub dripping wet, dragging me to the bedroom. “I need you to stay quiet, okay? Whatever you hear, don’t make a fucking sound.”

I nodded, shivering. Ten shoved me into the wardrobe. All at once it was dark. I could hear though, and there was a tiny sliver of light that peeked through the doors. My eyes adjusted to the shadowy wardrobe as footsteps thundered up the stairs. More than one, for sure. My heart was pounding almost as loudly as the footsteps. All I knew about the Ravens was that Ten hated them, and didn’t want them anywhere near me.

The door to my bedroom flew open with a crack. There was silence for a moment, and then Ten growled deep in his throat. “What the fuck areyoudoing here?”

“Ten, I…” I knew that voice. I just couldn’t place it. I tried to wiggle closer to the crack in the door to see if I could make out who it was.

“Where is she?” I didn’t recognize that voice, but I didn’t think someone Ten knew would be with the Ravens.

“Where iswho?” Ten snapped. His voice was deadly quiet, a low pitch even I hadn’t heard from him before. “You better have a damn good reason to be breaking into my fucking house.”

“Ten, they know, okay? They know abouther.” The voice snapped into place as soon as I heard it again, an attempt at reassurance.Griffin.

“We’ve heard reports you’re keeping one of the breedable girls in your home. Of course, that just wouldn’t do. The only reason to keep a human in your house is as a pet. Your father would’ve taught you that, no?”

The smack of fist against flesh cracked through the air. “She isn’t here. Now get the fuck out of my house.”

“Restrain him.” I couldn’t make anything out through the crack in the door, but the sounds of more punches were clear. Some kind of fight was going on out there, and my heart was two sizes too big for my chest as I waited to hear the outcome.Please let Ten be okay.Ten grunted, and something loud hit the floor. “Search the room.”

Fuck. I pressed up against the back of the wardrobe, trying to make myself as small as possible.

“You won’t fucking touch her!” Ten bellowed. “You won’t lay a fucking hand on her, because she’s not here anymore. She ran away. But even if she was here, you wouldn’t touch her. Not one fucking finger.”

Smaller. I needed to get smaller. I tucked myself behind a dress, trying to ignore the stomping around the room. Ten was still talking, which was good. He wasn’t unconscious.

Footsteps grew closer to the wardrobe, but a sudden scuffling cut them off. Someone heavy dropped to the floor. “I thought I told you to fucking restrain him?” A deep sigh, filled with disappointment. “I really expected more from a Furie.”

Both wardrobe doors were flung open, and the ugliest beast I had ever seen stared at me through the clothing. I pressed myself further away.

“Found her,” the beast called. He reached for me, and I swung a punch right to his meaty nose.

“Get the fuck away from me!” I snarled, kicking at his arms as they stretched closer and closer again. “Don’t fucking touch me!”

He wrapped his hands around my arms anyway, pulling me out of the wardrobe with relative ease, even though I bucked and twisted in his arms. In my room, there were four men I didn’t recognize. Griffin stood off in the corner, looking worried. Ten was on his knees, a knife held to his throat. These men weren’t Ravens, of that I was certain. Ten struggled to get to his feet once he saw me, and the knife dug deeper into his neck until a drop of blood ran down his shoulders. I paused when I saw the blood. “Get your fucking hands off her unless you want to die,” Ten snapped.

“Ten,” I murmured. He needed to stop moving before they hurt him worse. I didn’t want him to get himself killed. “Ten, it’s okay.”

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