Page 9 of The Labyrinth

“I’m taking off my shoes. I want to feel the grass. You’ve taken everything away from me. You can give me this moment.”

I wanted to tear her away, and drag her off to the camps. How dare she try to tellmewhat I needed to do? She had forgotten her place. But the nasty weed taking root within me whispered sweet nothings into my ear, the quiet seeds of doubt growing quickly. What did it hurt to give her this moment before a lifetime of misery? If we got to the camps late, it was only her ass that would be hurt, not mine.

I gave her a brusque nod. “Be quick about it.”

She didn’t bother to look at me again, just continued to unlace her boots. The streets were quiet, empty because it was supper time. Even if it hadn’t been, the roads had grown more and more quiet with all the unrest of late. It wasn’t safe to be out anymore unless you had protection, which not everyone did. But if anyone had seen me, with the dirt-covered girl taking her shoes off in the middle of the street, they would’ve thought I had lost my damn mind. Which to be fair, maybe I had. Maybe something in my brain broke the moment I had locked eyes with Rissa, her bright gaze boring into my soul, daring me. Challenging me. If only she knew what I was capable of. She would learn soon enough.

Her boots were unlaced now, and with a careful elegance, she placed her foot onto the grass. Captivated, I watched as her eyes closed. She smiled and sighed. The other foot followed, finding its way to the grass, and her smile spread. Was she…was she actually smiling right now? Did she realize she had been kidnapped? I knew she was clueless as to what was coming, but maybe she was even more dense than I thought. Or maybe she just didn’t care. As I watched her enjoy something she had never experienced before, that poison spread through my veins, finding purchase in bits of my body I had never before realized existed. It wasn’t safe having her around. I needed to get her to the camps and be done with her, until she was dealt with and ready for me. But this woman, Rissa, the way she didn’t care and cared all too much, she wasn’t safe for me to be around. She was a venom, injected directly to my bloodstream.

I needed to intervene before it was fatal. I grabbed her arm, pulling her to her feet. “Okay, you had your moment.” I dragged her down the street, toward the stadium that housed our camps.

Rissa twisted in my grip, swatting at my hand. Fortunately for me, it was no different than a fly, or a gnat, something easily brushed away. “Fucking jerk! What did it cost you to give me that? I need my boots. We have to go back.”

She was worried about those nasty things? Her boots were held together with rope and hope. It wasn’t exactly the biggest loss. “The camp will have what you need. I gave you time with the grass. And now that time is over.”

I kept a tight grip on her shoulder, dragging her as she fought and twisted, a feral cat in my grasp. She slapped my wrist, glaring up at me with a ferocity I wanted to abuse right then and there. I wanted to drop her to the ground, spread her legs, and see how long that glare would last. How long it would take for her anger to turn to screams to fade into moans. Because there was no doubt in my mind, she would moan for me. And those moans, mixed with her fearful screams…that was a combination I found absolutely tempting. “Let me go!”

“No. We’re almost there.” I tightened my hand around her shoulder, her flesh soft and supple beneath my touch. A sudden wave of wanting to bite her tender skin washed over me, lightning quick before I realized what I was thinking.She wasn’t safe to be around. Something about her was toxic to me, a sweet poison, drawing me in and infecting me. At least I still had a clear enough mind to realize what was happening.

“Let me walk! I’m not going to go anywhere! You’re hurting me.”

I looked down at Rissa’s twisted face, and a sick sense of pleasure flooded me.I’ll hurt much more than just your arm, deliciae. No. I needed space. Room to breathe. “You get one chance, otherwise I’m picking you up and carrying you the rest of the way.”

“Fine,” she snapped.

Appeased, I dropped her shoulder, admiring the redness I had left there. Everything about me was huge compared to her, and I derived a certain amount of satisfaction from that. I could hurt her in a moment. Crush her without thinking twice.

Rissa rubbed her shoulder, not looking up at me. “How far is this place? It’s going to be dark soon. According to someone, I shouldn’t be out after dark here.”

I pointed ahead of us, where the stadium was fast approaching. Thankfully, it was silent. It would’ve been difficult to get Rissa inside without a fuss if she had heard the screams normally echoing from its halls.

We walked in silence as the sun set behind us, and I tried not to think about how badly I wanted to make Rissa scream. I needed to put as much distance between us as possible, as soon as possible. Finally though, we reached the doors. I knocked.

“Who’s there?” came the muffled call.

“Ten,” I replied. “I have a new one.”

Latches and locks clicked as they were undone, and the door swung open in front of us. “It’s been a while since we had a new one.”

Rissa gasped as she took in who stood in front of us. Griffin was a deeper purple than I was, and years of fighting had taken one eye and half his horns from him. Sometimes he wore a patch to cover his empty socket, but right now it was uncovered, leaving the hole where his eye had once been, exposed.

He ran his lone eye over Rissa. “She’s pretty. She’ll do well.”

I didn’t like the way Griffin looked at her, admiring her like he might look at a meal. I didn’t like that he called her pretty. And if he wasn’t careful, friend or not, I was going to snap his wrist as he reached out to touch her.

Except I couldn’t, because she wasn’t mine.

She wasn’tmine.

Griffin was a friend. But I didn’t want him to lay a finger on her.

Thankfully, I didn’t have to. Rissa recoiled. “Don’t fucking touch me.”

Relief was sweet as Griffin stepped back with a laugh. “Feisty, too. Wonder how long that will last.”

I forced myself to join in his laughter, not wanting him to think something was wrong. “Hopefully long enough for us all to enjoy.”

A lie.I had lied.It was bitter and sharp on my tongue, an immediate reaction. I wanted to take the words back, and spit out the desperate truth, the one clawing its way to the surface, but I knew that wasn’t a good idea for myselforRissa. What was this woman doing to me? “Come along.” I pulled Rissa behind me, and Griffin closed and locked the doors.

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