Page 47 of Let Me Win You

But first, I had to protect her.

A thick, black tendril slithered along the wall like a snake. It lashed out, reaching for her.

“Stay back, Nic!” I grabbed her in my arms, snatching her away from the filthy soul of a damned one.

She cried out in shock, clinging to my neck.

“What is that thing?” She glared back at the wall.

The soul flattened itself against the rock once again, becoming nothing but a stain.

“Just someone on their way to hell, dearest.” I tried to keep fear out of my voice, but it wasn’t easy.

Fear I’d never experienced before rolled through me in sickening spasms. For the first time in my existence, I fully realized how devastatingly fragile a mortal body was and how much pain and suffering it could cause to the soul inside it—to my Nic.

“What do they want with me?” she asked.

To drag you down along with them.

But I couldn’t tell her that. She seemed terrified enough already.

“Just ignore them,” I said. “Try to keep as far away as possible from the walls. In fact, I’ll carry you from here on.”

I settled her more comfortably in the crook of my arm, and she didn’t protest, keeping an arm around my neck.

“How long do you think it’ll take us to get out of here?” she asked in a subdued voice. Despite my best efforts, she was afraid.

“I’m not sure. I can sense where the exit is, but I don’t know how many turns and passages it will take for us to get there, especially since the maze has shifted.”

“Well, at least you have the sense of direction. Because I have nothing. I’m not even entirely sure where the floor and the ceiling here are. If you told me the maze flipped upside down and we’re walking on the roof now, I’d believe you. I’d be so lost without you.” She picked up a lock of my hair and wound it around her finger. “You’re not allowed to part from me, Invi,” she said softly.

“I’m not intending to. Ever.”

I held my breath, waiting for her to remind me that she was leaving when Avar returned to Purgatory. But she just hugged my neck tighter with a sigh.

After taking a few turns, following one endless corridor after another, I tried to estimate how long we’d been in the maze already. It definitely must be past lunchtime. Probably close to dinnertime soon. A human could survive without food for a while, but they wouldn’t last long without water.

There was some groundwater in the maze, but we’d have to descend to the level below to find it, which meant making a detour and risking losing any lead I might have over my brothers.

As if sensing my thoughts, Nic asked, “Do you think your brothers are okay? I lost Gul out of sight quickly. But I saw Ira fighting minotaurs before I fell.”

“My brothers will be fine. They’re immortal, remember? The worst that can happen to them is that the souls of the damned would drag them to hell.”

Her eyes opened wider. “And what happens then?”

“They’ll have to find their way back up if the demons let them. Meanwhile,” I smiled, “I’ll win.”

“Are you sure you’ll win this thing?”

“I have no choice. I have to win. And I have my eyes on the prize.” I held her gaze until she laughed.

The ground trembled. The screeching sound of walls moving announced that the maze was being rearranged once again.

“Oh, shit.” Nicole tensed in trepidation.

This time, however, instead of closing in on us, the walls of the passage shifted away from each other, making the space wider. Several more walls appeared up ahead of us. They formed three different corridors for us to turn into. All three seemed equally dark and menacing.

“Where to now?” Nic asked.

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