Page 114 of Vipers and Vendettas
I put my hands up. ‘Of course not. I’m not a mindless killer, Jules. If he’s your friend, I’m not going to hurt him unless he makes a move to hurt you.’
She pats the huge dog’s head. ‘That’s fine then. Because you’d never do anything to hurt me, would you, my fluffy bear?’
As she coos to the giant, dangerous hell-beast, I wondered how we ever assumed she was human.Ever. How didn’t weseedespite the fae magick binding her? We were such idiots.
She comes to sit next to me on the bench as her hound gives a howl and runs off down one of the paths.
‘Not sure he needs much recuperation,’ I mutter sardonically as I watch it go.
‘He’s still limping,’ Jules says firmly.
I snort. ‘Does Maddox know that he has a pet hellhound for the foreseeable future?’ I quip, and she scowls at me.
‘Heislimping!’
‘Of course,’ I immediately concede. ‘Definitely lame on the one side. Obviously, he needs to stay here in the death maze for safety.’
She nods. ‘Obviously. Plus, the maze loves him. It gives him phantom smells to chase and let a deer in for him to stalk and kill.’
‘Enriching his demonic little life,’ I murmur.
‘Yes,’ she agrees, ‘it’s very altruistic. So much like I am with you and the clan, really. Maybe that’s why the maze likes me, too. Kindred spirits.’
I roll my eyes and grin at her. ‘So, you think you enrich our sad, demonic little lives, huh?’
‘I definitely do,’ she says. ‘For example, you haven’t taken any jobs since I came back.’
‘That’s true,’ I say, ‘I was just thinking that on the way up here.’
‘Why is that, do you think?’
‘Oh, I know why it is, my pretty little mate.’
Her cheeks heat at my endearment, and I put my hand on her tummy.
I let out a sigh. ‘My dad abandoned my mom when she was pregnant with my younger brother. Did you know that?’
She shakes her head. ‘I’m sorry. You have a brother?’
I nod. ‘I was too young to remember much about it, but my father didn’t have a clan. It was just her and him. But, when I say abandoned, I really mean he wasgone. No phone calls. No money. He just left her. Alone. No family. One kid. Another on the way. No income. Can you imagine?’
‘Kind of to be honest,’ she says. ‘But it was hard enough being on my own and pregnant without an older kid as well. What did she do?’
‘She somehow pulled it together. There was a friend of hers who would watch me while she worked three jobs until the night she gave birth. After that … I know it was hard for her. I heard her crying at night sometimes. I wanted to help, but I was only a little kid myself, you know?’
I take her hand, and she squeezes it.
‘I know it’s different,’ I say. ‘You have the others. It’s not just me and you, but I’d never leave you. I want you to know that, Jules. I don’t take those jobs anymore because putting myself at risk isn’t worth the adrenaline rush, the money, or the reputation I have. All that stuff means nothing. You and the baby are everything to me.’
There are tears in her eyes as she puts her head on my shoulder. ‘Thank you,’ she whispers. ‘It means a lot to me that?—’
She stops talking abruptly and sits bolt-upright.
‘What is it?’ I ask in alarm.
‘I don’t know. The maze is telling to me to run and,’ she stands up, looking this way and that. ‘Now it’s not telling me anything. I’ve got a bad feeling. Come on!’
She grabs my hand, and we run down one of the wide paths. ‘There’s something not right with the maze,’ she says as we round a corner and reach a dead end. ‘That wasn’t there before,’ she says quietly as she backs away and whirls.
