Chapter 18

I scrambled off of Theron and caught my breath with desperation. While I was thankful he had saved me, I was still processing everything that just happened. I felt betrayed, angry, terrified, relieved, hopeful, and conflicted all at once. He got to his feet and dusted off, amidst a backdrop of dark green walls thick with ivy. His expression appeared unbothered, like nothing was said, and I had no reason to look at him any differently.

"Was all of that true?" I asked, needing that confirmation, but not wanting to jump to conclusions. If there was any chance it wasn't, I wanted to give him the opportunity to explain himself.

"Was all what true?" Theron dismissed the obvious, and that only made me more angry. I would have rather he just owned it than pretend it hadn't happened.

"The stuff about intentionally misleading me and making sure I didn't make it to the castle. That your job was to make me fail." I managed the words, but the lump in my throat was thicker than it should have been. I absolutely didn't trust him, but… well, I guess I wanted to. His only offense was purely imaginary, and I didn't entirely hate traveling with him.

He was more helpful than I'd given him credit for with both the big and small gestures to keep me safe and moving. No one had ever done anything like that for me, and maybe I was being over-sensitive simply because I was so used to the bare minimum.

But he wasn't showing me the bare minimum or even the bare medium. The guy was going above and beyond, while telling me he didn't care.

I wanted to say I'd misjudged him, but what if I hadn't? Suddenly I felt like I'd been falling for a customer service smile, when he was talking shit about me to his coworkers as soon as I was out of earshot.

So dumb. How bleak was real world dating that a man with devil horns and a scar drawn smile, who casually burns people alive no less, was the first man in a decade to finally break down my barriers?

Bleak enough that Jericho got me here, I suppose.

"Of course that was true." He rolled those electric blue eyes, and the lightning in his irises sparked through the motion. "Why else would I be travelling with you? Because I just enjoy your company so much? Because I'm so taken with one of the ten thousand weak humans I've come across? Don't be ridiculous."

"Then why did you help me?" My voice was barely more than a whimper. I really was pathetic.

"Because I had to. If I didn't, you would have died, and then I would have failed, and Jericho would be incredibly annoying about it." He wouldn't look at me as he spoke anymore, and somehow that made it all feel disingenuous. Or maybe I just wanted to believe in him that badly. "Why are you surprised? I already told you I'm just here to keep you alive, not to help you along."

"What about the hints about navigating the purple section? Or opening the door to the blue one? What about holding my hand and keeping me warm?" Now I was bargaining for his feelings. He was showing me who he was, and I didn't want to believe him. Maybe one day I'd learn love and respect was something that was supposed to be given freely without being asked for. No matter how old I got, I still lived in that same toxic cycle. Recognizing it never seemed to change it.

"I only did that because you were never going to figure it out on your own, and you were shivering too much, and it was irritating." He attempted, waving a hand dismissively. "I'm only so patient, Butterfly."

"But it would have served your mission better to just have me endlessly searching for the entrance to the maze, wouldn't it?" This argument was too easy to poke holes in. "Why say anything at all? I wouldn't have been in danger circling the maze, and Jericho would have won with no required effort from you." I glanced down at his abdomen, where a visible burn still lingered on his skin from where he'd been gored. Yet another hit he took in my stead. "You wouldn't have gotten hurt for me."

"W-well." He stumbled, still not making eye contact. "I would have gotten bored if you didn't at least make some progress. Seventy-Two hours is a long time to watch someone flounder on step one. Helping you do simple things doesn't mean I was going to get you through."

"And the marks on my arms?" I demanded next, thrusting both forearms forward with every dot from every nail on display.

His Adam's apple bobbed, and he tugged at the scarf draped over his shoulders and chest. "Why are we even having this argument? I just told you the truth, and you're trying to make it into a lie for your own comfort and ego." Funny how he was so quick to try to change the subject. "Your delusions don't change reality."

"It matters because you're the only friend I have in this place." I shouted in exasperation, louder than I'd intended. Because I was used to men saying they loved me while treating me like garbage, and not used to men claiming to not care, while treating me like something precious. I cursed every synapse in my brain that couldn't just find a guy who treated me like he cared and openly admitted it. Why I was so ready to fight every uphill battle for affection, like love was just one more me-against-them challenge to conquer.

Theron's eyes widened near imperceptibly, then he closed them hastily. "I'm not." He said, slow and steady. At long last, he met my gaze again. "I'm a devil just like everyone else in this realm. I'm not anyone's friend."

I shook my head in flagrant denial. "Bull shit." Despite knowing better, I refused to back down now. His argument was weak, and I didn't have anyone else to help me through this. As badass and independent as I might have felt in the corporate world, I had none of those illusions in a death trap full of magic. I was woman enough to admit when I'd been humbled, at least in this extreme situation.

"Believe what you want. But if you're going to keep following me around, then don't be surprised if you don't make it to the castle and lose your precious little Pumpkin because you were foolish enough to believe in me."

I knew it. "So you're not even going to abandon me now? You're going to keep helping me out and protecting me while pretending you want nothing to do with me? What are you going to do? Wait until I'm at Jericho's doorstep to tie me up?"

"I'm not having this conversation." Naturally he avoided that, too. "Can we go now?"

"Go? Go where? The right direction? Are you my guide now? Just going to show me the way and murder any monsters that threaten me?" I pushed again, and that made his face twitch.

"Is that a problem?" His frankness took me aback, and I just stared at him, open mouthed, like a dumb fish. "Here's how I see it. You can take that newfound knowledge and brave the Labyrinth alone from here, with no risk of me betraying you and only your own strength to rely on in our realm of fucked up immortals, or you can ignore it, let me fight off all the monsters, keep you out of harm's way, and give you pointers, so when you get to the end, you're as alive as you are bitter and disappointed. Your choice, Butterfly."

I had no rebuttal. This was confusing as fuck. The signals weren't even mixed. They were clear as day, the terms were spelled out in big block letters, and I still didn't know what to think.

"Now if you're done freaking out, the way to the Yellow Sector is this way. I hate this place, and I'd like to move on." He said way too nonchalantly .

"Okay." I squeaked in defeat.

"That's what I thought." Theron chuckled, and the smile returned to his face. That expression suited him. The scars that split his cheeks made every grin appear oh so vicious, but if you looked a little closer, the real, honest, gentleness was easy to see. He started walking deeper into the Green Sector, staying ahead of me this time, putting himself between myself and any obstacles that might arise. It was a quiet gesture that meant more than he probably realized.

Or maybe it was just one more thing I was reading into more than I should.

I frowned as I caught up to him. Nothing was resolved, and I was still fuming, yet I followed him because what other choice did I really have?

I had no idea what this segment was going to consist of, but I'd be damned if I was going to brave it alone. Actions spoke louder than words, they always told me. Today, I'd trust his actions. Maybe tomorrow, he'd reconsider his words.

I walked just subtly behind him, and we started navigating the twists and turns with careful precision. The rows felt particularly narrow in this section, between the tall grass at our feet, and the overgrowth of ivy along the walls. The temperatures had returned to something livable, however, bordering on tropical and humid, and I didn't mind sweating a little. The halls smelled like a mossy forest, while I vaguely detected something akin to lilac in the distance. Every stretch felt so different. I knew there were dangers, and of course I was on edge, but the fact that this place looked more like spring time than hell lulled me into a sense of security.

"How's your leg?" Theron asked, still scanning ahead of us. I wasn't about to mention that he was supposed to be letting me lead, so I could fuck this whole thing up, and he could just watch on the sidelines.

"My leg?" It took a ten count before the reasoning for his question dawned on me, and my eyes widened at the realization. I'd been so hopped up on adrenaline, and then so angry at Theron, that I'd totally forgotten I'd taken an icicle through my shin. How it was possible to forget something that should have crippled me had me frozen in my tracks.

"Yes, your leg. You've been walking and moving fine since we got here, so I'm assuming it's not bothering you." He knitted his brows together, while I remained at a total loss for how to respond to that.

I glanced down at my calf, and I examined the area where Theron had cauterized the wound. At least I was pretty certain I was looking at the right spot. It was hard to say, since there was no sign of a gash or a burn or anything. Blood had crusted over on my skin and dried in a dark reddish brown, serving as the only verification that it had happened.

"It's… fine." I spoke through heavy pauses. "It's fine?" I asked next, like I was waiting for him to explain what magic caused this. "Why is it fine?" I nudged him, in case he didn't pick up on my confusion the first time. In hindsight, I also no longer felt the bumps on my head from hitting into overhangs in the violet section, or the scrapes on my legs from my time in the bone pile.

Theron rubbed the place on his abdominal muscles where his own burn was still healing. The scabbed over hole was nearly gone, but it was still slightly visible. Conversely, mine was completely healed .

"I don't know." The expression on his face was conflicted yet nondescript at the same time. I had no clue what he was thinking, but I gathered he was genuinely baffled.

"What do you mean you don't know? How do you not understand how this place works when you've been around since ‘the dawn of consciousness.' " I said mockingly, recalling the last time he'd bragged about how old and decrepit he was, like that made him so wise and authoritative.

"I mean ‘I don't know.' " He repeated. "I feel like half our conversations are me repeating myself to you. Try to keep up." With that, Theron paced over to me, and he forcefully grabbed my wrist. I jerked on instinct, not knowing what his goal was, but he effortlessly lifted my hand to his face, and he held it there with his superior strength. I was about to give him a piece of my mind, when he leaned forward and took my index finger into his mouth. He used his tongue to hold it in place, then he drew me in to the second knuckle.

"W-what are you—" My whole body heated, and I stared into his eyes with a hint of panic. Instantly my mind flashed back to the nightmare on the table, and all too vividly, my knees buckled at the reminder of how he'd felt on top of me.

Just as quickly as he'd riled up my imagination, a sharp pain shot through my finger as his fangs broke skin. He kept my finger cradled on his tongue for several more seconds before he drew my hand back out of his mouth, holding my wrist captive all the while.

Then we both watched as the puncture on my fingertip healed itself.

"Fascinating." He blinked rapidly, processing it all. I didn't know how to make heads or tails of it. "Maybe you don't need me after all."

He released my wrist and stepped away. There was no emotion betrayed on his face.

Without further explanation, we resumed navigating this lush section of the Labyrinth, and I just walked along quietly, at a loss for words and an even bigger loss for understanding.

The lush vegetation was the only comfort to my spinning mind. This sector was beautiful, honestly. It felt so peaceful and nonthreatening. The walls were alive with the brightest greens, and the grass felt so soft and springy beneath my otherwise aching feet. It made me want to stop for a picnic. Maybe sit down on a nice blanket, eat a sandwich, drink some wine, let him feed me a few strawberries. I'd been walking for quite some time now. It would be nice to get a rest soon.

I glanced at Theron's back, where those light scars criss-crossed down his body. They were barely visible unless you were in the right lighting, but they were most certainly there.

How did one scar a devil? If they were immortal and instantly healed even when they were completely gored through, what kind of weapon or circumstance would result in permanent marks? They weren't tattoos. That Rai character had tattoos, and the difference was distinct.

I considered asking him about it, but I thought better of it. What if it was from something traumatic? We weren't really friends, anyway. He told me as much, so I was certain he wouldn't be confiding in me with his darkest struggles. I was accepting that he felt nothing for me at face value, apparently .

I rounded another bend, lightly brushing some leaves in the process. The soft, fuzzy underside of the vines bristled against my bicep. I took a few more steps, when I felt another vine graze my ankle. I stepped away from the wall, trying to avoid touching more of this overgrowth. It was ivy after all. It was probably full of spiders, and like any sensible human being, I fucking hated spiders.

A leaf grazed my cheek out of nowhere, and I pivoted away, slipping towards the other wall, where I felt the gentle caress of a fuzzy stem moving up and down my thigh. Was there a breeze rustling the leaves?

"Hey, Theron. What's with the pla—" A thick vine filled my open mouth, cutting me off and yanking me into the thick, bushy wall. I would have screamed if I'd been able, but instead I found my vision blurring and my consciousness fading rapidly. Immediately, thorns broke skin and started slicing rings around my biceps, my legs, my waist, and my neck.

Instant panic sent me thrashing, while the pain was quickly turning into numbness. The vines gripped me roughly, while continuing to feed leaves down my throat to cut off my screams, and tightening around my neck to cut off my lungs. Needle like spikes on every thorn sunk in and started sucking the blood from every point of penetration. My attempts to fight back were met with restraints, and the ivy manhandled me into compliance.

My blurred vision turned green as I was dragged into the thicket. My blood mixed with the morning dew on the leaves, while crimson stained the stems and vines.

Then a loud shriek rang out, and I fell backwards on my ass in the middle of the Labyrinth floor. I caught myself on my elbows, hyperventilating, dripping in blood, and completely disoriented. My vision cleared, and the feeling of plush, scratchy grass brushing against my legs had me scrambling to my feet, not wanting any of these plants to touch me anymore.

Just like before, the cuts started closing rapidly, and like so, so many times now, I looked to the platinum haired devil who was glaring down at me with all of his pity, a hand on his hip, and a sigh in his throat.

"Literally all you have to do here is not touch the walls. It's not that hard. Clear?"

"Sir, yes sir." I mumbled with my head down and embarrassment burning through me. That didn't seem so tough, really. It would have been nice if he'd thought to mention that sooner, but god forbid anyone give me a hint or two to keep me untraumatized.

I barely managed to compose myself again, when I noticed the rustling sound in the distance. I glanced down the next bend, where a man with deep red hair, a tail, and something akin to cat ears rested on a bench. He leaned back into the wall, and that vague scent of lilac was immediately overtaken by the moss. The vines tangled and coiled around his every limb, just as they'd done to me.

"Shit." I started running, hoping to help him from suffering the same fate.

Theron, however, groaned behind me. "Leave it." He snapped, like that was in any way an option.

I shook my head, not even entertaining that suggestion. "We have to help him." I called back. I knew I should have listened, but it seemed so wrong to let an innocent devil die, when I'd been rescued left and right. I couldn't turn a blind eye right after someone had just helped me .

I was probably going to regret it—I knew that—but that was a risk worth taking. Any creature powerful and deadly enough to be a threat to the two of us wouldn't have fallen subject to such a trap. And anyone defenseless enough to make the same mistakes I did deserved mercy.

Theron started through the grass to catch up to me, and I was grateful he was on board with helping after all. Just one more indicator that he wasn't as cruel and heartless as he claimed to be.

Even if, under his breath, I may have heard a very disgruntled "Goddammit, Butterfly."