Chapter 34

The crackle of a portal buzzed through the castle, and I perked up from my throne. Pumpkin was fast asleep on my lap, and I'd nearly dozed off with him, despite a titillating show on my projection.

The Yellow Sector had been odd this year. The challenges were usually more akin to "cut off a finger—axe wielder's choice!" or "lay in a box of scorpions and don't scream!"—You know, fun things. Not "nail the girl to a wall and fuck her brains out," or "see how many times you can get her off with a vibrator and a whip." This sector was supposed to be hard choices. My pet must have been in a mood. Maybe I hadn't satisfied him thoroughly enough lately.

I lifted Pumpkin by his sides, and the plump little thing clung to my pant legs with his tiny claws as I tugged him from my lap. Whether Sela were to make it here in time or not, I was definitely keeping the cat. We'd bonded.

Setting the rotund miniature predator on the floor, I dusted off the shed fur and wandered over to the portal room to see what was amiss. It was always possible that it was just a servant tittering off to clean up the mess Sela was making, but my intuition told me that wasn't what this was about. Sure enough, the Orange Portal was the one crackling from recent use.

Next I stopped into Rai's room, where, as I suspected, there was no sign of my Minotaur.

Fancy that.

I hadn't ordered him to go back into the maze yet. This was all very odd indeed. Maybe I'd been letting my subjects run too far amuck this year. I wasn't worried about the girl actually making it through the maze—even if she did, I had no obligation to actually follow through with my promise, so it didn't matter. She was mine by decree, either way. But it was still a bit concerning that she was getting so close with all of her limbs intact.

I didn't want to be the one to hurt her, but why didn't anyone else want to hurt her? She should have been fighting for her life, when it seemed like both of the most dysfunctional deities I knew were fighting over who got to have her in their life. Quite frankly, I hadn't even realized that red haired bastard liked women .

And now Rai was acting outside his commands to meet her in the next sector, right after that questionable show of his Yellow Sector games. There was no way he fancied her too. He'd never been with a woman, let alone a human. The only things he'd ever run through another person were his horns. If even he started enjoying cute banter with my Fraulein, I was going to start worrying I'd picked too well.

To be honest, I was getting a little peeved watching everyone else having their fun and precious little conversations and bonding moments with her. Maybe it was time I stepped in too.

With a snap of my fingers, I created a portal for quick easy transport. I always left general teleportation options for Rai to use in my Portal room, but I preferred more direct movement for myself. And today, I knew exactly where I wanted to pop in.

In an instant, I was sitting cross legged atop the orange wall just above the door separating the Yellow and Orange Sectors. My tribute, my Little Nightmare, and the annoying fox approached cautiously. Sela was oblivious, but the other two, predictably, noticed my presence as soon as I'd arrived.

"You are spectacular, Fraulein. To think I had to bribe you to come here, and now you're wandering around with an entourage of the best and worst Tartarus has to offer." I smirked down at my subjects, eliciting a squeak and a jump from my darling Sela. Theron avoided eye contact, while the fox was unmoved by my entrance. The Olympus spy couldn't even be bothered to feign surprise. There was nothing I liked about Alessi.

"What can I say? I'm a magnet for terrible men." She shot back immediately, not missing a beat. I would have laughed, but Alessi laughed first, and I didn't want to be associated with an Olympus sense of humor either.

Theron gave her adequate side-eye, and I would much rather associate with that reaction.

"Really? We're the terrible ones?" The Dream Weaver shook his head with disgust.

"Is that an honest question?" Her ability to pick fun at my Little Nightmare, and his willingness to take it, was even more adorable in person.

"She has a point." The fox agreed, pandering to the woman for no obvious reason. That was more annoying in person "You lot are insufferable, but Sela is a breath of fresh air."

I shifted slightly in my seat, and it didn't escape my notice that both Theron and Alessi slid one foot ever so slightly forward, as if preparing for confrontation. Small, subtle, protective gestures that were incredibly telling. By the looks on their faces, I'd venture a guess that neither man even realized he'd done it. I'd expect as much from Theron by what I'd seen, but to have the fox on her side?

I definitely picked my tribute too well this time.

But it was still salvageable.

I snapped my fingers, and two portals took Alessi and Theron over to the other side of the Orange Sector door before they could so much as whine in protest. I'd let her keep her little posse for the coming sections, but I wanted some alone time with my tribute. It had been much too long that I'd been letting her run around unchecked.

Sela looked frantically back and forth at where her companions had once been, instant panic all over her lovely face. I jumped from the partition, and landed gracefully on my feet in front of her.

"What did you do to them?" My adorable button of a tribute always spoke with such hostility, while everyone else had been so calm and casual.

I liked that about her.

"They're just on the other side of that door, waiting for you to rejoin them. They'll be fine, I promise." I shook my head at her absurd worry, as if anyone was as vulnerable as she was in this realm. "But enough about them. I'm here for you."

"What do you want?" She took a step back, and I wasn't used to seeing her cower. But then, she'd been through a mildly eventful Labyrinth up until now.

"I'm just here to check in, Fraulein. No more, no less." I waved a hand dismissively. "It's been long enough since our last meeting that I would hate for you to forget about me in favor of lesser men."

"How could anyone ever forget you?" Her words were touching despite her sarcastic tone.

I placed my hand over my heart, moved by her sweet nothings. "You're too kind." I reclaimed the step between us she'd taken, and I lifted her chin to better align our eye contact. "So tell me, what's been your favorite part of the maze so far? Was it the Centimane? The disappearing walls? The whip?"

Her eyes narrowed, but she didn't retreat. "I liked the part where you were leaving me alone."

"Really? That was your favorite?" The corners of my lips ticked up, and I roughly and abruptly grabbed her by the waist to pull her against me. She stumbled but quickly caught herself with my support. "Are you sure it wasn't this?" I activated the vibrator Rai apparently had the mind to give her, and she immediately jerked back. I kept my hold firm to prevent her from buckling.

She bit into her lip, like she was trying to hate it, then fidgeted like she was trying to force it out of position, but I knew it had been well secured in a too perfect spot. The devil was in the details, and Rai was very passionate about his details .

Her cheeks flushed, and she held onto me despite herself. "S-stop." She muttered, and the whimper in her voice was too charming to ignore.

"Anything you wish." I snapped and transported the toy to my palm. Her heart was beating rapidly, but her breathing started to slow. She held onto me as she came back down from that forced high.

Sela squeezed her eyes shut, as if trying to black out her reality, bringing out the small creases in the corner of her eyes that followed the lines of her cheekbones.

Beautiful. I was so completely taken with her. Every line in her brow, her eyes, and around her mouth told a different story of a struggle or a triumph, and the way they accented her every expression gave her face such life and character. A woman with a little life experience, who was stronger and more mature and had built her confidence over decades, was so much more fun to shatter.

She parted her lovely lips as she inhaled, then she opened her azure doe eyes. When she noticed how sweetly she'd been clinging to my shirt, she jerked back. A pointless effort, as I still had a hand secure around her waist, and I wouldn't be relenting. I'd give her anything she wanted, except freedom from my grasp.

"I'm not giving up, you know. I'm going to make it through these last two sectors, and I'm going to get Pumpkin back." Always so determined.

I brushed a hand through her messy, post-coital hair, smoothing it out affectionately. "Of course you are." I shared my sweetest, most patronizing smile with the woman before I added, "because nothing holds you back, does it." That wasn't a question, because I'd never questioned her resolve. That fight was exactly what I counted on when I chose her. "How many barriers have you smashed through in your life, Fraulein? How many walls have you broken down, and doubts and fears have you spited by keeping your eyes up and on the prize?"

She stared at me in surprise, as if she hadn't expected the compliments. She was utterly speechless.

I shook my head, because that reaction was absurd. "The reason I picked you as a tribute is because you are a force to be reckoned with. Even when you're tired, scared, and feeling at your weakest, you don't quit, because the goal is always more important than temporary inconvenience. Isn't that magnificent?"

I loosened my grip, but she didn't try to pull away again. She stayed there, our gazes locked, and confusion painted in every shining light in her eyes.

"That's unexpectedly sweet for a man who's been actively trying to kill and humiliate me in a torture maze." Sela's lips were only pursed to fight the obvious smile.

"The devil never gives you more than you can handle, my dear."

She snorted and shook her head. "At least if I'm going to hell for laughing at that, you already made the commute easy."

Positively charming. The corners of my lips upticked, then I took a step back and let her stand on her own two feet.

"I'm always happy to aid in your journey towards corruption." I said as I took a bow.

The Twilight Clock ticked quietly overhead, and I couldn't help but think I'd underestimated her with a full seventy-two hours to get through the Labyrinth. It turned out that, when aided by my very own treacherous devil, and his very own untrustworthy angel, monumental tasks became a quick and easy breeze. But then again, their willingness to partner with her was ultimately a testament to her own worthiness. I considered robbing her of a few hours just to rattle her cute little constitution, but I was much too curious to see how this game would play out, and I was planning to savor the spectacle until the very end.

I held that brilliant soul connection between us for another extended moment, before I at last willed myself to leave.

"See you soon, Sela." I offered with one last snap of my fingers to open a new portal. I flashed back to the castle, and I settled into my throne room, where I enjoyed the theatrics of her holding her chest and straightening out her hair and clothing again. The physical confirmation that I'd rattled her sent a zip of joy through my heart.

Her attention shifted towards the large, imposing Orange door, and she took the first step forward.

My how I love this time of year.