Chapter 47

A cold wet nose nudged against my forehead, then a warm but scratchy tongue licked my cheek. I pried my eyes open, half expecting to see Pumpkin trying to wake me up for his morning wet food, confirming that this whole thing had all been a wild fever dream, but because I lived in constant disappointment, instead I was faced with the forest where I'd started. My clothing was still disheveled, and my shoes were theoretically still on Jericho's bedroom floor.

And the tongue on my face? That belonged to the giant red fox sitting by my side.

"You're not my kitty," I muttered, certain I was losing my mind. The animal changed shape before my eyes, and Alessi crouched beside me.

Right. Duh. Alessi. I knew everyone called him a fox, but despite his cute, partially-shifted animal accessories, I somehow still imagined it was more of a metaphor.

"No, I'm not. But you are definitely my pussy." He said with a snort, and somehow I felt light enough to laugh with him. He helped me to my feet, and I started smoothing out my dress and hastily re-latching the front of my corset. Because exposing myself to a guy who's already fucked me was obviously the most pressing issue at hand.

I glanced around to survey my predicament.

"What happened? Where are we?"

"Back in the Senseless Forest." Alessi swatted off a small mosquito like thing as it buzzed around his face. One of those biting fairies, no doubt.

My stomach dropped. "How did I get back here? We… we were just in the Red Sector. We were almost done." I knew I was whining, but the feelings were overwhelming.

"You don't remember? Was it that nice of a dream?" His half smile and the clear implication wasn't lost on me.

"Theron did this?" I asked the question, as if he hadn't told me up front—promised even—to stop me from reaching the castle in time. Like he hadn't reminded me that he had to betray me, even as he made love to me in the shower.

"Try not to hold it against him." Alessi tapped his chin like he was pondering the statement. "Or do. I have for hundreds of years. Theron is bound to the king. He's never really had a choice."

I nodded, knowing I should be angry, but instead feeling oddly unbothered by the whole thing. The day I started complaining about a man being too honest and going through with his promises was not going to happen in this lifetime, even if those promises weren't what I wanted them to be.

This place wasn't that black or white. None of us were. My motives were straight forward, sure, but my feelings were much more complicated now. I was surrounded by viciousness, brutality, and psychopaths, and yet I felt more bonded to these men than I had in any relationship I'd ever had in the past. Even Jericho, who just sent me back to the beginning of the Labyrinth—because apparently he liked both me and my cat too much to let us leave—felt more playful than truly diabolical.

I guess that spoke more to my own mentality than anything. I had a bad habit of focusing on the men who made my life a constant challenge. I'd always made my entire personality showing others they were wrong to doubt me. This was no different. The only way this varied was in the sense that Jericho constantly complimented me along the way, even encouraging me to keep going, and promising me support and greatness. He presented the challenge, and I couldn't tell if he wanted to see me pass or fail.

Theron sabotaged me and supported me at the same time, but assured no outside force was allowed to hurt me.

Alessi oddly seemed to revel in my success, as if his greatest joy was in watching the walls of Tartarus get knocked down.

And Rai was the man who wanted to see me fall, only to unwillingly be won over by my perseverance.

I should hate them all for various reasons, but instead I loved what they brought out of me, and how they'd pushed me to be better. That perhaps wasn't a healthy relationship, but was it okay for it to be the one that spoke to me? Maybe we were all fucked up, and maybe that was what made me feel most alive.

When I conquered this realm, took back Pumpkin, and returned home, I might even miss this place, where life was never dull, and these men—despite their own unquestionable positions of power, who could have silenced and squashed me at any time—made space for me. How silly it was to covet the approval of the demons.

"Is that why you kept by him? Despite all of the years of knowing he'd never choose you first?"

Alessi shook his head. "He's always chosen me first. His obligations simply delayed the timing." He ruffled my hair playfully. "Though this time around, I'm not the only one he's choosing anymore. Let's head back to the castle, Bijou."

I nodded in understanding, then I turned towards the maze in the distance.

A small bite pricked my arm, and I swatted the little fairy. My hearing dulled and my vision faded, but both returned almost immediately.

Now, with Rai's blood in my veins, I was immune to their poison. He'd made me powerful and untouchable.

I smiled on the thought.

I needed to find him. I needed to get back to the Labyrinth and save Pumpkin once and for all.

"Do you need a ride?" Alessi asked before he shifted back into fox form. The massive furry animal tipped his snout to offer me his back. With the added speed, we'd make it in no time .

I climbed atop the large, furry, red canine, and I settled on his shoulders with my fingers gripping his luscious fur. He started to run, and I held on tight.

Alessi tore through the forest, while I tucked in tightly to duck beneath branches.

A large, bulbous larvae fell on me from its vantage point overhead, and I tore it from my shoulder and threw it into a passing tree. It exploded in a spectacular burst of green. I smiled at the morbid and absurd thought that its death matched my dress.

As we ran, I heard footsteps beside us. They matched Alessi's steps perfectly, falling into his rhythm in expert time. The scent of pine and walnuts filled my nostrils, and Rai sprinted ahead of us, clearing the path with the force of his horns. He charged forward until we were on the other side of the forest. The clock was still ticking overhead.

Five hours left. I still had time.

"How fast can you get us through the Labyrinth?" I asked Rai as we neared those violet walls.

He laughed. "How many times do I have to tell you? I am the Labyrinth."

The stone lost its color in front of us. Gaps appeared in the walls where they once were hidden, and the magic of the Violet Sector had all but completely disappeared. Alessi followed Rai's skillful guidance, while I remained atop his back, enjoying the rest and relief.

Rai effortlessly weaved through every turn and corridor, and he broke through every door. The Blue Sector had lost its frost. The Green Sector was absent of its plants. The Yellow Sector, its riddles. We were half way through the Orange jungle, and only two hours had ticked by.

There were two and a half hours left when we arrived in the Red Sector.

More than enough.

Rai continued to lead the way. Though the rest of the maze had lost its color under Rai's restricted magic, this segment was still deeply stained in red. The blood never washed off of these walls.

Our navigation slowed as the scarlet cobblestone became rougher and steeper, but it was only another hour before we arrived at the spiral stairway that wrapped around the castle.

There, sitting on the bottom step, was a familiar face.

"I figured I'd be seeing you soon." Theron said, his electric sparked eyes locked with mine.

Rai stepped forward. He braced himself, ready for a fight. "Move, Dream Weaver."

"Are you sure that's what you want?" Theron asked through a half smile. "You'd ask me to step aside so the tribute can face down the king with time to spare?" He glanced up at the clock that ticked down to one hour and fifteen minutes. "I could stall you here and let you pretend you stopped her if you prefer. Jericho would surely reward you for your loyalty."

Rai scoffed, but I said nothing, not wanting to lead an answer.

"Move." He repeated sternly .

Theron smiled, stood, then stepped aside. "Maybe you're not the most pathetic devil to ever live." He acquiesced with uncharacteristic grace.

"And maybe you're not the most insufferable." Rai rolled his eyes with a petulant smirk.

"Doubtful." Alessi said upon a sudden shift into human form. He caught me in his strong arms before I could hit the ground, then squeezed me to his chest. He held me there, filling me with that extra injection of love and confidence, before setting me down on my own two feet. "Now if you two are done posturing, the Twilight Clock is still ticking."

"Not yet." Theron shook his head, then he approached me. Before I could say a word—chastise him, forgive him, thank him: I wasn't sure what that word might have been—he got down on one knee, and he dropped his head. His platinum hair shone under the morning sun, offering a brightness that starkly contrasted his black horns. "I'm sorry." He began. "You called me a friend, when I've never been anything but the darkness in your light. When you stand against the king, I'll stand beside you. Should you fail, I'll continue to stand beside you every day and every night to assure you're safe, so long as you live in this realm I call home." He continued to kneel, like a man begging at my feet. "But when you succeed, I'll personally assure you're able to return to your home, and no one will ever harm you again. I can erase the trauma we've all caused you, and this can all just be a fevered nightmare, locked deep in an unwanted past. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but you don't deserve to live forever with this pain."

I swallowed. He probably thought that was a gift, but to me, it sounded like an end I never wanted. How could I forget this? How could I forget them?

"Get up." I said. "I want you to stand with me, not beneath me."

Theron laughed as he rose to his full height. "As you wish, Butterfly." He shook his head. "As you wish, Sela ." He corrected, and I loved the way my name sounded on his tongue. My platinum haired Dream Weaver gestured towards the staircase behind him, then he took one final bow. "Ladies first."