Chapter 43

“Nina, wake up.” Logan gently shakes my shoulder. “We should start moving again.”

Cloudiness still fogs my mind, but I force my eyes open, stretching my taut muscles. A memory clings to me, scratching at my skin incessantly. Something I need to remember…

“I had a dream,” I whisper, turning my head in the direction I sense Logan to be. I hear the sound of his backpack being zipped up before he stills, granting me his full attention. The majority of my dream remains just out of reach, evading my hands like wispy strands of smoke. But one part remains clear. “I think we’re on the right track. I think…I think we have to go straight.”

How do I know that?

I have a vague recollection of Nick telling me that. But why do I trust him? Who even is he?

Questions continue to bombard me as I stagger to my feet.

“Straight?” Logan’s voice sounds cautious. Wary.

“Do you trust me?” I ask him, and when he hesitates, another piece of my heart shatters into particles finer than dust.

“Yes,” he decides on at last. “But, Nina, you need to explain things to me. How do you know where we need to go? I trust you, I honestly do, but this prison…it’s designed to play tricks on you.”

I nibble on my lower lip as I debate what to tell him. Do I confess the truth, that I’m being visited by a man I’ve never met before? That he declared I’m his?—

I’m his what?

The memory falls through my fingers like water dripping from a faucet.

Logan takes a deep breath, and before I realize what I’m doing, I’m standing directly in front of him and capturing his hands in both of mine. His breath hitches, and I swear I can hear his heart skip a beat.

“I know I can’t ask for your trust. Not yet, at least. But I’ve been having these strange dreams of this man named Nick, and he told me to go straight. For some reason, I trust him. I know we don’t know each other that well?—”

“I trust you, Nina,” Logan interrupts with a shaky laugh. “Fuck, I trust you more than I ever trusted anyone in my life. It terrifies me. If you say we need to go straight, then we’ll go fucking straight. I’m sorry I made you question my trust in you.” His words send me staggering back a step, each one a knife to the heart, as warmth blossoms in my stomach. It’s nothing but an ember, a flicker of heat, but it sends a tentative smile to my face, one that immediately vanishes when the phantom tentacles of pain wrap around my throat, squeezing tight.

“Come,” I say, not even bothering to force a smile this time. It’s too much work to lift my lips the way a smile requires.

Pain.

So much pain.

And we walk.

We don’t run into any other traps or monsters, and I have to wonder if Nick had a hand in that. But how would he?

Who the heck is he?

Still, I don’t allow myself to feel any relief until Logan hisses out a breath of air.

“Nina,” he says, tugging my arm until I stop and turn towards him. “Use my eyes.”

I cock an eyebrow curiously but do as instructed. Like before, it takes me a few tries to enter his mind, to use his eyes as my own. My power sparks and fizzles before it eventually relents to my needs.

And there, directly in front of us, is the door Rion described. Just a plain wooden door with multiple padlocks. And also like Rion described, something is pounding against the wood, demanding to be released. I can hear the monster howling, growling, shouting. The sound of claws being dragged against wood. The thump of a body hitting the door.

“Is this…?” I whisper, dumbstruck.

“I believe so,” Logan replies. He sounds just as enchanted as I am, his gaze never wavering from the door that can either lead to our escape…or our doom.

It’s so…insignificant. I don’t know what I expected, but this definitely wasn’t it. Maybe something golden and shiny? Or a large sign in neon lights blazing, “Exit!”

“This must’ve been what Nick wanted me to find,” I muse breathlessly.

Logan’s gaze whips to my face. “Do you think…?” With an urgency belying his still calm voice, he grips my shoulders and continues, “You don’t think this is a trap, do you?”

I can feel my brows furrow. “What do you mean?”

“A trap,” he repeats. “You said you’ve been having dreams of a strange man. What if…” He swallows heavily before starting again. “What if the man you’ve been having dreams of is the monster on the other side of that door? What if this is just a trap to get you to release him…or it?”

As if on cue, the monster behind the door releases another ear-shattering roar, pounding against the wood. It’s as if the monster hears us. Senses us.

Knew we were coming.

“What?” My voice quivers slightly, even as I shake my head. The voice in my mind, the man from my dreams…I trust him, don’t I?

“What if this isn’t the way out?” Logan continues, his voice verging on a desperate plea. “Nina, how can you know that you can trust the man from your dreams?”

“I…” I rub at my chest once more, where that scratching sensation has begun again.

Scratch. Scratch. Scratch.

“I don’t know,” I confess at last, my voice barely audible. “I don’t know if I can trust anyone.”

“You can trust me,” Logan declares vehemently, adamantly, not a shred of doubt in his voice. His grip on my shoulders tightens slightly. “I’ll never hurt you, Nina Doe.”

My hands begin to shake, and I have the sudden urge to lean into Logan’s embrace, to place my forehead on his chest and allow him to wrap his arms around me. Comfort me. Soothe me.

But then that familiar wave of pain crashes through me, this time accompanied by a sliver of doubt, and I turn away from Logan with a choked sob.

Why does everything have to hurt so much?

Pain.

So. Much. Pain.

Instead of Logan’s chest, I place my forehead against the wall of the Labyrinth, opposite the doorway still creaking against the weight of the monster. And then the strangest thing happens. It almost feels like heat erupts from where I touch the tunnel wall, shooting through my bloodstream like an errant star falling from the sky. The blistering pain has me gasping, pulling away from the Labyrinth as if I’ve been shocked. The second my bare skin is no longer in contact with the stone, the heat lessens, coiling into a tightly curled ball in my stomach before disappearing completely as if it was never there to begin with.

“Nina?” Logan asks tentatively, taking a step closer to me from behind.

And then…

I hear it.

The singularly most beautiful sound in the entire world—the meow of a cat.

Forcing myself into Logan’s head once more—I didn’t even realize I left in the first place—we turn in the direction of the noise just as a cat comes sprinting around the corner.

A very, very familiar cat.

“Mr. Scruffles!” I cry as the cat throws itself at me, licking every inch of my face with his scratchy tongue. As I sob and hold him to me, the cat transforms into a very real, very solid, very naked man.

“Buttercup,” Rion says as he continues to lick my face. “Don’t.” Lick. “Ever.” Lick. “Leave.” Lick. “Me.” Lick. Lick. Lick. “Again.” He punctuates the last word with his tongue moving from the base of my chin to my forehead.

“Rion!” I sob, holding him even tighter, wishing I could disappear in his body.

He’s here. He’s safe. He’s alive.

He’s here. He’s safe. He’s alive.

I repeat that in my head like a mantra.

“Where are the others?” I ask, consumed by a desperate, restless energy.

“Nina!” Bronson. I would recognize his guttural growl anywhere, more wolf than man. I pull away from Rion with another cry, throwing myself at my wolf shifter just as he materializes at the end of the hallway. I take a second to note that he’s covered in hundreds and hundreds of tiny scratches, almost as if he lost a fight with a piece of paper, before my worry over his health is overtaken by the relief that he’s alive and in front of me.

“Bronson! Oh my god.” His arms feel amazing wrapped around my waist, as if we can survive any storm the world throws our way.

“Goddess.” He nuzzles my cheek, the move decidedly wolf-like, before twisting his face towards my neck. His teeth graze the sensitive skin there as he breathes me in deeply, ensuring with his own senses that I’m alive and well.

“Let me at her,” Damien growls out. I’m spun out of Bronson’s arms and immediately wrapped in Damien’s. My stoic mage…he’s trembling. Anxiety pours from his body in tangible waves as he holds me to him, stroking my hair repeatedly as he whispers softly to himself. At first, I can’t make out his words, but when I focus, I can distantly hear him muttering, “She’s here. She’s here. She’s here.” Again and again and again.

“Damien, I was so scared,” I confess. And through Logan’s eyes, I watch his eyes shutter closed as if he’s overcome by a strong emotion.

“Me too, Angel. Me too.”

“Is it time for a group hug yet?” Abel asks with forced cheer. And when I finally, reluctantly, pull away from Damien, it’s to turn towards my last two lovers. My sunshine and moonlight twins. But this time, not one of them is smiling, their faces grave as their eyes lock on me.

We move as one, as if we’re opposite magnets attracting. As if there’s a rope connecting my soul to theirs and theirs to each other. One second, we’re simply standing in front of each other, and the next, I’m in their arms. Cain and Abel box me in from both sides as they touch everywhere on my body they can reach, every bare inch of skin my small dress reveals. Their hands caress my arms, my throat, my cheeks, my lips, even my thighs.

“Never letting you out of our sight again,” Cain murmurs.

“We’re gonna have to handcuff you to us,” Abel agrees, peppering kisses to my head. “Forever and ever.”

“This is it?” Damien interrupts, his curt tone at odds with the way his body still trembles. “The door?”

“It could lead us out of this shithole,” Rion says, and when Logan’s gaze swings his way, I can see a slightly deranged and manic smile on his face. It’s almost as if…

It’s almost as if our separation broke something inside of the already eccentric shifter. As if it made him even more unhinged. He’s always been a grenade, only now, it feels as if he’s missing his pin as well, just waiting to unleash himself on the world.

“Where’s Kai?” Damien demands, removing a dagger from his jacket sleeve. “We need to decide on a plan.”

The world stops.

Freezes.

Or maybe I stop.

Freeze.

Everything stops.

Freezes.

Hurts.

Pain.

My breath comes out in shallow, gasping sounds as Damien’s head whirls in my direction, shock splayed onto his face, and Logan curses.

“What the devil…?”

“Don’t,” Logan admonishes with a brisk shake of his head.

Rion is abruptly standing in front of Logan, his eyes glinting with madness and his head cocked to the side. “Where is my precious Dragon Breath?” he asks in a deceptively low and calm voice. “Where is my motherfucking brOTHER HUSBAND!” The last words are a roar, and I can finally see why Rion is feared and revered by everyone in the prison. Sure, I knew he had a few screws loose, but he’s always kept such a tight leash on his anger around me.

For the first time ever, I’m seeing Rion completely unrestrained.

Rion embracing his madness.

His hand snaps out, wrapping around Logan’s throat and pushing him against the wall.

“Rion!” I scream in alarm, my fear for Logan momentarily outweighing my pain. “Stop!”

“Where. Is. My. Dragon?” Rion grits out. “Did you do something to him?”

“Rion.” This comes from Abel, who takes a tentative step forward. “Rion, drop him.” When Rion doesn’t remove his hand from Logan’s throat, Abel adds, “You’re scaring Nina.”

At that, Rion whips his head in my direction. I can’t see the expression in my eyes, or his for that matter, but whatever he sees has him releasing Logan, the cupid falling unceremoniously to the ground and gasping for air.

“Buttercup…” Rion moans, moving towards me. He takes me in his arms, placing his nose in the swell of my neck and breathing, just breathing me in.

“Nina, what happened?” Abel’s voice is solemn, devoid of its usual mirth.

“Kai…” I pause. Gasp. Swallow. Choke on a sob. “He didn’t…” Gasp. Swallow. Sob. “He didn’t…” Gasp. Swallow. Sob.

The guys release muffled curses. Bronson throws his head back and emits a mournful howl, one I feel in my very soul.

“The monsters…” I continue around my sobs, tightening my arms around Rion’s waist.

“Shhh. It’s okay, my precious buttercup. No one will hurt you. I’ll protect you. I’m never leaving your side again. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever. Ever.” He continues to repeat “ever,” his voice a soft rasp against my neck.

“Thank you,” Cain says, directing his words at a still gasping Logan, “for protecting our girl.”

Logan rubs at his neck before using the wall to climb to his feet. “Always,” he says, his voice raspy. Clearing his throat, he repeats, “Always.”

“What the fuck do we do?” Abel interrupts, forking his fingers through his shaggy blond hair. “Do we?—”

Before he can finish his thought, the door releases an ominous creak. Wood splinters, flying in all directions, as another roar echoes through the tiny room we’ve found ourselves in.

And then, to all of our horror, a fist appears in the cracked wood. And then an eye. And then the monster uses its head to break it open the rest of the way.

We’re defenseless, powerless…

And an eight-foot-tall minotaur is currently running straight at us.