3. Isabella

When I wake up, I'm lying in the biggest and softest bed I've ever slept in. A luxurious, golden canopy is draped over the four-poster bed.

"Where the hell am I?" I mutter to myself.

It all comes flooding back to me in an instant. The ruins. The maze. The Minotaur.

The hot sex.

I throw the covers off and notice I'm totally naked. When did that happen? I don't remember anything after orgasming.

And what an orgasm it was. As I think back to that moment of passion, I feel a needy pulse in my core.

At that moment the Minotaur King enters the room, his muscular frame and horns casting a large shadow. I yelp and scoot backwards until my head bangs against the headboard, while I pull the covers up to my neck.

He's carrying a silver tray, filled with food and drinks. He's wearing a toga that covers very little, his immense, fur-covered body on full display.

The beast places the tray on the bed-side table and sits down next to me, the bed sinking a bit due to his size and weight. Not only has he banged my brains out, but now he's brought me breakfast?

The beast reaches for the tray and plucks a ripe, red grape from the bowl. He leans towards me, and I instinctively open my mouth.

The grape bursts on my tongue, sweet juices filling my mouth.

"Wow!" I say. "This is amazing!"

The Minotaur smiles, showing off his huge fangs. He reaches for another grape, but I grab his arm.

"Where's Emma?" I ask. "Is she safe?"

"Yes." His voice is a deep, low rumble.

"Y-you can speak! And English, too?!" I stammer.

He grins again. "Yes, Isabella. I can speak your language. It is easy. I am not the wild beast your people think I am."

"Wait, you know my name? How?"

"While you were sleeping, I took the liberty of using your devices to see the state of the universe," he says. He nods towards the desk in the corner of the room. My empty bag lays next to it, all its content spilled out over the table. "Your language is easy to grasp."

A frown crosses my face. "Wait, you used my tablet?"

I feel strangely violated. Even more so than the rampant and wild sex we had on the stone slab. My tablet is personal.

He reaches for another grape and pops it into my mouth. I take the moment to let my brain work.

"What's your name?" I ask.

"King Asterion."

"And you're a Minotaur?"

He simply looks back at me, unblinking.

"I mean, yes, it's a little obvious, but I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it," I stammer. "You're not supposed to be alive. You were a statue."

"I was dormant, yes," he continues as he offers me a hot, black drink. I slurp on it, and heat spreads through my body. "I've been dormant for over twenty thousand years."

I nearly spit the drink out. "Twenty thousand years?!"

The beast simply nods, dipping his horns low.

"How?" I ask. "How are you so… old?"

Asterion chuckles, a low, pleasant rumble. "Our technology is… or was incredibly advanced, human. Judging by your devices, and the information I was able to access, you humans have only stumbled upon a mere fraction of what we were capable of."

"Then… what happened?" I ask as I sit upright. "What happened to the Minotaurs?"

A dark cloud takes Asterion's smile away. He looks off into the distance and puffs out smoke through his nostrils.

"I failed as a king, that's what happened," he says, his answer curt. "But you've given me a second chance."

He stands up quickly.

"What do you mean?" I ask.

"We will rebuild my kingdom. Together."

"What?" I ask, blinking rapidly. "Huh?"

"You will be my bride, Isabella. I will make you my queen, and you will sire me many children. Together, we will rebuild all that has been taken from me. The Minotaur Kingdom will stand proud again."

I simply stare up at the giant sexy beast, my mouth hanging open, my brains struggling to process this information.

"B-b-bride?" I stammer.

"You need to rest. You will need all your strength for the coming mating ceremony. Sleep, little one."

He stands up and walks out of the room, closing the door behind him. Panic grips my heart as I try to make sense of what just happened.

The sex was out of this world, and he seems to take good care of me, but… Bride? Children? This is all moving way too fast.

I hop out of bed and look for my clothes, but I can't find them anywhere. There's a closet with a gorgeous and simple white dress in there, along with some beige sandals. It'll have to do. No bra and panties, though.

With that sorted, I hurry towards the desk. All of my things are neatly laid out on the table. I grab my tablet and boot it up.

I have a new, unread message from Darius Blackthorn. Shit. He's the leader of the Shadow Guild, and the man I owe a boatload of credits to. He's the whole reason why I'm even out here, trying to loot these old ruins.

Call me. Now.

That'll have to wait. I stuff my tablet into my…

Shit, this dress doesn't have any pockets. What's an archeologist without pockets? I miss my jeans, and my vest, and my coat. I put the tablet back on the table and head towards the door.

It's unlocked.

I slowly open the door and peek outside.

We're no longer in the maze, but in some type of palace. I see a balcony across the hallway, and I take the opportunity to look outside.

What I see makes my heart skip a beat.

Before me is a vast city, filled with beautiful buildings made out of gleaming white stone. There's lush, green gardens everywhere, and tall trees swaying in the breeze.

Birds are singing, water is bubbling in marble fountains, and the air smells fresh.

How is this possible? The surface of this planet was a barren wasteland! I look up at the sky — and only then do I notice that we are under some kind of protective dome, inside of a valley.

Asterion was right. If the Minotaurs have the technology to hide an entire city like this from our strongest scanners… then we are mere children compared to them.

First things first. I have to find Emma.

I sneak through the hallway, not sure where to go. There's many, many rooms in this palace but they are all empty. I keep an ear out for Asterion's hooves, but luckily he's not around.

After a few minutes of wandering through these opulent corridors, I stumble upon a lavish living room where my best friend is sipping wine from a golden chalice and enjoying a spread of various cheeses and fruits.

"Em! Thank god, you're okay!" I say.

Emma looks up and gasps "Isa!" She jumps and we hug tightly.

"I'm so glad you're okay! When I lost you, I thought the worst had happened!"

"Same here!" Emma says. "Wow, what are you wearing? That white dress looks amazing on you. I think this might be the first time I've seen you in a dress, Isa!"

"Yeah, I have no idea where my clothes are. But what happened to you? Tell me everything!"

Emma tells me her story. She wandered through the maze for a couple of hours before stumbling upon this hidden and lost city. Asterion showed up and locked her in this palace, giving her plenty of food and drink, and told her to sit tight.

"What about you?" She asks. "What did you get up to?"

"Uhm, yeah, about the same," I stammer.

Emma's eyes narrow. "There's something you're not telling me. You've always been a bad liar, Isa. What's going on?"

I sigh. There's no use keeping secrets from my best friend. She can read me like a book.

"We also kinda… had sex."

My best friend's jaw drops. "You WHAT?!"

"You heard me. We boned, okay?"

"How? What? Where?!"

"In the maze. When I woke him."

"How was it?"

"Not answering that."

"Come on," Emma whines. "You can't fuck a mythical beast and then not tell me how it was. That's not how being a best friend works."

"Fine," I sigh. "It was fucking amazing, okay? Bloody brilliant. Astounding. Mind-bending. Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"Partly. How big was he?"

"Emma, come on."

"Say when. Bigger. Bigger? BIGGER?!"

"That's about right," I say as she keeps her hand quite far apart.

"And you took all of that? Are you okay, honey?"

"Physically? Yes. Mentally? Not so sure. He wants to… well, marry me."

Emma blinks. "Marry you?!"

"He said we'll rebuild his kingdom together. He wants children. A dozen Minotaur children."

"Oh my god, Isa. You did it. You nabbed yourself a rich, wealthy, older man. I knew you could do it!"

"This isn't funny," I mutter.

"Yes, it is. We have a rich, ancient beast with the biggest dick known to mankind who wants to marry you. Sounds like a pretty sweet deal to me. You've made it, sister."

"Em, he's a monster."

"Not really. Have you seen this place? And his manners? He's a goddamn gentleman. I've had worse, babe. A lot worse. More wine?"

She pours a golden chalice full of blood-red wine and hands it to me. I accept it and take a big sip.

"This is crazy, Emma. Absolutely crazy. I can't believe you're being so calm about this."

"This is all we ever wanted," Emma says. "This place is worth a fortune. Just look at this chalice! I could sell an antique like this for thousands of credits on the black market of Celestia Prime. And that's just one freaking cup. Just imagine if we could nab something really important. Like whatever is creating this forcefield around this city. If we could sell that to the right people… we'd be billionaires, babe. Billionaires! No more running and hiding from the Guild. No more stowing away in freighters to hitch a ride. We could go legit. Buy a nice house. Get some chickens."

"So you want me to marry King Asterion so we could rob him blind?"

"Exactly," Emma says. "Now you're getting it."

I pop some ancient blue cheese into my mouth and wash it down with some red wine. I'm not sure if I can do this. We've been stealing for years, but only what we need to survive, and only from people who deserve it.

With Asterion, it's different. We have a connection. The things he made me feel… it still makes my heart race just thinking about them. Could I really be so cruel as to steal from him?

"I did get another message from Darius Blackthorn," I say. "He didn't sound happy."

"Just explain the situation," Emma says.

"Explain what? We found a long-lost, real-life Minotaur, and oh yeah, then I fucked him?"

Emma shrugs. "Yep."

"Never going to happen."

"Regardless," Emma says. "Let's not stress about it right now. Enjoy the perks. He's hot, loaded, ancient, and horny. Take advantage of it, keep him distracted, and I'll do my best to search the city and find something good to steal."

"Fine," I say. "Sure."

"Awesome!" Emma says as she hops up out of her seat. "I'll head out right now!"

"No."

I gasp and turn towards the doorway. The Minotaur King is standing there, a white toga wrapped around his hulking frame, a deep frown on his handsome face.

"Hi, uh, Asterion! How, uh, how long have you been listening?" Emma asks, keeping her face straight.

"Long enough. You will not explore the city. You will remain here."

"Come on Asterion, I can take a little walk around the block, right?" Emma says.

"No. You will address me as King Asterion, human. And you will obey my rules."

"Or what?"

"Or you will be punished," Asterion growls.

My heart hammers in my chest. I've been ‘punished' by the Minotaur King once before, and I hope he doesn't intend to do the same to my best friend. That kinda punishment should be mine only…

Emma throws her hands up. "Fine, fine, sorry, ‘king' Asterion. I won't go anywhere. Have it your way."

"Good. Do not disobey me again, human."

"Sure, whatever."

Emma plops herself back on the couch, casually grabs a grape and pops it into her mouth.

"Isabella," Asterion says, turning his attention to me. "You disobeyed my order as well. I told you to rest."

"I was hungry," I lie.

"Hm. Then join me in my chambers for dinner."

He holds out his gigantic hand for me. Emma looks at me and nods, eyebrows raised.

"S-sure," I say as I accept his hand. He pulls me out of my seat effortlessly.

The ancient beast is going to wine and dine me.