Chapter Twenty

CHAPTER TWENTY

Nathaniel

My heartbeat was distracting in more ways than one.

After hundreds of years of silence and stillness in my chest, feeling the thumping was foreign and strange.

More so than that, it was reactive.

I'd forgotten all about that.

Sure, the humans were always going on and on about heartbeats in their music. I imagine I'd gotten so jaded over the years, though, that I figured they were exaggerating the phenomenon.

That is, of course, until I had a heartbeat of my own. One that reacted to the nearness of Roxanne.

Each time she turned to look at me with those big green eyes, or her hand squeezed mine, or even, once, when she bent down to get something off the ground, giving me a really good view in the process.

As for the maze itself, it was back to being just the hedge itself, twisting and turning in endless rows and dead ends.

Whereas before, it would have been frustrating to the both of us, after the fire, the flood, and the poisoning, we'd come to accept this part as a harmless little hike.

Besides, the artificial weather in the maze was temperate and comfortable. And, well, the sun beating down on me—even if it wasn't real—was comforting and fascinating after so many years of existing only in the darkness.

"Who's the lazy one now?" Roxy asked, turning back at me and shooting me a triumphant smile as she caught me trying to catch my breath.

"What can I say? I'm not used to breathing," I admitted.

"Tell me your feet hurt as much as mine do too," she said, stopping to flex them.

"I wouldn't be surprised if my shoes were full of blood," I said, getting that little airy laugh out of her again, making my pulse quicken.

"What is the point of this part of the labyrinth anyway?" she asked, rolling her neck. "To exhaust us to death? Do you think the vines will come for me if I just sit down for a few minutes?" she asked.

"They haven't reached for you since you overcame the urge to rest at the beginning of the maze," I reminded her.

She was quick to drop down onto the ground, letting out a deep sigh.

She sounded so relieved that I dropped down beside her. The second I stopped moving, the aches in my newly human form started to intensify. My feet felt like they had their own damn heartbeat, thumping harder with each passing second.

"How long do you think we've been here?" Roxanne asked after a few moments of rubbing her calves.

Reaching over, I pulled her legs over my lap, slipped off her shoes, and started to rub at the arches of her feet. Then pretended that her moans of relief didn't make desire spark through my body.

"Three days, maybe? But I don't think you experienced that day at your fake apartment like I did."

"I dunno," she said, pressing a hand to her stomach. "My stomach agrees it's been that long. I mean, really, if they don't mean for us to die here, why is there nothing to eat? I'm glad I swallowed so much of that stupid water when we were floating," she added. "I'd probably be dehydrated half to death by now otherwise."

"You could call water if you want to," I reminded her.

"And risk drowning us again? I think not. There's got to be some kind of trick to this. I feel like we're missing something here."

I hated to admit that I agreed with her. But only because I was out of ideas. I had no idea what the witches wanted from us at this point. There seemed to be no actual challenge ahead of us, save for the endless maze.

"I'm sure something is coming up," I said, reaching for her other foot. "But we don't need to be in a rush to get to it."

"Wait," she said, shooting me a small smirk. "Are you suggesting we get some rest?" she asked. "To be… lazy?"

"To recharge," I corrected.

"Fancy it up all you want," she said. "It's still being a little lazy."

But she wasn't going to fight me on the suggestion that we slow down for a bit.

I pretended to ignore the way the foot massage was having her let out little mewling sounds. And wouldn't even acknowledge the way desire was coursing through me.

When I was done with her feet, I worked my fingers into the sore muscles of her calves before I forced them to settle on her knee before things progressed again.

If I'd been worried about there being some sort of distance between us since the argument in the room, it vanished as she leaned her head into my shoulder.

"You're gonna have to be my pillow again," she told me, snuggling in closer.

My arm went around her, expecting simply to hold her while she had a nap. But I'd underestimated just how tired this fully human form could be. Within minutes of sitting still, my eyelids were too heavy to ignore.

Before I knew it, I was drifting off as well.

Somehow in our sleep, we moved together until I was flat on my back, and Roxanne was draped over me with my arm wrapped around her.

Her warmth chased away the chill that the exertion and dried sweat created, leaving me feeling cozy and reluctant to open my eyes even after I'd gotten enough sleep.

Roxy seemed similarly content, her fingers lazily tracing something over my chest.

I would have been overjoyed to stay just like that for hours still.

But the labyrinth had other plans.

There was a swift kick to my feet that had me jolting and Roxanne scrambling up and off of me, a gasp caught in her throat.

Shooting up, I saw what had gotten that reaction from her.

And there he was.

A giant of a man, his massive frame covered in an antiquated set of armor, making him look something like a medieval knight.

"What the hell?" Roxanne asked, scrambling up to her feet after I gained my own. "Who is that?" Her voice had taken on a high, squeaky tone. Likely because she caught sight of the massive sword hanging at his side.

"My best guess?" I started, stepping in front of Roxanne. "The guardian of the labyrinth."

"Ah, okay. But, what are we supposed to do, fight him?" she asked.

As if confirming her question, the guardian reached for the hilt of his sword, then drew it out of the scabbard with a menacing whooshing sound.

"Oh, oh no," Roxanne said. "Ah, we're unarmed," she said in a placating voice. "We… come in peace?" she tried, voice going more desperate. "Take us to your—more reasonable—leader? You suck," she concluded as the guardian lifted his sword, then went to swing.

"Roxanne, run," I demanded, physically shoving her past the guardian's sword side so he couldn't swipe at her.

Which left me trapped in the little dead end with the armed and armored protector.

"Nathaniel!" Roxanne shrieked as the guardian swung, making me jump back, narrowly avoiding being disemboweled.

"Go!" I demanded.

"I can't just leave you here," she insisted as I ran to the side to dodge the guardian's rush forward.

"You need to figure out what the maze wants us to do here," I told her. "No one can do it but you," I added at her hesitance.

On a pained whimper, she rushed out of the dead end, leaving me alone with the guardian.

Suddenly, I wished I'd been a soldier in my past life. Or existed in a time when duels still existed.

Unfortunately, all I had to fall back on were quick reflexes and the scrappy skills that came from street fights when I was young and stupid or older, drunk, and still rather stupid.

"We don't have to do this," I said, trying to move myself toward the opening of the dead end, so I could flee backward and give Roxanne some time to figure out how we got through this challenge.

The me I'd been just days ago wouldn't feel anything akin to fear. I could take a sword to most places in my body and recover. I would just need to protect my head.

It was strange to be so incredibly aware of my own vulnerability. Even a small thrust of that sword into my flesh could cause death now.

That meant, being swordless myself, my only choice was to dodge and flee. As much as that went against everything I'd come to accept about my nature.

The guardian thrust but managed to get his sword stuck.

Desperate, I reached for it myself, yanking it out of the trunk of the hedge and wielding it, feeling like I might finally be useful for once in this maze.

Until I watched another sword materialize in the guardian's scabbard once again.

"Great," I grumbled as the guardian reached for it.

Sucking in a deep breath, I swung my sword, the clang of our swords meeting filling the labyrinth.

As I hoped to hell that Roxanne was working on the solution to this challenge…