Chapter 5

Cerys

Icould see him tense up. He was gripping the arms of his chair so hard I thought he would break it. Asking him to be blindfolded was a lot to ask, and I"d expected him to say no. Vehemently. This wasn"t a monster who trusted easily, I could see that. But he was giving me this. I didn't understand it, but I'd take it as a win. The session hadn't been a complete disaster after all. I'd vaguely remembered that seeing the turns in a maze was part of what sent minotaurs wild, so I was hoping this would help.

He saw nothing wrong with what he had done to land himself in prison. And if I was being honest, I could see why. My job wasn"t to judge him; we were past that part of the process. He'd experienced something terrible at a young age. I could understand the desire for justice that could burn through you. That had probably shaped who he was now, but it didn"t have to affect his whole life. I could help him with that. Maybe better than I'd ever been able to help myself. A vision of my mother flashed through my mind, bleeding and dying on the floor. I pushed it away. Now wasn"t the time.

"Okay, let"s get you back to your cell calmly then."

I stood up and untied the silk scarf from around my neck.

"Will this be okay as a blindfold?"

He nodded, so I walked towards him and reached up to tie the scarf in place. He was so big. I took it slowly in case he freaked out at any point. He took a deep breath but didn"t speak or react in any other way.

So far so good.

I took his hand to help him stand up, and felt him tense. But he held it and stood up. Yet again, I was face to face with his muscled torso. The smell of caramelized oranges and musk hit me. I hadn"t noticed it before, but I had been convinced I was going to die. The smell was delicious. I wished I could bottle it and wear it as a perfume. I realized I was just standing sniffing him, and took a step back. There was something weirdly attractive about this hulking monster acquiescing to me in this way. I pushed the feeling down. There was no way I was going to allow myself to find a monster criminal attractive. I didn"t care what some seer said about my soul being entwined with a monster"s. Surely that could mean a lot of things?

"Okay, follow me."

He walked confidently as I led him around the furniture, even blindfolded. I suppose if you are big enough to crush everything in your path you don't need to be anxious about banging into it. Outside the room we came face to face with Officer Daylen, who looked back and forth between us, seeming very confused.

"I"m leading him back to his cell blindfolded to reduce the maze madness. Which should have been accounted for in the first place."

My eyes bored into his, and he had the good grace to look slightly awkward.

"Oh yeah, didn"t think of that. It is twisty around here, I suppose."

I didn"t believe that for a moment. But I hadn"t thought of it either, so perhaps I was being ungenerous. I stepped out of the door, reminding Cam to duck slightly to fit underneath. We walked, and after a few turns I felt his hand gripping mine slightly tighter. I wasn't sure how much this would actually help, but I didn"t want to stop and ask him if he was okay or treat him with kid gloves. Not in front of Daylen. He wouldn't thank me for that. After a few minutes, we reached the entrance to the cell block, and I pulled him to a stop.

"We are at the cells now, Cam."

He released my hand and pulled the blindfold off his face. His eyes sought mine and held me for what seemed like a long moment.

"Thank you, Cerys," he said.

The way he said my name made my heart hammer in my chest.

"No problem. I"ll make sure that our next appointment is somewhere closer to your cell."

I couldn"t break my eyes away from his, and my stomach was somersaulting. Once again I forced my feelings down aggressively. I would not do this.

"I appreciate that, Cerys. When will I see you next?"

My name again . It took more willpower than I cared to admit to even look away from him. I felt like my body was being drawn closer to him. Like he was a magnet just for me, and resisting that pull took everything I had.

"Tomorrow. We will see each other every day this week to help you settle in."

He nodded but didn"t get to speak more before Daylen opened the gate to the cellblock and began muttering about lunch time. I walked away, my mind whirring.

You are meant to be a professional, Cerys. Get a grip.

I had to pull myself together. Next time I would focus on my actual job. We'd talk about his crimes and make a therapy plan to help towards his eventual release. There would be no more of this, whatever it was, between us.