Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 51038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 51038 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 255(@200wpm)___ 204(@250wpm)___ 170(@300wpm)
Star is on the ground, pinned to the stone floor because the monstrous Minotaur is on top of her.
Kinda.
It’s not wholly on top of her, because it’s missing a head.
Said head is being held up by one Aric, bastard demigod son of Ares, in a triumphant gesture of victory. His eye is swollen shut, half his face is black and blue, and there’s a gash in his thigh that is spilling so much blood, I would not be surprised if it turned out to be an open artery.
Aric is smiling like he just won a gladiatorial fight. His grin is wide but his eyes are wild with violence. And there would be no way to miss the fact that this is a son of Ares.
“Holy shit,” Quaid yells. “Star!” He rushes over, attempting to pull the giant monster off her, but I lock eyes with Aric.
“You OK there, bru?” I ask. Because he doesn’t look OK. He looks… crazy. And as if to demonstrate, he growls at me and drops he head onto the stone floor. “You know where you are, right?” I ask, trying to keep my tone light. Because he looks more than crazy, actually, he looks like a man who just… cut the head off the Minotaur. “You’re with us, remember?”
Quaid, who has managed to get Star back on her feet—covered in blood though she is—has just turned around. For a moment I’m sure he’s going to start spilling insults, but he must see the look in Aric’s eyes.
It would be hard to miss, because Aric is staring right at him and slowly raising that golden knife up like he’s about to use it again.
Star steps out in front of Quaid, her arms wide. “Stop,” she says. “Stop right now, Aric. The fight is over. You’re with us and we’re with you. And I told you that you would not have to do this alone ever again so whatever leftover rage you have inside you right now, you had better get it in check, mister! Because Paradise is right over there and Quaid is coming with us!”
This girl, I swear. First she dives into the middle of Aric’s fight to help him defeat the monster, and then she’s stepping in front of Quaid to save him from Aric’s residual rage.
Aric lets out a long exhale and his crazy seems to exit with it. Because his shoulders drop, the hand holding the knife lowers, and he closes his eyes. “Is it over now?”
Aw, fuck. Even I’m touched by his pathetic relief. “Come on,” I say, crossing the room towards Aric. “Bring it in for a hug. You deserve it.”
To my surprise, he doesn’t resist when I take him in my arms and give him a squeeze.
Just as I’m pulling back, he side-eyes me. “Thanks.”
But I point to Star. “Thank her. I think she might’ve saved your life.”
Probably not. It’s more likely Star’s little act of selfless bravery made things worse, but there’s no point in hashing out the details now.
“We won,” Quaid says.
And that’s when a woman in a long black dress materializes out of the night sky above us and lowers to the ground. She claps her hands in slow, mocking applause. Looking each of us in the eye as she turns in a leisurely circle. “Congratulations. You beat the maze.” She pauses here to smile. “Would you like to claim your prize?”
27 - STAR
My head cocks to the side as I stare at the woman who just floated down from the starry sky. “I know you,” I say.
Even though I don’t know her and I didn’t plan on saying that, once the words are out, I know them to be true. “I know you,” I repeat.
She smiles at me. It’s a smile that lands somewhere between creepy and scary. But it’s Aric who speaks next. “Nyx,” he growls. It’s a serious growl and looking over at him, still breathing heavy and covered in blood from the fight, I find him almost unrecognizable. “What the hell are you doing here?”
In the few moments that have passes since the Minotaur’s death and the appearance of Nyx, apparently, both Declan and Quaid have found their way over to me. They stand on either side of my shoulders, a little bit in front, as if to protect me.
As if Nyx is a threat.
While the woman does seem familiar, I don’t actually know who she is. Obviously, some kind of goddess, but I was never a particularly good history student so what she represents to Aric and our current circumstances, I have no clue.
Nyx is not looking at Aric though, she’s got her gaze locked on me. Again, her smile is off-putting, but I can’t quite explain why.
I’m just about to start asking questions, when the ground beneath our feet begins to rumble.