Chapter 22 - Star
My last few words have barely left my mouth and I’m looking right at Declan, when I realize something is different about him. “Hey, what’s with your ears?”
“Huh?” He reaches up and touches the little feathers that have sprouted from his ears and sighs. “Oh. That.”
“That? You have wings on your ears, Declan. I’m gonna need an explanation.”
“It’s part of the whole messenger thing. Son of Hermes and all that.”
“Didn’t he have wings on his feet?”
“Yeah, well.” He points to himself. “Bastard son, remember? So I get the ears. I hate them, they’re stupid. It’s got a fairy vibe, don’t you think?”
I walk over to him, smiling. I like Declan.
I like all three of my new men, but Declan has a sweet spot with me because he feels…
I dunno. My age, or something. I’m pretty sure he’s probably the same age as Aric and Quaid—around there, at least. But he’s got a younger energy.
More adventurous than Quaid and far, far less serious than Aric.
So I don’t like that he hates his ear wings and now I kinda feel responsible for his somber mood after all the fun we just had because I’m the one who brought them up.
The wings on his ears are tiny. Like the size of my hand.
Obviously, they are not literally meant for flying, but are more symbolic.
A physical representation of his powers.
I touch the creamy-white feathers, running my fingertips over them. This makes him shiver, his skin prickling up with tiny bumps. “Sorry,” I say. “If you don’t like it—”
He grabs my hand when I try to pull it back, looking me in the eye. “No. I do. It feels good. I just don’t like the wings. They’re embarrassing.”
“Why?”
“Because it’s just a reminder that I’m the outcast in the family. I have seven half-siblings and while not all of them inherited the messenger gene, the ones that did all have winged feet. It’s just me with these dumb ears.”
“Huh. You’re the eighth?”
He pauses here to reflect., “Uh, yeah. Why?”
“Like me!” I say. “We’re both the eighth sibling. We’re both outcasts.”
“Hmm. I guess that’s true.”
I place my hands on his hips, hooking my fingers through his belt loops as I smile up at him. “Don’t you see, this is what connects us.”
His eyebrows go up. “Our status as lesser siblings?”
“Come on, look around, Declan. Tell me one thing about this place, or the experience we’re having, that implies we’re anything but special?
I mean, we’re standing inside the Labyrinth looking at a portal that leads to Paradise.
” I turn, pressing my back up to his chest, and point at the closest archway.
“We’re gonna go there. And I don’t know what it’s gonna be like—maybe it’s horrible?
Maybe it’s our own version of the Odyssey?
But I don’t think too many people make it this far.
I mean, Aric ran this maze a thousand times, he said.
And he never made it this far.” I turn to face him again.
“We made it this far.” I hike a thumb over my shoulder. “And your power is gonna get us there.”
“Yeah,” he says, smiling now. “That’s true. I can’t argue with that. Whatever is happening here, it’s epic.”
“Of course, it is. We’re heroes, Declan. Like Odysseus.”
He points at me. “And Theseus, your half-brother. He’s the one who really killed the Minotaur and beat the maze.”
“Did he return home? Or did he find this place and go through to Paradise?”
“Went home. So if he found this place, he didn’t go there.” He points to the archways.
“Hmm. Makes me wonder why Ares wanted Aric to run this maze so bad.”
“Maybe Theseus did find it?” Declan asks. “And maybe Ares heard a rumor or something and he decided to send his bastard son in to map it out?”
“Aric never found this place, though.”
“No. He killed this version of the Minotaur and everything ended.”
An idea forms in my head. “Maybe killing the monster removes access to this room? Maybe we have to defeat the Minotaur, but not kill it?”
“Or….” Declan counters. “We have to kill it in here.” He points to the ground.
I’m nodding. “That makes sense.”
Declan stares at the land on the other side of the archways.
“It would explain why no one has found that place yet. Because if you think about it, thousands of people have run this maze in real life. I always thought the goal was to kill the monster, and that they all failed until your brother came along and took the Minotaur out. But what if the gods knew something about this Paradise place and the goal wasn’t to kill the Minotaur, just get past it to find this room where the doors are? ”
I’m nodding as he talking. “Which is probably the center of the maze.”
“What do you think that paradise really is?” Declan asks.
“No clue. But back in the jail, Quaid said some cult was after me, remember?”
Declan nods. “Yeah. Helix, or something.”
“Maybe it’s not me they want, Declan. Maybe it’s this room?”
“Maybe you’re the key to the room, Star. Ever think of that? Because it was your brother who killed the Minotaur. Thousands have tried, only he succeeded. Maybe this maze is connected to you by a bloodline?”
“Why wouldn’t they just get one of my sisters then?”
He points up to the domed ceiling. “They’re up there. In the night sky. And you’re not, Star. You’re down here. You’re the only one they have access to.”
I smile, once again reaching up to lightly brush my fingertips across the feathers of his ear wings. “I want to know what’s on the other side. Do you?”
He nods. “Yeah. Should we go back now? So we can tell the others and make a plan to get the hell out of this dump and spend he rest of our lives in Paradise?”
I don’t even have time to open my mouth to respond before I’m sucked back into reality. Which is a nice place to be, even in comparison to paradise, because I’m on top of Declan and we’re still coming.
I’m moaning and writhing, and he’s got a death-grip on my hips.
We’re back in Aric’s room and both he and Quaid are watching as Declan and I finish.
I collapse onto top of Declan’s chest and he wraps his arms around me. Neither of us says anything, we just enjoy what’s left of the peace we found for as long as we can.
Which is only a handful of seconds. Because Aric says, “Well? What happened?”
Reluctantly, I roll off Declan and we both get to our feet. He hastily tucks away his dick while I scramble around, searching for my clothes.
Quaid is holding my dress. Like he was waiting for my return. He extends his hand, offering it to me.
I smile, sheepishly, because I suddenly remember that I told him Declan might be up for his brand of kink. It’s like he’s reading my mind because he shoots me a wink, whispering “Was he fun?”
I blush now. But I also nod. “He’s very fun, Quaid.” Then I wink back.
After I pull my dress on, I turn to Declan, who is already deep into the explanation of what we saw and figured out.
Aric is nodding as Declan explains what we think the maze really is. “That makes sense. And my father must’ve heard the rumors, like you say, and sent me in to find the way to the doors to Paradise.”
“Well,” Quaid says, “I guess we’ve got it all figured out. Now we need a plan to get past the Minotaur without killing it. Which seems harder, if you ask me.”
“Not really,” Aric says. “Not with all the powers the four of us have collected. The song is a cheat. A map to the whole maze by way of the glowing symbols on the walls.”
“But we don’t know what the symbols say,” Quaid says.
“No, we don’t,” Aric admits. “But your glasses should be able to decipher them, right? Are they working now?”
“Better than ever, actually.” Quaid looks at me. “It seems like the sex really did add to their power. It’s so weird.”
I shrug. “Well, according to what I learned with Declan, I’m capable of shifting the night sky so I guess upgrading your tech is very small in comparison.”
He’s nodding at me, but there’s a kind of look on his face that gives me the impression that he’s not convinced.
Aric must see it too, because he says, “What?” And he’s talking to Quaid. “Why do you have that look on your face?”
“It’s just…” Quaid starts, but can’t seem to find the right words. He starts again, “Don’t any of you think it’s odd that we’re like this… key that unlocks a door to another world? How the hell did the four of us end up in the same bar on the same night?”
“Synchronicity!” Declan says, ever the optimist.
“Maybe,” Quaid says, but it’s very clear he doesn’t agree.
“Well, what do you think it is?” Aric asks. “Just say it. I mean, we’re about to do something pretty fuckin’ dangerous, if you’ve got concerns, let’s hear them.”
“I feel like there’s a hand guiding us, you guys.”
“Who’s hand?” I ask.
He looks at me and shrugs. “I don’t know.”
“Apollo?” Aric asks.
“Or Ares,” Quaid shoots back.
“Or Hermes, or Hera, or Theseus, or who the fuck ever,” Declan says. “Who cares? We’re here and they’re not.”
“What if it’s a trap?” Quaid asks. “What if they sent us in here just like they sent Aric? What if we’re the sacrifices?”
None of us say anything. Because this makes too much sense to disregard.
After many long seconds of silence, Aric finally throws up his arms. “Fine. It’s a trap. We’re worthless fucking demigods and a mortal. That’s all we’ll ever be… if we stay here. But if we can get to the center and go through to Paradise, we’ve got a real chance guys.”
“And if we die trying?” Quaid asks.
Declan shrugs. “Who cares? If it’s true, and the gods all think we’re nothing but a bunch of expendables, then fuck them and this place too. I’d rather die trying than settle for being something less.”
We all nod in unison.
“Yeah,” I say. “I don’t even know my parents. They sent me away to live as a human. Fuck this place. I’m done. I want my Paradise.”
“Yeah,” Aric says, practically growling that word out. “My father can go fuck himself.” He looks at Declan. “I’d rather die trying than stay here, safe, but despised.” He looks at Quaid now. “What about you?”
Quaid scoffs. “You guys were right about me from the beginning. I’m Mr. Nobody.
These glasses?” He points to them. “They’re not even mine.
Apollo lent them to me. He made me check them out like a fuckin’ library book.
You have no idea how humiliating it is to beg for jobs from the gods.
” He looks at me now. “I want to be with you, Star.” Then he looks at Aric and Declan. “And I don’t mind sharing.”
Declan chuckles. Aric kinda grunts.
But all I do is smile.
They are mine.
They are all mine.