But my body does not care; it’s still living in the past, reacting negatively at just the sight of the maze’s looming hedges. Especially when I connect it to the man currently holding my wrist.
“I don’t trust you.” My tone is resolute as I shake my head.
His laugh is surprisingly warm as his head falls backward before he locks eyes with mine again. “Smart,” he says with a quirk of his lips. “I wouldn’t trust the god of trickery either.”
A sense of dread trickles down my spine, and I swallow hard at the sensation.
“I promise I have nothing nefarious planned,” he adds, tugging on my wrist. “However, itcanbe.” He winks. “If that’s what you so wish.”
I stare back with the most unimpressed look I can muster, and his smile widens. The last of our conversation is exchanged in silence. He urges me on with a quick jerk of the head. I still don’t trust him, but after a few seconds and a handful of rapid heartbeats, I acquiesce with a slow nod.
Not long after, we arrive at the center of the maze, the looming statue of an archer with his arrow pointing to the sky welcoming us. A cold chill traverses my body, as if I am walking straight into a haunted memory. If I strain hard enough, I can almost hear the wild thump of my heartbeat before Wolfgang told us to run that night.
We’re both quiet as we walk deeper into the maze’s center. A crow caws above our heads, and I lift my gaze to catch its flight, its dark shadow crossing the night sky. The waning moon is barely a sliver tonight, and the moonlight struggles to illuminate our path.
“Why did you bring me here?” My question feels accusatory, and I make no effort to rectify it.
“Why do you think, Veil Vulturine?” Gemini smirks as he unbuttons his cuffs before doing the same with the collar of his black silk shirt.
I eye him warily, but I say nothing as my nape prickles with apprehension. When his collar is loose enough, he reaches up to the back of his neck, pulls the shirt over his head, and discards it with a flick of his wrist.
His raw beauty takes me aback, as if it were my first time laying my eyes on him. His tattooed chest heaves with anticipation, muscles tight and corded, as if he’s already holding himself back.
“Another one of your games?” I ask condescendingly. All the while, my heart pounds in my chest.
He laughs, toeing off his dress shoes. “Nonsense,” he says, chock-full of arrogance. “I’m simply helping you rewrite history.”
I’m fairly certain where this is going, but something in me needs him to say it out loud. Still, I carefully take off my stilettos while I ask, “Whose history?”
His smirk transforms into a leering grin, and I’m eerily reminded of the stranger who was destined to kill me in this very maze.
“Ours.”
I gulp loudly, a healthy dose of fear and excitement now coursing through my veins.
His bright eyes darken as his chin dips down. As he stares at me through his lashes, his smile turns threatening and calculated. “Run.”
The word is barely out of his mouth before I bolt away, my subconscious leading me directly to the same hedge path I took the first time I was here.
Gemini’s laughter rises up in the air like a bleak warning, and my body breaks into goose bumps. My mind knows this is all pretend, but I can’t seem to convince my body that it isn’t real.
And what if it isn’t?
And this past month was just one elaborate hoax?
The taunting fear has adrenaline coursing through my limbs, urging me on. Blood rushes through my ears as I weave through the maze, blindly turning left and then right.
This time, I can tell Gemini hasn’t given me a head start. I hear his heavy footfalls behind me like a stalking shadow, and the sound sends me into a frenzy. My heart pounds and pounds and pounds as I continue to run, cold sweat beading across my forehead.
I take a left turn and immediately realize my mistake when I find myself facing a dead end, where the hedge maze seems to reach much higher into the night sky in my frantic state.
“Dead end, little rabbit?”
I squeak out a small cry, as if I didn’t expect Gemini to appear behind me.
I whirl around, my eyes wild.
“You haven’t caught me yet,” I spit, walking backward to keep my distance.
