Page 51 of Minding the Minotaur
“I—I’m not doing any of this right.” Her face crumples and tears start squeezing out of her eyes. She’s sad as fuck, clearly.
“Oh, babe.” I gather her into my arms, and she sobs against my chest.
“I’m supposed to keep you under control, and I’m just putty in your hands.”
“I’m not complaining,” I smirk.
“Neither am I,” she wails. “I’ve loved every minute of it. But now Tippy’s angry and she’ll tell Otis and then he’ll sack me. And w-we won’t see each other ever again.”
“That will NOT happen,” I growl. “Fuck, I’ll eat lettuce leaves for a month if it stops Tippy telling Otis.” I kiss the top of her silken hair. “What’s brought this on, Pet?”
“I’m just so… sad about all the bad things that happened to m-monsters, in Sparkle and e-every-where. All because of humans.”
Damn, I thought as much.
“Hey, hey,” I shush softly into her hair. I kiss around her hairline, wiping the tears from her cheeks. Then I lay kisses on her eyelids. They’re salty sweet, and flutter at the touch ofmy lips. I wipe the wisps of golden hair away from her damp cheeks.
She’s letting out these cute little hiccups, and as she blinks up at me, her lashes are clumped with tears and her lower lip wobbles.
“Hey, you know what? I think you’re suffering from Labyrinth overwhelm,” I say. “Remember I told you that can happen. This place takes some adjusting to, and learning its history is confronting. Plus, there’s no sunshine.”
“There’s no sunshine in Sparkle either, it’s fake. At least you guys are honest about that.”
“True, but it’s still a lot to take in, babe. We monsters grow up knowing about the human world. But humans have been sheltered completely from our world. Being here shatters everything you’ve been led to believe.”
“Humans just walk around in a dream the whole time.” She sighs, swiping at her eyes with the back of her hand. “Life here is so much morereal. It’s so bright and—and fun, despite being underground. You all seem to get along together, and there’s laughter and happiness and…”
“You haven’t gone below level one, babe. It gets grimmer the further down you go.”
“What’s it like down there?”
“I don’t think we need to talk about it,” I say, stroking her cheek gently.
“Please, it actually helps to understand,” she begs.
I hesitate, but her damp eyes plead with me. “It’s pretty soul destroying. Mining and manufacturing, and long, exhausting shifts. The only entertainment is in the taverns, and they’re rough places, lots of fighting and getting wasted. Conditions are much worse than on the higher levels, but the pay is better, so monsters will risk the danger, and accidents. That’s what happened to Brody’s dad—he worked on level eight in a mine. There was a rock fall, and he injured his back so badly he’s in a wheelchair now.Brody supports the family by working up here in the Vault. Not great money, but it’s safer, and he’s near his dad to support him.”
“Is that why you paid him to borrow the portal cape?”
“Yeah. I’d have given him the money anyway, but he wouldn’t have taken it as a gift. But this was a situation that worked for both of us—he retained his pride, and I got the cape. Though he’s lucky Otis didn’t sack him for it. Otis knows Brody’s family situation, and he’s got a soft heart in that big green chest.”
“You and Brody both took huge risks.”
“We did, and I don’t regret it, because I met you.”
She hugs me tight before looking up at me out of worried eyes. “Sparkle isn’t safe for you, Arlo. Promise me you’ll never go there again.” She strokes my chest with soft fingers. “I don’t think I could bear to lose you.”
My heart sings at these words. Maybe it’s too soon to bare my soul, but I murmur, “I won’t have to, if you never leave.”
She’s silent for a second. “I’ll have to go back up there after this job ends.”
“I don’t want you to,” I say gruffly.
“Really?”
“Yeah, really. We’ll work this out, Sammy, you and me.” I lean down, and she raises her mouth, lips quivering, and this time I keep it gentle as I kiss her. Tender. My tongue swirls, tasting her salty sweetness but not getting too passionate, even when she moans and tries to grind against me.
She needs slow, gentle loving right now. “Do you need stress relief, pet?” I ask softly.
