"The Labyrinth?" I asked, nearly tripping over my feet in surprise.

Daedalus looked down in shame. "I opened in, when I arrived in Tartarus. I wanted to escape, and I thought the Labyrinth could help me do that. I didn't know what would happen-,"

I cut him off by punching him in the face.

"Jase!" Charlie grabbed me by the waist to keep me from Daedalus, who was on the ground with his hand to his broken nose. "Jason, stop," Charlie whispered. He wasn't chastising me; he was warning me. I growled at the inventor and stood my ground, crossing my arms angrily to keep myself from lashing out. If the Labyrinth hadn't opened, Nyx and her army of cyclops never would have escaped. None of this would have happened. I would be teaching a sword fighting class for my group of campers, the same group I taught every year and the same group of kids Grover's daughter and I had traveled around the country to find and bring to camp. I'd be having lunch with my family at the pavilion, I'd be teaching Adora how to use the water to her advantage and having book club with the kids at Camp.

"Because of you, my parents were kidnapped! My family was torn apart and you didn't know this would happen? If it weren't for you, we wouldn't even be here in the first place!" I cocked my fist to hit him again but the action caused a stinging pain in my back where the Aeternae claws had raked across my skin. I hissed in pain and Charlie took me by the shoulders for support. He coughed and gripped me tighter, reminding me that he was still sick from the Aeterane's poison. For his sake, I chose to glare at Daedalus instead of attacking. "Let's keep moving," I growled. Charlie took my hand and pulled me back onto course. I tried not to let my anger take over but it was a lot harder than you'd think.

He's the reason you're here

He's the reason your family is in danger

I took a deep breath and began counting to a hundred. Charlie stood next to me, stealing glances at the old man behind us.

He's the reason Charlie is here.

I tightened my grip on Charlie's hand and tied not to draw my dagger. Charlie noticed the difference and stared at me until I made eye contact.

"Jase, what would you do to get out of here?" he asked softly.

Anything

"I would not have done that. I would not have done anything if I knew this would happen. I would never endanger so many people," I told him.

"Jase, he didn't know."

It doesn't matter, he still did it

Look at him, he doesn't care

Because of him, you-

"Stop it," Charlie ordered.

My eyes drifted to the ground and I shook my head. "Stop what?" I responded sharply.

"The arai, they're in your head aren't they?" He spoke sternly.

"Does it matter?" I snapped.

He doesn't care

"Yes."

He's lying

I made a growling sound in the back of my throat, angered at the voices in my head. Charlie grabbed my wrists and kissed me in retaliation. I melted into the kiss, feeling my anger seep away. The voices subsided enough for me to take back control. Charlie pulled away and let his lips hover over mine with a small smile.

It wasn't real

Well, it sure as Tartarus felt real.