chapter nine

Thea walked home in silence. The sky was a glorious blue, the birds carried a sweet song in the air, and the breeze rustled the grass like it was an ocean of green, but Thea felt like she was walking through the fires of Underworth. Was there even fire in Underworth? She didn't know, but the pain and misery that seemed to follow the stories of the great king of corpses seemed to line up flawlessly with her own suffering.

What was she going to tell her sisters?

When the tiny cottage came into view, Thea's stomach knotted as she thought about how Lord Malik was the technical owner of even this tiny scrap of property. What if he decided to kick them all out now that Father couldn't pay off the taxes? Would they truly end up on the streets? Ridiculed for the rumors that have already gotten Father arrested?

This is all Ceyden's fault. If our home burns, it's because he lit the match.

"Thea!" Clara was the first to notice her sister. She was sitting outside washing a few puny-looking potatoes in a basin. "Girls! Thea is home!"

A second later, the creaky door flung open, and Thalia, Belinda, and Dora all ran outside like a stampede of wild horses. They all dropped what they were doing, racing up to Thea without a second to lose.

They know...

"Thea, what happened!?" Clara asked, her eyes already glassy. "W-where's Father? Why are people saying all these terrible things?"

"P-people?" Thea blinked.

"It was all over the city!" Dora said. "Everywhere we went, chatter about a new offering for the labyrinth's monster was being discussed. I didn't think much of it at first, but then I heard Father's name brought up!"

"Me, too," Thalia said with a quivering lip. "Someone said a man named Theodore tried to poison Lord Malik today at the courthouse. That's where Father was going today, but he wouldn't... he couldn't..."

"He didn't ," Thea said firmly, kneeling down to meet Thalia's wide eyes. "I promise you, what you heard about Father's crimes isn't true. He never tried to hurt anyone."

"Well, of course he didn't. We know he would never do such a thing," Clara said. "So why isn't he here? "

Thea's heart sank as she realized there was still plenty to the story her sister didn't know. She didn't want to tell them that Father's arrest was her fault, but she couldn't keep the truth from them, either.

"The guards have reason to believe he's guilty." Thea took in a long breath. "Because they have a witness claiming he saw Father try to poison Lord Malik's cup."

"What!?" the sisters cried in near-perfect unison.

"But how!?" Belinda gasped. "Who would have claimed something like that?"

"Ceyden."

The second Thea spoke the name, a tense quiet fell over her sisters. That was all the explanation they needed to understand what truly had occurred. The reactions were mixed among the girls. Belinda and Thalia started sniffling, Clara looked absolutely lost, and Dora was already turning red from the neck up.

"Let me guess..." Dora growled. "Ceyden offered to help Father—"

"If I agree to marry him," Thea finished.

Clara seemed to snap out of her trance, shaking her head slowly, then faster, as she finally let an unladylike squeal echo up from her throat. "That beast! He can't possibly expect Thea to marry him by blackmailing Father! "

"H-he really got Father in trouble?" Thalia asked. "But why? I thought he liked Thea."

"No, he's infatuated with Thea," Dora corrected. "And he's a spoiled brat who thinks he can have anything in the realm he wants just because his daddy is the keeper of the labyrinth. Well, I have a daddy, too, and he's not going to sit in a cell for a minute longer!"

Dora stormed off, but Thea caught her by the arm before she could march into Olympia's jailhouse. "Dora! Where do you think you are going?"

"To tell the guard that their witness is a big ugly liar, of course!" Dora tried to pull her arm free, but Clara rushed to help Thea hold her back.

"Dora, they'll never listen to us," Clara said.

"Why not!? They listened to a hardheaded divine one, didn't they?" Dora huffed.

"Yes, because he's a divine one ," Thea reminded her. "And his father is favored by King Zion. Going there will only give them an opportunity to arrest one of us, too. Lord Malik already tried to accuse me of being involved in the poisoning plot."

"H-he did?" Belinda gasped.

"Yes, but I think he only meant to scare me off," Thea explained. "This isn't something we can stop. Not without... without Ceyden. "

Thea felt sick for even considering the thought, but what other choice did she have? Could she really leave Father to suffer for a crime he had no hand in?

"Hold on, you're not actually considering Ceyden's offer, are you?" Clara asked with wide eyes. "Thea, he's a monster!"

"I know!" Thea pressed her hands against her forehead, wishing she could tear her face off until she was a hideous skeleton that no divine one would ever go to any trouble for. "But our father isn't a monster, and he's about to get thrown into a maze with one."

Thalia gasped. "T-the labyrinth?" Silent tears spilled down her cheeks, twisting Thea's heart into a knot. "They wouldn't do that... Father never hurt anybody."

"Yes... but look who he offended," Dora said with a bit lip. "Thea's right. Without Ceyden's help, Father is..."

She couldn't say it; none of them could. How could they possibly think of the unimaginable happening to someone they loved so dearly?

How can I sit back and just let it happen?

"Father will be fine," Thea said in a low voice. "I promise. I won't let anything happen to him."

"Hold on a second, Thea." Dora put a hand on her shoulder, her grip frightfully strong. "We all know Father wouldn't want you to marry Ceyden. None of us wants you to marry Ceyden, no matter how he threatens us."

Except that's just it. The threats won't stop with just Father.

Thea thought back to the determined look in Ceyden's eyes and the greedy aura that showed no acceptance of getting anything less than his desires. She should have known quitting wouldn't be enough to sever her connection with him. Ceyden's divine gift was designed to let him find whatever he wanted. His mind was wired to hunt for what he desired, no matter the cost, and satisfaction only came when he claimed his prize.

This doesn't end until Ceyden's hunt ends with it.

"I know what Father wants." Thea swallowed, trying to hide the shake in her voice as she held her head high so her sisters couldn't see her shrivel. "But I know what I want, too. I want you all to be safe, and I promise to make that happen."