chapter eleven

Gasps and whispers flooded the courthouse, the loudest coming from Thea's sisters. She tried not to look back at them; she didn't want to see the horror on their faces.

They need their father more than they need me. If this is what it takes to save him, then so be it.

"Theabelle!" Father exclaimed from behind Thea. "What are you doing? Don't tell such lies!"

"Don't try to cover for me, Father," Thea said sternly as she looked back at her father's panicked face. He was being restrained by the guards, every muscle in his body fighting to get to her and pull her away from this mess. "We both know you're innocent. Do we not?"

Father shook his head violently, his greasy hair flying in front of his eyes. "Yes, but—"

"And I admit guilt, Your Honor," Thea said to the judge. "It was me who was released from Lord Malik's estate, me who held a grudge against his family for forcing me to leave, and me who concocted the poison in the vial."

Ceyden's eyes widened, pure shock bleaching his face as his mouth opened, but no words made their way out. He looked like he'd been kicked in the stomach, and in truth, Thea enjoyed the sight. She would rather die in the labyrinth than be his trophy wife, and that fact seemed to chew Ceyden up and spit him right back out.

Like I said. You'll never have me, Ceyden.

"Is this true? Would you swear by it?" the judge asked Thea.

"I would."

"Thea!" Father cried.

"H-hold on just a second!" Ceyden stumbled to his feet, his breath not catching up to his words as his eyes flickered with pulsing magic. "Theabelle didn't craft that poison!"

"Oh?" Thea spun around, her heart blazing in her chest like a raging fire as she glared at the divine one. "Then who did?"

He went mute. His teeth clattered together as he realized that proving her innocence would include exposing his guilt. He couldn't stop this, not without stopping all of it.

"I... I still think it was crafted by Theodore. She's only trying to steal the blame!" Ceyden stammered.

The judge looked back at Thea, his twisted brows considering this thought while Thea remained cool and collected. She'd prepared for this. She'd cleaned every inch of Lord Malik's mansion. Not only had she recognized the vial that was found at the scene of the crime, but she knew exactly what herbs would have been in the greenhouse where it was located.

"It was me, Your Honor," Thea said with a dip of her head. "The vial was palm-sized, slightly murky from repeated use, and corked with a yellow plug. The contents are only dangerous when ingested, but it should have had a strong scent of mint when inhaled."

The judge blinked, then turned to the nearest guard, who gave him a subtle nod. Thea felt her shoulders relax the smallest bit. In truth, the mint part was a guess. But considering that nearly half the apothecary's herbs were run over by invasive mint plants, it made sense that Ceyden would have grabbed more than a few sprigs while concocting his poison .

"The girl speaks the truth," the judge announced, earning another round of whispers from the crowd. "She is the guilty party."

"Seize her!" Lord Malik declared, and the guard obeyed after a confirming nod from the judge.

"No!" Father cried, his chains rattling as he tried to tear free from the guards. "Thea please! Don't do this. I'll go in your place. You should be free to live! Please don't take her away!"

Thea turned to face her family before the guards could pin her in place. Her sisters were all crying, each too muffled by their pain to even utter so much as a goodbye. Thea smiled at them, doing her best to reassure them as the shackles snapped around her wrists. The icy metal scraped her skin, weighing her down as if it was already dragging her into the maze hidden beneath Olympia's surface.

"I love you," Thea said, her heart throbbing as she watched the thick tears roll down Thalia's cheeks. "Take care of each other, okay? And don't give up until you make it back to Mortalia."

"T-Theabelle..." Father's cracked voice nearly shattered Thea in two, yet she still forced herself to meet her father's eyes. He looked so hollow, like a piece of him had been torn away and snapped into iron shackles. "Thea, please..."

"They need you, Father," Thea said in the strongest voice she could muster, swallowing her own round of tears. "We all do."

"We need you, too," he said in a wobbly voice.

Thea bit her lip, then forced another smile. She had to be strong. This was the last time she could be a big sister to them and a strong daughter for her father. "I'll always be with you. Every time you see a rose bloom, that'll be me smiling back."

"Thea!" Belinda cried, her eyes rimmed in red as she tried to reach out to her eldest sister.

"Be strong, girls," Thea said with a raise of her chin. "Remember to always be brave when facing your beasts."

Her sisters did their best to swallow their tears, each lifting their head and standing tall as they tried to mirror Thea's strength. Just seeing them attempt it caused Thea's heart to lift, and her shackles to lighten. They'd be all right without her; in fact, they'd be stronger for it.

"You... you can't be serious." Ceyden's voice was quiet among the crowd, but it was hard for Thea to miss when she'd grown so accustomed to shivering with every sound of it. "You really would rather... But you, you can't—"

"Watch me," Thea growled under her breath.

Watch me choose a beast over a brat.

"Theabelle Aynna." The judge raised his voice, standing from his seat as he gathered the attention of the entire courtroom. "Given you have pleaded guilty in the attempted murder of Lord Malik Ashoran, I hereby have no other choice but to grant you a punishment of equal severity."

Thea braced herself for the crack of the gavel, hardening her heart as she waited for the words that would effectively end her life forever. She tried to search for any regrets in the back of her mind, but she couldn't find a single one. She had chosen her death over an imprisoned life, and nothing about it felt wrong.

Goodbye, Olympia. I'll visit your roses soon.

"No!" Ceyden's voice cracked just a second before the gavel, but he was too late. Thea's fate was sealed.

"Theabelle Aynna, I hereby banish you to the labyrinth."