chapter twenty

Thea turned, her muscles tensing without permission as she met the beast's sterling gray eyes. They were so intense and just so human . She couldn't get herself to look away from them, no matter how much the rest of his physique piqued her interest. She clutched the rose to her chest, holding it up again like a piece of armor in case she had been right about it defending her.

"I was wondering if I'd see you again," Thea said with only a tiny amount of shake slipping into her voice. "Have you come to finish the job?"

She eyed his grim axe, her skin already stinging as she imagined it slicing through her flesh like a pat of butter. It was in his hands, but he didn't have it raised the way he did before, like he was ready to swing but wasn't planning on doing it just yet.

His hands look human, too... aside from the claws.

"Is that what you wish?" the beast asked. His voice still sounded so familiar to her, like Ceyden's, but raspier with an underlying growl that prickled the hairs on the back of her neck. "I will not deny you a swift end, if that's what you desire."

His knuckles cracked as he shifted his grip around the axe's handle. Thea gulped, and the rose warmed like it was trying to reassure her. She wasn't entirely sure what all this flower was capable of, but admittedly, it had given her enough hope that she wasn't ready to submit to the beast's blade yet.

"Actually, I would desire a rather long end," Thea replied. "One where I'm old, gray, and wrinkly, with maybe a thick wool sweater tied around my arms."

The beast snorted, and Thea wondered if it was his version of a laugh, though, he didn't seem to be in a particularly humorous mood.

"Don't be ridiculous." He glared at her, flashing his fangs with each whip of his tongue. "You missed out on an ending like that when you entered the labyrinth. No one who is sent here is worthy of living out their days."

"What about you?" Thea asked, her long lashes catching on a fleck of dust and causing her to blink more rapidly. She wondered if it made her look teary-eyed. "You were sent down here, yet you've been able to survive. Why do you get to break the rules?"

"Because I never broke them above the surface," the beast growled. "I'm not a criminal like you."

"I never said I was a criminal."

"Everyone down here is a criminal."

"You're not." Thea popped a hand on her hip. "Well, except for when you tried to kill me, an innocent. That seemed rather criminal-esque to me."

"Innocent?" the beast scoffed. "Innocents aren't sent here."

"Oh, so you were guilty of something?"

"What? No, I—"

"You were innocent, then?" Thea tapped a finger to her chin, slightly enjoying watching the frustration stir in the fuzzy beast. "But that doesn't make sense... you said that only—"

"I know what I said!" the beast boomed, causing the cavern walls to rattle around them. "I have committed no crimes, yet I was still banished here, all right? I suppose the beast is a special case."

Thea watched his shoulders tense as he said beast. It seemed like there was more to his banishment than he wanted to share, but then again, anyone who looked more monster than man was bound to have personal issues.

"That makes two of us, then." Thea shrugged. "You probably still won't believe me, but I'm a special case, too. I never committed a crime, but still chose to be banished here."

" Chose ?" The beast blinked at her, his gray eyes lost and thoughtful. "That's absurd. Why would anyone ever choose to enter an endless maze with a ravenous beast?"

"Well, no one said anything about ravenous ," Thea said. "Though I do enjoy mazes."

"Is this a joke to you?"

"That depends on how inclined you are to actually listen to what I say," Thea said stiffly. "You already accused me of being a liar once. Why should it matter if I tell you the truth or not if you've already decided to dismiss me?"

"You..." He took in a ragged breath, pressing a claw to his forehead as he gathered himself before forming his next retort. "Are you trying to make me want to kill you? Because it's working."

"I thought you already wanted to kill me?" She thought back to the moment he had missed her with the axe. "Or... maybe you can't kill me."

"I could kill you; that's not a question," he said starkly.

"But you didn't," Thea said, causing his fur to bristle. "Why?"

"I came to ask you questions, not the other way around," the beast said.

"Questions?" Thea tilted her head. "About what?"

"The rose."

"I already told you; I didn't pick it."

"I'm aware of that now," he grumbled. "What I'm not sure about is why you would choose to bring it down here, and why it's affecting my labyrinth."

"I don't know anything about your labyrinth," Thea admitted. "I only just got here, remember?"

"Fine." He rolled his eyes. "Then at least tell me where the blasted thing came from."

"Why?"

"Because I asked you to!"

"Not very nicely..."

"You're my prisoner down here; I don't have to be nice ." He took a daunting step forward, but Thea was used to men throwing their weight around to try to appear powerful. She wasn't falling for it. He needed information from her, otherwise she would be dead. She wasn't going to give up her worth to him that easily.

"Well, I don't talk to rude prison guards." Thea folded her arms. "You can either ask nicely or leave."

"What!?"

"You heard me."

"This is not a negotiation!" He smacked his knuckles into the nearest wall, causing dirt to shower from above. "Tell me what you know about the rose, or I'll, I'll—"

"You'll what?" Thea stepped forward, fearlessly closing the distance between them as she stared up at his intense eyes. His pupils shrunk, and he froze stiff as she stopped only inches away from him. It was as if no one had ever dared to approach him before. "Kill me? You'll learn nothing from me then."

Here's to hoping my limited knowledge of the rose is enough to keep me alive...

He stayed quiet, his sharp teeth grinding together as he glared at Thea like she was the biggest thorn in his side that he now had to cope with.

"Please..." he grumbled, his eyes blazing as he barely managed the word. "Tell me what you know about the rose."

Thea blinked, a little shocked he actually complied with her request for him to be nicer. "Sure," she said with a mischievous smile creeping up her lips. "I'll be happy to tell you what I know... in exchange for something, of course."

"What!? But you only said I had to be nice!" he snarled.

"Nice is a requirement, dear beast, but not the only one," Thea tsked. "I don't give out information for free. All I ask in return is some supper."

"Supper?"

"You heard me," Thea said. "You clearly have some sort of food supply if you've survived down here for so long. I want a meal out of it. It shouldn't be too much to ask for what I can offer in return."

One meal won't last me long, but it might give me enough time to find out if there's really a way out of here.

"It's no wonder a woman like you was sent to the labyrinth," the beast scoffed. "You're insufferable."

Thea laughed. She couldn't help it. If she had been insufferable, Ceyden would have never forced her to choose the labyrinth in the first place. "You're quite the catch yourself, but I can still manage sharing a dinner table with you. If you'll have me?"

She gave him an imploring look, watching as his mind waged war behind those striking eyes. A few moments later, he let out a sigh that had a bit more growl to it than a normal man's would.

"Fine," he clipped, hoisting the axe back over his shoulder as he turned away from her. "The labyrinth will show you the way at suppertime."

Yes !

"Wait!" Thea called to him. "When is suppertime? I have no way to tell time down here."

"Whenever I say so," the beast huffed over his shoulder. "And don't be late."