chapter twenty-four

Thea took her seat on the cold stone, surprised by how comfortable it was as a chair. The beast portioned out a serving of stew in another bowl-shaped rock and slid it toward her, sloshing a bit of the thin broth onto the table covering.

The smell was tantalizing, just like the stews she had helped make at Lord Malik's estate. There was no silverware, so she had to pick up the bowl and sip it like a heavy cup, but she didn't mind. The chunks of carrot, potato, and other veggies warmed her from the inside out, filling her stomach and embracing her with the comforting broth. She wished there were more carrots but wasn't about to complain about a meal she was never meant to have.

"Well?" the beast muttered under his breath. Thea looked up from her bowl, surprised to find that he had been watching her the entire time she'd been eating, his own bowl still untouched. "How is it?"

Thea wiped her chin, ensuring none of the broth was dribbling down. "It's delicious. Why? Did you poison it or something?"

"No." He rolled his eyes. "I just... never mind." He dove into his bowl with his claws, piercing bits of potato and radish and popping them into his mouth.

Was he trying to be nice?

"Thank you," Thea said with a small smile. "I appreciate you going to the trouble to cook for me."

The beast froze with a piece of carrot midway to his open mouth. He lowered the skewered carrot and cleared his throat. "You're welcome." He averted his eyes from Thea, as if he was too shy to accept her gratitude, or he wasn't sure if he was doing it right. "I'm glad you find it adequate. Now, why don't you hold up your end of the deal, as well?"

That's right...

Thea looked down at the rose in her lap, then moved it onto the table for the beast to view. His eyes were instantly drawn to it, full of curiosity and a strange hope that made his face light up a touch.

"What would you like to know?" Thea asked as she reached for her cup. She glanced inside, and though it smelled like a strong tea, she was surprised to find that it was stuffed almost to the rim with leaves and only a slight bit of water on the bottom. She set the cup back down.

"Everything," the beast said bluntly. "Where it came from, what it does, why you brought it into the labyrinth of all places?"

"I already told you. It was given to me," Thea replied.

"By whom?" The beast narrowed his eyes. "And why would they give you such a thing?"

"Well..." Thea scratched her head. "The why is a bit of a long story. As for who , that's easy. It was given to me by Ceyden Ashoran, the son of Lord Malik, the creator of the labyrinth."

His eyes widened, and for a moment, the entire labyrinth seemed to go still. The room felt cold, and even the smoke from the fire seemed to thicken as if the walls were unable to absorb it any longer.

"Lord Malik?" The beast repeated. "He has a son?"

"So you know of Lord Malik then?" Thea pried, her interest piqued as she watched the beast's claws curl into a tight fist. "Oh, of course you would know him... He did create your home, after all."

"Yes," the beast said coldly, his eyes fixated on his curled claws. "I know him. Now, what about this son of his?"

"Ceyden," Thea repeated. "He's Lord Malik's only child, and a bit of a spoiled one at that. He stole the rose from his father's study, believing it was some sort of key that could help me escape."

Thea watched closely as the beast's face twisted, first into pain, then anger, then what almost looked like amusement. She was so drawn into watching him that she didn't even realize when she had picked up the cup of leafy tea and sucked back a leaf whole.

"That's the first true lie you've told," the beast said with a dry chuckle. "Though I don't think you even knew it."

"What?"

"Lord Malik doesn't have just one son..." The beast lifted his chin, showcasing his beastly chest as he stretched out his arms to display all the parts that made him inhuman. "He has two."

Two? Wait...

"You?" Thea gaped. "You're Lord Malik's son?"

"His firstborn, by the looks of it," the beast snorted. "Never knew I had a brother. Figures he'd want to replace me after I was tossed aside."

Tossed aside?

"But wait, how do you know he's your father, but not know about your brother?"

"I thought I was the one asking the questions?" the beast snapped with a stern glare.

"Yes, but you also agreed to be nice. "

"I can be nice and quiet at the same time."

Drat, he's right.

"All right, fine," Thea said with a defeated sigh, feeling entirely unsatisfied with the limited history the beast had shared about his family. It was no wonder he sounded so much like Ceyden, and also no wonder why Ceyden was always so monstrous . "But if you want to talk about it... I could share more with you about your brother, though he's admittedly not the most interesting person in the world..."

"Why should I need to know more about him? I didn't even know he existed until you told me," The beast said.

"Well, he's still your family."

"The same family that hid me in a labyrinth," the beast said bitterly, tugging at Thea's heart. "The only real family I ever had was my mother, though I barely remember her. She's the one who left me with the ring that allowed me to survive, and the note that explained... well, explained that." He pointed to the rose, his eyes clouded like he didn't fully believe what he was looking at.

"The rose? Your mother knew about it?" Thea studied the petals, recalling the tragic story of how Lady Evelyn perished after the birth of Ceyden. She wondered if the beast knew that, too...

"Maybe," the beast settled back into his seat. " She left me a note stating that a rose would be the key to my curse, though I have no clue if it's the same flower as the one you have."

A rose guarded by the labyrinth's creator...

"So it's not a key then," Thea said. "It's a cure?"

"You make it sound like I'm sick."

"Maybe you are. You've barely told me anything about you."

"Well, I'm not sick. I'm cursed. I figured even you could see that."

"See what?" Thea crossed her arms. "I see a man who is after something he's exhausted all his other efforts on."

"No, you see a beast who used to be a man."

"I've met a beast before," Thea said firmly, her thoughts flashing back to Ceyden's crimes. "You're not him."

He didn't respond after that, and she wasn't sure if that was because he wanted her to carry on the conversation or because he was plotting how to kill her.

"Is that why you were so protective of the roses?" Thea pieced together. "Because you assumed one of them would be the one that would break your curse?"

That would certainly explain why he was so angry at her for nearly picking one.

"Like I said, I don't know if your rose is the one I'm looking for," the beast said quietly. "I couldn't risk losing any of them."

"I see..." Thea bit her lip as she thought back to all the headless skeletons she saw in the tunnels. "Is that why you killed all those men? Because they touched your roses?"

"I killed them to be merciful," the beast replied hastily, as if he needed to validate his killing to himself as much as he did her. "The men who enter this labyrinth have only one way out, which is to Underworth's graves. I do them the kindness of speeding up their journey so they don't have to suffer for weeks without food."

The stew soured in Thea's stomach, and she wondered if she was the first prisoner to ever eat something other than a poisonous mushroom in the labyrinth. If she was meant to starve after this supper, she wondered if the beast would offer her the same mercy.

"So, what do you plan to do now that I've brought the rose?" Thea asked, unsure if she was ready for the answer. It wasn't a key... it was a cure for the beast, so what did that mean for her?

The beast met her eyes, seeming to understand what she was asking as he looked between her and the enchanted flower.

"Do you plan to grant me mercy as well?" Thea asked.