chapter twenty-five

The beast stared at the rose for longer than he realized. Could it really be the one he was looking for? If what the girl said was true, then it came from his father...

That certainly seemed to fit the narrative.

He needed to find out more. The rose clearly contained magic, but what kind? Was it enough to break his curse? Open the labyrinth? There was no way to be sure until he held it in his claws.

"Do you wish for my mercy?" the beast asked the girl, watching as her shoulders rose with a sharp breath. "I will not deny you a swift end if you request one."

"What I truly wish for doesn't appear to be an option." She swallowed. "I don't wish to starve, but I don't wish to die by your hand, either. I was given this rose because your brother had hope it could pull me out of these tunnels, though it would seem he was wrong about the intent of its magic. However, that doesn't mean there's not another way one can escape. "

"No one escapes the labyrinth."

"Well, not yet."

"Not ever."

"That seems rather pessimistic," Thea said stiffly.

"I'm afraid you won't find a great deal of optimism from me. Now, do you want to die early or not?" he asked grimly.

"Who says I have to die at all?" Thea met him with those stubborn eyes of hers. Why did they always stare straight at him like that? Most men couldn't bear to look at his face for more than a minute before cowering back in disgust, but this girl... she stared death dead in the eyes. "I'm the one with the rose, after all. Perhaps I can help you figure out the magic it carries."

"Or I could just kill you and take it for myself," the beast glowered.

Thea tilted a brow. "Is that what you plan to do?"

"If I must."

"I don't think there's a must ," Thea said with an assured smile teasing her pink lips.

Why was she so confident? She did know that she was in a prison with no doors, right?

"Is that a challenge?" the beast glanced over at his axe, his blood going cold the second he looked at it. Truth be told, he didn't want to see her bleed. He'd spoken to her far too much for this to be a kill absent of emotion, but he couldn't let her believe there was any other way out, either. Perhaps it would be easier on them both if she asked him to end her. "I will kill you, if prompted."

"I don't think you will."

Fairmyth, I bet it was that mouth of hers that got her sent here in the first place.

"Why not?" the beast growled, his patience thinning faster than a fraying rope. "I've slain hundreds of men in these tunnels. What makes you any different?"

"Well, for starters, I'm not a criminal."

Again, with this?

"If you're truly not a criminal, then you must be a fool." The beast flashed his fangs, but even with his fiercest scowl, she didn't quake. "No one simply walks into the labyrinth. I've killed my share of fools, as well."

"Then you can kill one more." She rose from her seat, snatching up the rose from the table as she held it close to her heart like a shield. "If I'm foolish for hoping to see my family again, then so be it. Kill me if you must, but I refuse to hand over the rose while there's still a chance I can escape."

The beast's blood boiled, his snout steaming as he stood up from the table with a slam of his fists. She thought she could simply push him around because she had a fancy flower. This was his labyrinth, his home, and his curse to deal with. She had no part in it.

I'll get the rose myself, then...

"Very well," The beast stormed over to his axe and snatched it into his claws. "If you wish for me to take it by force, then that's what will be done. I already warned you I wouldn't deny you my mercy ."

The girl's eyes went wide, finally showcasing a sliver of fear as she caught her reflection in the blood-stained axe. She staggered back from her spot, keeping the rose close to her chest as she looked around for the way out. Seeing her cower twisted something in the beast's core, but his anger coated over it, blinding him with a fresh bloodlust. He'd done enough talking; that rose was going to be his, one way or the other.

"Don't run!" the beast bellowed as he took the first swing, hitting only air as the girl darted back toward the way she came in. "You wouldn't want me to miss your neck."

"I don't want you to hit it, either!" she shouted back as she ran for the stone wall that blocked her inside. Her red skirts fluttered behind her, like an omen of death, readying the beast for the sight of her blood. "Please! I can help you! The rose is— "

"Is mine!" The beast threw his axe, flying it through the air right in line with the girl's throat. She ducked, and the blade smashed into the wall behind her, hard enough that it embedded in the stone that marked the hidden door.

She froze, trapped between the axe and the incoming beast. He snatched her by the shoulder, forcing a gasp from her as he pushed her up against the wall. He curled his claws around her shoulder, just enough to warn her with the sharp tips but not enough to puncture her skin. He wasn't one to torture his prey, but today it was tempting.

The rage he felt was like no other. She'd mocked him, ordered him around, and had the audacity to stare him dead in the eyes.

Just like she was now...

His breath snagged in the back of his throat, caught off guard by the wide eyes that gripped him in a chokehold. She looked terrified. He'd seen the look a thousand times when he ripped the soul from a criminal's body, but it had never shaken him like this before. She held his eyes for a few solid seconds, her gaze tunneling into his soul like she couldn't believe the monstrous form he had taken on so quickly. Why did she look at him like that? Like he wasn't a monster, and this was surprising?

"I've met a beast before. You're not him. "

She's lying... I am a beast. I'm the maze's monster, and she's... she's...

He took the rose, prying it straight from her delicate fingers. She jumped but didn't resist, shutting her eyes as she readied herself for what came next. The beast yanked his axe out of the wall, then released her shoulder, glancing his eyes over her to ensure he hadn't left any marks on her skin.

"Go," he said under his breath.

The wall behind her rumbled, and a second later, it disappeared, opening back up into the labyrinth. The girl whirled around, still breathing heavily as she looked at the new escape route.

"But, why—"

"Go!" the beast roared, and she didn't resist.

She dashed into the tunnels, vanishing into the darkness, and leaving the beast with a rose in his claws and a pit in his stomach. Perhaps he wasn't so merciful after all.