chapter thirty

Thea helped the beast limp back to his cave, doing her best to take on even a fraction of his crushing weight on her shoulders. The labyrinth made it a lot easier, guiding them down short paths with downward slopes that helped her keep the beast moving. His wound was bleeding badly, but it didn't appear to be very deep. The sword only grazed him, leaving a deep cut and a very grouchy patient.

"Ouch!" the beast hissed as he stumbled over a stone and shifted his injured side. "Watch where you're leading me!"

"How about you watch where you're stepping?" Thea snapped as she shifted the placement of his arm over her shoulders. Even through the dark fur, she could feel the curve of his biceps, and with every wince he made, they constricted. "How much further to your cave?"

"How ever far the labyrinth wants it to be," he huffed.

"I thought you said you controlled the labyrinth? "

"Do I look like I can control anything right now?"

"You could always try to control your temper," Thea said sharply. "I don't have to help you. I could always let you hobble back on your own, if you prefer."

He muttered something under his breath, but remained silent otherwise. He had so much pride, it made sense that he was related to Ceyden—but, at least the beast knew when to take a step back and shut his mouth.

"There." The beast weakly pointed at a piece of the wall. "That's where the opening is."

Thea looked over at the beast, then back again at the solid wall, only to find that it was already gone, replaced with the opening she had last seen when she ran through it out of fear for her life. She guided the beast inside, instantly smelling the fresh herbs from his garden and the lingering odor of over-steeped tea.

Thea led him over to the scrappy-looking bed and helped him lay on his good side, with the wound facing upward. He groaned with each breath, finally settling down with a pained sigh. Thea reached for his injury, attempting to peek under the torn scraps of his tunic to see if it was still bleeding. The beast coiled back at her touch, rolling away with another groan as he tried to keep her from messing with his wound .

"Hold still. I need to look at it," Thea scolded.

"It's fine!" the beast said through clenched teeth. "I don't need you messing with it."

"Would you quit being so stubborn and let me help you?"

The beast growled again, but Thea only glared at him, holding his gaze like a contest of dominance until he finally conceded and rolled back over. He didn't say anything, but Thea honestly preferred it that way over his grumbling. She pulled back the tunic that was already soaked red. She needed to clean the wound and bind it.

She left the beast's side and hunted around the cave for some for some sort of cloth. She found an old cloak and tore it into strips. Thea boiled water over the fire to dip them in before returning to the beast's side. His breathing had gotten heavier, probably dizzy from all the blood loss.

"Hold still," Thea said as she dabbed the sterilized cloth on the wound. The beast growled, but he obeyed. His entire body tightened, causing more blood to gush from the wound, but he held still enough that she was able to clean most of it away. She took one of the bigger cloths and bound it as tightly as she could to slow the bleeding.

"There," Thea said as she secured the final knot. "Try not to move around too much. The bleeding has slowed, but it will get worse if you agitate it."

"I can move if I want to," he argued.

"No. You can't."

"You don't speak for me."

"Perhaps I should. All you do is complain on your own!" Thea folded her arms. "If you didn't want to get hurt, then why did you jump into the middle of a fight in the first place?"

"To save your sorry skin, of course!" The beast leaned forward, grimacing from the pain before settling back on the bed. "You could at least try to sound grateful."

So he did save me intentionally...

"Thank you," Thea said, startling the beast as he flicked his eyes to hers. "For saving me from those men. Do you plan to tell me why you did it?"

The beast paused, his lips pressed together under his flared snout as he battled with his next words. "I... I think I need you."

Thea's heart pulsed and her cheeks flared with heat. The beast noticed the change in color, his eyes growing wide as he realized what he'd said.

"N-not like that!" he said hastily. "I mean, I need your help! Not you specifically— Well, yes, you specifically, but not like... argh!" He smacked a palm to his forehead and Thea bit back a laugh. He was kind of cute when he was flustered, though it was an odd look for such a beastly-looking man.

"What kind of help?" Thea asked, brushing past the beast's embarrassing moment, which he seemed to appreciate.

"I need your help with the rose," the beast said with a longing look in the flower's direction. Thea followed his gaze, noticing the rose was resting on the dining table. "I can't touch it. My curse demands that someone else utilizes its power, not me."

Thea approached the flower, her fingers tingling as she brushed the stem. The flower beamed, glowing softly and warming her fingertips as she lifted it in the air. "I see. What are you hoping it will do for you exactly? Break your curse?"

"That's right." The beast looked down at his palms, as if too embarrassed to look Thea in the eye when he admitted it, but also needing to remind himself why it needed to be shared. "Believe it or not, my good looks aren't natural."

"Well, that's a pity. The fangs were growing on me," Thea said with a teasing smile.

"I can always give you a closer look," the beast warned as he flashed the sharp teeth.

"I have a feeling you're more bark than bite." Thea twirled the rose. "You may look like a beast, but you're not as intimidating as you make yourself out to be."

"Or you're too foolish to know when boldness can kill you."

"True." Thea shrugged. "I have been known to be a bit impulsive..."

The beast rolled his eyes. "I would have never guessed..."

Thea laughed, then looked back down at the rose clasped between her fingers. This flower could change the beast's life forever, but what would he do after his curse was lifted? Would he stay in the tunnels? Would he look for an escape?

"May I ask you something?" Thea asked.

"You will, either way."

"Does your father know that your curse can be broken?" Thea asked, recalling the story he had told her of how Lord Malik hid his son away in his twisted prison.

The beast looked at his claws, finding them far more fascinating than Thea's question until he finally submitted to replying. "I assume so," he said softly. "My mother knew; hence why she tried to share with me all she knew in the letter she left me with. I believe my father doesn't want my curse broken for the same reason he sent men after that rose. "

Thea looked down at the flower, her stomach twisting as she recalled the dark smiles on the hired attackers. "Can the rose undo the labyrinth?"

"I don't know," the beast admitted. "But my brother believed it was a key. If that's true, and it has the power to free someone, even a beast, from the cavern walls..."

"It won't be inescapable anymore," Thea finished. "So Lord Malik would rather let his eldest son rot in prison than risk anyone escaping his perfect labyrinth?"

"It seems like an easy choice when the eldest son looks like this," the beast said as he motioned to his cursed form.

"That shouldn't matter!" Thea said, her grip tightening on the rose. "Family should come before riches or glory. Ugh! It's just like that family to do something so repulsive."

Fire burned through Thea as she imagined Lord Malik carelessly tossing a toddler into the labyrinth like it was some sort of waste disposal. It was no wonder the beast was so grouchy. Thea might have had a difficult life due to her beauty, but the beast had an even worse life due to his curse.

"They're hardly my family now," the beast said. "Just an obstacle I have to get over on my attempts toward freedom."

" Our attempts toward freedom."

"What?"

"I'm going to help you," Thea explained. "That is what you wanted, isn't it?"

"Well, yes—"

"Then it's settled." Thea set the rose back on the table, then returned to the beast's bedside. She crouched down on his level, eyes locked on his as she held out her hand to seal the deal. "I'll help you figure out the rose's magic and cure your curse so we can escape together ."

The beast blinked at her, staring at her hand like it was a foreign object. "I never promised escape was even possible."

"Then you'll promise to at least try," Thea said, swiping his hand and forcing it to shake with hers. His grip was solid, yet far softer than she had anticipated. "We have the key. We just need to figure out how to use it."

The beast sighed, then tightened his grip on Thea's, sending an odd flutter down her spine. "Fine, but just because we found the key, doesn't mean there's a door."

He may be right...

Thea finished the handshake, then pulled back, trying to hide the anxious thoughts seeping into her expression. There was at least hope now, and she could work with that .

"If that's the case, then we'll just break open our own exit. You deserve to see the sun."