chapter thirty-four

She's mad.

"How many times do I have to tell you that escaping the labyrinth isn't that easy?" Zared said.

"I never said this would be easy," Thea argued, folding her arms with that taught curl of her lip that was always more adorable than intimidating. "Underworth is just as dangerous as this maze from what I've been told, not to mention it's ruled by King Hayden and Queen Priscilla, who don't exactly like Olympia."

"And the curse ," Zared interjected. "Mortals aren't able to survive in Underworth for a reason."

"Yes, I know." Thea looked down at the rose, which seemed to be glowing more by the second. It better not like this idea... "But I wouldn't be there for long. Only until I could get past the border."

Does she hear herself?

"Thea, do you really think you can just walk out of Underworth after coming from a portal that leads to the more dangerous prison?" Zared asked, his chest tightening as he imagined Thea stumbling through the life-sucking land. "If you're spotted, they'll likely push you into the pits of Tarteron, dead or alive."

"Well, I'm planning to jump in myself, so what harm can climbing out a second time really do?"

"Thea!"

"Zared! I'm not messing around here."

"Neither am I!" Zared pounded his fist into the table, causing the entire cavern to shake from the force. Thea went silent, and Zared took a few seconds to collect his temper. He hadn't realized she could shake him up so intensely, but he hated the idea of her going into the cursed kingdom when she was already perfectly safe with him. "I'm sorry... I just don't think it's a good idea. My curse clearly states that I need another person to break it, so if anything happens to you..."

Thea's expression softened, her delicate shoulders sinking as she noticed the unspoken fear in Zared's voice. He couldn't lose Thea... not when they were so close to having all the answers.

"I understand," Thea said softly. "But I don't know where to keep looking from inside these walls. The rose has some sort of deeper meaning to it, but I don't know if we can figure it out on our own. Perhaps the answer is for us to escape the maze first, and then search for the cure for your curse on the outside."

Us... She wants me to leave with her.

"I can't enter Underworth," Zared said solemnly. "I've... I've tried to throw myself into the pits before, but my curse seems to bind me to the labyrinth, or at the very least, prevents me from stepping on the soil of a cursed kingdom."

Thea's eyes went wide, and her lips parted as a mist glossed over her vision. He had never told anyone about his attempts to escape his life before, but then again, he'd never even told anyone his name until Thea...

"Zared..."

"There's still more we can try with the rose," Zared continued, pushing past the discussion of his darkest hours. "Maybe the petals need to be arranged in a certain way? Or perhaps there's a secret word that needs to be whispered to it that will open some secret tunnel? Or maybe—"

"Zared," Thea repeated his name, speaking it so delicately he almost didn't recognize it as his own. She reached out, and to his surprise, took his hand, not even shuddering from his rough skin or jagged claws. "I want to help you."

His heart stuttered. "I want to help you, too. But Underworth is dangerous for mortals, not to mention the portal opens right on the edge of the pit. If you fall in..."

"I won't."

"But if you're caught—"

"I'll be careful."

But what if you don't come back?

The true reluctance he felt smacked him between the eyes as he recognized what really was holding him back. Escaping through the portal could really work... but what would Thea do when she was gone? Would she ever dare return? He tightened his grip on her hand. He wanted to squeeze it until his nerves vanished, but he didn't want to risk harming her with his powerful grip. He expected her to pull away from his touch, but instead, she shifted closer, causing his blood to heat.

"What do you plan to do?" Zared asked.

"Find answers," Thea admitted, looking down at the rose in her grasp. "This key was created by the greatest puzzle maker in the land. The only answers on how it functions will likely come from him, too. I've seen your father's study before. There's a document titled The Rose and the Labyrinth, and I have a feeling it explains more of what we need to know."

A document in Olympia...

"I see," Zared bit the inside of his lip, piercing the flesh with his fang. "So you'd travel all the way back home..."

"Yes, if I was able to escape," Thea admitted.

"What about your family? Would you visit them, too?" Zared asked.

"If I'm able," Thea said with a small smile trailing up her lips. "I'm sure they're worried sick about me, if not already mourning me. I'm also rather concerned about them, too. I have no way of knowing whether Ceyden held up his end of the bargain..."

"Bargain?" Zared's bushy brows knotted together. "You made a bargain with my brother?"

Thea's face paled, and her hand slipped from Zared's as she backed up a step with a sigh. "Right, I still haven't mentioned that..." She rubbed her forehead. "Yes, your brother can be quite the negotiator, I'm afraid."

"What did he negotiate?" Something stirred in Zared. Thea had been rather vague about his younger brother, other than mentioning a general distaste for him. He knew that he gave her the rose, but there was clearly more to it.

"He..." Thea took a deep breath. "He's the one who framed my father, and then I took the blame for Father's crime. That's why I'm in the labyrinth."

Zared's eyes widened, his muscles constricting as he recalled all the times Thea claimed she was innocent. It was his brother who made her plead guilty?

"He felt bad about it afterward," Thea continued. "In his own sort of way... So he brought me the rose, hoping I could escape with it. But there was one catch… He would watch over my family while I was gone, and if I ever succeeded at escaping, I would have to marry him."

"What!?" Zared gasped, his beastly growl seeping into his voice.

"I know..." Thea pressed her palms over her eyes. "I never wanted to admit it to you."

Thea is betrothed… to my younger brother?