chapter forty-six

Two more prisoners have entered the labyrinth.

Zared watched the maze flicker, informing him of the new arrivals now that he didn't have his ring to direct him to them. He sighed, picking up his axe to go deal with the newcomers while he still had the motivation to stand. He placed his hand on the axe's handle, but for some reason, couldn't convince himself to pick it up.

Do I really need to defend myself?

He left the axe, wandering out into the tunnels with only his claws as protection. Maybe it was because he was mad, or maybe because he was hopeful, but Zared didn't want to be an executioner today. He didn't want to be seen as a beast.

He wandered through the tunnels, each step feeling heavier than the last as he only half-heartedly followed the labyrinth's guidance. It was harder to locate prisoners in the tunnels without his ring, but he didn't regret giving it up. Each time he looked down at his bare finger, he imagined the gold ring wrapped around Thea's delicate thumb. Whether she was alive or dead, she still carried a part of him with her; he just wished he could have held on to something of hers...

His heart ached as he continued onward, longing for her tender touch and vibrant company. Some days, he wondered if he made the right choice when he let her go, but the longer he dwelled on it, the more he didn't regret it. He couldn't keep her a prisoner here, no matter how badly he wanted her to stay. He supposed it was true that you never realized how much you loved something until you let it go...

Footsteps echoed down the tunnel, alerting Zared that he had found one of the prisoners. He paused to listen, ensuring he only heard one set of feet that was moving quickly. He took a deep breath, preparing himself to face a criminal without the threat of his blade. It had been so long since he'd talked to someone.

Maybe they won't fear me if I show no threat.

The footsteps halted with the intruder's face still shadowed by the tunnels. They must have seen Zared, and were deciding what to make of the horrific beast in front of them. Zared made no advances, waiting for the faceless figure to either step into the light or dash back the way they'd come .

"Fairmyth..." The voice was deep and coarse, almost reminiscent of Zared's voice, but without the growl. "You're still just as disgusting as you were back then."

Back then?

The figure stepped into the light, revealing a middle-aged man with clean kept clothes, graying hair, and dark eyes that looked painfully familiar... They looked like his eyes; the one part of himself that still looked human.

"Who... who are you?" Zared asked, his heart suddenly racing like he should be the one to run in fear.

"Oh please, don't tell me you don't recognize your own creator," the man scoffed, his mouth curling into a self-important grin.

Creator...?

Zared's heart stopped, dropping all the way down to his hooves as he recognized the man he had never realized he remembered. Those eyes... that face... the last time he saw them, they had been locking him behind a pair of iron gates as a mere toddler...

"Malik..." Zared breathed.

"Oh, come now, why not call me 'father?'" He chuckled, holding out his arms as if he expected some sort of warm reunion.

"You're no father to me," Zared growled, reaching for his axe, only to remember it wasn't there. "You're a monster."

"No, my boy, I'm afraid there's only one monster down here," Malik scoffed, looking up and down Zared's cursed form. "There's no need to be so frosty. I saved you from a lifetime of humiliation and ridicule. Down here you have a purpose, and the freedom to show your face to whoever you please in the home I built for you."

"You threw me away." Zared clenched his fists to his sides, his entire body beginning to shake. Does he really think he can convince me that he did me a favor by tossing me aside?

"I sheltered you from an unforgiving world," Malik said stiffly. "Don't act so ungrateful . This labyrinth is your home, and now you must help me protect it. There's a girl down here with a wicked rose that needs to be destroyed. Find her and bring the rose to me, or else you'll—"

"Thea?" Zared's anger melted, his heart lifting as his eyes went wide. "She's here? She really came back?"

Malik narrowed his eyes, his gaze glowing and shifting like cogs in a machine. "You know the girl...?"

"Better than I know you ," Zared growled. "Where is she? I need to find her."

"Why? So she can laugh while she destroys your home? "

Zared paused, his blood starting to bubble as his temper rose. "What are you talking about?"

"The rose, you fool!" Malik hissed. "She wants to use it to destroy my labyrinth!"

"No, the rose is meant to cure my curse," Zared said. "I know it is. Mother left me a note saying—"

"That ridiculous woman," Malik said sharply. "She knew hardly anything about my work. Your curse was never meant to be broken, my boy. That's why I had to put you down here! But if the labyrinth is destroyed, where will you have left to go? Those in Olympia will never accept you."

What is he talking about? Mother said the rose was the answer.

"You're lying."

"Am I?" Malik crossed his arms. "Would you really trust an old note over your father who built this maze?"

Zared's blood ran hot, his head racing as the conflicting statements waged war in his mind. He'd never considered that his mother's information could be wrong, yet he also had no reason to trust that his father was telling the truth...

"I trust Thea," Zared said with a lift of his chin. "If she's come back with the rose, then it can only be to help me. She would never try to hurt me. "

She promised to save me, and I believe in that promise.

"The criminal!?" Malik laughed. "She's a common crook! Why would you be so foolish as to trust her? All she wants is the glory of taking down everything I've ever built!"

"You don't know her, then."

"I know she tried to kill me!" Malik continued, his face flushed with rage. "She's always been envious of my household, and now she wants to destroy my maze, and you, my eldest son! She's come to destroy all of us, Zared!"

Zared flinched at the sound of his own name. It sounded so different coming from his father's mouth. He hated hearing it.

"Like I said, you don't know Theabelle," Zared said sternly, sizing up to his father until his shadow swallowed him. "She's kind, resourceful, and not the crook you believe her to be. She cared for me in these tunnels, just as I cared for her. Whatever she plans to do, I will trust her."

"Cared for you!?" Malik burst out into laughter, his eyes wild as he taunted Zared's confidence. "Don't be ridiculous! Just look at yourself! The girl must have manipulated your mind. Who could ever care for a hideous beast?"

"I don't care for a beast."

Zared whirled around, his heart nearly slamming out of his chest as he turned to see the stunning woman who looked exactly as he remembered her the day she left. It was Thea... She came back.

"I care for Zared ." Thea stepped forward, the rose beaming in her hand as she met Malik's eyes. "The only beast I see is you. "