chapter forty-eight

"What have you done? We're all going to die in here!" Malik wailed, his voice nearly lost under the sound of the collapsing tunnels.

Zared pulled Thea to his side, their hands still gripping the rose as the glow encompassed everything in sight. It was hot. The stone felt like it was going to burn through the bottom of Thea's shoes, and even Zared's warm embrace felt cool compared to the air around him. She suspected something would happen to the labyrinth after she reconnected Daida's soul, but she never stopped to consider what would happen to those left inside the labyrinth.

Are we going to be crushed? What about Daida? Where will she reform?

"Thea," Zared's voice was dry and gritted, likely from all the dust that was sweeping through the air and clogging their throats. "I need you to know something."

A deafening crash echoed behind them, but it was too bright to see what had happened. Thea jumped at the sound, and Zared gripped her tighter. Her heart raced as terror threatened to shred her, but it was hard to be afraid when the rose felt so strong in her grasp and Zared held her so closely. She wanted this to save him. She wanted to free him from his torment and bring him toward the life he deserved to live, a life that she could live with him...

I want to share my life with him...

"I have something to tell you, too." Thea nuzzled deeper into his hold, the sounds fading around them as she focused only on his breathing.

"Thea, I..." He moved his face beside her ear, his fangs brushing the side of her head as he whispered to her in the most tender voice that silenced everything else around her. "I love you, Thea. No matter what happens next, I need you to know that I never stopped longing for you while you were away. If we die here, I'm glad it's while I got to see you one last time. A lifetime as the labyrinth's beast was worth waiting to meet you."

Thea dug her hand into his fur, her entire body melting into his as her heart beamed brighter than the rose. The crumbling sounds were starting to die off, and the light was fading ever so slowly, but Thea was too enraptured by Zared's words to even notice that the rose had dissolved from their grasp. She reached her free hand for his face as it slowly came back into view, cupping his face as she drew closer, her forehead pressing against his.

"I love you, too, Zared," she whispered, her eyes finally finding his as the rest of the blinding light faded. He still looked like the same beast she had first met in the tunnels, with twisted horns, a round snout, and sharp fangs taking up most of his smile, but Thea never truly saw him as a beast. He was Zared. The man who had the strength to reach out for help when he needed it, and still stand by her side when she needed him.

His eyes brightened almost to a polished silver, and she could feel his hands wrap around her waist. She melted into his touch, but only for a second before she realized that he was holding her with two hands, and the rose was nowhere to be seen. She pulled away a few inches, then glanced around the cave to see that it was completely different than before.

"Sunlight..." Thea said as she turned her head toward the direction of the golden glow. "Zared, look!"

Zared followed her gaze, and they both stopped breathing as they saw the wide mouth of the cave that led to a pair of cracked iron gates. It was the entrance to the labyrinth... but the cave they were in didn't lead down a set of perilous black stairs—it only led to a dead end a few feet behind them .

The labyrinth is gone...

A small crowd of people started to cluster around the gates. They must have been able to feel the same quaking they did or at least hear the gates crack, but no one dared approach the shallow cave.

"Thea..." Zared kept a tight hold on her, his nerves tensing his grip as he looked out onto his first glimpse of the world above. "You did it... You destroyed Malik's labyrinth, but... my curse." He looked down at the claws he had cautiously wrapped around Thea, and she could practically feel his heart drop. "I can't go out like this... What will they think?"

Thea took his hand, lacing her fingers between his with a reassuring squeeze. "I learned to love you," she smiled, "and so will they."

"Some of us already do." A new voice interrupted them, causing Thea to jump as she turned around to see an entirely new face step out of the shadows behind her. It was a woman, with long dark hair that stretched past her elbows, a simple rose-pink dress, fair skin, and a familiar pair of gray eyes. Lying behind her in the shadows was Malik, unconscious but still breathing, likely from getting caught up in the collapsing tunnels. "Theabelle, Zared, it's so great to properly meet you. My name is Daida Ashoran. "

Zared's jaw dropped, but Thea couldn't help but break out into the biggest smile. She was alive... and she was whole. Malik's magic had finally been dissolved.

"I'm sorry... Asheron?" Zared blinked. "But that's..."

"Your name." Daida smiled. "Thea never got a chance to tell you, but I'm your older sister. When I was a child, Father used me as a vessel for his puzzle magic, transforming me into a living and thinking labyrinth. I would have been lost forever if it wasn't for my gifts. Like our mother, I'm a garden nymph. Many thought she was mortal, but in truth her gifts were too simple to be noticed. Before Father's magic was completed, I transformed into a rose, but could only save half of my spirit before the rest was imprisoned in the maze. Mother never knew the truth until Zared was cursed—that was when she started to question Father's work. She used her magic to communicate with me and gathered all the information she could leave Zared with before Father stole him away to hide in the tunnels."

"She... she never knew what our father did to you?" Zared asked with a mortified shadow over his eyes.

"Not until it was too late." Daida sighed. "But she did everything she could after that. While pregnant, she combined her magic with Ceyden's before he was even born to enchant the ring she left you. Using Ceyden's locating gift, and her heart's desire for her children to come back to her, she was able to leave you with a tool to survive, and me with instructions to look after you as best as I could in the tunnels."

Daida stepped forward, her bright eyes sparkling as she looked upon her younger brothers face for the first time in her life. "I know we've never spoken until now, but I've been with you your whole life. You have no idea how badly I've wanted to comfort you or tell you that you weren't alone."

Zared stepped forward, gently pulling away from Thea as he approached the sister he never knew he had. Thea could only imagine the rush of emotions he was feeling right then. Anger toward his father, gratitude toward his mother, love toward a sister who had protected him from the walls of a place he only knew as his prison. He didn't say anything, but instead pulled her into his arms for an embrace that was decades overdue.

Thea wiped a tear from her eye, her heart overflowing as she finally understood what Zared's mother's note meant. The key to breaking his curse was in the rose all along. Daida was the one who protected him, and now she was here to help him heal. She only wished she knew what caused his appearance to be altered in the first place .

"Daida?" Thea asked, gently interrupting their embrace as she stepped beside Zared. "If your curse came from Lord Malik, then where did Zared's come from?"

"I can answer that." Another new voice joined the tunnels, and the whole trio turned to face the one brave soul who had dared step through the shattered gates. She was clearly a divine one, with beaming green eyes, flawless dark skin, and ebony hair that was pinned delicately on top of her head.

"I remember you." Daida approached the woman. "You're Flora; the woman who cursed Zared while I was a rose."

"You?" Zared gaped, his gaze darting between Daida and the divine one. "But why? I don't even know you."

"My apologies, child," Flora said with a dip of her head. "The curse was never meant to punish you, but the man who dared interfere with the laws of nature." She glowered in Malik's direction, who was just now starting to stir awake. "I sensed something was horribly wrong with Malik's rose but wasn't in a position to do more than send him a warning. I thought threatening his son would be the best way to unravel his pride, but I was poorly mistaken. Your curse was designed to be unraveled when someone escaped his prison, and you were finally brought back into the light. I intended for Malik to put aside the pride in his labyrinth for the sake of his children, and for years, I've regretted putting that much faith in such an unredeemable man."

She dipped her head again, humbly awaiting any anger Zared had toward her. Thea understood what the woman was trying to accomplish, yet Malik's choices led to Zared suffering just as much as his sister.

"Thank you," Zared said, shocking everyone with his heartfelt tone. "Thank you for trying to stop my father's wickedness. I may have been caught in the crossfire, but after seeing what kind of man he became, I'm grateful I wasn't raised under his roof. There's no reason for me to harbor anger or hurt anymore, not when I have a new life and family waiting for me."

"I'm so glad your father's pride was lost on you." Flora smiled. "You are wiser than your years, my boy, and far more loved than you know."

Thea and Daida smiled at Zared, earning a fang-filled grin in return.

"And your curse is nearly broken," Flora continued. "Both of these women have escaped the labyrinth's grip at this point, so all that's left is for you to step into the light."

Zared's smile dropped, his body stiffening as he looked out at the growing crowd of onlookers waiting outside the gate. He'd never been in the sun before, and he'd still be a beast when he was first seen.

"What if they fear me?" Zared asked. "There's no more labyrinth for them to throw me into."

Thea stepped up beside him, taking his hand with a tight squeeze. "Then they'll have to learn to live with you, just like I did."

"Yes, but you didn't like me all that much for a while," Zared reminded her.

"Didn't you try to kill me multiple times?" Thea said with a lift in her brow, and Zared went quiet. "We'll go together." Thea laughed, tugging him lightly by the hand so he moved a few inches forward.

"We'll all go together," Daida said as she took his other hand.

One step at a time, they led the beast that the kingdom feared into the light. When they reached the gates, Zared had to squint, the sun shrinking his pupils enough where he couldn't see the faces of those gawking. Thea stood proudly beside him, holding him close to show how proud she was to have him with her.

The crowd backed up as gasps and whispers circulated among them. Zared flinched under their harsh gazes, but he didn't shrink back. He was no beast, so he had no reason to act like one.

And I love him for it.. .

A few seconds after he stepped into the light, his palm warmed around Thea's. She had to let him go, and so did Daida as a bright green light started to beam all around Zared. The crowd backed up even more, some fearing he was releasing some sort of attack while others wondered if this was a way to lure his victims closer.

Thea watched with wide eyes, her brain struggling to comprehend what she was seeing.

His horns shrank back into his head, his snout shifted into a perfect nose, and one by one, his claws stretched into normal fingers. His impossible height shrank, though he was still taller than Thea. His dark fur dissolved except for the thick, black hair that covered his head and framed those striking eyes that never changed. When the glowing finally faded, he was completely human, with his same tattered clothing, no shoes, and features that were easily twice as handsome as his younger brother's.

"Zared...?" Thea stepped forward, watching as he stared wide-eyed at his clawless hands and hoofless feet. "Is that, you?"

He looked up at her, stopping her heart in its tracks as he gave her the most beaming smile. "Thea! It's me!"

The crowd circled back, everyone in complete awe at the beast's transformation and itching to know who this handsome stranger was. Thea stepped toward him, cautiously, at first, as he held out his hand toward her. She took it, tracing her fingers across his without the fear of claws piercing her.

"It is you..." She smiled, drawing closer until she was completely wrapped up in his arms. She pressed a palm against his cheek, feeling strange that there was no fur to warm her hand. "My Zared."

"My Thea," he said, tracing a hand through her hair as he inched his face closer to hers. "What do you think? Are you already missing my beastly good looks?"

Thea laughed, brushing her nose against his. "Not exactly, but I wouldn't mind if you grew a beard."

"I think I could be persuaded..." he said in a low growl that was strikingly similar to the one he had as a beast. He pulled Thea close, pressing his lips against hers for a deep kiss that was more enchanting than any rose, ring, or labyrinth.