She swallowed hard. “I think it means I need be helpful if I’m going to find the sword.”
“Helpful?” Avenant repeated skeptically. “Helpfulness is not a princely quality. Trust me. I’ve been one all my life and I’ve never helped anyone.”
“Which is why I deposed you, remember?” She snapped the journal closed and arched a brow. “Maybe Adam expects better from the Northlands’ true ruler. Which is what I plan to give him.”
“I am the true ruler of the Northlands.” He snarled. “And now is probably not the best time to discuss how you stole my crown. We’re trying to not to kill each other, remember?”
“I didn’t steal anything. You’re the one who stole. The royal treasury was ransacked, Avenant. It took me months to get enough gold together to pay the workers. Did you even think about them?”
He glowered down at her. “Even with just the two of here, you still can’t admit…?”
An agonized scream cut through their bickering. The horrible sound echoed off the hard walls, coming from a dozen directions at once. It was impossible to know who’d made it, but there was no mistaking the fact that somebody had just died in a lot of pain.
Belle glanced up at Avenant, her heart hammering. “I think it was ahead of us.” She whispered.
He nodded. The hallway forked off in two new directions about ten yards ahead. Both corridors glowed with the same otherworldly blue light. Avenant chose the one on the right and crouched down to examine the floor. His fingers brushed against the icy surface. “Someone came this way. They disrupted the frost.” He stood up and brushed his hands together, heading back to her. “I don’t think that path leads to anything good. Shall we try left?”
Belle’s lips parted as she suddenly realized why he’d taken his time before entering the maze. “You let the others go first so they’d trigger any traps.” She gasped. “So they’d warn you which way not to go.”
“If they’re going to be here, they might as well fulfill Grandpa Adam’s wishes and be helpful.”
“You are unbelievable!”
“I know.” He nodded. “Wait until you see me naked.”
Belle made an aggravated sound. “I can’t believe I tried to work with you.” She unfastened the string connecting them and marched down the corridor to the right, towards the source of the sound.
Avenant swore. “Where are going?”
“I’m going to see if I can help whoever was hurt, you ass.”
“Why?” He actually sounded confused.
“Why?”
“Why would you want to help someone who’s out to steal your crown?”
“Because I’m not a beast!” She shouted. “Look, you do whatever you want. I’m going this way.”
He cursed and stalked after her. “This is a waste of time. Whoever screamed is already dead. You know that, Belle. You heard it.”
“I need to be sure.”
“Goddamn it.” Avenant caught up with her. “You drive me insane. Do not take this off.” He clipped the cord onto her belt again, reconnecting them. “I’ll go first.” He maneuvered his way ahead of her. “The last thing I need is for you to go down here and end up dead.”
“As if you’d care.”
“You have that stupid journal with the instructions, remember? I need you to find the sword and the sword to get my throne.”
Well, that didn’t make any sense. Avenant topped her by a foot and could freeze her solid with a wave of his hand. If he wanted the journal, he could just take it. Hell, it had been written by his ancestor and she’d tracked it down in the royal library, so it was sort of his, anyway. Belle frowned up at him, trying to figure out his game. She was used to spotting Avenant’s tricks and angles, but this time there didn’t seem to be any obvious benefit to his actions.
That made her nervous, because he was suddenly harder to predict.
“You’ve been different since you came back from that prison.” Belle wasn’t sure why she said it, but the words just sort of came out. “You seem so… different.”
“Weren’t you paying attention at the hearing? I’m rehabilitated thanks to all the drugs they forced on me in that hellhole.”
Belle hesitated. “They gave you drugs in there?”
“What the fuck do you think?” He flashed her a glare. “That we played polo all day?”
“I don’t know. I just…”
“There were drugs. There were iron bars. There were guards who beat us, and administrators who tried to molest us, and they almost killed me with a rocket launcher. And you sent me there.”
Belle opened her mouth, even though she wasn’t sure how she planned to respond. There didn’t seem to be an answer she could give to that. She’d brought Avenant down. She had. But, she’d never, ever thought he’d go to prison. To be honest, she hadn’t thought about the day after her victory, at all. She’d been so angry at Avenant and she’d just wanted to beat him.
It had all gotten out of control. Everything had gotten out of control.
“Why did you have me locked up?” Avenant demanded, cutting off whatever she might have said. “What did I do that was so terrible?”
“You’ve done a million terrible things.”
“But, you never took my kingdom before!”
“You never had men break into my house and attack me before!”
He had the audacity to look insulted. “Are you out of your mind? I never sent anyone to your house.” He flashed her a look over his shoulder. “How did they attack you? Are you alright?”
“I’m fine, no thanks to you.”
“I’m telling you, I’m not the one who sent them.”
Belle snorted. “Sure you’re not.”
“Damn it, if you’d…” He stopped short his attention on the ground. “Huh.” He stepped back, checking the bottom of his foot and making a face. “Well, I found the source of your screaming.”
Belle’s eyes went wide as she took in the carnage. Someone had carved up Mr. Pumpkin-Eater. Stringing clumps of pumpkin guts and seeds covered the floor in a gruesome orange crime scene. His scarecrow body was crumpled at an unnatural angle and his jack-o-lantern head had been hacked open. Its gooey contents were spilled out on the icy ground like a Halloween party gone horribly wrong.
Belle cringed. He’d been a cannibal, eating his own kind after baking them into grotesque pies, but it was still a terrible way for someone to die. “Who could’ve done this?” She asked.
“Well, anybody who knew him had a motive.” Avenant scrapped some of Mr. Pumpkin-Eater off his shoe. “Narrowing the suspects, it looks like he was killed with something big and sharp. His head was hacked apart with a blade. Possibly that.” He pointed to a meat cleaver on the floor. Mr. Pumpkin-Eater’s hand was resting on it, so maybe he’d tried to wrestle it away from the assailant. “Or possibly an axe or a knife or a sword. I’m sure everybody except you brought at least fifty-six weapons with them today, so it’s a toss-up.”
“That makes me feel a lot better.”
Avenant wasn’t quite done with his CSI analysis, though. “I’m betting one of our more strategically minded competitors plans to thin the herd and this jackass was just the first to go. It seems like a really focused hit. No other blood or clues.” Avenant edged around the pumpkin slurry. “The killer probably wants to hide in plain sight. Then, he’ll pick us off, one-by-one, until it’s just him and Excalibur.”
“Could you not sound like you admire him, please?
“Well, it’s a good plan. To be honest, I’m almost impressed.”
“What are you doing?” Belle demanded as he made it to the other side of the mess. “Whoever did this must have gone that way, you idiot. Are you seriously planning to follow them?”
“Of course I am. I’d just as soon catch him now, rather than wait and let him catch us later.”
“How do you know it’s a ‘he’? Maybe a woman is lying in wait to kill us.”
“Nonsense. Women love me. Most of them, anyway.” He hel
d out a palm to her. “You’re a notable exception, but I’ve crossed you off my suspect list. You have an ironclad alibi of aggravating me during the time of the murder.” He arched a brow when she didn’t take his hand and let him guide her passed the remains. “Coming?”
Belle hesitated. “I hate this idea.” She told him, her gaze on the grisly hunks of pumpkin shell. She’d never been around this kind of violence. Heading off to look for the perpetrator seemed insane, but not as insane as getting closer to the gore. “I don’t think I can do it. It’s freaking me out to think about bits of Mr. Pumpkin-Eater touching me.”
“You’re too soft.” Avenant muttered. “Just step over it.”
“I can’t. I’m telling you. I actually met this pumpkin and now he’s all over the floor and I…” She trailed off with a shudder. “I just… can’t.”
He studied her for a beat and his expression softened. “Alright.” Belle expected him to lob some more insults her way or simply walk away. Instead, Avenant edged back into orange pulp and seized hold of her waist. “Close your eyes.” He swept her up into his arms.
For once, Belle didn’t argue with him. She squeezed her eyes shut as he lifted her over the slaughter. “Thank you.” She whispered. Her arms wound around his neck and she felt his grip tighten.
“You’re welcome, my love.”
His voice was a warm whisper by her ear. It sent her heart pounding. When he called her that, it always brought Belle back to their senior prom and that was a night she tried not to think about very often. She didn’t want to recall the sound of his voice or the way he tasted or the feel of his hands. Obviously, it was impossible to forget, though. As much as she detested this man, he was the only one she’d ever longed for.
Avenant deposited her on the other side and cleared his throat. “You okay to go on?” He adjusted her coat collar, not meeting her gaze.
Belle nodded, staring up at his beautiful face. Why was he suddenly acting more like a knight in shining armor than a beast? “Avenant?”
“Yes?”
“You were just helpful.” She arched a brow. “How does it feel to try something new?”
“You probably don’t want an honest assessment of my feelings. They’ll just scare you.”
Clearly, he didn’t want to talk about it. Too bad for him, Belle did. “Why are sticking with me?” She pressed. “Why didn’t you leave me behind?”
“The journal…”
She cut him off. “Forget about the journal. Tell me the truth.”
He hesitated. “You’re the only one I will ever lose to.” He finally said. “I won’t lose, obviously. But, if I did, it would have to be to you. I want this contest to be you and me, right to the end. I want to beat you and for you to see that I did it honestly. That we played this whole game by the rules and that I won. And then, I want you to look at me and just… know.”
“Know what?”
Avenant shrugged and turned away. “I guess you’ll figure that part out when we get to the finish line.” He started down the corridor. “Stay behind me, alright?”
Belle stared after him.
Avenant hadn’t been the one who attacked her in her bed.
In that moment, it was so clear to her. Maybe a part of her had instinctively known that all along. Would she have literally tied herself to the man and come into this labyrinth with him if she thought he was capable of physically harming her? Avenant wasn’t a cheater. He never had been. His tactics were often dirty and ruthless, but they were never violent. Never outside the boundaries of fair play. That was why she’d been so furious when she though he’d sent men to abduct her. It ruined their whole game to take things to that level. It had been such a betrayal.
Except, Avenant hadn’t done it. Which meant that someone else had targeted her.
Only Belle had no idea why.
Chapter Five
Little Boy Blue: He accused me of falling asleep on duty and threw me into the dungeon.
There’s bugs down there, man! It was a total overreaction.
Defense: Overreaction? Weren’t you hired to guard the royal cows and chickens?
Little Boy Blue: Well, yeah. But, really, I’m a musician. See, I just took the job because I knew it would be a snooze. No one would steal from Avenant. Everybody knows what the Beast will do if you touch what’s his.
Who would be that stupid?
Mr. Little Boy Blue- The People of the Northlands v. Prince Avenant
The maze circled around in circles upon circles.
Avenant wasn’t clear on where they were within its corridors. Since rocks were beginning to appear beside the ice wall, he could only guess they were somewhere near the mountains. Not that it mattered. After hours of walking down identical frozen hallways, he was resigned to the fact that Belle had been right. This was going to take a while.
Fucking Grandpa Adam.
The domed roof overhead made it impossible to see the sky, but a quick check of his watch said it was close to five o’clock in the evening. They’d been walking all afternoon and nothing had been accomplished towards his goal. Clearly, it was time to regroup.
“This looks like a good place for dinner.” Avenant decided and casually dropped his backpack. It was the first halfway reasonable resting spot he’d found. The hall was angled so he could see anyone approaching and the flat rocks provided a makeshift bench. Given the circumstances, it was the best he could do.
Belle had been unusually quiet ever since they found the dead pumpkin. She actually jumped at the sound of Avenant’s voice, like she’d been lost in her own thoughts. “What?” She looked around as if she had no idea where they were. “Wait, you want to eat here?”
“No, I want to be eating lobster amandine the grand dining hall of my palace. Since you’ve gotten me lost in a labyrinth, though, I’m making do.” He sat down on a rock and unzipped his pack. “Scarlett better have packed me something palatable, because I’m starving.”
Eight months of tepid jailhouse porridge left Avenant in an almost constant state of hunger. He let out an annoyed sigh when he saw the stack of protein bars. Was chocolate really so much to ask? Yes, he’d outlawed candy in the Northlands because those damn oompa-whatevers started fucking him over on the tariffs, but he’d made sure that chocolate bars were excluded from the crackdown. Avenant craved the stuff. When he was locked-up chocolate was what he’d missed the most.
Well, there was one thing he missed more.
“Do you think it’s safe here?” Belle asked, still not looking convinced they should stop. “We haven’t found who murdered Mr. Pumpkin-Eater, yet. What if they sneak up on us?”
“Then, I’ll kill them.” It seemed like a fairly obvious solution. Avenant grudgingly tore open the least offensive looking healthy snack Scarlett had provided. It was some kind of granola thing with dried fruit and bits of solidified yogurt. Actually, it wasn’t so terrible. He upended the whole bag of crumbly bits into his mouth and opened another. “Eat something.”
“Shouldn’t we be focused on the maze?”
“What’s to focus on? There are hallways and we follow them. It’s hardly turning lead into gold or something that takes actual skill.” He snorted. “Until we figure out what the riddle about being helpful means, we’re just spinning our wheels.”
“It means we have to be helpful, obviously.”
“And what? The labyrinth will see that and reward us?”
“I don’t know.” She paused. “Maybe.”
Avenant rolled his eyes at the idea that the maze was somehow conscious of them. “You definitely need to take a break.”
Belle frowned. “The others are getting farther ahead of us.” She warned, but she picked up an apple.
“I’m not worried about the others.”
“What if they’re all off doing helpful things? What if they find Excalibur first?”
Another simple question. “Then, I’ll take it from them.”
“You can’t cheat in a contest of valor!”
“Did you see a rule book?” He asked archly. “I didn’t. Whoever leaves here with the sword wins. That’s it. No one said anything about how we get the sword, in the first place.” He fished a bottle of water from the bag and held it out to her. “Besides, none of these idiots will solve this maze before I do, so there’s nothing to worry about.”
Belle’s lips pressed together in annoyance. “You’re such an arrogant prick.” She snatched the drink from his hand and sat down on the far side of the rock.
“There’s a difference between confidence and arrogance.”
“Yes, there certainly is.” She agreed. “You know, you’re a smart person. You could’ve been a wonderful ruler if you weren’t always so hateful to all your citizens.”
“My citizens are always hateful to me. I’m just returning the favor.”
“Maybe if you’d shown them you could be a reasonable, compassionate man, they would’ve given you a chance. As it was, you came in and immediately started oppressing the entire Northlands. It’s like you assumed they wouldn’t accept you and did everything possible to make sure it was a self-fulfilling prophesy.”
The woman would never understand what it took to maintain real power. “You might have quintupled my approval rating as ruler, but I’m the one they feared. I had their respect, which is something your hand holding method of leadership never accomplished. Otherwise, they wouldn’t have been so ready to give me back the kingdom in that courtroom. They were terrified about what I’d do if they denied me. They knew they could fuck you over, though. You’re too soft.”
“You’re too hard!” She snapped back and chewed on her apple in fuming silence.
Avenant felt his mouth twitch upward.
“What?” Belle demanded, not appreciating his smile.
“This is the first dinner we’ve ever shared together. It’s not going how I imagined it.”
Cocoa-colored eyes flicked over him. “You imagined having dinner with me?”
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