He gave a snort. “I love it when you’re a bitch.”
Belle smiled at that. “The point is, I think we should stick together right to the end.” She saw the quick flash of relief on his face and kept going. “In fact, I’ll consider a permanent truce.”
That caught him off guard. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, we could extend our partnership after we get out of here. Working together, is a hell of a lot better than constantly fighting, don’t you think? We’re certainly accomplishing a lot more pooling our resources than we were battling each other.”
Avenant mulled that over like he was looking for traps. “You want to be… friends?” He translated, apparently braced for her to start laughing or something.
Belle had no clue why he was wary about the idea. “Would that be so terrible? If we can’t even be friends, I don’t see how you expect us to be True Loves. It’s the only way I…”
“I want to be friends with you.” He interrupted. “I always have. You’re the one who never thought I was Good enough.”
“That’s ridiculous.” Except, she could see he actually thought it was true. “How in the world could you think I was the one keeping us from being friends, Avenant?” The man was insane. “Actually --you know what?-- it doesn’t even matter.” She waved a hand. “Let’s just start over and… start over.”
“Start over?” He still looked suspicious.
“Yeah. Watch.” Belle quickened her step so she was beside him and held out a palm. “Hi. I’m Rosabella Aria Ashman. I own a bookstore and sometimes run the Northlands. Who are you, handsome stranger?”
His eyes met hers and something warm moved in their arctic depths. “I’m Avenant.” He murmured, his hand clasping hers. “I’m a prince and an ex-convict and your True Love.”
“My True Love? Wow. Nice to meet you. I’m sure glad you just told me, instead of doing something sneaky and underhanded to get your own way.”
“Well, I’m a nice guy.”
“That’s good news, because I have thing for nice guys.” She made an exaggerated expression of surprise. “Hey, we should be friends.”
“First impression of me and I strike you as friendly?”
“I guess it’s your cheery personality. What do you say?”
Avenant’s mouth curved. “I say, you’ve always been my best friend, Belle. From the time we were kids, I’ve been waiting for you to let me show you that.” He paused. “Even though we just met.”
The man was irresistible, damn it. “Funny. I feel the same way.” She drawled out. “We should probably try to build off that.”
“Well, I certainly support the idea of you seducing me, if you’re considering a ‘friends with benefits’ thing.”
“No, I was thinking more like dinner or…”
“Oh, come on.” He interrupted with a quick grin. “Give seduction a shot. I dare you.”
She glanced at him from the corner of her eye. Belle couldn’t refuse a dare, especially not a teasing one. It was about time he lightened up a little bit. “Alright.” She arched an exaggerated brow and cleared her throat. “So… you come here often?” She tried.
He got extra credit for keeping a perfectly straight face. “All the time. I like the atmosphere of this pit. The mold invigorates my lungs.”
“Prince, ex-convict, True Love and wiseass.” She nodded like a world-weary femme fatal. “It’s a tricky combination, but I can handle it.”
“Even though I’m not a knight in shining armor?”
She shrugged. “That knight thing was kind of a phase I was going through. I like my men a little more beastly, now.”
His gaze glowed electric blue for a moment and Belle knew the Beast liked her, too. “How do you feel about sleeping with beastly men on the first date?” His voice was darker than before.
“My seduction technique was that successful, huh?”
“Oh, you wouldn’t believe have easy I am.”
Belle was delighted that he was being playful and cooperating with the new game. “Good. Let’s win the kingdom. Then, we can get naked, again.” She told him cheerily.
Avenant blinked. “Wait... For real?”
“What can I say? You’ve seduced me, too. It was the being nice part.”
He seemed stunned by how simple that had been. “That was being nice? And it actually worked? Jesus, that’s all you want from me?”
“I want you to be warm to me and have fun with me and be open with me. It’s not rocket science, doofus.”
Avenant lapsed into to thoughtful silence. He was trying to figure out what she wanted, which was really at least half of what she wanted. “I can do all that.” He said after a long moment. “We’ll make a deal. I can be… open and you try to accept me as your True Love. Okay?”
“Okay.” Belle said and began to believe that their insane relationship might actually succeed.
“Okay.” He looked like he’d just placed a huge bet on a longshot. “You need to be patient with me, though, because I’m probably going to fuck up a lot.” He warned. “You can’t just give up on me.”
“Believe me, I’m used to being patient with you.” She said dryly. “And with you fucking up.”
That seemed to reassure him. “God, I really love it when you’re a bitch.” He glanced down at her when they reached the suspension bridge. “So, would you feel safer going across first or second, my love?”
“I’d feel safer staying right here on solid rock.” Belle took in the rickety planks he expected her to walk across and shook her head. The gorge over the river seemed endless. “What if Knoss is wrong and there isn’t anything over there?”
“Then I get to live my dream and finally kill him.” Avenant started across the bridge. “Come on. I won’t let you fall. You won’t get away from me that easily.”
It was pathetic, but that actually comforted her a little. Belle edged out onto the bridge after him. The makeshift structure swayed with each step, sending the boards bouncing up and then sinking back down. She squeezed her eyes shut at the sickening sensation and slowly pressed onward. No way was she going to give Avenant the satisfaction of running.
Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.
With her eyes shut, Belle’s other senses were heightened and, after a moment, she caught a whiff of something strange. Unlike the damp scent of the cavern, this was sharp and acidic and oddly familiar… And completely out of place in the labyrinth.
Belle opened her eyes and looked around. “Do you think another contestant could’ve made it this far?”
“Not unless they cheated.” Avenant frowned. “Why?”
“I smell something weird.” She glanced at him. “Knoss said that the other minotaurs might be working with the murderer. Maybe they passed this way recently or…”
“I didn’t say the other minotaurs.” Knoss’s voice interjected from behind her. “I simply said one of my kind was aiding in the kills.”
Oh shit… Belle slowly turned to look at him, already knowing that Avenant would never let her live this down. Knoss was poised at the entrance of the bridge, blocking their retreat.
“I knew you shouldn’t have tried to befriend a beast.” Avenant had the audacity to sound pleased. “I told you so, Bella.”
Belle ignored his provocations, her eyes on Knoss. “You’re the one killing people?” She guessed gloomily.
“No. I’m merely helping him stop the others, before I stop him, as well.”
“Who’s he?”
“I don’t know his name.” Knoss shrugged. “I never even thought to ask. My only goal is to punish all those who quest for Excalibur and he was eager to help.”
“Why?” It didn’t make any sense. “Finding it would set you free.”
“I don’t want to be ‘free.’” He mocked as if the word itself was tainted. “I like the labyrinth. All my life, I’ve been inside these walls. Why would I want to leave?”
“Because all your life you’ve been insi
de these walls?” She snarked. “Maybe you’re scared to take a risk, but isn’t it worse to stay trapped in here forever?”
“I’m not trapped!” He shouted back. “I’m just staying where everything’s safe and familiar. Outside, I’d be ridiculed and mocked.”
“You don’t know that. You haven’t even tried.”
“I don’t want to try!” He raged. “This in my home. It’s my duty to preserve what Prince Adam created. To protect the sword and all who dwell within these walls.”
Belle flashed Avenant a glare, blaming him for his idiot ancestor.
“Don’t look at me. I’m on the record as saying Adam is a drunken lunatic, remember?”
“I’m sorry it had to come to this Rosabella Aria Ashman.” Knoss shook his head, getting his anger under control. “I knew you would get further than the others, but I had hoped you’d see reason and turn back when you saw this bridge. I was praying that wouldn’t attempt to cross it.” Knoss sighed. “It’s too bad you wouldn’t quit. I didn’t want to kill you. You really are an interesting girl.”
“And you really are an asshole.” Avenant retorted, edging forward so he was in front of Belle. “She wanted to give you the benefit of the doubt, but there’s rarely a point with monsters, is there?”
Knoss glowered at him. “On the other hand, I don’t regret killing you, at all.” He stepped out onto the bridge, the wobbly structure sagging under his sheer mass. “Let’s not make this harder than it needs to be. There’s no way you can stop what’s about to happen, Prince. You may think you’re a beast, but you’re no match for me.”
“You’ve never met my Beast.”
Belle glanced up at Avenant, a brilliant idea occurring to her. “Introduce them.” She prompted in a quiet tone. “Unchain the Beast.”
“What?” Avenant sent her an amazed look. “No. Are you crazy?”
“You were thinking about doing it the last time he almost ripped us apart, weren’t you?
“Yeah, but…”
“Well, if there was ever a time to drop those walls, this is it.”
He shook his head. “I don’t even know if I can. I’ve never tried to let go before.”
“So try now.” She hissed back. “Unless you can think of another way to stop the gigantic, horned maniac from slaughtering us.”
Knoss was immune to magic, ten feet tall, and determined to bathe in their blood. They might be able to reach the other side of the bridge before he tore their heads off, but then what? The minotaur knew the labyrinth better than they did. He would catch them. There weren’t a lot of options here.
“Fuck.” Avenant said and she heard the frustration in his tone. “I can’t, Belle. You don’t understand. I can’t do it.”
“You haven’t even tried. Did you hear what I just told him? Because the same applies to you. Don’t stay trapped, because you’re too afraid of what’s outside the cage.”
He looked hunted. “I’ll think of something else. I will. Just give me a second.”
“We don’t have a second!”
“Are you seriously going to argue with me, right now? Seriously?”
Knoss gave a snort at their bickering. “Jesus, you two really are True Loves, aren’t you? I suspected as much.” He actually smiled. “Well, it’s fitting that you die together, then.” Gripping the sides of the bridge with his hands, he used his powers to set the whole thing on fire. Flames began flickering along the thick ropes. In a matter of moments they would burn away and send Belle and Avenant careening onto the rocks below. At this angle, they wouldn’t hit the water. They’d smash into jagged stones.
Belle tried not to hyperventilate. Her head snapped around, instinctively trying to gauge the distance to the opposite side of the ravine. Too far. They weren’t going to make it.
“Good-bye, Rosabella Aria Ashman.” Knoss called, heading back to solid ground. “You were a worthy contender for the sword, but you…” He slammed into a wall of ice.
Belle’s eyebrows soared. Avenant had used his powers to seal off the exit, trapping the minotaur on the bridge with them. “What are you doing? He’ll just melt it.”
“Trust me and hold on.”
“Trust you?” She repeated skeptically. “You wouldn’t say that unless you were about to do something crazy.” But, her fingers automatically wrapped around the rope railing, because she did trust Avenant. She was clearly losing her mind.
“You holding on or not?” He prompted, his attention still on Knoss.
“I’m holding on.” Belle swept her hair behind her ear with her free hand and braced herself. “Commence with the Badness.”
Avenant shot her a slight grin. “This being friends thing is working for me.”
“Foolish prince.” Knoss fixed him with a snide look, the fire growing between them. “You know I’ll burn right through your pitiful snowdrift.”
“Sure you will.” Avenant smirked. “But, how much weight do you think this bridge can hold?”
Knoss’s eyes went wide as Avenant dumped several tons of frost onto the rotted planks. The ropes behind the minotaur snapped, sending all three of them swinging across the gorge. It was now only connected by the posts on the far side, so it acted like a huge jungle vine.
Belle let out a shriek of panic, her fingers tightening on the railing as the bridge slammed into the wall. The force of the impact drove the air from her lungs and spun her around, nearly making her lose her grip. Pure terror shot through her.
Don’t look down. Don’t look down. Don’t look down.
“Belle!”
She looked down.
She heard Avenant call her name and the dizzy sensation in her stomach meant nothing in comparison. “What?” She shouted back, hating heights and minotaurs and him. But, Jesus, she was glad to see that he was safe.
“Are you okay?”
“Do I look okay? This is why I should never, ever trust you!”
He gave her a smile that made her want to pelt him with loose rocks. “Except you just did, my love.”
“Oh, shut-up.”
Peering through the darkness and smoke, Belle realized that she and Avenant were now dangling above flames. He was holding on several yards below her, his elbow hooked through one of the floor planks. Further down, the fire burned. She could see Knoss hanging onto the very bottom, struggling to heave his massive body upward. But, he was too big and the flames were spreading too fast.
“Start climbing, Bella.” Avenant ordered. “We have to get out of here.”
“He’s going to fall.” She whispered, her gaze on Knoss.
“No shit. Unless you want us to join him, you’d better move it.”
Belle moved it. She started climbing up the wooden planks like a ladder, headed for the top. Her whole body was shaking, but she forced herself to move faster. Avenant was right behind her. If she didn’t get off the bridge, neither would he and she had to get him off the bridge. The jackass was vital to her.
“You’ll never have what you seek, Prince!” Knoss shrieked. “You don’t know how to surrender and that’s the real test of this labyrinth. You won’t win, because you’re too afraid of losing…” He final taunted ended in a yell of terror and fury.
The fire ate through the ropes, breaking the bottom section of the bridge free of its moorings. Knoss’s arms helplessly spiraled, searching for something to hold onto and finding nothing but air. He went tumbling onto the black rocks below, his final scream abruptly silenced.
Not even a minotaur could survive a fall like that.
“Go!” Avenant shouted when Belle just stared down in horror. “We have to keep going!”
Belle gave her head a clearing shake and forced her hands to move. He was right. They had to keep going. It was the only way they were going to get out of the labyrinth alive.
Chapter Eighteen
I was such a merry old soul before Avenant came along.
Then he confiscated my favorite bowl, said my pipe was a controlled substance,
and indicted my fiddlers three for tax evasion.
Did he care when I cried? No. Because, a beast could never care for anything but himself.
Testimony of Old King Cole - The People of the Northlands v. Prince Avenant
The good news was this section of the maze had enough light that Avenant could see the cave surrounding him without the Beast’s eyes.
The bad news was it was still a cave.
He let out an annoyed sigh. He wanted out of this whole labyrinth. More importantly, he wanted Belle out of it. Avenant had started this misadventure to win his True Love, but he’d never imagined that his plan would endanger her. Christ, he’d never do anything to put Belle at risk. …Except, he’d dragged her down here and now there was someone trying to kill them. It was his fault that she’d been trapped on a burning bridge and fallen through a rabbit hole and been attacked by a psychotic minotaur. Everything that happened was all on him.
“Belle?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry.”
This final passage was carved from dense rocks that glowed with magic. The two of them were making their way down a stone hallway so cramped that he had to duck down to avoid knocking his head on the ceiling.
She turned to give him a surprised look. “Sorry for what?”
“When I suggested the contest of valor, I didn’t expect it to get so screwed up.”
Belle snorted. “Well, there were easier ways to convince me you were my True Love, that’s for sure. But, I forgive you.” She hesitated. “They say True Love conquers all, you know. Do you believe that?”
His heart flipped. “Yes.” He said simply. “Do you?”
“…I think so.”
That quiet words were closer than he ever imagined being to his prize. Belle wasn’t trying to get rid of him, anymore. She was willing to give their relationship a chance.
It still wasn’t enough, though. She wouldn’t fully accept him unless he showed her he could be open. Whatever the hell that meant.
“About the labyrinth.” Avenant cleared his throat and pushed passed his emotional comfort zone. For Belle, he would do anything. Even… share. “I should’ve handled everything better.” He tried, edging his way through the minefield of “feelings.” “Obviously, I had no idea there would be people in here trying to kill you.”
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