by Jody Hedlund
When I landed at the bottom with darkness and the tight confines of rock walls surrounding me, I bent over and retched.
Chapter
19
Rex
I crept forward, holding out my torch and scrutinizing the smooth gray walls for any indication of danger. I tested the pathway with my toes and ducked low to avoid brushing the ceiling with its sharp outcroppings.
Behind me, one of my men released a pained cry that sent fresh dread up my spine. With four out of my ten men dead, I couldn’t lose anyone else—didn’t want to lose anyone else.
Crouched low, I glanced over my shoulder. Alaric, one of my faithful soldiers, grimaced. “A knife, Your Highness. It came up from the ground and sliced through my sole.”
A look at Alaric’s boot confirmed his predicament. The point of a blade protruded out the top of his foot.
Did we dare attempt to pull it loose now? One wrong step and anyone of us might face the same fate.
In a split second, I made my decision. “Hold out your foot.”
Alaric obeyed, and the two men near him lent their aid.
I grabbed the pearl handle wedged deeply through the boot and his foot. When I jerked it hard, it gave only a little. Alaric bit back a groan.
“Clasp his leg more securely,” I ordered the other two.
As their grasps tightened, I yanked with both hands and felt the weapon give. With a final pull, it slid out. Blood coated it, while more now dribbled from the slice in Alaric’s foot. I tossed the weapon to the floor. At the impact, another knife sprang up and protruded into the empty air.
I had to be more careful, had to focus every bit of my attention so I could find the traps before they found us.
After traversing the outer rim of the labyrinth the first hour and avoiding the obvious obstacles, I’d grown too confident and comfortable. I realized now that the designer had intended to lure intruders into a false security so they’d become unguarded and lazy, therefore more susceptible to the deadly traps in the tunnels marked with letters.
Emmeline’s warning was never far from my mind: The labyrinth is a death trap. You and your men will never make it to the treasure alive.
Maybe I should have had her school me in everything she knew about the labyrinth before coming down. In doing so, she would have suspected I was going without her and would have found a way to stay with me—although I could have tied her up and forced her to remain, regardless of how angry she might have been.
It didn’t matter anymore. What was done, was done. As I skimmed my fingers along the cold stone, I attempted to calm my racing pulse. My nervousness would only make me more jittery and more unaware.
At several points, I thought I heard distant voices. Another time, I paused at the far-off roar of a beast to the north. I suspected for now we were safe from any of the creatures roaming the labyrinth, that they avoided the middle area because of the poisons that came from out of nowhere, the pits that swallowed men up whole and then disappeared, and the pikes that slid out from the walls in random places, impaling whoever was in the path.
By now, Emmeline would have awoken and realized I’d left without her. I could only pray she hadn’t managed to outsmart my guards and enter the labyrinth. Hopefully, they were following my instructions and holding her at bay. I’d told them that if I didn’t return within twenty-four hours, they were to take Emmeline to the queen and ask her for sanctuary.
In all likelihood, the queen’s small army would arrive while we were down in the labyrinth. I had no doubt she had spies all around Delsworth, all the way to the Cress River. They’d likely seen us rowing upriver and gone back to her with news of our leaving. Perhaps she planned to let us do the deadly work of locating the treasure only to fight us for it once we exited the labyrinth.
I was counting on the men I’d left behind to defend our position until we returned to the surface. However, even if we survived the labyrinth and won the skirmish against the queen’s forces, I couldn’t keep from wondering if Emmeline should go to her sisters anyway. She’d be safer with them, out of the reaches of the king, who’d made it all too clear he didn’t care if Emmeline was dead or alive.
During the long journey into the Highlands, I’d had too much time to think about all the king had said and what he was asking me to do. And with each passing day, my bitterness had eaten away until acid churned in my gut.
How could he expect me to give up Emmeline?
He’d been the one to set the example of how to love a wife. He’d treated Mother with such devotion that I’d vowed I would do the same with my wife. Now that I was married and attempting to cherish my wife in a similar fashion, how could he undermine me? How could he value Emmeline’s life so little and ask me to do things he’d never consider?
I didn’t understand his double standard. Mostly, I didn’t understand why he was unwilling to show compassion toward me after my complete devotion to him.
Emmeline’s words from earlier came back unbidden: Why should you care so much about pleasing him when he cares so little for you in return?
I didn’t want to believe her. But what if she was right?
“Rex?” Her voice cut faintly through the chilled air, causing me to hold up a hand and motion everyone not to make a sound.
I didn’t move and fervently prayed her voice was only a figment of my imagination.
“You’re on the wrong path.” This time her voice echoed through the hollow tunnels much more clearly.
Anger, close to rage, burst through my insides and ravaged what was left. I would kill my guards for falling prey to her whims. I’d warned them severely to resist her every effort to come down, and they’d disobeyed.
“Emmeline, leave the labyrinth at once!”
“I can’t.” Her words wobbled with fear.
My gut clenched with the knowledge that something was wrong. But I wasn’t in a position to discover what it was.
“If you’ve reached section double R,” she continued urgently, “then you must retreat, keeping to the right side of the path and using only your right hand to guide you.”
Already my men had moved to do as she’d instructed, retreating slowly and staying to the right side.
“When you leave double R, you must enter section C and immediately begin crawling as low to the ground as you can go until you intersect with W. Once there, you have to move always to the west.”
I motioned for my rear guard to show me the map and quickly found the spot, assessing where she was leading us. So far, her directions seemed sound enough.
For long minutes, she guided us through several sections safely, her voice growing louder until we rounded a bend and she waited at the other end of a passageway that was narrower than any we’d yet traversed. In the small alcove behind her stood a dozen more soldiers.
And the king.
As my eyes connected with hers across the distance, I finally understood why she was here. It had nothing to do with my guards. The king had come after the treasure for himself. I should have known that with his obsession, he wouldn’t be able to stay away, not when it was within his grasp. Had he been on my trail the whole ride, rather than the rebel’s contingent?
The king stepped next to Emmeline. “Son, I am disappointed you disregarded my instructions.” Although his tone was pleasant enough, the hardness of his features spoke louder. I’d offended him and would pay for it.
I knew I ought to bend my knee and beg his forgiveness. But I couldn’t make myself bow. Another look at Emmeline’s pale face and the fear radiating from her eyes only made my fury blaze hotter.
Even if Emmeline was an expert on the traps within the tunnels, the king had no right forcing her down here.
“You have always had a propensity to be too soft,” he said. “And a soft king is a weak king.”
Maybe I was softer at heart than he was. And maybe that made me weaker. But at this moment, I didn’t care.
“Perhaps I was wrong in thinking you should inh
erit my throne,” he said, as though reading my defiant thoughts. “Maybe Magnus is the one I should have been grooming. He can do the hard things without failing me.”
Magnus? I stiffened in protest. The king wouldn’t truly consider raising my brother above me? Not after how diligently I’d worked all these years to train my body and mind in readiness for leading a nation. Not after the past year of fortifying his army and city in preparation for war. Not after the difficult things I’d forced myself to do to prove my loyalty—like carrying out his arrests, torturing people for information, and even capturing and marrying Emmeline.
How could the king so easily disregard all I’d done for him—all that I was even now doing by seeking the treasure he wanted, a treasure I’d never desired the same way he had. I’d jeopardized my own life and the lives of my men on this mission in order to prove again that I was worthy of the kingship. And now he would so easily hand the throne over to Magnus, who’d never done anything worthwhile?
An angry retort pushed for release, but I bit it back.
“I should have left you and your men to die down here,” the king continued, “as a fitting punishment for your disobedience. But I shall allow you to atone for your mistake by leading us to the treasure and showing your allegiance.”
“Showing my allegiance?” My voice came out harder than I intended. “Have I not already demonstrated it in my willingness to sacrifice my life?”
“You must prove it by your willingness to give up what was never truly yours to begin with.”
Emmeline. He wanted me to sacrifice Emmeline as the ultimate proof of my loyalty to him. Something akin to hatred burned in my veins, but I was helpless to act on it.
His tight smile only taunted me. “Shall we move on, Princess? I have a feeling you will be extra careful where you guide us, now that your husband has joined us.”
Not only was he manipulating me, but he was manipulating Emmeline to do his bidding by making me the bait.
For a long second, I could only stare at the king and see myself reflected in all his tactics. What made me any different? After all, I’d manipulated Emmeline into doing my will too. I’d coerced, forced, threatened, and even demanded she do whatever I asked without thought to what she would have to give up or suffer as a result.
“Let us be on our way.” The king waved Emmeline ahead of him. “I have no doubt the usurper will learn of our treasure hunt and will attempt to stop us before long.”
I agreed with him on that account. The queen’s forces would try to stop us. But maybe that would be for the best.
As Emmeline began to call out directions once more, the king took the spot closest to her—likely to ensure her cooperation as well as his own safety. He commanded me and my men to lead, putting me ahead of Emmeline, which only stirred my anger since I wanted to be as near to her as possible to protect her from danger.
We crept cautiously onward. I consulted the map at every turn in order to keep my bearing. And Emmeline continued to call out instructions and warnings.
When the corners grew more frequent, the tunnels shorter, and the cobwebs thicker, I guessed we were getting closer to the center. The roar of a beast, this time much louder, confirmed my suspicion.
I had a feeling the creature had smelled the blood of the men who’d perished, and that the scent had stirred and awakened it to our presence. Even now, Alaric’s bloody foot injury was probably drawing the creature. While I prayed we could locate the treasure and leave before encountering the beast, I doubted we’d be so lucky.
“Section double D,” Emmeline called out. “Wait just a moment.”
We halted at a bend in the passageway as we had on several occasions while she muttered under her breath and tried to piece together the clue with the section letter.
“‘Dash, dash, as fast as a deer.’” Her whisper echoed against the stone walls. “We need to run through tunnel D,” she finally said. “Run as fast as we can.”
I lifted my torch to light the passageway, surprised at the length of it—one of the longest yet.
“Can you run?” I asked Alaric. So far, he’d hobbled along, our pace slow enough that he hadn’t held us back.
“I’ll try, Your Highness.” His breathing was labored, his face pale, and his brow dotted with perspiration. Worst of all, black streaks ran up the veins in his neck.
Poison. The knife had been coated with poison. Even if the blade had been in his flesh only for a minute, the contact was long enough to expose him to the deadly toxin.
The resignation in his eyes told me he knew it too.
“Can you remember the way and the clues so that you can make your way out of the maze on your own?”
“Yes, Your Highness.”
“Then retreat, and when you get to the surface start the blood-letting.”
He bowed and began to sidle past the others, backtracking carefully. I could only pray in his weakened condition he’d have the strength to make the return journey as well as the keenness of mind to navigate the traps.
Whatever happened, he’d have a greater chance of survival if he went back rather than remaining with us.
Once Alaric was gone, we took turns sprinting across the long tunnel. Even though I knew Emmeline was fast, my pulse thundered when she had to run. Only when she was safely out of the passage did I start to breathe easy again. But only for a moment . . .
As we rounded the last corner and entered a circular room at the center of the labyrinth, a vicious roar filled the air, causing us to recoil. There, straight ahead, stood a large reptile-like creature that was taller than any of the elite guards present.
It crawled on four stout legs, each foot containing claws as long and sharp as knives. Its body was coated in red and black scales like shields stacked in perfect symmetry. And its tail was thick, tapering into a thin whip covered in sharp spikes.
With a hiss that revealed a forked tongue, the creature swung its tail directly at us.
Chapter
20
Emmeline
The creature was beyond terrifying, a beast found only in nightmares. Though I’d read about such animals in a few historical accounts and fables, none of the stories or Maribel’s description had prepared me for the reality.
Or its deadliness.
Before I could voice my protest, Rex had positioned himself at the forefront, weapons in both hands, a mace already rotating in a lethal arc. His knights moved just as quickly next to him, their weapons at the ready.
The tail rent the air with a sharp whir. Rex and his men sliced at it, but it was too fast and struck several unprepared soldiers with lightning speed, carving into one man’s neck, another’s stomach, and a third soldier’s legs. In the same moment, another of King Ethelwulf’s guards backed into the tunnel to avoid the attack only to be riddled with jagged spikes dropping from the tunnel ceiling.
The agonized screams of the injured men rose up along with Rex’s sharp orders.
I stared in frozen horror. Just as I’d feared, I’d brought Rex and the others this far only to lead them to the worst yet.
“My men and I shall distract the beast!” Rex shouted at his father. “Take Emmeline and find safety!”
King Ethelwulf grabbed my arm and tugged me away from the carnage to another one of a dozen entrances spaced evenly around the circular room. I was too terrified to resist and could only stare at Rex as he charged closer to the beast, yelling at it and swinging his mace.
Why had I ever thought I could be brave down here? Maybe I’d been able to mask my fears for a short while, but I couldn’t keep my panic at bay any longer.
The walls seemed to close in and the ceiling drop, pressing hard, tightening my chest, forcing the air from my lungs. What had I gotten myself into?
As more cries of agony rose around us and echoed off the walls, I closed my eyes and stumbled blindly behind the king. I was proving to be the weakling I’d believed of myself.
What had Adelaide said? Courage is not the absen
ce of fear but the determination to persevere when circumstances are at their worst.
In the midst of all my fears and insecurities, could I still display courage?
“Oh, God,” I whispered, swallowing my rising bile. “I need your gift of the highest form of courage for today. I want to persevere and not give in to my circumstances.”
A glance at Rex over my shoulder showed him and several other elite guards wielding their weapons fiercely while attempting to dodge the creature’s tail.
I didn’t know what my purpose was yet in this battle between the king and Adelaide. I didn’t even know which side I was on—my husband’s or my sister’s. But there was one thing I wanted: peace within the kingdom. Running from the battle might bring temporary relief. But I had to resist the urge and instead push forward and do whatever it took to bring about lasting peace.
Though I cared nothing for the hidden treasure, what if the ancient prophecy was true and the treasure could open the way for the peace I sought? Now that I was at the heart of the labyrinth, didn’t I owe it to myself, to my sisters, even to Rex and the king, to see if I could usher it in? If I retreated with the king, I might never get another chance.
“Which tunnel is safe?” King Ethelwulf stopped in a part of the room farthest from the creature at another of the arches that framed long, dark passages—all as deadly as the one we’d just left. “I command you to lead the way to safety.”
I scanned the room, taking in the details for the first time. I’d expected some kind of vault in the middle or another locked door that led to a treasure chamber. But the spacious room was empty apart from a scattering of what appeared to be bones. The walls were just as plain and gray as the rest of the labyrinth. The ceiling mirrored the floor—flat and smooth. Except for one thing . . .
My focus locked on a circular engraving on the floor directly at the center of the room near the beast. I didn’t see any keyholes and couldn’t make out what was on the engraving, but I couldn’t leave without getting a closer look.
