Except I know the answer. At least, IthinkI do.
“You didn’t come here to marry me,” I tell him. “You came for the labyrinth.”
He angles his head in deliberation. I have always considered Prince Balior handsome, yet in the obscured interior of the labyrinth, the planes of his face appear almost skeletal, cheeks sunken and jawbone sharp enough to cut. “On the contrary, I was willing to secure Ammara through marriage. This land has its faults, but acquiring your realm would help expand my vision for a new world.”
“I was merely a tool.”
“Well, yes and no.” He spreads his arms wide. The corner of his mouth tics upward. “You are lovely, willful, loyal to a fault. Why should I not desire a partner by my side when I am finally granted what I was promised all those years ago?”
The air is cold, but the prince’s words bring an unsettling finality, shaved down to the thinnest of points. “What are you talking about?” What, exactly, was promised, and by whom?
Pressing the tips of his fingers together, he begins to circle the room, his gait so smooth he seems to be gliding on ice. I shift to avoid exposing my back. “My research on the labyrinth goes back more than a decade. From a young age, I was fascinated by its presence. A prison for a hellish beast. Seven men to sate its hunger. It’s quite the tale.
“One year, I came across an obscure manuscript, which I found at a border town south of Um Salim. To this day, I don’t understand how a jeweler came to be in possession of the document, but he was morethan willing to part with it—for a price. It was in this manuscript that I learned the labyrinth’s true nature: it is a doorway to another realm.”
His sharp eyes slide to mine, and I retreat, the heel of my slipper sending a small pebble clattering toward the wall. It hits the stone with a sharp ping. “I see from your expression that you are already aware,” he says, his smile terribly hungry. “Good. That will make it easier.”
If I thought I had any chance of escaping Prince Balior, I would already have fled. I have wounded his pride. I have insulted him, embarrassed him, deceived him as he has deceived me. He has every right to want to bring me harm. But it would be too easy to kill me outright. I imagine he wants my suffering most of all.
“You may not remember,” he continues, “but I visited Ishmah about ten years ago. King Halim invited my father and I to attend his nameday celebration as a token of faith and healing between our peoples.”
I do have a vague recollection. There was talk at court about a visiting prince, though I didn’t think much of it at the time. I was more concerned with my upcoming recital.
“You wore an ivory dress and your hair plaited in a crown atop your head. You were to perform for the guests that evening. While everyone gathered, I used the opportunity to slip away to the labyrinth. The guards were half-asleep. So lazy and irresponsible. I stepped inside with them none the wiser.
“It was there I met the beast. I’d timed my entrance perfectly. A few days before, a sacrifice had been made. It was sated, and with a full belly, it was able to regress to its humanoid state long enough to talk with me. It told me of its needs. I told the beast of mine. We reached an understanding, the beast and I.”
I will not give him the satisfaction of asking what this understanding is. I know he is eager to tell me. So I wait.
“By combining forces, we would be able to achieve so much more. The beast wished to break free of its bonds. I sought power and influence, security for Um Salim’s future, a stake in the region. The beast agreed to bestow that power upon me if I vowed to help it escape. So I put my plan in motion. I would need to be invited back to Ammara.I was, by that time, already a renowned scholar. All I had to do was create a problem only a scholar could solve. So with the beast’s help, I unlocked the doorway into the Deadlands and released the darkwalkers into Ammara.”
Dread descends over me. Prince Balior continues to circle me as a vulture would a rotting carcass. It is becoming increasingly obvious that I have been a fool in more ways than one.
“Over time, the darkwalkers multiplied. Drought continued to plague your realm. Eventually, it became too much. King Halim hoped that I might unearth a solution to Ammara’s troubles in my ancient tomes and proposed that our two realms become one. It was the opportunity I’d been waiting for. I would return to the labyrinth, and the beast, to fulfill the promise I’d made all those years before.”
I shake my head, for I see the end of this long, treacherous road: ash and ruin. Father had hoped Prince Balior would banish the darkwalkers, alter fate. Instead, he invited a traitor into his kingdom. “Think about what you’re doing, Prince Balior. If the beast is imprisoned, it’s likely for a good reason.” Though the beast was locked away due to no fault of its own, I do not doubt that it is dangerous. “There’s still time to change things.”
“It cannot be stopped,” he says, spreading his hands wide. “My plan is already in motion.”
As if on cue, the ground trembles. Grit rains from the ceiling. I hurriedly snap the violin case closed to protect the instrument.
“We could have been happy, Sarai. With my promise to the beast fulfilled, I could have kept your people safe from ruin. But you spurned me, and for what? A man whose promises are worth no more than bits of worthless copper?”
“Notus’ promise is worth more than your word,” I snap. “Your word is poison.”
“Which you have gladly swallowed. Do not deny it.”
I deny nothing. “Do you know what comes from placing your trust in immortals? They take advantage. As soon as the beast no longer requires your help, it will dispose of you.”
“I’m not so sure about that.” He veers closer, forcing me nearer to the wall. I change direction to avoid being cornered. “You see, once the beast has escaped,” he says, “it will slowly return to its humanoid form and regain the powers it once had as a demigod. But it will be vulnerable during the transition. I’ve promised to protect the beast until it can enact its revenge on the one who trapped it here.”
“And when you’ve conquered Ishmah, what next?” I glare at the prince, wishing I had the power to set him on fire with a look. “Um Salim’s army may be vast, but it is still finite. How do you expect to maintain control over Ammara while you’re helping the beast? Do you honestly believe my people will bare their bellies to your blade?”
At this, Prince Balior emits a low chuckle. I can’t believe I ever thought him handsome. He is rotten to the core. “If they value their lives, they will kneel.”
I bite the inside of my cheek so hard blood slinks across my tongue. When I bare my teeth, I imagine them lined in scarlet. “You won’t leave Ishmah alive,” I snarl. “I may not survive the labyrinth, but Notuswillfind you. He won’t stop until you are dead.”
The prince shrugs as if he can’t be bothered by the threat, however thin. “Take comfort that, long after your body perishes here, your mind will live on in the labyrinth, forever haunted by your past. Eternity is a long time, after all.”
