I threw my arm up to block the light that burst from the creature before it crumpled into ash, covering us both with a fine layer that rained down. But it was only when the dust finally settled that we could see a towering figure standing in thewreckage. Its chest heaving, eyes catching the glow from the red veins in the walls. A pair of horns curved upward, just like its smirk, as a muscular arm threw its axe up to a broad shoulder.
A Minotaur!
The newcomer looked between us, and I could only imagine the sight we made.
“You always did have a talent for trouble, little bull,” said a female voice, which honestly, ended up surprising me. But not more than what Aster said next as he questioned,
“Aunty Stava?”
Her voice boomed with a deep and rough laughter that had my mouth dropping. It was like killing that thing had been just another walk in the park on a sunny Sunday.
Aster lowered his sword, his mouth gaping, his chest heaving.
“And here I thought your father raised warriors, not reckless fools,” she said as she stood over the fallen creature, completely calm, as if she hadn’t just killed a giant rock monster. The glow from her axe faded, a glow I was only noticing now, leaving only the faint shimmer of runes etched along its surface.
She was tall, close in size to Aster, and the muscles in her arms rippled under her skin as she shifted the axe slightly with it rested on her shoulder.
“Well, that was fun,” she said with a grin, swinging the axe so its head now sat on the ground.
“You always did know how to find the worst kind of trouble, little bull,” she commented, and I tried not to snigger at the nickname.
Aster continued to stare at her as if he were seeing a ghost, and I knew, at that moment, that this was the person he had been speaking of. The one who could help us. The one he suspected may no longer be alive.
“I thought… I thought you were gone,” he said, and he sounded so young, so vulnerable, I couldn’t help but feel for him.
“I am hard to kill, boy, you should know that,” she replied with a scoff.
“I thought about you and the herd every day. As soon as I heard that the darkness was invading these lands, I feared the worst. And then, after we followed them through the Rift, trying to catch up to them, I never knew what happened to you once I became trapped. The years I spent not knowing… the years I feared you would all be gone.” I could hear the raw emotion in his voice at what had obviously been an uncertain time.
She clasped his shoulder and squeezed it, telling him,
“We feared for you also. I will not lie to you and say we have not endured our own difficulties as the herd was divided. It was hard to keep our people together when most of the land had died. Even Minotaurs get scared, and conflict arose about what to do and where to go. But you should know by now, boy, it takes a lot more than a little chaos to frighten these old bones.”
Her voice filled with warmth as she looked him over, sounding more like his mother than anything else.
“You’ve grown, boy,” she said. “Taller, broader. And those horns, oh my! The Goddess would grace her smile upon you just as the rest of your kin!” Her eyes gleamed as she took in his horns, and I found myself looking at them too. “Your father would have been proud.”
Aster lowered his head slightly, something flickering behind his eyes that looked like grief but also shyness.
“Aunt Stava,” he said in protest.
Stava arched a brow at me.
“Of course, he was an impossible young one, too damn big for his hooves, used to trip over his own damn tail this one.”
“Goddess, do we really have to do this now?” he grumbled, making her laugh.
“Thought he could take on the world before his horns had even grown in.”
Aster groaned under his breath. “And you never let me forget it,” he countered, making her hit a hand to his bicep.
“What, and give up my favorite pastime, not a chance, little bull.” She winked, making him groan.
“Come on, we'd better get out of here. I assume you still know the Labyrinth’s secrets,” Aster said, making her incline her head.
“Aye, better than you, it seems. That mortal realm didn’t turn you soft, I hope.”
“Try battle-hardy,” he replied tensely to her teasing, with a grimace that said it was clear he had spent his years worried about his family, despite his aunt’s playful nature.
