Page 67 of The Labyrinth and the Threaded Daughter

An urge clawed at his insides to make her his own, to keep her to himself in Knossos. To hold her and talk with her and never let her go.

His eyes widened for a moment as an idea struck him. An idea so grand, so perfect, that he couldn’t believe he hadn’t thought of it before now.

“You could come with me!”

As the words landed, Ariadne shook her head, looking at him with a deep sense of sympathy. She cast her eyes downward. “I will not be able to walk out of here. I know that. The Labyrinth is keeping me here. As long as it is here, I will be too.”

The words sat heavy and ugly on Corin’s chest, as if fighting against his heart.

For a long, brutal moment, neither of them moved. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them knew what to do. The Labyrinth remained quiet, as if listening to their hearts breaking.

The Minotaur released a small whine, curling in on himself slightly. Corin could see a puddle of blood pooling beneath the beast. It stained Ariadne’s dress from where the monster huddled in close to her. Corin knew it would not kill the Minotaur, but it would clearly be in great pain for a while..

Finally, Ariadne closed the distance between Corin and herself. She whispered some soft words to her kin and moved forward, closer to the heir.

She reached him, placed a hand on his shoulder—warm, solid, real—and fully looked up at him with tears gracing an expression that nearly undid him.

If she had offered him the expression for any other reason, he would hunt down the cause for her emotions. But he couldn’t. Because the cause of them was him.

“Corin,” she whispered softly.

The shock of his name hit him all at once, and he shook. His eyes moved around the room, expecting some sort of chaos to follow, but nothing happened. It was as if the Labyrinth was holding its breath as it awaited the heir to finish his trial.

“Go. Please.”

Before he could answer, before he could protest, she rose onto the tips of her toes and pressed a kiss to his lips.

It was gentle. Brief. A promise and a farewell all at once.

A kiss so powerful and full of emotions that it stunned him. Her lips touched him, and all he could do was stand and accept it. If he could have reacted, he would have. He would have pressed his lips more firmly against hers.

But he couldn’t. His body was frozen, shocked by her actions and wallowing in the hurt that the truth struck him with.

The press of her lips felt so sudden, so final, that he wasn’t sure what to think. He wanted to feel them more, to never part their lips from each other. It would have been a perfect life to stand like that with her for the rest of their days.

But as quick as it came, she pulled back just as fast. When she drifted away, her forehead rested against his chest for just a second, listening to the way his heart beat erratically.

Then she turned away.

She went back to the Minotaur. Back to her brother. Back to living as the entities cursed to stay inside the maze.

Kneeling beside her brother, who at some point during their kiss had fallen to the ground to curl in on himself more, she resumed tending to his wounds. Her hands were steady despite the tears that slipped silently down her cheeks.

She did not look back at Corin.

And Corin stood frozen as his heart splintered.

He had to leave. There was a sense of responsibility waiting for him. Knossos needed him. He had the crown that his uncle needed to give up. Mirelle was waiting with a coronation and wedding to plan.

This was bigger than him. He had too many responsibilities, too many people relying on him, to stay inside the Labyrinth.

Despite the pain that caused him.

He closed his eyes, accepting defeat for his heart.

A weight pressed against his thigh. His eyes opened hurriedly as his fingers reached into his pocket.

The stone disc.