Page 18 of Crownless Heirs

“Where are we going now?” Sorcha asked, following Maelan’s descent.

Maelan refused to answer, repeating only, “You’ll have to see,” until he abruptly stopped and turned to face her.

“Close your eyes,” he commanded.

“Why?” Sorcha asked suspiciously.

“Because it’s a surprise.” Maelan replied.

Sorcha retorted, “Your surprises are the reason I won’t.”

“Fine,” Maelan conceded with an eye-roll. “We’ll do it this way then.”

He wrapped his tail around her eyes, causing her to laugh. “Are you serious, Maelan?”

“Deadly serious. Now, can we go?” He huffed.

“Lead the way.”

Sorcha allowed Maelan to lead her for a few minutes, winding through the paths and nearly tripping on roots, until he finally dropped his tail. The sight Sorcha beheld was so beautiful it left her speechless. She stood in the middle of a magnificent flower garden. Blue roses, tipped with ocean-like hues, were artfully woven into lattices. Statues of gods and moon phases adorned the gardens, while paths cobbled with quartz and opal wound through the labyrinth. Glowing moths danced through the air, and at the very center stood a sunstone carving of a crescent moon with a cat sitting within it, its copper flecks glittering in the sun.

“Where are we?” Sorcha asked, stepping toward the blue roses, her fingers plucking a single petal.

She slowly turned in a circle, taking it all in. The flowers glowed beneath the afternoon sun, and the faint smell of salt and honey.

“It’s beautiful,” she breathed.

Maelan’s smile softened. “I know.”

Just then, Sorcha thought he wasn’t looking at the garden at all.

“It’s the labyrinth of phases. There’s a special entrance to the center of the labyrinth through the basement of the restaurant we were just in. I thought it would be fun to find our way out together. You have to touch each statue in the correct phases of the moon.”

”You want to solve a maze puzzle with me?” Sorcha asked, questioning his motives.

“Who better than my future wife to be trapped in a maze with?” Maelan countered.

“Alright, so what are the phases of the moon?” Sorcha began as she made her way to the statue.

“New Moon, Waxing Crescent, First Quarter, then….” Maelan began, but seemed to have been thinking when Sorcha added excitedly, “Half of the moon, the full moon and then all of that in reverse!”

Sorcha reached toward the crescent moon statue, fingers outstretched when —“Wait!” Maelan lunged forward, but it was too late.

Initially, nothing seemed to have happened. Then, the path ahead dissolved into shimmering mist. Somewhere deeper within the labyrinth, stone walls groaned as they shifted. Sorcha slowly lowered her hand and asked, “Was that bad?”

Maelan pinched the bridge of his nose and replied, “No, not really.”

“You told me to touch the statues,” Sorcha said innocently.

“I told you there was an order,” he countered.

“You didn’t tell me what would happen, though,” she stated.

“I was getting there,” Maelan looked like he was having the worst headache.

Sorcha crossed her arms, and Maelan sighed dramatically. “The labyrinth follows the phases of the moon. You must touch every statue in the correct sequence. Get one wrong, and the paths rearrange themselves.”

“The entire maze?” she asked, surprised.