Calista takes the rope with a smirk, her eyes tracing the strips of fabric clinging to my legs.
“I remember those.”
“White Castle feels like a lifetime ago.” Passing her the rope, I watch her wrap it around her body and pass it back to me, “What did you do with all those rubies and crystals, anyways?”
“They were fake.”
Tugging the rope, Calista slowly starts to lower herself down, “Evelyn had the real ones switched out. Same with the dead body.”
“There’s no way that thing was fake.”
“Oh, it was real.” A malicious grin peeks up at me, “But it wasn’t the Evil Queen you were sharing a coffin with.”
I shudder at the memory, opting not to ask who the hell was in that casket.
Calista hits the ground with a soft thud and I quickly follow suit.
Staggering and wincing at the impact in my knees, I roll up the rope and take a look around.
“Uh, darling.” Confusion melds in my brain as I stare at the familiar setting, “Did we make a wrong turn?”
“Nope.”
Blonde hair tumbles down her bare back, the loose straps of her bright red dress hugging every modest curve. Spandex shorts peek out the bottom when she bends down to kick off her heels and toss them onto a rug I’m all-too familiar with.
“Welcome to the Dragon's bedroom, Devil.”
The unease in my gut increases by tenfold.
It’s an exact replica of Calista’s bedroom, the same silver dressings and dark furnishings decorating the room around us.
What the hell?
“Could we not have just walked in here?”
I turn around slowly, seeing the same setting I’ve seen before. The only difference is the solitary mirror standing opposite the queen-sized bed, otherwise it’s identical to the room I’ve slept in before.
Which is fucking creepy to think about.
“You need voice and facial recognition to enter Maleficent’s bedroom.” Heading straight for the closet, Calista doesn’t spare me a glance, “Exclusive access must be granted to enter her private quarters.”
Questions swirl along my tongue as I follow her, ducking past shelves of high heels and hangers overflowing with clothes. Calista pushes piles aside and dumps fabric onto the ground until a gap stands in the compartment before us.
The same compartment a little girl used to hide in.
“Darling.” Swallowing thickly, I watch her pry her nails beneath the frame, “Why have I seen all of this before?”
“Because I got tired of being the mannequin.” Calista doesn’t look at me when she swings the door open, “And there was only one monster I was allowed to take after.”
My stomach hollows out when the metallic surface of the vault comes into view. Built into the wall with a latch and electronic plate, it’s the kind of thing you would expect to see at the back of a bank.
Not a mother’s bedroom.
“Can you open it?”
“It’s not ideal, that’s for sure.” Kneeling on the ground, I check out the model number stamped along the bottom, “But I should have enough explosives to blow this thing open. I’ll need to crowbar the fuck out of these walls though.”
“Can’t you just tape a grenade to the outside?”
