I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been kissed. Not many men wanted to get close to an unstable witch—and after enough rejection, I’d stopped letting them try.
His silver eyes held mine, and my heartbeat quickened. He gave me a moment—a chance to pull away.
I didn’t.
His lips brushed over mine, soft at first. He tasted like mint and something wild. Something that made me want more.
I pressed my hands against his chest. His heart pounded as wildly as mine.
His tongue slid against mine, and I melted into him. His arms wrapped around me, pulling me flush against the hard planes of his body.
I forgot about the queen. Forgot about the coven. Forgot about going home.
There was only him. Only this.
His kiss deepened, and I was lost. Lost in his lips, his arms, his warmth.
He pulled away slowly. Those silver eyes held mine, and I wanted nothing more than to pull him back.
“They’re gone,” he murmured.
“Good.” I panted. “I’m glad we fooled them.”
He clasped my hand and led me through the shadows again, weaving through back alleys until we reached a weathered door.
But my mind wasn’t on escape anymore.
All I could think about was his kiss.
He knocked—two slow taps, then three quick ones.
I raised an eyebrow. “A secret knock? Really?”
Hatter just shrugged.
The door creaked open. The man on the other side reminded me of a walrus—a thick gray mustache drooping past his chin, two pronounced front teeth, and a belly that strained against his vest.
“Hatter.” His face split into a grin. “Welcome, welcome. I see you still have your hat.” But then his eyes landed on me. “Who is this?”
The smell hit me—brine and fish, like a seafood market. It clung to the man, to the walls, to everything.
“Alice Ravencrest. Alice, this is Wallace Seaman.”
He bowed slightly. “Wally, please.” His gaze flicked back to Hatter. “Friend or foe?”
“That remains to be seen,” Hatter said.
I glared at him. The kiss had meant nothing—just a way to hide us from the soldiers. Nothing more. He was back to being my captor, even after our kiss. “I’m neither. I fell into this place by accident.”
“By accident,” Wally repeated. “There are no accidents in the Elder Dimension.”
Did that include kisses?
Behind him lurked a second man—thin as a rail, with sawdust clinging to his worn clothes and hands that looked like they’d shaped a thousand boards. He didn’t speak. Just watched me with pale, calculating eyes.
“Carpenter,” Hatter said. “He doesn’t talk much.”
Wally frowned. “What brings you here?”
