“Alanna’s holding all the cards,” I muttered.
“Please, Darius.” Rabbit gestured toward the tub. “Get back in and let me make you presentable. The queen is growing impatient, and when she’s impatient, she’s dangerous.”
“She’s always been mad.” I stepped back into the water, the warmth doing nothing to ease the cold dread in my chest. “Now she’s turning everyone mad too.”
Rabbit picked up a cloth and began scrubbing my back without another word. I let him. Not because I cared how I looked. Not because I wanted to please Alanna.
She wouldn’t take her vengeance out on me. No, she was far too clever for that. She’d take it out on the people I loved. On Alice. On Flint and Steel. On Rabbit’s children working in those cursed mines.
She had us all exactly where she wanted us.
Rabbit washed my hair, and I sat in the tub, detesting every minute of it.
Here I was, being scrubbed and pampered like a king while Alice rotted in the dungeon below. Filthy. Bloody. Alone. The thought was a knife in my chest, twisting deeper with every splash of perfumed water.
On Alanna’s orders, Ari supposedly had given her Drink Me—the healing elixir.
But I couldn’t trust either one of them. Alanna’s promises were empty. Nothing but lost hope and lies. Ari was nothing but her pet, doing whatever she commanded.
“Rabbit.” I kept my voice low. “Do you know if Ari gave Alice Drink Me?”
Rabbit’s hands paused on my scalp. “Yes, he did. I saw the empty vial myself.” He resumed washing. “The queen kept her word on that.”
One small mercy. At least Alice wasn’t suffering in agony anymore.
But I knew why Alanna had healed her. It wasn't kindness. A broken, bleeding Alice wouldn't feel the full impact of my rejection. Alanna wanted her whole. Healthy. Alert. So that every word I spoke would cut deeper than any whip.
The relief was hollow. If I didn’t do exactly what Alanna demanded—if I deviated even slightly from her script—she could hurt Alice again. Worse than before.
And this time, she might not bother with the elixir.
Rabbit fussed over me—drying my hair, brushing it until it shone, shaving the dark stubble from my jaw. He even polished my boots.
This wasn’t me. I wasn’t a pretty boy. Never had been. I was a fighter, a rebel, a demon who’d spent years covered in dirt andblood and sweat. Not some pampered nobleman preening for court.
But the man in the mirror wasn't me anymore. He was whatever Alanna wanted him to be. A fucking puppet.
I would endure this for Alice.
I pulled on the fancy jacket Alanna had chosen—deep green velvet with gold embroidery that matched my hat perfectly. The tights were the same shade, fitted and ridiculous. I looked like a costume, not a man.
My hat. I missed the weight of it. The power. Without it, I was just a demon in a pretty cage.
Rabbit stepped back, examining his work. He was trying to act normal—professional, even—but his hands shook and his smile didn't reach his eyes. “I think the queen would approve.”
I didn’t answer him. What was there to say? Yes, Alanna would approve. She'd dressed me up like a prize stallion for her own amusement. And soon I'd trot out into her court and perform exactly as commanded.
I'd considered fighting. Running. Tearing through the guards and finding Alice before any of this happened. But every escape plan ended the same way—with Alice paying the price for my defiance.
So I'd do this. I'd break her heart. And I'd hate myself for the rest of my existence.
He led me to Alanna’s door and rapped his knuckles against the wood. “He’s ready, Your Majesty.”
Everything in me tensed as I waited for the door to open. Nothing would be the same after this. My whole world would be crushed forever, and I’d become a slave.
But Alice would be safe.
The door swung open.
