Chapter Four
Darius
White-hot pain blazed behind my eyes. I pressed my palm to my forehead, gritting my teeth against the agony.
Mountains. Elk... Bear... Deer.
Where was this coming from?
The kiss. It had to be the kiss.
Her lips had tasted like something I’d lost. Something I’d buried so deep I’d forgotten it existed. And now it was clawing its way back to the surface.
I lived there. Once. Before all of this. Before the queen. Before the dungeon. Before I became the Mad Hatter.
I was someone else once. Someone with a name. A home. A life.
Pine. I remembered the smell of pine—sweet and sharp against cold morning air. Snow on the ground. Breath fogging in front of my face.
God, I missed that smell. I missed all of it.
My head throbbed, the pain intensifying. The Elder Dimension didn’t like when I remembered. It punished me everytime—as if this cursed place wanted to erase who I’d been. Wanted to keep me hollow. Obedient.
I wouldn’t let it.
But the memories slipped away like water through my fingers, leaving only the ache behind.
How long had it been since I’d thought of home?
And why was Alice the one unlocking the door?
I exhaled slowly, shoving the memories where they couldn’t touch me, and stared at Alice. Her gaze was distant, unfocused. Her skin had gone pale and clammy, chest rising in quick, uneven bursts.
She’d done this. Somehow. Her presence was pulling things loose—things I’d buried long ago.
“Have you been to a place where there are...” The word fought to surface. “...mountains?”
She really wasn’t seeing me anymore. “No. I’ve always lived in New Orleans.”
New Orleans. I felt like I should know that place. Something tugged at my brain, followed by a sharp pain. I gritted my teeth. “Where is that place?”
She frowned. “You’re from our world and have never heard of New Orleans?”
I gave her a crisp smile. “Humor me.”
“It’s in Louisiana.”
“That means nothing to me.”
“It’s in the United States off the Gulf of Mexico.”
Sharp agony ripped through my mind, nearly buckling my knees. I grabbed the table to steady myself. That should mean something to me.
Think. Damn it. Think.
Why couldn’t I remember? But the agony intensified as if someone was turning up the pain threshold. I shook my head,forcing the memories back into whatever dark corner they’d crawled out of.
Get back to business.
