Alanna's face was twisted in rage, her finger pointed at me, her pink gown swirling around her like she'd been caught in a storm. Frozen. Helpless.
Silence crashed down like a hammer.
I swayed on my feet. Black dots danced at the edges of my vision. Grump caught me before I fell.
"I'm fine," I gasped. "I'm fine."
But when I looked up, only six other people moved in a room of hundreds.
Darius—staring at me like I was the sun rising after an endless night.
Ari—his red eyes wide, his mouth hanging open.
Rabbit—collapsed against the wall, sobbing with relief.
And Chester, Caterpillar, and Grump behind me.
I'd done it.
The impossible.
"Alice." Darius' voice cracked on my name.
He grabbed me and pulled me into his arms, crushing me against his ridiculous pink suit. His whole body trembled. His heart pounded against my chest.
"What have you done?" He pulled back just enough to look at me, his silver eyes wet. "The magic—the doors—how did you?—"
I dragged my fingers through his hair—his beautiful, dark hair that I thought I'd never touch again.
"The impossible." I smiled up at him. "I believed in six impossible things before breakfast."
Then I kissed him. Hard. Fierce. Claiming him back from the queen who thought she'd won.
He groaned against my mouth, his hands cupping my face like I was something precious. Something he'd almost lost.
When I finally pulled back, we were both breathless.
"Don't ever go mad and run off with any queens again," I whispered against his lips.
A broken laugh escaped him. "Never. I'm yours, Fate. Only yours."
"You need to get out of here while you still can."
I looked up. Rabbit stood apart from us, his pale face streaked with tears. The saddest expression I'd ever seen.
Darius frowned. "You say that as if you aren't coming with us."
Grump scanned the frozen crowd. "Brynn isn't here."
"The queen has hidden her somewhere," Rabbit said. "I don't know where. But I must stay and find her." He met Grump's eyes. "Brynn is the princess. I will protect her until you can return for her."
"Rabbit, Alanna will kill you," Grump growled.
Rabbit turned to me. I saw it in his eyes—guilt, yes, but something fiercer beneath it. Determination. A desperate need to make things right for everything he’d done.
"She won't,” he said. “Not if you freeze me with the others."
I stared at him. "Are you sure?"
