I couldn’t let that happen.
There had to be a way out. If there was a doorway in, there had to be a doorway back.
I just had to find it—before anyone else found me.
Chapter Six
Darius
Alice came out of the bathroom, and my breath caught.
Her damp blonde hair curled at the ends. Her cheeks were flushed from the shower. And the dress—it would have been ordinary on anyone else. On her, it was anything but.
I remembered the way those lips had felt against mine in that alley. The softness. The heat. The way she'd melted into me like she belonged there.
I held up a glass of Muchness Wine. “Feel better?”
She took the glass and settled onto the couch. “Much better. Thank you.” She sipped the wine. “Now what do we do?”
I shrugged. “We wait. See if my men arrive.”
“And if they don’t?”
I stared out the window at the empty street below. “Then I assume the worst.”
“Which is?”
“Captured.” I met her eyes. “Or dead.”
She went still. “Would your men tell the queen where we are?"
"No.” The word came out fierce. “Not even if she tortured them. They've all lost loved ones to the queen. Mothers. Fathers. Sisters.”
I turned back to the window, my jaw tight. Every one of them had followed me into this rebellion. Every one of them had trusted me to lead them out of the darkness.
And now they might be dying because of me.
She set her wine glass down and looked at me. Her expression had shifted—gentler now, almost concerned. I didn't know what to do with that. "Have you?"
Faces I couldn't save. Screams I still heard in my sleep.
"We all have."
"I'm sorry. It's always hard to lose people you love."
Her voice was soft. No pity—just understanding.
She knew loss. I could see it in her eyes, hear it in the way she spoke. A woman fighting to belong somewhere, just like me.
I peered through the shutters again. Maddenvale was quiet. Lanterns flickered along empty streets. Shutters drawn. Doors locked.
Too quiet.
The queen's soldiers were hunters. They'd let you think you were safe, let you breathe easy, then drag you into the dark before you could scream.
I refused to lose anyone again. It was time to meet with Rabbit. He was our ace with the queen. I had to get my men out of this dimension. It was the only way to make all of us safe.
My mind kept circling back to the mirror. Alice had fallen through the sky—but from where?
