But all I could think about was Alice and how he hurt her. That thought sent adrenaline pumping through me. The pain forgotten.
We rolled across the stone floor, fists and elbows and rage. Somewhere behind us, Alice was crying. I could hear her—small, broken sounds that cut deeper than any blow Grump could land.
He pinned me down, his hands around my throat.
“She was everything to me,” he snarled, his face inches from mine. “Everything.”
“And Alice was everything to her.” I choked out the words. “Corina died to save her. Is this how you honor that?”
He shook his head—the truth hitting him. Or grief finding a new target.
I used the moment to shove him off. We both lay there, panting, bleeding.
“Darius!” Alice’s voice cut through the haze.
I turned my head. She stood frozen, tears streaming down her face, her whole body trembling. Chester hovered near her, his grin absent, his luminous eyes watchful.
Get up.
I forced myself to my feet. My side screamed. My jaw throbbed. My legs felt like they might give out at any moment.
But Alice was still crying.
I crossed to her, each step harder than the last. “We’re leaving.”
“Darius, you’re hurt?—”
“Hold on to me.”
I didn’t give her time to argue. I grabbed her and swept her into my arms.
Pain exploded through my body—white-hot, blinding. I heard someone shouting behind us. Caterpillar’s slow voice. The Uncrowned Seven moving to restrain Grump.
None of it mattered.
I launched us into the air, wings beating hard, and flew to the far end of the cavern. The landing was rough. My legs buckledand I nearly dropped her, catching myself against the stone wall at the last moment.
“Darius.” Alice’s hands found my shoulders, steadying me. “Sit down. Please.”
I lowered myself onto a rocky outcrop, my breathing ragged. Alice knelt beside me, her fingers ghosting over the bruise already forming on my jaw.
“You fought him,” she whispered. “For me.”
I didn’t answer. Couldn’t answer. I didn’t know why I’d done it. Didn’t know why seeing her hurt had driven every rational thought from my head.
That wasn’t like me. I was the Hatter—calculated, strategic, always three moves ahead.
But when Grump had turned on her, I hadn’t thought at all. I’d just... acted. I’d never felt like that about any woman before.
“You shouldn’t have,” she said softly. “You’re already injured. You could have?—”
“He was wrong.” I didn’t even hesitate. “What he said to you. How he treated you. It was wrong.”
Alice’s eyes searched my face. Looking for something. I didn’t know if she found it.
“Why do you care so much?”
The question was like a cannon going off in my head. Loud. Dangerous.
