“I thought I should get up.”
“No.” The word was soft but final. “You battled dark magic. You need to rest. Build up your strength.”
I stiffened against him. “I’ve fought dark magic before. At Lumina Glade.” The memory flared hot—proofI wasn’t fragile, no matter who had called me weak.
“I’m not sure where that is, but did you do that alone?” His hand stilled against my hair. “Wasn’t Tinker Bell there?”
“Yes. But?—”
“You had others to help you, Alice. To share the burden.” His arm tightened around my waist, pulling me impossibly closer. “Queen Alanna’s magic has gotten stronger. She’s delved into things—dark things—that even Caterpillar won’t speak of.”
His words were being dragged from somewhere deep.
“I can’t lose you to her. Ever.”
The raw fear beneath the words stole my breath. I turned in his arms until I faced him, our noses almost touching. His silver eyes were open now, watching me with an intensity that made my heart stumble.
“You won’t,” I whispered.
But even as I said it, doubt coiled in my chest. The queen. Ari. Power that dwarfed anything I’d ever faced. I didn’t know if I was strong enough to stand against that—not yet.
He sat up and looked down at me. A grin spread across his face—slow and warm and so disarmingly boyish that my heart flipped.
“I could get used to waking up to you every day, Fate.”
I cupped his rugged cheek, the stubble rough against my palm. “Me too, Hatter.”
Something flickered in his silver eyes. Something soft and wanting and maybe a little terrified. He turned his head and pressed a kiss to my palm.
“Stay here. I’ll bring you something to drink and eat.”
“No, I should—” I pushed up on my elbows. I wasn’t used to people fetching things for me. “I can get it.”
He pressed his finger to my lips. “Stay. Let me do this for you.”
Before I could argue, he flicked the blanket off and swung his legs over the side of the cot. I immediately missed the warmth of his body next to mine. His muscles rippled with the simple movement—shoulders, back, arms—and my fingers itched to trace every line.
I wanted to reach out. To roam my hands over his bare skin and pull him back to me.
Instead, I curled my hand into a tight fist and buried it under the blanket.
The moment he stepped away, the cold crept in.
A shiver rolled through me—deep, bone-rattling. I wasn’t sure if it was from the chill or something else. Something the dark magic had left behind.
My teeth chattered. I curled tighter under the blankets, pulling my knees to my chest.
I felt hollow. Empty. Like someone had scooped out my insides and left nothing but a thin shell behind. The exhaustion pressed down on me—heavy, suffocating—worse than anything I’d felt after using my magic before.
This was different. This was the cost.
And still, I’d pay it again. The harpy was alive. That mattered.
Darius returned with a steaming cup clutched in his hands. The smell hit me first—something between coffee and tea, rich and earthy with a hint of sweetness.
“Here.” He sat on the edge of the cot and pressed the cup into my trembling hands. “Drink this. You’ll feel better.”
I forced myself to sit up, my arms shaking with the effort. “What is it?”
