Xavier was the male embodiment of the Queen of Hearts. Especially with the glittering red eyeshadow and eyeliner he was wearing.How can a person be so beautiful?And why didI constantly ask myself this question? With his eye makeup, he looked like a winged creature from heaven, who had come here just to be admired. He must have noticed his changed outfit at that moment, because he started to smile as well. Or had he read my thoughts again?
“I think the portal really listened to your dreams,” Xavier replied, smirking.
My gaze wandered over to Malakai and Damien standing beside Xavier, as they also studied their new attire.
Malakai was wearing a tailored white high-collared shirt and a corset with delicate embroidery. He looked so graceful with the light clothes that I had almost overlooked the bunny ears… my angel was the white rabbit. I suppose it made sense. He had come to us much later, and yet he was the first I’d perceived in Carnivalland as I fell through the rose hedges. He was the one who saved me, long before Maverick took me here.
“I’m wearing bunny ears,” Malakai stated, confused. The way they rested against his pale blonde hair made him look almost unreal—not that the beauty of an angel could ever be something understood by mortal kind.
“And I have cat ears on… is that supposed to be better?”
I smiled, amused, taking in Damien’s attire, which consisted of a deep charcoal vest worn over a teal blouse with puffy sleeves. Around his slim waist he was wearing a silver band, and his pants were velvety green. And with the scar on his eye and the eyeliner, he very much resembled the Cheshire Cat.
“It looks…” I could not even form any words… With the dark liner framing his intense eyes and his lips slightly stained, he stirred something reckless inside me.
“No words, love?” he asked, his lips curving into a smile as his hands drew me closer to him.
Suddenly Maverick flew through the tunnel, settling itself on Xavier’s shoulder.
“How…?”
“I told you he finds us wherever we are… even through portals,” Xavier explained, stroking his feathers. It caused me to remember that Maverick had also found me in the human world.
And then out of nowhere the cylinder hat fell back to my head… causing all of them to grin at me.
“Now, your outfit is perfect. My little Mad Hatter,” Xavier said, grinning, and pressed a soft kiss to my fingers.
I smiled at his comment. I guess my imagination had somehow influenced our attire, which meant… it wasn’t a long tunnel we had fallen through.
It was a rabbit hole.
Xavier opened the golden door and we all stepped through the entrance, finding ourselves in a huge saloon that resembled a circus tent with a long, golden chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Lanterns glowed in impossible colors around the wall, some were flickering upside down, while others were lighting up the ceiling.
While I was passing a vintage mirror, I noticed that my eye makeup was just as mismatched as my blouse. One eye was with pink eyeshadow, the other one with blue.
“How is this possible…” And I didn’t only mean my Mad Hatter outfit, but the entire portal transforming into a twistedWonderland experience, when minutes ago we were trapped in a cave.
“The portal is influenced by you, Gwendolyn. Instead of bringing us back through the Ancient Springs, it created some sort of shell for you. A shell with all of your dreams…” Malakai explained, the feathers of his wings brushing against my back.
Although Malakai and I have been in each other’s presence for mere hours, it felt like he knew exactly how to touch me to calm me down.
My gaze drifted through the room, looking at the table in the center with lace-trimmed tablecloths in purple and orange, covered in candied apples, checkerboard cookies, different pastries and a giant cake decorated with cherries and sugared roses.
Was this really my creation? Did my dreams and wishes affect the portal somehow?
And then my eyes stopped at a very specific item on the table… a carousel, small and delicate. But instead of traditional horses, this carousel featured little white rabbits.
“Oh, is this one of the little white rabbits you had hoped would save you?” Xavier asked, clearly teasing my astonishment. His gaze wandered over to his raven, whispering loud enough for me to hear, “Poor Maverick, if you would have been a white rabbit, she would have loved you even more.”
I rolled my eyes, which I knew Xavier hated. But surprisingly he didn’t comment on it. Maybe the entire portal had lightened up his mood.
“You know that isn’t true. I love Maverick for bringing me here… to you,” I said.
Xavier tilted my chin gently toward his gaze as his lips brushed against my knuckles and then he took my hand pressing a soft kiss against it.Do you really believe that I didn’t notice your eyes rolling at me, my little demon?
My gaze tilted upwards to him, he read my mind and somehow the tension, the fact that he’d be able to sense every feeling of mine, made me blush again.
Prepare your sweet ass when we are home. Because I ache for you right now in a way that even men of my kind aren’t meant to feel.
