Page 59 of Wondrous

Alicia tilted her head to one side. “Oh dear—I must have misplaced it.” She took her time chewing her next bite of scone. “I saw your posters, so I thought I’d stop by and say hello. Also, I haven’t changed my mind about teaming up, Maria. I intend to win this competition on my own—after all, there can only be one Alice in Wonderland. Some of you are too addicted to being kind and heroic to see that. Our world isn’t kind. Why do you think this one is?”

“You’ve come here to kill the mock dragon,” I said.

Alicia gave a disbelieving laugh. “Of course. Haven’t you?”

“No,” I said. “I want to stop them all from destroying Wonderland, but there’s a way to do that without killing them.”

“You can’t be serious,” Alicia said. “Surely you’re not that weak.”

“It’s how we defeated the other two mock dragons,” I said, lifting my chin. “Their flames went out. They aren’t a danger anymore.”

A strange look passed over her face—a childlike sort of hurt. Then it was gone.

“It doesn’t matter,” she said, tapping the hilt of her sword. “I’ll bring the Queen of Hearts this dragon’s head. Then I’ll collect the other two—if they can’t breathe fire anymore, killing them won’t be difficult.”

Jack leaned toward me. “Do you want her to leave?” he said. “I can’t tell. You seemed to dislike the other two at first, but then you changed your mind.”

“I want her to leave,” I said, glaring at Alicia. “But I don’t trust her not to get in the way when the mock dragon comes. Let’s just take her sword and tie her to the chair.”

“Like a hostage,” Jack said, sounding delighted. In a flicker of movement too quick for me to follow, he seized one of Maria’s nets and leapt across the table.

But Alicia moved fast, too—she shoved her chair back and drew her sword, which she pointed at Jack’s neck. He froze.

“Careful, eyelashes,” she said.

Jack blinked. “Eyelashes?”

“I don’t know how you did that,” Alicia said slowly, not taking her eyes off Jack, “but you should know that you’ll never be named the Alice if you stick with her.”

Jack didn’t flinch—he held himself with a stillness that could have been mistaken for calm, but I knew better. Had the hero who killed his mother looked like Alicia? Even if they hadn’t, was that who he saw when he looked at her?

“I’m not an Alice,” he said quietly. “I’m Alice’s sidekick. And this is her tea party, which you are interrupting.”

Alicia lowered her sword. “You’re a creature of Wonderland,” she said, and I saw that same childlike look flicker across her face, mixed with longing. “Aren’t you? And you’re taking her side? You should be helping me. I’m the one who deserves to be named the Alice.” She gestured at me in disgust. “She’s so useless she didn’t even think to bring a sword to fight dragons. How can she be the hero who saves Wonderland?”

“A sword,” Jack repeated in a cold, musing sort of voice. “I used to think that was what made a hero, too. Alice has her teacups, and she’s kind, which is something you don’t seem to know much about, but it’s how she defeated two mock dragons. If there’s one thing I’ve learned since meeting her, it’s that only the weak rely on weapons. A true hero doesn’t need a sword.”

Alicia flinched. I felt a swooping sensation, as if I were a bird lifted by a gust of wind. Maria beamed at Jack, while Alex rolled her eyes.

“Why is it always someone like you?” Alicia spat. I was struck again by how oddly alike we seemed—it was like looking at a paler version of myself, one with sharper edges.

“What do you mean?” I said, suppressing the urge to lean away from her.

“Some of the others are convinced you’re the Alice,” she said. “And I can see why. You’ve got the Cheshire Cat on your side, and half a dozen Wonderland creatures. You never had any trouble finding the rabbit hole again. And now you’ve made yourself a little army of sidekicks, ready to help with whatever silly plan you’ve come up with.”

“For your information, Maria and I are not sidekicks,” Alex said. “We’re allies.”

Alicia might not have heard her. All her attention was fixed on me.

“I overheard that sad little story you told Alistair,” she said. “You really think that being rich and getting married off to a rich old man is some great tragedy? Spend one week in my life, and you’ll realize how good you have it.”

“I never said my life was worse than yours,” I said quietly. “And it’s not my fault the Cheshire Cat follows me around.”

“Didn’t say it was,” Alicia said. “I just want to know, why is it always someone like you? You already have so much, and now you think you deserve Wonderland?” She leaned forward, an odd flush on her face. “And why should it be someone like you? Why shouldn’t your adventure end here, today?”

“Stop it, Alicia,” Alex said. “You think you can win this competition with threats? You’re outnumbered. The best way to win is by working together.”

Alicia gave her a scornful look. “You’re such a moralizing sap, Alex. You and Maria. I could never work with people who don’t understand that the only way you get anywhere in life is by taking whatever you can get, by whatever means necessary.”