“Worse how?”I asked.
“Like something pushing from the other side,” Tani said.“Something that feeds on magic.Every attempt to stop it gave it more strength.”
I leaned forward.“What took Oberon?”
Tani’s jaw clenched.“Whatever this thing is—it tore a chunk out of Faery and dragged him into another realm.”
“Why him?”Owen asked.
“Because he guards the Fae relics,” she said bluntly.“Or because whoever’s behind this thinks he does.”
My thoughts immediately flew to the crates in Charmed & Vintage.To Alice hiding treasures away like landmines no one else knew how to defuse.
“If you knew any of this before,” I said slowly, “why didn’t you tell me?”
“I didn’t know it was spreading,” Tani said.“I thought it was contained to Faery.Until Wonderland started bleeding.”
“That part is true,” the Red Queen said from the staircase.
We turned as she descended, skirts gathered carefully in her hands.“Paths have been opening where none existed before.Places touching that never should.”
“I tried sealing the boundaries,” Tani said.“It worked—for a time.But it’s temporary.The barrier’s thinning again.”
“What about Oberon?”I asked.“You said you found him.”
Tani nodded.“He’s alive.Trapped.I know exactly where he is.I can’t reach him.”
“I thought the hickory tree was the only crossing,” I said.
“It’s the strongest,” Tani replied.“But it’s not the only one.Standing stones.Old circles.Places where ley lines intersect.”
My chest tightened.How many doors were there?How many chances for that demon to slip through?
“Did Alice know?”I asked quietly.
Tani hesitated.
Willow padded over and rolled onto her back at my feet, meowing softly.
Tani glanced down.“She did.She was trying to fix it.”
I swallowed.
“So this… thing hit Faery,” I said slowly.“And Wonderland.Which means it’s only a matter of time before it pushes here.”
“Holy jabberwocky,” the Red Queen muttered.
“Closing the gate won’t be enough,” Tani said.“Not anymore.”
“And we don’t even know what it is,” Owen added.
Silence followed.
“Then here’s the plan,” I said, straightening.“We stop broadcasting.We lock the grimoire down.We translate it.And we seal the tree properly—before the tear widens.”
Owen’s gaze held mine.“We?”
I didn’t flinch.“We.”
