Page 61 of Trapped By Clocks and Hearts

I winced. That struck an unexpected chord. “What makes you think I want you to stay here forever?” I bit back with a sneer. “You said it yourself. I’m the bad guy. The fact that you expected anything else from me only means you’re even more of a fool than I thought.”

Allie sucked in a breath as though I’d slapped her with those words. Her face was crumpled in derision but I could see it on her face. She couldn’t deny what I said. She had known what I was right from the start. She just didn’t want to admit that she had been fooled.

And I… I needed to remind myself exactly what I was keeping her around for. I needed to remind myself of what I was since it was so very clear in her eyes what I was. I was still a heartless monster.

Even though… I dropped my gaze before I could say anything else I knew I would come to regret.

Still breathless, Allie stood as if in a stunned trance.

“Hoo!” Chez wheezed out loud, instantly breaking the tension. “That was a bit heavy. Now shall we just agree to disagree?”

I glared at Allie. But she merely glared back.

The Duchess glanced from Allie to me and back in expectation. “My…” she murmured.

A sharp knock at the door drew surprised gasps from both Allie and the Duchess.

Jerking in alarm, my gaze snapped over. I wasn’t expecting anyone at this time. According to Her Majesty’s schedule, she wasn’t due another heart for another fortnight.

The knocking came again, firmer, more insistent.

If it was the Hatter come to fight me, I had to get ready. If it was the Queen’s envoy come to check up on me, I couldn’t let them find Allie in here. No matter her capacity to get under my skin and how much she pissed me off.

Catching Allie’s wide-eyed gaze, I put a finger to my lips. Narrowing my eyes in wariness, I approached the door to take a look.

When I cracked the door open to peek outside, there was no one standing at the stoop—except a gust of wind carrying a fresh scroll as it blew straight into my loft.

I stepped back and shut the door again.

The scroll floated in mid-air, glimmering in golden light as it unrolled before us.

The Queen’s red seal was at the bottom again.

It was an invitation to the Queen of Hearts’s castle.

Chez’s ominous tone broke the tense silence. “It’s addressed to Allie.”

“Oh my,” the Duchess cooed again, putting a hand to her throat. “The last time I was invited to the castle to play croquet, the Queen beheaded half the staff and some of the guests for misunderstanding her made-up rules.”

“I remember,” Chez piped up. “Even I almost got beheaded. If only those guards didn’t get confused about whether or not they could behead a cat without a body. The Queen’s guards are quite dumb.”

Allie visibly repressed a nervous shiver.

Another noise at the door turned my head.

An opulent conveyance floated right outside the door to my loft, despite it being about five-hundred feet above the ground. Its stagecoach wheels intricately designed with ornate patterns of suits of cards, the bulbous carriage adorned with flamboyant embellishments in red and black.

Swallowing hard, Allie stepped back. “I don’t have a choice, do I? I can’t not go. The Queen will find me and kill me either way, won’t she?”

Not willing to fib about it, Chez merely shrugged.

I cast her a blank look. Not wanting to expose my own apprehension, I said nothing else except, “Get ready to leave.”

“Say hi to Five for me,” the Duchess called out to her as Allie headed for the staircase.

Allie glanced back. “Who’s Five?”

The Duchess’s smile was suggestive. “One of the castle guards.”