Page 7 of Trapped By Clocks and Hearts

And being the most notorious assassin serving the Queen of Hearts, who ruled over the land, my sole purpose was to seduce the women of Wünder to complacence in order to steal their hearts to deliver to the Queen for her consumption.

My kisses were weapons. And rarely did I even need to go that far. In the past, kingdoms had fallen from a mere smile from me. Maidens, queens, princesses, and the occasional prince now and again threw themselves at my feet to entreat a kind word from my lips—right before I tore their hearts out.

One look from me would make any female within a ten-mile radius melt where she stood.

Usually.

Not moving an inch otherwise, I glared at Allie some more. “Great, good to know. Now sober the hell up.”

She tilted her head to one side. “I watched you seduce that girl who came by the other day. You were really good at that.”

I groaned again. So she had been spying on me for the last few weeks.

But I didn’t respond. With another even glare, I watched her face for a few moments, waiting as the effects of the intoxicating magic mushroom visibly lifted from her features.

When Allie seemed to get her bearings back, her mouth dropped open a slight. She pulled her arms away from me to straighten herself up.

She shook her head, blinking several times. “Oh. Well.” Clearing her throat, she dusted off her clothes. “That was highly inconvenient.”

“You think?” I huffed and whirled around to stomp through the metal door. “So you’re feeling better, I take it? How did you even get to Tulgey Woods?”

“Well…it was rather odd. Quite inexplicably, I found a door in a tree when I was…” She paused. “Exploring. I’d never seen a door in a tree before so I was curious. I know it doesn’t make any sense but it’s true.”

I merely rolled my eyes again. I didn’t understand why she had deemed it inexplicable. In fact, I should have known. Many trees in Wünder concealed hollows which led to other places. Certain animals used them for migration and hunting food.

Following at my heels, she cleared her throat again and put her hand out. “We haven’t officially met.”

“We don’t need to officially meet.”

“So…you’re some kind of wizard?”

“I’m a sorcerer,” I corrected, miffed.

She wrinkled her nose. “Like there’s a difference.”

“Don’t make me kill you after I just saved your life.” I shot her a dark look. “Do not try to escape again.”

She shifted on her feet. “I wasn’t trying to escape. I just…wanted to take a look around. Aren’t you really overreacting about this whole thing?” She put her hands up in a shrug to drawl, “Besides, I wasn’t in ‘danger’ danger.”

I gritted my teeth again. I seriously wanted to wring her insolent neck. “And yet, I still had to save you. Next time, maybe I should just let the Jabberwocky get you.” I stopped at the top of the staircase leading down to the studio and gestured my arm pointedly for her to descend.

Her forehead creased in confusion once more. “The…what? Ugh, never mind.” Her expression morphed into aggravated, molten disdain and she folded her arms across her chest. “You know what, yes. Of course, I was trying to escape! I’ve been locked up in this tower for weeks. I understand I’ve been sick, and I appreciate your efforts in restoring me to health, but you honestly can’t keep me locked up in here forever.”

Impatient with her stalling, I turned to head back to my desk, my response offhand, authoritative but steady. “It’s for your own safety. Your life is as precious to me as my own.”

Her tone still soured. “What the hell does that even mean?”

“It means—” I whirled around to face her. “You are not to endanger yourself again.”

Eyes wide, the indignation was raw on her face. “I don’t even know where I am! I don’t even know who I am or what the hell I’m doing—”

“What you are is mine,” I pressed. “Now stay downstairs. Stay out of trouble. Be quiet. And don’t make the notion of killing you even more tempting than it already is.”

“None of this makes any sense!” She threw her hands up.

My reply dripped with sarcasm and finality. “Welcome to Wünder.”

She winced as though I’d struck her but she didn’t say anything more. She spun around to storm off, stomping all the way down the staircase.