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Callister scoffed, clearly unimpressed by my threat. Without my magic, I was no match for him and we all knew it.
"Or what? You’ll glare at me until I expire of boredom?" He took a long drag on his cigarette, regarding us with contempt. “Face it, Chess—the little slut got bored and went home. Best accept it and move on."
"I will never accept that," I ground out. “If Alice got bored, she wouldn’t have taken the Vorpal Sword with her! Shecan’ttake it with her. The sword can’t leave Wonderland. She’s out there somewhere, and I won’t stop looking until I find her—with or without your help!”
Callister’s lips curled into a sneer, clearly enjoying my frustration.
"Then you’re as foolish as you are powerless, Chess. By all means, continue your wild goose chase. Even if you find her and the sword, that little whore won’t last two seconds against the queen,” Callister said. “Might as well save yourselves the trouble and focus your efforts elsewhere.”
I stared at the space where he stood, anger and resentment warring inside me. The cloud of blue smoke continued to swirl and creep through the space between us, until the sweet, soft scent filled my nose. I let out a slow breath, reigning in my turbulent emotions.
“Where else would we focus our efforts? Alice is supposed to be the one to save Wonderland...but it sounds like you have other plans.”
Something in Callister’s face shifted, and I knew that even without the full power of my magic, I’d picked up on his deepest desires.
The woods around us had gone eerily silent, as if the creatures were holding their breath in anticipation of what came next. An owl hooted softly in the distance, the lonely sound piercing the quiet.
“Idohave plans,” Callister finally said. He dropped the butt of his cigarette to the ground, his eyes crinkling in satisfaction as the embers hissed in the wet, moldy sludge below. “The only question is if you two have the stomach for what needs to be done.”
“I can’t read your thoughts,” I confessed.
“I can,” Hatter said quietly, grim sobriety etched into every line of his face. “He doesn’t want to waste time finding Alice or training her how to use the Vorpal Sword. He doesn’t want to waste energy fighting the Red Queen’s army or her Jabberwocky. He wants us to cut out the source of all this rot and destroy it once and for all.”
I sighed, raking a hand through my hair. “How do we defeat the Red Queen without Alice or the Vorpal Sword? She’ll never give up her throne willingly."
"Perhaps Callister is right, and it’s time for a change in dynasty," he said, a dangerous glint in his mismatched eyes. "One that doesn’t involve an Alice at all."
I stared at him, then turned to Callister, stunned. "You can’t mean—"
“Yes. We kill the bitch,” he finished bluntly. "It’s the only way, my friend. You know I’m right."
My heart twisted at the thought. However corrupted Wonderland had become, the Red Queen was still a queen. To assassinate her would be a deplorable act of treason.
But was her rule truly preferable to the alternative? Wonderland was dying, little by little. There was no balance left between the two sisters. Every day that the Red Queen sat on her throne was another day of death and suffering. How much further could we afford to fall before it was too late?
And were we not already traitors for plotting against her by searching for Alice? By supporting the woman destined to bring about her downfall?
But still...
We’d only ever helped our Alices slay the Jabberwocky. Never the Red Queen. What would happen to our realm if we destroyed the woman who ruled over it? The White Queen was many things, but she was not an effective ruler.
I didn’t know the answer. I only knew that the fate of Wonderland hung in the balance, and we were running out of time.
I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, sorting through my jumble of thoughts, wishing that the answer would make itself clear to me.
"If you’re having doubts, now would be the time to back out," Callister said, lighting a fresh cigarette.
My eyes flew open to find him watching me expectantly. He sucked in a long drag and exhaled a cloud of orange smoke. It cut through the reeking, fetid stench of rot, filling the air with the scent of tangerines.
“I won’t think any less of you if you back out of the plan.” He paused to laugh. “I mean, Iwillthink less of you, but I won’t say it to your face.”
Hatter clenched his jaw, his eyes burning with determination.
“I’m in,” he said with a stiff nod. “I’d love to be rid of that cunt for what she did to your brother. For what she did tome!”
Callister gave a nod of approval before turning back to me, his expression unreadable.
“What’s it going to be, Chess? Wonderland is already lost. Has been for years. Killing the queen ourselves is the only way to save our world now.”
