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ChapterOne
ALICE
Frost and starlight streamed down from the unearthly swirls of color above, bathing the pale stone walls of the White Queen’s castle in ethereal light. Everything was made of glittering ice and shimmering crystals that cast rainbows along the hallways and floors.
We were in the Kingdom of Diamonds and Ice.
We were safe.
For now.
As we entered a grand atrium, majestic columns rose around us, adorned with intricate carvings of centaurs and fae and other mythical creatures. A giant crystal fountain stood at the heart of the room, spewing enchanted water that formed an elaborate sculpture of intertwined dragons and vines.
The sheer wonder and beauty of our surroundings should’ve left me in awe, but I didn’t have time to admire the view.
Ransom was suffering.
Maybe even dying.
“We’re almost there,” Jack murmured as he led me, Hatter, Chess, and Callister around yet another corner.
“You said that five minutes ago!” I snapped at him. “How big is this fucking castle?”
Jack slowly glanced over his shoulder and gave me a sharp look with his blood-red eyes, but he said nothing. If he was trying to scare me, it wasn’t working.
I was already scared.
The last thing I cared about was manners.
Ransom’s life hung in the balance, and I’d be damned if I was going to stand by and just let him die.
My gaze darted down to where he lay on the floating stretcher. He was curled up on one side, enveloped almost entirely by his torn and bloody wings. They clung to his body like wet, black canvas, tattered like a pirate’s flag after a battle at sea. Slimy black blood oozed from his countless injuries, dripping and pooling onto the white fabric stretcher that carried his body.
“Hold on, my king,” I reassured him between his shudders of pain. “We’re almost there.”
He grimaced and let out a groan, then peered up at me.
“Alice...”
“I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere.”
I desperately wanted to touch him, to comfort him, to even just hold his hand, but Jack had warned me against coming into contact with his poisoned blood.
Unfortunately, Ransom was covered in it.
All I could do was walk alongside his floating stretcher in our search for the White Queen.
A pair of women emerged from a side corridor, one of them dressed in simple robes and furiously scribbling notes. The other one in the stunning white dress and matching crown was busy dictating a message.
They both stopped in their tracks the moment they saw our bedraggled entourage headed their way. The woman in white took one look at the body on the floating stretcher and her eyes widened.
“Ransom!” she gasped at the sight of him. Her concern was genuine, and I felt a warmth spread within me, knowing that she cared for him as much as I did. “What’s happened?”
“He’s been shot by poisoned arrows, Your Majesty,” Jack informed her. The woman’s mouth pursed, her lips tight and drawn.
“I take it this is my sister’s doing?”
“It is, unfortunately.”
