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I stopped by her private library, but she wasn’t there. She wasn’t in the throne room, either. Perhaps she was still at dinner.
As I neared the entrance to the Great Hall, my ears were met with a cacophony of laughter. Normally I would’ve avoided such a crowd, but I’d just fed and my belly was full. There was no safer time for me to be among the living, aside from early hours of the morning.
I took off my gloves, then stopped in front of a nearby mirror and studied my reflection. My skin was warm and flushed with the doe’s blood, making me look practically human. The snowflakes had melted, leaving my hair damp. Only a small dab of red lingered near the corner of my mouth. I licked it away, smoothed my hair back, then peered around the massive wooden doors, searching for my queen.
My eyes darted around, surveying the room within seconds. There was no sign of Amari. I noticed Ransom sitting at a table, and a swell of relief washed over me. When I saw the extent of his injuries upon arrival, I wasn’t sure that he’d be able to keep his wings. From what I could tell, he’d made a full recovery from the Red Queen’s poison arrows and was celebrating with Callister, Chess, and Hatter.
And Alice.
Irritation immediately clouded my vision as I observed the number of empty wine bottles sitting in front of her. My jaw clenched at the loud, carefree way she laughed, as if my queen wasn’t depending on her to save the people of Wonderland.
Very well...if Alice wanted to stay up late carousing and drinking, so be it.
I would make her pay dearly for it in the morning.
Debating whether or not I should advise my queen to summon a new Alice, I tried to slip away unnoticed. Just then, Hatter caught my gaze.
“Jack! Hey Jack! Look who’s out of the infirmary!” he shouted through the Great Hall, beckoning me over with a flourish. The chatter in the room died down as dozens upon dozens of courtiers stopped what they were doing and looked at me.
I wasn’t exactly known for making social calls.
Suddenly Chess appeared in front of me out of thin air. His grin was mischievous and wide as he clapped a hand on my shoulder. “We’re celebrating Ransom’s recovery. Come join us!”
With a sigh of resignation, I followed him into the room. That was the problem with having such manners be seared into my mind since birth. As I approached the table, Chess found an empty chair and shoved it between Hatter’s place and Alice’s, then motioned for me to sit.
I did not sit.
“The honorable White Knight, Jacque des Diamants, or Jack of Diamonds, you honor us with your presence!” Hatter declared with a drunken flourish. He patted the chair cushion with a mad glint in his mismatched eyes. “Have some wine and make merry with us!”
“You fool,” Callister scoffed from across the table. He sat beneath a thick cloud of dark blue smoke. He reloaded his hookah and the smoke turned pale pink. “The White Knight doesn’t make merry.”
“That tracks,” Alice added, giving me a condescending once-over. “He told me earlier today that he never laughs.”
I narrowed my eyes at her. I detested hearing her speak about me as if I wasn’t standing right beside her.
“So what if he doesn’t laugh or make merry? He’s not here to entertain you,” Ransom said with an air of authority. His demon eyes were glowing gold with incredible vitality as they turned in my direction. “Jack, if you would stay and have a drink with us, it would be an honor.”
I mulled over the invitation in my head, then slowly removed my cloak and jacket. I begrudgingly sat down next to Alice, immediately aware of just how close she was. At least she was dressed more modestly. A sharp contrast from her outfit this morning, the shapeless sweater she now wore seemed to swallow her whole, from her wrists to her neck.
Despite my frustration with her, there was no denying her beauty, which only served to irritate me more.
But the scent that wafted from her...
Dear gods, it threatened to tear me apart.
The fragrance was tantalizing...fresh...tart...sweet...crisp.
My mouth began to water.
I was no longer here at this table in the Great Hall.
I was no longer in the White Queen’s castle.
I wasn’t even in Wonderland.
I was back on one of my family’s most remote estates. The plague had ravaged the land far and wide for over two years, taking so many lives that there weren’t enough people left to plant and harvest crops. There was no grain to make bread. Everyone blessed to survive now had to deal with famine and crime as our new daily reality.
With most of my family dead, I’d left the city and gone deeper into the countryside to live off of my family’s land. I spent my days fishing and hunting and eating as many apples as I wanted from our vast orchards.
