Chasing Princes

by ERIN BEDFORD

  “Is that it?” her hunger was creeping me out, and I wanted nothing more to not see her anymore.

  “Don’t forget what I said,” she said before I could end the call. “We could have the relationship you always wanted. The kind your human mother can’t give you.”

  The mention of my human mother made my blood boil. How dare she even speak of her? If I had a choice between her and the queen, I would choose her every time. My human mother might not be perfect, but at least she hadn’t tried to breed me or get me killed.

  “I might not be able to remove you from your throne but know this…” My gazed hardened at her. “There will be changes when this is all over. Big changes, and if I am not here to personally see to it.” Chess squeezed my hand, a reassuring feeling passing to me. “Chess will make sure my wishes are followed, and remember, he hasn’t made any such promise.”

  My mother’s eyes glanced to Chess and back to me. She nodded a bit more vigorously, showing how affected she was by my threat. For the first time ever, my mother looked old. Her eyes were strained and there were lines on her face. It made me wonder if this whole ordeal had aged her, or if she had been using glamour this whole time? I almost pitied her, but then remembered this was her fault in the first place, and I was the one paying the price.

  “Good,” I continued, “Then we understand one another.” I was about to turn away from the mirror but stopped. “And if we never see each other again, you should rethink how you treat others. Right now father is still on your side, but push him too much, and you will end up losing him.” I gave her a sad smile. “Immortality is a wondrous and lonely burden to bear.”

  I watched her expression morph from cautious to anger, and I thought she was going to lash out at me, but she didn’t. Instead, she bowed her head slightly. “Thank you. I will take that under advisement.”

  The mirror cleared and a sense of relief mixed with dread filled me. We had the words, we knew what to do. It was finally time to end it all.

  Chapter 18

  Final Showdown

  CHESS AND I left the Seer’s home in the Mushroom City with plenty of tears of goodbye, mainly from Trip, and made our way to where we had last seen Dorian. Chess’ willow.

  When we arrived at the willow it was quiet. The tree that had been withering had all but been destroyed. Chess’ throne no longer stood. It was in a million pieces on the ground. Dorian was nowhere in sight.

  “Well, where do we go now?” I put my hands on my hips and tapped my foot as I thought. It was too much to hope that Dorian would be where we last saw him. He was no doubt off causing havoc on someone else’s life or finding new ways to torture me.

  The Shadows, pre-Dorian, were all about pleasing me. Trying to seduce me to their side. But with Dorian thrown into the mix, it seemed like they were fighting for control. He wanted to get me back, but he also wanted me to suffer, well, more like he wanted Chess to suffer, and that just happened to cause me pain in return.

  I knew better than to ask Chess where he thought we should go next, his befuddlement was like a blow horn in my head. Sharing emotions made things easier, but it also made it harder to think. While we were apart, the emotions weren’t so intense, like a dull roar in the back of my mind, but close like this made it almost impossible to ignore what he was feeling.

  I imagined it was the same for him and tried to keep my relief to myself. I knew I was going to have to face Dorian eventually, but could I really be blamed for being relieved that I had a short reprieve, even if it meant I was just delaying the inevitable?

  A warm hand covered mine, and I twisted around as Chess brought my hand up to his mouth. He pressed his lips to the underside of my wrist, a small understanding smile on his face. The press of his mouth against my wrist caused a sharp spike of desire and his smile broadened while his eyes darkened. I guess I wasn’t that good at hiding my emotions after all.

  Gently removing my hand from his, I cleared my throat and looked away. “Since they aren’t here anymore we could probably use your mirror to get somewhere else and cut back on the travel time, but I haven’t the first clue as to where to go next.”

  Chess hummed as he thought, his clawed finger tapping his face while his other hand propped against his hip. His pale pink hair had been braided and hung down his back, where his tail swung back and forth in a hypnotic pattern. I pulled my eyes away from his tail in case he thought I was ogling his backside and stepped forward.

  “Maybe we should go inside? I don’t know about you but standing out here in the open is creeping me out.” I started toward the trunk of the tree but was pulled back by Chess’ hand on my wrist. I glanced up from my wrist to his emerald eyes. His ears were stiff on top of his head, and a sudden pang of wariness hit me. “What is it?”

  “Do you hear that?” His ear twitched again, and his wariness changed to panic just as his eyes widened, and he yelled, “Run!”

  Not needing to be told twice, my feet started toward the tree again. I felt it right as we reached the entrance. The ground shook beneath us in a foot pounding rhythm. I gripped the trunk of the willow just to keep from falling over as the shaking increased.

  “It’s getting closer!” Chess shouted at my side. He was crouched down with his hands on the ground as he tried to keep his balance against the moving earth.

  I held onto the tree for dear life. My eyes went to the trees around us. To one side there was a disturbance that was forcing trees to one side. Birds flew out in its wake. I couldn’t tell what it was yet, but it was big, and I didn’t want to wait to find out.

  “How do we get inside?” I pushed against the side of the willow’s trunk, trying to find a way into Chess’ home, but it wouldn’t budge.

  Chess crawled up the trunk from his crouched position and pressed his hand against the side. Last time, we had easily walked right through the trunk, but not even Chess’ clawed hand could breach the surface of the bark.

  “It’s not working.” He shook his head, panic rising in him, and in turn, spilled into me. “This has never happened before. I don’t know why it won’t work. Unless…” he trailed off, his eyes as round as saucers. His face scrunched down in an angry frown.

  “Unless what?” I probed, the trees closest to us were being shoved aside, and I could see just a hint of a scale and wing. Red eyes gleamed between the trees, locking onto me. A roar caused my heart to stop beating for a moment before I turned back to the tree, banging on it with all my might.

  “Open up, you fucking asshole.” I kicked and beat at the tree, my hands becoming raw from the bark biting into my skin. Chess grabbed my wrists and forced me to stop, jerking me around to look at him.

  “You can’t get in that way. The connection is broken.” His eyes darted from me to the tree line where the last remaining trees were being pummeled into the ground.

  What stepped into the clearing was nothing short of a dragon. Its large wings spanned out at least ten feet each way. Its scale-covered body was three times the size of the JubJub bird, and its claws were so sharp that they dug into the ground with each pounding step it took. If its size wasn’t enough to scare the living daylights out of me, the enormous teeth that protruded out of its mouth destroyed any thoughts of trying to reason with the creature.

  Chess and I bolted from the tree toward the other side of the clearing. Our feet moved in time as we raced toward safety. Once we hit the trees we’d have a fighting chance. Once we were past the trees we could lose ourselves in the woods and find another way to the Shadows. That is…once we hit the trees.

  We never reached the trees. The moment we got around the willow, and down the path on the other side, we screeched to a halt. Dorian stood at the tree line. His hands were behind his back and feet spread apart with a smile that said, “Gotcha.”

  “Where are you going?” Dorian cocked his head to the side. His dark hair spilled over the side of his face. “Don’t you want to meet my new pet?”

  “Not p
articularly.” I retorted, not hiding the disdain from my voice.

  “What a pity.” He pouted and then smiled like he had a new toy he wanted to show off. “I found him wandering around the Between and saved the beast from a life of boredom. He is ever so grateful and will do just about anything for me. Won’t you, my little Jabberwocky?”

  I grimaced at the tone he used when talking to the beast. One thing I hated more than anything was people who talked to their animals like they were babies. People shouldn’t even talk to babies like that, let alone their pets.

  At Dorian’s appearance, the monstrous beast had stopped its decent onto us. It waited at the base of the willow like a dog waiting did his master’s call. Sitting there with its long tail wrapped around its legs, it wasn’t quite a terrifying, as it had been when it was chasing us.

  I turned away from it and shrugged not impressed. “What can I say? I’m more of a cat person.”

  A twinge of amusement filled me, and I chanced a glance at Chess, who seemed to be fighting not to smile. Dorian, however, did not find my comment funny. Something dark slid behind his gaze and his smile fell.

  A growl reverberated down my spine. Hot air blew against the back of my neck. My body tensed, but I didn’t turn. I wouldn’t give the jerk the satisfaction of seeing me scared.

  “Knock it off, we both know you aren’t going to kill me.” I crossed my arms with a confident smirk. I was partly bluffing. A part of me hoped that Dorian didn’t hate me enough to kill me. That he was still wrapped up in the whole wanting to be with me thing. The Shadows, though, were another story.

  They might have wanted me to be their queen at one point, but I was pretty sure they had figured out that there was no chance in hell that I’d be down for that. It was probably why they took Dorian in the first place, to try to appeal to me in a different manner. It hadn’t worked, but they got an A for effort.

  “Like you are not here to kill me?” he snarled, his hands fisted at his side and rage contorting his face. “Or to send me to the realm from which I came?"

  Him quoting back part of the spell threw me through a loop. Had he been spying on us? How else would he know the words of the very spell I was sent here to use on him? So much for the element of surprise.

  “So what?” I shrugged, rolling my eyes. “It’s not like it was a big secret or anything. I’ve been telling you since we met that I wouldn’t be yours. It is your fault you got it into your head that having Dorian as your puppet would change that.”

  A sort of ripple ran through Dorian’s body, and the anger that was on his face twisted into a disturbing smile. That smile told me that Dorian was no longer with us, and the one looking back out of his eyes was the Shadow man. Creepy and cheerful at the same time, I’d rather face him than my ex any day.

  “You are not being completely honest, my queen.” His voice hissed along my skin. “I believe when we first met you promised to think about joining us. I do not believe you were being truthful then, either. Now were you?”

  “Not really.”

  He had me there. When I had said I’d think about it, I hadn’t actually thought about it. It hadn’t even crossed my mind, not seriously anyways. The thought of ruling the Underground was not on my list of aspirations. Getting out of here alive was my top priority right underneath a hot bath and a large glass of wine. Scratch that. Make it a whole bottle of wine.

  My response didn’t help my cause and his smile curled down. He seemed stumped. As if he couldn’t imagine that I would confirm his accusation. Weeks ago, when this all started, I probably would have lied my ass off, but now that it was down to it, I just wanted it over and this was the fastest way there was to piss him off.

  “Very well, then.” He recovered from his initial confusion and straightened the sleeves of his puffy black shirt. “If you are still determined to be stubborn I suppose I will have to revert to extreme measures.”

  My stomach sank. I didn’t like the sound of that. A roar broke out from behind us. Chess and I stumbled against each other. We clutched onto each other, trying to keep our balance against the shaking ground.

  “So, you like cats do you? Maybe after my pet takes care of yours, you will be a bit more open to my offer.” I somehow heard Dorian’s parting words over the resounding sound and turned my head to argue with him. But a white hole had appeared, seemingly ripped open out of nothing, and he was stepping through it, leaving Chess and me with the rampaging Jabberwocky.

  Chapter 19

  Sacrifice

  I DIDN’T HAVE time to worry about how the hell they had made a hole out of nothing, because I was shoved to the ground by Chess. My mouth got buried in the dirt. I tried to push back up, but Chess kept me pressed down with his body. I turned my head to ask him what the hell when a claw swiped the air above us. The rush of air was right where I had been standing before.

  “Thanks.” I gasped but didn’t have time to say anymore when a shadow appeared above us.

  I rolled to the side. The claw slammed down next to me. Scrambling to my feet, I backed away from the Jabberwocky. My eyes swiftly searched out Chess, who had already gotten back to his feet. There wasn’t any pain coming from him, but the same panic and disarray in him pumped through me.

  “What should we do, pet?” he called out after a particularly loud roar came from the Jabberwocky when he swung at Chess and missed, pushing the feline further away from the hole Dorian had made.

  I looked to the hole and back to the Jabberwocky and it clicked. He wasn’t just trying to hurt us; he was trying to keep us from following his master. We needed to get to that hole.

  I opened my mouth to tell Chess but was hit from behind. I screamed as the scales of the Jabberwocky’s tail scrapped my back. I could hear Chess yelling my name as I was thrown across the clearing.

  I groaned, my back burning. My head throbbed, and I fought to get back to my feet. Just as I got my bearings, a searing pain scorched my side, bringing me to my knees. I glanced down at where the pain was but nothing was there. There were no tears in the cloth, no blood, nothing.

  Another sharp sting to my side, followed by Chess’ outcry caused my head to jerk up. The Jabberwocky had gotten a hold of Chess. It gripped him in its claws. The pain wasn’t mine. It was Chess’.

  Gathering my strength, I did my best to ignore the pain. I pushed myself back to my feet and stumbled toward the dragon creature.

  “Hey you!” I called out, grabbing my side as the claws on Chess squeezed harder. The Jabberwocky turned its gaze to me but didn’t drop Chess. “Put him down.”

  “Why human?” the deep crackling voice that replied sent a wave of shock through me.

  “You can talk?” I didn’t know why the fact that the Jabberwocky could talk surprised me so much. Maybe it was the fact that he had been playing faithful pet the entire time, or maybe, I was just tired and my brain wasn’t working right. Either way, if he could talk that meant he could be reasoned with.

  “Of course, I can talk. I am not an animal.” He growled through gnashing teeth. His grip on Chess didn’t loosen, and it caused me to gasp at the same time that Chess cried out.

  “Then why are you working for the bad guy?” I argued, trying and failing to ignore the pressure on my ribs. If he squeezed tight enough to crush Chess’ ribs would it break mine? Or would I just feel the pain? I didn’t want to find out.

  “I owe them a debt and debts must be paid.” The fact that he called Dorian a them and not a him proved he knew more about what was going on than I gave him credit for.

  “But if you let us go we can get rid of them for you, and your debt won’t matter anymore.” I winced. The throbbing in my back overrode some of the pain Chess was feeling. I was sure I was probably bleeding, but there was nothing I could do about it now.

  The Jabberwocky seemed to think on it for a moment, his other clawed hand coming up to stroke his chin. If I wasn’t in so much pain, the sight alone would have made me laugh.


  “Debts cannot be forgotten so easily. I am not to hurt you, but they have asked that I persuade you, and that is what I plan to do, starting with your mate here.” His claw clamped down around Chess’ form and I cried out. His claw had pierced into Chess’ side. Blood poured out of the wound and onto the ground below. It took everything I had not to fall to the ground in agony.

  The creature glanced between Chess and my gasping form. It seemed to figure something out. He gave Chess another small squeeze that forced me to whimper and drop to my knees.

  “How is it that you feel this one’s pain?” The curiosity on his face reminded me of a child that had just figured out how to pull the head off its doll.

  “It’s a long story,” I said between gasps of pain. “Bandersnatch. Exchange of magic. Now we’re connected.” I gave a short laugh that turned to a groan. “I guess it wasn’t a long story after all.”

  “I see.” The Jabberwocky mused, humming in its throat. “Will you die if I kill this one?” he gave Chess a little shake that made both of us cry out.

  “I…I don’t know.” I wheezed. “But I wouldn’t chance it if I were you.” I had to find some way to get him to drop Chess. Any more of this and I wasn’t going to be of much use myself.

  Pushing the pain away while the creature thought about it, I gathered up my magic until it hummed along my skin. Chess made a startled noise, and I shook my head at him. Don’t draw attention to me I thought hard at him.

  The dragon was still thinking when I shoved the power into the ground. The ground rippled and sprouted little plants. The dirt rumbled beneath our feet and the creature’s attention turned back to me but it was too late.

  Thick vines shot out of the ground toward the Jabberwocky. They wrapped around his throat, around his arms and legs, jerking him from all sides. He roared and ripped at the vines, dropping Chess in the process.

  The moment Chess hit the floor it was like all the air had been knocked out of me, but I didn’t stop. I kept shoving magic into the ground, bringing more and more vines to the surface to trap the Jabberwocky.