Yet another thing to feel guilty about. “Did they say which political prisoner?”
For a moment, I worry he won’t tell me. But then he says, “The King’s advisor. The Cheshire-Cat.”
Warring feelings of relief and anger pump through me. “I—I need—”
“You need to collect your crown and leave as quickly as possible.”
The White King strolls into the room, looking like he got no sleep at all over the last few hours. I know he means well, but I cannot just abandon him to this. “You expect me to leave when the Cheshire-Cat’s life is at stake?”
“We have already begun drafting a new plan to rescue him. I failed getting to the Caterpillar in time, failed to find the Cheshire after his initial capture, but I refuse to allow anything other than success this time.”
“You went for the Caterpillar?”
So much sadness fills his eyes. “Of course I did. I’m so sorry I wasn’t able to save him. But the Cheshire-Cat has a chance now, a chance we didn’t know existed. She sent me pieces of his tail several weeks ago, but it was strongly alluded to that he was dead. At the time, I was in the middle of another skirmish with the Red Queen, but I’m resolute in liberating our old friend.” And then, gently, “I need you to leave before we go.”
“It’s me she wants!” I jab a finger against my chest. “If I don’t show, she’s going to do the same to the Cheshire-Cat as she did the Caterpillar!” My anger and grief nearly blind me. “I cannot let another person who made the mistake of being loyal to me die!”
“Even at the expense of your own head? Because if you stay, that will be her singular goal. She has always hated how the people have championed you. There is nothing more she would love than to have your head decorating the entrance to the Hearts Court!”
“Alice,” Finn says. “He’s right.”
“You’re asking me to leave my country, my people, in the middle of a war.” I’m furious with the both of them, for this collusion I didn’t even know existed. “You’re asking me to put my life above others?”
“No. God, no. And I never would ask that of you,” Finn says. He tries to grab me, but I sidestep him. “And you know that I get where you’re coming from, but we have to get the catalyst back to the Institute. What purpose would your death serve right now? To prove that she was right, that she could have your head if she wants?” He reaches out again, capturing hands that have begun tugging at my hair. “The best revenge is living. Dying for no other reason than stubbornness serves no purpose at all.”
“But—”
But I cannot argue with them. They’re maddeningly both right. What could I do if I stayed? My army has folded into the White King’s. I ceded my land to his rule in my absence, so my citizens rest under his protection. This tiny bit we were allowed, my people with his under one rule—just not a Queen and King united together. My presence would trigger the prophecy to become twice as worse. And if I stayed, I am a realist enough to know that there is no way I could resist the King standing before me. And if that were to happen, our love would turn apocalyptic.
And he knows it, too. The desperate, desolate sheen in his eyes tells me the exact same thing.
“Your purpose is still noble,” the White King says. “It is as you said. You are still championing our people and millions of others who do not know you, but deserve your help nonetheless. You may not be doing it on a battlefield, but it is the truth all the same. Do not think that your departure today is a sign of cowardice or weakness. It is not. Our people have held onto the fact that their Queen still lives. You are constantly in their thoughts, in their songs and in their protests. They do not want a martyr. They need you as you are. The strong, selfless Queen who put their lives above her own and paid the ultimate sacrifice.” And then, softly, “May I have a moment alone with the Queen?”
Finn doesn’t hesitate when he tells me he and Victor will be out in the garden with Mary if I need them.
“Bloody hell, that garden is freaky,” Victor is arguing. “Those flowers are talking!”
But his younger brother simply shoves him toward the door anyway, shutting it behind them.
When they’re gone, the White King takes my hands. It’s such a bittersweet sensation, standing here in our house, in our sitting room, holding hands as we overlook our garden. “Alice, please. I need you to go. I will not be able to focus on the matters at hand if I am terrified that those from the Queen’s Council will track you down and extract their price at any moment.”
“We could fight them together.”
“We are.” He brings my hands up and presses a long kiss against the pulse of a wrist. Nerves flare to painful life within my body. “Your army is with mine. Our citizens reside together. I bear your blade. I wear your H. When I rule, I think of the wishes we’ve spoken of for so long. Your dreams for Wonderland are still coming to fruition through me. There is not a day that goes by in which I do not have you in my thoughts or purposes. When I fight, I fight for the two of us. Our soldiers always sing both our songs, so that when they are triumphant, Wonderland knows they have the Queen of Diamonds to thank, too.” Another kiss, this time on the other wrist. “You said it yourself. Your destiny is not in Wonderland, not matter how much we may wish differently.”
My breath is shaky.
“I also meant what I said. Your destiny, your new purpose, is noble. You will always be a Queen. You will always be doing what is right for others. You just will not be doing it here with me.”
Blood stains his shirt once more, and I think, if only he could see how my heart has just broken, too.
His thumbs pull away quiet tears from my cheeks. “Now, let us get your crown.”
I follow him down into the basement and then through a sleepy door. From there, we go through a trap door that leads to the vault beneath our home. Inside the loyal double-knobbed door is nothing else but my crown sitting upon a pedestal.
The White King gently places it on my head. A hum fills my ears, a happy hum signaling recognition. My crown, the crown of the Diamonds, feels as it always has since the day it first appeared on my head. It feels right.
I whisper, “If this is the catalyst, and I remove it from Wonderland, it must mean the Diamond line ends with me.”
“Then it saved the best for last.”
It’s my turn to grab his hands. “Promise me you will live. I can’t leave unless you do that. Live live, Jace. Not some kind of half existence. You deserve more than that.”
Our foreheads come together; my eyes close. He whispers softly, “That is my most fervent wish for you as well.”
My arms wrap around him, his around me. Every joint in my body trembles as I struggle to hold myself up during this last goodbye. But then, all too soon, we let go.
Upstairs, everyone is already packed and ready to go. We will be heading in two separate directions—The White King to his encampment to collect soldiers for his assault against the Queen of Hearts, and my team to Nobbytown. The Ferzes are beside themselves at the thought of sending me out alone without a team, no matter how strongly Finn and Victor argue otherwise.
But then the Five of Diamonds says, “I will go with them, my lord and lady.”
Victor is incensed. “Over my dead body! You were going to bloody kill us before Alice said that safe word!”
“Pardon my rudeness, Doctor, but it very well may be over your dead body if I don’t.” The Five’s eyes stare straight ahead, his pike rigid by his side. “I have been tasked with protecting the Queen of Diamonds, and until I am ordered otherwise by my commanding officer or my liege lord, the White King, I will do so.”
The Ferzes looks to the King. The King looks to me.
As painful as it is, the distance between us regrows. How can I live without him? How? Why is Wonderland so cruel to us?
But I say, “Your pike would be much appreciated, soldier.”
The Five bows sharply and snaps back to attention.
Victor mutters things under his bre
ath best left unheard as he slides his backpack onto his shoulders. Mary, on the other hand, practically dances up to the poor soldier in an effort to, as she’s saying, “Get to know our protector better.”
Finn takes me to the side as our horses are saddled. “Is everything okay?”
“Yes.” I touch his dear face. “I’m sorry for my outburst earlier.”
“That was an outburst?” He shakes his head. “You should have seen my mother. Now she could offer up outbursts that put all others to shame.”
“Katrina?”
“Yeah,” he says softly. “She was like a firecracker. She burned bright and ended too soon.” He looks away, blinking, and this small gesture tugs on my heartstrings. “But we’re not talking about her. We’re talking about you. Are you still going to come with us?”
It’s a serious question, I realize. Even though he just heard me accept the Five’s protection to the rabbit hole, even though my crown in now in my backpack, he still asks this of me. And I’m saddened and angry with myself, because in the midst of my past colliding with my present and future, I have not done myself any favors.
“I’m coming home,” I tell him. “To New York and the Collectors’ Society. I am coming with you.”
His eyes briefly close. He whispers, “I want to kiss you so much right now. So. Much.” His beautiful blue-gray eyes open and for a moment, I think he just might. But the kiss I’d thought might does not happen. Kissing me here, when my past is so vividly and heartbreakingly before me, would only complicate matters. Finn and I have a shot at a future, one we can build together in New York. A future that is not ruled by prophecies or summits. And he knows this, this smart, wonderful, loving man knows this, because he kisses me on my forehead and then goes over to where the Ferzes and the White King are talking. Soon, Victor joins them. Finn takes several objects out of his brother’s backpack and passes them over to the White King. After a minute or so, they shake hands.
What is going on?
I’m just about to go over and ask when Mary sidles up to me. “Well, well,” she says, smirking. “Don’t think I won’t be dragging all of this story out of you when we get back.”
I sigh. And then, because I really have no other choice, I laugh ruefully. “What’s going on over there?”
“Every Timeline needs liaisons. Just tell me one thing before we go.” Her voice drops to a whisper. “Is Finn some kind of second choice to you? Is it like, you’re coming back with us because you can’t be here? I know he’s hot and smart, but I’m not down with anyone putting him second. Nobody puts Finn in a corner.”
I’m startled. “A corner?” I stare at the person in question as he and the White King confer. “He’s in the open.”
She sighs. “It’s a metaphor. And you’re avoiding.”
“No,” I tell her honestly. “Finn isn’t a second choice or second best or whatever else it is you mean. My feelings for him are completely genuine.”
“Aha!” She’s triumphant. “So there is something going on between you two!” Her hands rub together. “The A.D. and I had a bet going. He said there was no way you two were going to get involved. Said you were too much an Ice Queen to even think about hooking up.” She snorts. “Ha! Queen! Get it?”
I roll my eyes. “I’m from Victorian England, not the Stone Ages, Mary.”
“The point is, I’m getting myself a nice, fat pile of money when we get back.”
“I’m glad my emotions are profitable for you.”
She pats me on the cheek. “For what it’s worth, that White King of yours is sexy. Like, way sexy.” She fans herself. “Between him and Finn, who—don’t tell Victor, or I’ll cut you—I’ve always found to be unbearably yet aloofly gorgeous, you’ve got yourself a nice little love triangle going there, Alice.”
“There is no love triangle.” I glance over at the two men she’s referencing. The Ferzes now gone, they’re left in deep discussion with one another. “There is only my past and there is my present and future. The two cannot collide. I believe physics makes that impossible.”
“Editing doesn’t.” She nudges my arm meaningfully.
But prophecies do.
Another jubjub bird flies in with a note for the King. Word has finally arrived on a possible location for the Cheshire-Cat, which means they need to leave immediately. But before they do, the soldiers with us, Ferz Eponi, and Ferz Epona all drop on their knees before me. Fists and arms cross their chests to touch upon their hearts. The Diamonds song is quietly offered.
I am close to tears.
When they finish, the White King comes before me. We’ve already said our goodbye, so there will be no production here. Instead, he also drops to his knee and bows his head, his fist and arm crossing his chest to touch upon his heart. I do not have to see the blood beneath his armor to know his heart has just broken again.
Mine has, too. Before I know it, he is riding away on his steed, and the piece of my heart that is his, will always be his, goes with him.
“Goddamn,” Mary whistles. “He is hot. Victor, love, why is it you never do such things for me?”
“Maybe because we live in the Twenty-First Century?” he throws back. “And I’m not a knight? Or, you know, a king?”
When Finn rolls his eyes, I cannot resist a tiny laugh. I pull him to the side. “What did you give the King?”
He does not play coy. “Brom sent along the necessary equipment to give to a liaison of my choice so we would be able to have contact with this Timeline. I chose the White King.”
I’m stunned. “Why?”
“Because you love him,” he says simply. “And he loves you.”
“But—”
“Last night, neither of us could sleep. We both came back downstairs and ended up talking with one another until I came to find you. I like him, Alice. I respect the hell out of him, too.”
Now I’m speechless.
“He told me about you two. Not to rub in your past or relationship or anything—”
“He told you about us?” I cannot believe it. The White King is not one to share his innermost feelings with hardly anyone. Me, yes, but to a virtual stranger? Impossible.
“Well, it’s not like he provided details or anything, which was more than fine by me. He told me that the prophecy said you two could never be together without dire consequences. No matter what.”
I bring a hand up to my lips. Beg myself not to cry.
“He told me this because, while he knows you to be the strongest person he’s ever met, sometimes you put too much responsibility onto your shoulders. He’s worried about you, as I’m sure you’re worried about him.”
I cannot believe this is a conversation we’re having right now.
“You two can’t be together, but that doesn’t mean you have to lose one another entirely. He’s agreed to be our liaison. The Society now has a connection to Wonderland. He won’t ever lie to you about what’s going on here, and this way, you’ll still have a say over your Court and people. Your voice will still be heard. You can still make a difference, even if it’s from New York. You will be adhering to the prophecy and the summit accords, but . . . This is your loophole.”
I take his face in my hands. “Why are you doing this?”
He tells me, he whispers, his heart on his sleeve, “Because you’re my north star, too. Better yet, we’re binaries, remember?”
It’s hard to see, the tears in my eyes are so blurry. The Librarian, blast her, is right. I do so love honorable men. “I want to kiss you, too. So much.”
“Soon,” he promises, and I’m gifted with one last press of lips against my forehead before Victor calls out that it’s time to leave.
Before we mount, I tell the trees surrounding my house goodbye one last time. I beg them to take care of the White King, and to know I have deeply appreciated their devotion and help over the years. Soft whispers dance along the breeze that blows through the woods, and it is my turn to place a fist over my heart.
And
then we leave.
BY THE TIME WE reach Nobbytown, just as pale sunlight lifts above the horizon, my bottom is numb. Scratch that—my entire body is numb. It was unnaturally cold as we rode through Wonderland, with breezes turning our noses and cheeks red and the ride brutally uncomfortable.
While we encountered no soldiers on our journey, we did get ambushed by highwaymen twice. The Five of Diamonds gave none of us any time to get off our horses and draw our swords. His pike whirled devilishly fast and had our would-be attackers fleeing in no time.
Nobbytown is quiet, our horses’ shoed feet against the cobblestone streets the only sound. Windows that haven’t been broken are shut tight, doors are locked. No shops are open, no sellers on corners, no reconstruction for buildings burned or destroyed commencing—it looks like a ghost town. I’m tempted to swing by the Land that Time Forgot to see how the Hatter fares, but dismiss the urge quickly once I take in my companions’ faces. Exhaustion colors nearly every move they all make, although I doubt any would admit to such.
When we dismount from our horses several meters away from the rabbit hole, I ask the Five of Diamonds to now switch his protection of me to the White King. “I know I am not your sovereign, but—”
He drops to a knee. “You are, my lady. And I beg your forgiveness for not recognizing you sooner. I will never forgive myself.”
Before I can say anything, he presents his pike so that the White King’s emblem faces upward. The metal and wood rotate until the opposite side is shown—and there, carved into his weapon, is a bird flying with a diamond.
How had I not noticed this before?
I gently touch his head. “There is nothing to forgive. Your loyalty to both the White and Diamond Courts is commendable.”
He stands up and snaps his fist against his heart. “I will stay until you have left Wonderland, my lady. May your journey be safe, may your aim be true. May the steps you take lead you through.”
“He’s a bloody poet, too,” Victor grumbles once we reach the hole.
Mary nudges him. “One might think you are a wee bit jealous of his battlefield prowess, hmm?”
The Collectors' Society Page 33
