by Eva Chase
Theo’s hand lingered on my arm. He was standing just a foot away, close enough that the warmth of his body tingled over me too. I had an awful lot of tantalizing memories of him—when he’d pushed me up against the tunnel wall for an incredible kiss last night, when we’d had the best sex of my life floating beyond gravity in one of his Inventor rooms here.
But as much as I enjoyed those memories, I wasn’t here to get distracted all over again.
“I actually came because I might be able to help you deal with the Queen,” I said. “When I went home the second time, I opened the box my grand-aunt left me. There was a ring in it that I think is important somehow, in a way the Queen wouldn’t like.”
Theo’s thumb paused where it had been brushing over my arm in a comforting caress. “A ring?” he said.
“I’ll show you.” I fished it out from under my shirt. “It appears to have some kind of Wonderland magic.”
Chapter Three
Theo
It took every ounce of control I had to keep my expression relaxed while Lyssa undid the clasp on the chain around her neck so she could slide off the ring. Could it really be what I thought?
And if it was, how could we use it?
She clicked open the golden shell that guarded the stone. My bright office lights reflected through the square ruby setting, flashing crimson as she handed the ring to me. A tiny point protruded from the otherwise smooth surface of its face.
My fingers tightened around the gold band. It hadn’t been lost at all—or not completely, in any case.
“You said your grand-aunt left this for you?” I said, my voice sounding far away to my own ears.
“Yeah, just the ring and a letter that didn’t explain much.” Lyssa grimaced and tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear. “But I know it has to do with Wonderland—I saw a symbol just like that gem on a ruined wall out near the Topsy Turvy Woods. It was on Aunt Alicia’s box too. Well, the symbol also had what I thought was a teardrop in the middle of the gem, but I think that’s because—if you prick your finger on that point—”
She reached out as if she meant to demonstrate herself, but I couldn’t resist the urge to tap my own thumb to the ruby’s surface. The sharp protrusion nicked my skin with a pinch of pain, and a drop of blood fell on the stone. It lay there dully for a second before leaching away into the gem.
What else could I have expected? This ring wasn’t meant for me. It wasn’t meant for anyone still living.
“Oh,” Lyssa said, sounding surprised, as if she’d expected something different. “Maybe my eyes were just playing tricks on me before. Can I…?”
I handed the ring over, wondering what she meant. She touched her own thumb to the point. Blood welled from her skin onto the gem—and the ruby lit up from the inside as if someone had sparked a torch within it.
Every muscle in my body went rigid. No. No, it couldn’t be. That was impossible.
I hadn’t bitten my tongue, but a coppery flavor crept across it as if the blood had fallen into my mouth instead of onto the stone. My stomach listed. I found myself staring at Lyssa’s face as if I’d find an answer written there. The trouble was, I didn’t even know what to look for. How could I when… when…
“I don’t know why it did that for me and not for you,” Lyssa said. “So weird.” She looked up, and her blue eyes widened. “Is something wrong? Is that a bad sign or something?”
Damn. So much for control. I sucked in a breath with the most blasé chuckle I could summon, forcing the clash of emotions inside me as far down as I could shove them.
She didn’t know. She didn’t know anything, and that meant I could still decide how this discovery played out. I could make sure it did help us rather than hurt us, as much as possible—all of us, including Lyssa.
“I certainly hope not,” I said. “I’m not sure what to make of it. What did your grand-aunt say about the ring?”
“Just that she wanted me to have it. And she said some vague things about how our family was tied to Wonderland and some purpose that she realized she had. I’m not even sure how much that has to do with the ring specifically.”
My body relaxed a little more. My thoughts were still spinning. “Quite the mystery, then. Did she say where it came from?”
Lyssa shook her head. “After seeing the same symbol on that ruin, I have to think she got it in Wonderland … That wall looked like it’d been around since way before her time. Although I guess if there were other Alices from our family before her, who knows?”
Hatter or Chess must have finally filled her in on the pattern of Otherlander women who came through the looking-glass. A pattern that apparently wasn’t a coincidence after all. I reached for the easy composure that would have had the right words to say next slipping off my tongue, but I couldn’t quite find it. Nothing I’d heard or been told lined up with the spark of that ruby as it drank Lyssa’s blood.
Lyssa snapped the protective casing back into place around the gem and restrung the ring on her chain. “You don’t know anything about the ring or that symbol in general, then?” she said, sounding disappointed.
She’d been counting on me to have answers. That was what nearly everyone in Wonderland counted on me for, one way or another. I’d encouraged that reliance, but suddenly it felt like a weight on my spine.
I needed to think, but I couldn’t with her right here waiting. If I was going to tell her anything, I had to do it now.
Without any definite intention, my hand rose to stroke over Lyssa’s hair. She leaned into my touch automatically, her expression softening. This woman was made of courage and honesty, and she trusted me. I’d been willing to give her up, to see her home last night, despite all the good I’d thought she might be able to do for Wonderland. She deserved to be able to make her own choices.
But if the ruby shone true, then she might be our key to saving everything.
One small kernel of certainty rose up through my confusion. It wouldn’t help any of us if I laid the full truth on her right now. We weren’t ready to challenge the Queen on that scale yet either way. Lyssa had to spend more time with us here before she could make a real choice anyway—before she even had the option of going home. I’d spent my entire life trapped. I didn’t want to inflict the same sensation on her.
Let her settle in here, let her see what this land could be, let me have time to work out the matter for myself, and then perhaps she could hear it without panicking. Once word got out, if she took a wrong step, she might be dead before she had the chance to make any choice at all.
If we were to challenge the Queen, this discovery opened up new avenues nonetheless. Even as I grappled with the idea at all, part of my mind was already spinning plans. I’d proven myself in the job of Inventor honestly, at least.
“I’ve heard legends about the blood-marked ruby,” I said, picking my words carefully. “It’s been said that there are tools of battle marked with the symbol that contain some sort of magic. It could be that ring activates their power? From what I understand, the Queen of Hearts wasn’t able to destroy those artifacts, so she disposed of them in the distant parts of Wonderland, as well as she could hide them. If that is more than legend.”
Lyssa’s face brightened so quickly that guilt twisted my gut. “Tools of battle,” she said. “Something we could use to push back against the Queen—to stop her from going through with the awful plan she announced?”
“There’s a chance,” I said. “It would take time to find the artifacts, though, assuming they exist at all, and we’d need to determine where to search. There’s much more to Wonderland than you’ve had the opportunity to see. I’ll need to investigate further.”
“What about Mirabel?” Lyssa asked. “She’s told me things about the past—and the future—that ended up making sense. She might be able to see something about the ring or those tools, right?”
I’d have preferred to speak to our White Queen on my own, but now that Lyssa had mentioned it, I’d rather have
her feel involved than put her off. “She very well might,” I said. “We could stop by right now.”
It was a short hop in the elevator to the next floor. Mirabel called out a cheerful, “Come in,” at my knock. We found her in her room of many chairs, curled up on her favorite sofa with her knitting. Her needles worked at a languid pace on what looked like a shawl-in-progress. It didn’t appear any recent dreams or memories had stirred up to agitate her.
She sat straighter as we approached with a welcoming smile. She’d left her hair down today, and the golden-brown curls spilled over the broad neck of a white woolen dress she must have knitted too. A faint sound like softly tinkling chimes drifted through the room with its various pastel shades.
“You found him,” she said to Lyssa, looking pleased.
Lyssa glanced at me. “I came asking about you yesterday before I found the meeting.” Her gaze slid back to Mirabel. “I mean, if that’s what you’re talking about.”
It was often difficult to tell. I wasn’t sure Mirabel generally knew herself. She tipped her head vaguely and motioned for us to sit down. “It’s the best I can do to help,” she said.
With the way her mind worked, dislodged from time and catching glimpses of past and future, she might very well be more prepared for our conversation than we were. Unfortunately, she didn’t have much sway over where her thoughts wandered. A result, at least in part, of the blow she’d taken to her head years before my time. The rippled pink skin of the scar peeked from her hairline at her temple.
She could moderate how many of her thoughts she shared, though. I made a small downward gesture with my hand as Lyssa and I sat in neighboring chairs. Keep any remarks limited. Mirabel caught my eye and gave me a tiny nod.
“I don’t know how much you already know about why we’re here,” Lyssa said. “But Theo’s told me that there are tools we might be able to use to take on the Hearts—ones that have a symbol of a ‘blood-marked ruby’ on them? They could be hidden somewhere in Wonderland. I thought you might have some idea where we should look.” She showed Mirabel the ring. “I have this too. It seems to be connected somehow.”
“When Lyssa pricks her finger on its surface, the ruby glows,” I said in a measured voice.
Mirabel’s eyes flickered, and she knit her brow. “Ah,” she said with a rough laugh. “I see.”
Lyssa leaned forward. “You do?”
“That is—” The White Queen stopped and collected herself, setting her knitting in her lap. “Let me see what I can remember.”
“Anything about the tools would be especially helpful,” I said.
“Yes. Yes.” Her eyelids drifted down until they were nearly shut. She swayed a bit to the side, her fingers smoothing over the skirt of her dress, her lips tensing.
“They have been found too,” she said after a moment in a wisp of a voice. “The sword, the scepter, and the shield. I don’t think they offered the strength you were hoping for. But they led you to the truth of your heart.”
“The sword, the scepter, and the shield,” Lyssa repeated. “Do you know where I’ll find—where I found them?”
“Where she searched before, before she’ll flee,” Mirabel murmured. “The one who came after, who’ll leave the ring. She could have—but she ran. The course was clear ahead. He’ll wait for her.”
She winced and opened her eyes. “Thank you,” Lyssa said quickly. “That’s a lot. That’s—I think that’s somewhere to start. You must mean my grand-aunt Alicia, I think? She’s the one who left the ring for me. She ran away from Wonderland.” She turned to me. “Aunt Alicia didn’t tell me anything in her letter about searching for something here, but I can ask Hatter. He might know if she went farther out into Wonderland and where.”
Perfect. A clear lead—and a reason for her to leave so I could sort myself out. I got up with her and walked her to the door. But watching her smile, so pleased to have a way to help us, every bone balked at the idea of letting her simply walk out.
She hadn’t asked for a part in any of the troubles we’d ended up laying on her, but she’d jumped in feet-first. So sweet yet determined that my heart squeezed, looking at her.
I wouldn’t let any harm come to her.
“Keep that ring out of sight,” I said, setting my hand on her shoulder. “If the Queen of Hearts has reason to fear it, it’ll only make you a greater target. Do you want me to escort you back to Hatter’s?”
“I think I’ll be okay,” Lyssa said. “I’m learning all the sneaky routes from Chess. You’ve got a ton of other things to deal with without babysitting me. I’ll be careful.”
It was the answer I’d wanted, but I still found it hard to let her go. No matter who else she might be, she was still Lyssa, the woman who’d shared her struggles with me so openly, the woman who’d come apart with pleasure in my arms just a few nights ago.
I couldn’t help myself. I didn’t just care for her—I wanted her, too.
I brought my fingers to her jaw to lift her chin, and she bobbed up on her toes to meet the kiss I’d been about to offer. The fresh smell of her, like a spring breeze, filled my lungs. Her mouth tasted like tart vanilla, and her lips moved against mine so pliantly it took another gargantuan effort of self-control to ease back.
She beamed at me, her cheeks flushed and her eyes sparkling. Another jab of guilt bit into my gut.
The moment Lyssa had descended the elevator, I poked my head out into the tunnel and said, “Third floor, follow.” A second later, Griffon slipped out of the apartment there with a nod of acknowledgment to me. He’d make sure she stayed safe until I could join her again.
When I turned back to Mirabel, she’d gotten up from the sofa, her knitting left behind. “The ring,” she said. She didn’t really need to say more than that.
My mouth tightened. “Yes.”
“So it finally came back.”
She didn’t sound surprised. She hadn’t looked surprised until I’d mentioned the glow, and then only briefly.
“Did you know?” I had to ask, even though I realized I might not get a straight answer.
“I… I might have and then forgotten. It can all be so hazy.” She looked me up and down, and I suspected her gaze caught more than the surface of me. Her voice came out gentle. “You must have heard the stories, baby brother. You knew.”
My hands clenched at my sides. “I believed it was over, far back in the past, before any of us. It’s different hearing it in that distant way and then seeing right in front of you the proof that the tragedy hasn’t actually ended. How can I— I hardly know where to start.”
“Does it matter that much to you what she signifies?”
“It means I have more wrongs to right than I realized,” I said. “And the worst of them may stand in conflict with each other.”
“No one can fix everything,” Mirabel said. “They weren’t your wrongs.”
“But they are, too. If I ever want to really lead…”
That was the deepest truth of it, wasn’t it? I hadn’t let myself dream often of the future time when we might have displaced the Queen of Hearts entirely, when I might steer Wonderland from a throne rather than from the shadows. I would be the obvious choice when the Hearts in the palace fell. I shouldn’t have cared about that, but I did.
Of course, nothing I’d learned today had to change that if I laid my plans right.
I swallowed hard. That one answer was clear. We needed Lyssa to stay. It was best for Wonderland, and best for everything I might have wanted for myself. And yet I couldn’t commit to it.
It was the best possible outcome anyone here could have asked for—anyone except, perhaps, for Lyssa.
Chapter Four
Lyssa
“Magical artifacts?” Hatter said. “Blood-marked ruby? I’ve never heard legends about any of that.”
I leaned onto the table across from him. He was nimbly attaching a twinkling veil to a wide-brimmed sunhat in the back workroom of his shop. The small space had a dry velvety s
mell to it. I could practically taste the felt on the shelves—as well as Hatter’s skepticism.
“That’s the whole reason you suggested I talk to Theo, isn’t it?” I pointed out. “Because as Inventor, he’s heard all kinds of things not everyone has?”
Hatter made a disgruntled sound that I took to mean he accepted my point but wished he didn’t have to. I hesitated, torn between memories of the way he’d clammed up when I’d asked him about his history before and the itch of curiosity.
We’d cleared the air between us, hadn’t we? If I could make out with a guy, be perfectly prepared to sleep with him, I should be able to ask a simple question. How many times had Melody gotten on my case about trying too hard to be the “cool girlfriend” who never brought up anything uncomfortable? A good guy will want to talk things through. A not-good guy doesn’t deserve you, Lyss.
I braced myself for his reaction. “I know you have issues with the way Theo has let Doria help out the Spades,” I said. “But you used to work together, didn’t you? Back when you were a regular part of the group. Is there some other bad blood between you—did something else happen?”
Hatter glanced up, the surprise in his eyes reassuring me. “No,” he said. “Well, nothing he did, exactly. My priorities changed. It made me start wondering exactly where his priorities are. But I can’t say he’s done anything wrong. He certainly knows how to draw up a plan. I can recognize that he’s on Wonderland’s side as much as anyone is.”
He gave me a crooked smile. “You know I’ve been doing some re-evaluating lately. I suppose I should ease off on him while I decide whether he really has been incautious or it’s all been over-caution on my side of things.”
“That’s very generous of you,” I said in a teasing voice, and Hatter fixed me with one of his glowers, with enough warmth behind it that it made me a little tingly. Focus, Lyssa.
“It seems like Aunt Alicia might have gone looking for the artifacts,” I said. “She did find the ring, anyway. Did she ever mention going farther out into Wonderland?”
