Alice Through the Glass Darkly by Hargrove Perth

Author:Hargrove Perth
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: alice in wonderland, steampunk, dragons, magick, witches, red queen
Publisher: Hargrove Perth
Published: 2022-06-06T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

Alice in Shadowland

Dusk had arrived and with it came a sense of foreboding. Alice remained at the window, watching as the day gave way to night with a red and purple painted sky. A hush had fallen over all of them, including Bradley, that couldn’t be broken with even the most gay of news.

As Alice turned to find Mordecai, Griffin stood quickly, drawing a dagger from the sheath fastened to her thigh, and threw it past Alice’s face, clipping a piece of her hair as it shattered the window behind her. Her golden lock fell slowly to the floor as Alice wondered what was happening.

“Are you daft?” Nigel shouted as Griffin tossed open the door and ran outside.

She returned with a small device in her hand, the head severed and lying alongside the body. Its wings fluttered a final time and the mechanics of the dragonfly became silent as they surrounded Griffin, staring at the headless contraption in the palm of her hand.

“He knows,” Alice said just as Wren entered the room with Mordecai at her side.

“I need to take Emma home.” Bradley was still in awe of his surroundings yet sensed this was no place for his beloved to remain.

“I’m not going back, Bradley. This is where I belong, it’s where I always have belonged.”

“Alice should come home with me,” Wren said, “as soon as Winter is well enough to travel. Bartholomew would not dare to start a war with my mother.”

“How can you even suggest such a thing?” Nigel huffed in anger. “The moment Alice steps into her court she will have her arrested for treason against the throne. Failing heart or not, her sister will never let Alice ascend the throne. You know it and so does everyone else in this room.”

Wren sighed deeply as Nigel continued to ramble about how much danger Alice was in by just being in her presence.

“Nigel, she is my aunt, and who better to protect her than the Red Hatcher? Do you honestly believe I endured years of brutal training just to serve my mother? I knew Alice would come home and claim the throne just as the prophecy stated. What I became, what I endured to become the most feared Hatcher in all of Shadowland was for this moment. The White Queen is the only one who can defeat Jabor and free Bartholomew from his grasp.”

The room grew silent as Alice took the remains of the dragonfly into her hand and tightened her fingers around it until the metal wings were nothing but mangled pieces of wire and glass. “He knows I am here. Perhaps it is time I confront Scarlet and take the throne.”

“Alice, are you certain? You know what this means, don’t you?” Mordecai lifted the blue lenses of his glasses and peered through the clear ones beneath, studying her expression. “Once magic is restored and the Three Sisters are freed from the Treacle Well, witchcraft will return to Shadowland with you at the helm and the war for the borders will resume.

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