Escaping Wonderland: Cosmic Fairy Tales by Tiffany Roberts

Author:Tiffany Roberts [Roberts, Tiffany]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2019-10-21T16:00:00+00:00

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Shadow’s muscles tensed as he pushed up on Miraxis’s arms, causing his captive to wail in pain. Thoughts thrashed around his mind in a merciless cyclone, too quick and numerous to acknowledge, too chaotic to decipher. It had taken a while to calm down after his crisis last night, but he’d been in a much better place by the time Alice awoke this morning—especially considering the way she’d woken.

All that was undone now.

“Lies. Why do you lie, Miraxis?” Shadow didn’t even sound convinced to his own ears. “If the king is back, Jor’calla and the Hatter should be back, too. Why him and no one else? It doesn’t make any sense. This is all madness!”

“It’s the truth, I swear it!” Miraxis’s voice wavered. “The dolly is right! The king is deathless.”

Growling, Shadow dug his claws into Miraxis’s forearms, producing another cry of pain from the restrained praxian. “Do not call her that.”

Alice muttered something, something too soft for Shadow to hear. When Shadow glanced at her, she was looking down, her brows creased in concentration. He frowned; despite the maelstrom in his head, despite the chaotic jumble in his mind, Alice’s troubled expression pierced everything and struck him deep. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it at all.

Keeping one hand clamped around Miraxis’s wrists, Shadow hauled his captive onto his feet. Miraxis’s struggles had weakened, as though his distressed sobs had sapped his strength.

Shadow forced Miraxis to the dresser and tugged open the top drawer. An assortment of silk neckties were arranged on one side of it; he used several of them to quickly bind his captive’s ankles and wrists. Then he dragged Miraxis into the bathroom—with his legs bound, the pale-skinned praxian couldn’t walk on his own—and dumped him on the floor.

Miraxis begged throughout, going on and on about how he didn’t want to face true death, how he’d just been doing as he’d been ordered, how he’d never harmed anyone himself. Shadow ignored him; whatever fun he might’ve had in this encounter had already been leached away, and he saw nothing to gain in killing Miraxis. It simply wouldn’t have provided any fulfillment.

Leaving his captive on the floor, Shadow collected the clothing—his own and Alice’s—that he’d draped over the shower door to dry. Some of the fabric was still damp, but at least it wasn’t dirty anymore.

He stepped over Miraxis without a downward glance and exited the bathroom, closing the door behind him. Miraxis continued his frantic begging; at least it was muffled, now.

Alice was sitting on the edge of the bed, staring at Shadow, still holding the blanket over her chest.

“Jor’calla said the Red King was from beyond,” she said. “That he didn’t come like us, and that he could only be killed beyond.”

Shadow’s frown deepened. He didn’t want to think about all this, didn’t want to stumble along the chain of thoughts that had caused him such distress the night before. Didn’t want to acknowledge that there was any chance of losing her.

He stopped in front of her and extended his free hand, brushing her hair back from her face.

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