Wars In Wonderland

BOOK 1

E. J. PEPINO

Wars in Wonderland

Copyright © 2025 by E. J. Pepino

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review. Do not use for AI training.

This is a work of fiction. Unless otherwise indicated, all the names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents in this book are either the product of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.

ISBN: 9798281935098 (paperback)

ISBN: 9798282860092 (hardcover)

ASIN: B0F7RQLH2V (ebook)

First published June 2025 by E.J. Pepino

Cover design: Jessica Lanahan

Note For Readers

This book is intended for adult (18+) audiences.

Content warnings include:

Anxiety attacks

PTSD

Death

Violence

Blood

Childhood Trauma (mentioned)

Medication Withdrawal

Sex

Biting

Blood Play

Torture

For all the sapphics out there looking for a fairytale in which they could see themselves.

CHAPTER 1

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Not again.

Alice rubbed her eyes and hoped fervently the lawn would be empty when she next opened them.

Unfortunately, the universe had never been kind to Alice.

The rabbit was still there, sitting up and staring at her. He wore a top hat and a waistcoat, and was tapping the pocket watch he was holding. They were late. Then, he turned and hopped away.

Just a hallucination. Alice closed her eyes again, the rabbit was gone. The rabbit had never existed. This was not happening.

When she opened her eyes, she was still sitting in her expansive backyard, her patio table was still wrought iron and rusted from years of neglect, the trees still at a distance, and the evening sun was still hanging low in the sky. Everything was as it should be. The grass surrounding her was just grass, and the rabbit was gone. Resolutely gone. 

Shaking, Alice took her phone from her pocket and called the only number she had saved. When the voicemail of her therapist's cell answered, she hung up. 

She should check the side effects of her medications; one of them must include hallucinations. She ignored the fact that she’d been on these medicines for years, and had not seen the rabbit since the day it all started…

Then again, she’d had a nightmare during the night, so she’d also taken a dose of Prazosin. The psychiatrist had assured her there wouldn’t be any negative interactions, but rabbits in London simply did not wear clothes or possess pocket watches. Rabbits in her nightmares did.

She pinched herself. Nothing happened. She wasn’t dreaming. It must have been a hallucination. Her next appointment with Dianne was in two days. She could wait until then.

In the meantime, Alice found she could no longer be outside. A cool breeze flitted past, carrying with it the deep earthy scent of the encroaching woods beyond. That should have been comforting; it should have felt good. She’d always loved the late summer weather, the days she could spend exploring the surrounding woods, but now she found it all stifling. The warm, humid air caught in her lungs. She didn’t realize she was still shaking until she tried to stand and her knees wobbled. Her breathing had grown shallow, her hands clammy, and tears welled in her eyes.

It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real. Everything is fine. This isn’t real.

She kept telling herself this, but the words fell flat in her mind.

Focus. She just needed to focus.

The tears started flowing freely down her face, but she couldn’t bring herself to wipe them. Her fists gripped the table too hard for her to move. Breaths came out in heaving bursts.

The rabbit was not real. He was not real.

But the table she desperately clung to was.

Her book was real; it was sitting right there. She just needed to pry her hands away from the table and snatch it up. Cradle it close to her, feel the soft leather in her hands and arms, press it against her chest.

The chair was another real thing. She was actively sitting on it, the cold iron seeping through her thin dress. That was three real things.

The grass. She forced herself to bend down and run her fingers through the blades of grass. That was four real things.

One more. One more item to ground herself to this plane of existence. One more real thing, and everything would be okay.

Her breathing quickened as she realized she couldn’t find a fifth thing. There were only four real things. Four.

That meant this wasn’t real.

The rabbit was real.

She was crazy.

It was all a hallucination.

She didn’t exist.

Breathing felt more difficult as her throat constricted. It’s not real. This isn’t happening.

She repeated in her mind over and over. The world had turned blurry. All she could see was a barrage of greens and blacks and bright blinding light.

Just when the edges of her vision started to darken, her phone blared to life. It was sitting right in front of her, screaming—a reminder of just how real it was. 

She looked down, blinking the tears away, and squinted at the screen. It was her alarm, a daily reminder, without which she would never remember to take her pills. She released an unsteady breath from her barely parted mouth and swiped at the tears drying on her cheeks. 

Snoozing the alarm, she closed her eyes and tried to force her thoughts to the warmth of the remaining sun on her face. She thought of her breathing. In, hold, out, hold. Repeat. By the time her breathing controlled, the snooze was over, and her phone was, once again, screaming at her.

Calmer, Alice snoozed the alarm a second time and finally stood. Her legs shook as she took her first step toward the house. She did not run because there was nothing to fear out here. The rabbit had not been real. The only reason she no longer wanted to be outside was because the sun was setting, and the breeze had shifted from what should have been a refreshing break from the heat to an unshakeable chill. Maybe she could get some work done. It was the weekend, but there were still a lot of photos to review. But first thing’s first—meds.

When she opened the back door, she checked the surroundings and flipped on every single light. Upon finding the house empty, she laughed nervously. She was being silly. Of course, there would be nothing there because there was nothing to fear.

The rabbit was a hallucination.

It wasn’t real.

Still, she went to her medicine cabinet and popped a Xanax in addition to her daily maintenance Paxil, then swiped the alarm off for the day. Her therapist had said the Xanax was for emergencies only, but this certainly felt like an emergency. She grabbed a handful of cashews and poured a big glass of water. The medicine in combination lowered her blood pressure, so she’d promised Dianne to always have cashews and water whenever she had to take it. She didn’t want to repeat that hospital visit.

Then, she picked up her laptop and situated herself in her favorite comfy chair in the corner. It was backed up to the wall where nothing could sneak behind her. A few clicks later and her laptop screen was flooded with thousands of pictures of beetles, caterpillars, and butterflies to sort through.

Systematically, she began by deleting the blurry ones, sorting through duplicates, and picking the best version of multiple identical shots. The monotony of the task put her in a relaxing trance.

Or the Xanax had finally kicked in.

Either way, she was so focused she hadn’t realized the waning day had turned fully to night until she looked up from her screen and saw the sun had disappeared from the horizon. It was only darkness beyond her windows.

Scrambling out of her chair, Alice set her computer on the table, then rushed around the house to close all the curtains. It took her over ten minutes. The house really was too large for just her. Sometimes she thought about selling it, but it was all she had left of her parents.

Alice had been the only inhabitant for nearly ten years. Her parents died shortly after she turned eighteen, leaving her all alone in the world. Dianne had been her only solace; the only relationship she’d been able to keep in her entire life.

She often lamented about the house to Dianne: the upkeep, the size, the beauty. Dianne had suggested on more than one occasion that Alice sell and move into the city. She said it would be better for Alice to be surrounded by people, but the problem was, she didn’t feel safe around people. So she kept the house, with its antique furnishings, eccentric darker colored walls, chipping floral wallpaper, dusty rooms, and isolated location. And she survived.

Alice’s phone rang loudly from her pocket, startling her from her thoughts.

“Hello?” She answered with a questioning inflection despite knowing the only person who ever called her was Dianne.

“Alice, you called and didn’t leave a message. Are you ok?” Dianne’s worried voice came through the other end. Her therapist’s concern warmed her heart.

“Yes, I am now. I just…” She hesitated, unsure if she should explain about the hallucination over the phone, or wait. Apparently, she took too long deciding because Dianne spoke again.

“Did something happen? Talk to me, Alice.”

“Er, I think I saw something. Like, something not real. But it’s probably nothing. I had another nightmare last night, so I had some Prazosin. I think you said that might cause hallucinations if taken with my Paxil? So, I guess I just wanted you to know it did. Cause a hallucination, I mean.”

“What did you see?” Dianne asked. Concern laced Dianne’s voice and made Alice uneasy.

“It’s probably nothing. I can tell you on Tuesday.”

“Alice…”

Alice took a deep breath. “I saw the rabbit,” she whispered. “The one from my nightmares. He was in my yard, pocket watch and all. He didn’t speak, but I know what he was trying to tell me. ‘We are late.’”

Silence.

“But, it wasn’t real. It couldn’t have been,” Alice continued with much less certainty.

“You haven’t seen this rabbit before? Aside from the nightmares?” Dianne finally asked.

“No, I don’t think so.”

“Ok, Alice?”

“Yes…”

“I’m going to ask you to do something, and this might sound scary, but I think it will help.” Alice didn’t respond, the anxiety already gnawing inside her. “If you see him again, pet him.”

Alice’s breathing was shallow now. She couldn’t speak, but wondered if Dianne could hear it. “He’s not real. When you try to touch him, and your hand touches grass instead, your brain should acknowledge it’s not real. Does what I’m saying make sense to you?”

“Yes,” Alice choked out quietly.

“Breathe, Alice,” Dianne reminded her. “Make your favorite dinner tonight. Can you do that for me? And watch your favorite movie. It’s the weekend. You don’t have to be anywhere tomorrow. Treat yourself a little after the experience you’ve had,” she directed kindly. “And call me if you see the rabbit again.”

Alice agreed and hung up, nausea roiling at the thought of seeing the rabbit again, let alone touching it. She shouldn’t be so scared. It was clear Dianne believed he was a simple hallucination. And so did Alice. Regardless of whether she would try to pet the rabbit or not, she did as instructed for dinner and the movie.

CHAPTER 2

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice stayed in bed longer than she should have.

The sun shone in through the sides of her blackout curtains enough to illuminate the sullen walls of her practically empty room. No pictures, just dark green walls, a mahogany night stand with her plain black lamp, matching mahogany dresser and chest, and her bed. The only possession of note in view: her book case.

The book case held all her favorite special edition books and some of her best beetle specimens, forever preserved in resin on beds of flowers. Hidden away inside the closet was her only other prized possessions: her dresses.

She treasured them because they reminded her of her mother who had always dressed up to garden. Who said it made the flowers happy, which was a nice thing to do since they tended to be very judgmental. That always made Alice laugh as a child. With thoughts of her mother, Alice dragged herself out of bed and selected a bright blue dress.

Her mother’s favorite.

It had fit a bit big when she was younger, but now she was grateful for that as it slid onto her slight frame, coming down to settle just above her knees. It fit perfectly now. She never wore this dress for fear of ruining it, but she wanted to honor her mother today. She would wear her favored dress and tend to the roses. 

When she was young, some of her happiest memories were of her mother in her pretty dresses, enjoying her vast rose garden. She’d kept the garden up all these years, unable to let it wither away. 

Alice felt lighter than she had the previous day as she collected her pruning shears and gloves from the shed, then made her way to the garden on the side of the house. There were no nightmares last night. She slept well, and because of that, there would be no hallucinations again.

Today would be a good day.

While elbow deep in her favorite damask roses, their cloying scent clinging to the air around them, Alice noticed how beautifully the dew glistened on the petals in the midmorning sunlight. She couldn’t resist a photo; the lighting was perfect. Gingerly pulling her hands from the bush, careful not to disturb the droplets and ignoring the stinging scratch from a thorn against her forearm, she removed her gloves and stood. She stretched out her body from its hunched position, wiping dirt from her knees and turning to run inside for her camera.

Then she froze.

Staring at her from a pool of sunlight at the end of the garden bed was the rabbit. The exact same white rabbit with his top hat and waistcoat, tapping his pocket watch. 

“We’re late,” he chittered, his voice so barely audible that Alice thought she’d made it up. But that was silly, she chided herself. 

She had made him up. Of course she’d made the voice up as well.

“We’re late!” he repeated, his chittering rising in volume before he thumped his little rabbit feet and took off toward the wooded portion of her yard.

It’s not real. Alice reminded herself, her blood pounded in her ears, blocking out any other sound. It’s another hallucination. 

She looked at her phone in the dirt by her feet. Would Dianne really want to start her Sunday by talking her through the hallucination? She would only encourage her to touch him, and then tell her she had to go. It was the weekend, after all. Even therapists needed a day of rest.

The rabbit turned back, and seeing she wasn’t following, held up his pocket watch. Tap, tap. She took a step toward him, then another, then her feet followed without her mind’s permission, and they ran into the trees together.

The rabbit disappeared into a gaping hole in the side of the largest English Oak tree on her property. That tree had been there for longer than Alice had been alive, and she’d been afraid of it since she was little. This fear could have meant she’d passed through the hole in this tree before.

Passed through it, and experienced unspeakable horrors on the other side.

No, she could do this. She had to do this. Had to prove to herself, once and for all, it wasn’t real.

It was only a tree after all. A tree couldn’t hurt her. 

Unless it falls on me.

No, stop that.

Anyway, she’d taken years of self-defense classes. Well… year, month—Okay fine, she’d taken three classes, but really they were all the same. She could handle herself. Besides, it wasn’t real. Despite all the assurances, her anxiety—the doubt—was creeping in.

She should go take another Xanax before she has a panic attack. She should go back to the comfort of her home and lock the doors and draw the curtains and forget about this hallucination. She should do a lot of things that did not involve following this damn rabbit. 

Reaching out slowly, she touched the tree. The tree was real. She knelt down and grabbed a stick. The stick was real. She could already feel herself calming, her breathing slowing, as if the panic from the previous day had somehow primed her mental state to better deal with today’s terror. Never mind the fact she’d had this panic for as long as she could remember. There was something different about this, something familiar, and in that, there was a strange comfort.

Taking a deep breath, then another, Alice entered the hole in the tree. She was blind, engulfed by darkness, but when she reached out, she felt a door.

She felt a door.

It was real.

The air around her turned suffocating as she found the doorknob and pushed it open.

CHAPTER 3

Red

PRESENT DAY

Distant howls pierced the night air, breaking through the silence previously reserved for a single pair of leather boots trodding softly across the damp forest floor. Red smiled. Tonight would bring her another kill. She could feel it. 

She’d been hunting them for almost six months now. She went out the day before, the day of, and the day after every full moon. And their numbers were dwindling. The musty scent of the pack floated through the air on a soft breeze barely stiff enough to rustle the trees. It surrounded her. They were close. She could catch up within the hour. 

The moon was still low in the sky, peeking out above the tallest Sequoia enough to illuminate her way. Not that she needed it; she knew these woods like the back of her hand.

She walked leisurely in the direction of the pack, listening for paws hitting the ground, sticks snapping, or teeth gnashing. Any hint of how close she was. She could tell the pack had slowed. They were honing in on some poor victim, too focused on their prey to notice her proximity. 

There would be one wolf on the lookout. She would either need to kill or avoid that one, depending on who it was. It was a delicate play. The moment they caught her scent, they’d be gone, sprinting full speed to anywhere else. They’d done this dance enough for her to know they grew more clever. 

Posting a lookout hadn’t begun until recently, and she found it rather annoying. Though, that hadn’t stopped her from getting one last month. They were down to nine pack members—which was still a large pack by all considerations—despite having started out strong at fourteen. She was saving their leader for last. He needed to suffer for everything he’d done to her. 

Red pulled her bow off her shoulder and loosely nocked a silver-tipped arrow. She was close enough that she could spot the lookout at any moment. Taking a deep inhalation and slowing her breathing, she strained her hearing as she sped up, swiftly crossing over roots and stones protruding from the ground. 

A branch snapped somewhere to her left, and she whirled around. Pulling her bowstring taut, she pointed it in the direction of the noise. It was too soon to be the whole pack and the lookout wouldn’t have made such a foolish mistake to draw her attention this early. 

But there were more in these woods than just wolves.

Scanning the trees, she saw a flash of blue. She took a step closer, squinting into the dark. Then she saw it. Or, more accurately, she saw her. 

Hiding behind an oak tree, about fifteen paces away, was a woman. Her bright blue dress and even brighter, shaggy blonde hair were visible from where Red stood, though the woman clearly thought herself to be well-hidden. She smelled like a human. A human from a different world entirely. 

Irritation bubbled inside Red as she realized the air around her had become overwhelmed with the pungent floral scent of this human. She’d lost the scent of the pack—or, rather, it had been suffocated by the new arrival. Keeping her weapon raised, Red aimed at the woman, then took another step forward. 

“Who are you?” she demanded, voice ringing out through the otherwise quiet forest around them. 

The woman immediately slunk further behind the tree. Red heard her mumbling to herself but couldn’t make out the words. The woman’s breathing was rapid, her fingers clutching the bark on the tree.

“Who are you?” she repeated, keeping her voice even and walking closer to bring the woman back into full view. Her gaze snapped to the marks on her arms that typically signified someone to be a witch. Red froze, pulling her bowstring further back. She was ready to shoot if she caught even a hint of spellwork. The look on the woman’s face when she realized Red wasn’t going anywhere might have made Red hesitate—the sheer terror in her widened eyes.

“Well?” she prompted, still not lowering her weapon. The woman was frozen. She wouldn’t run. Even if she did run, Red could easily catch her, or something else could. This stranger, with her clothes and her scent, was a walking beacon. Even her pale skin practically reflected the moonlight. 

An uneasy feeling slowly spread throughout Red. This situation, the woman, it felt wrong. She didn’t like this. She should leave, forget she’d seen the woman at all. The strange markings all across her arms and on her legs, snaking under the hem of the dress she wore, only served to make Red more wary, even though the scent of her was not that of a witch. 

Giving the woman a slow once over, Red determined she didn’t have any visible weapons, though if the marks were what she suspected they were, she wouldn’t need weapons. If the woman didn’t use magic, Red could beat her in a physical fight. Slowly, Red backed away, her arrow still pointed at the woman, eyes never leaving her.

“Wait!” The woman finally found her voice and called out too loudly. She held her hands up in front of her. The palms were bare from markings, so Red assumed this was a show of peace, and not a threat. The woman swallowed audibly. “I’m lost,” she said, voice wavering. She was still mumbling under her breath, and Red could barely make out a few of the words. 

“Not real” and “just a hallucination.”

Her accent was strange, closer to that of a siren’s. But this woman was certainly not that.

The words held no real meaning to Red, but they were nonsensical enough that she was growing more confident the woman was not a threat. “Not real” was repeated frequently as the woman clutched the tree once more. 

“Who are you?” Red asked again, slowly, enunciating every word. She eased off her hold on the bowstring, lowering it enough to make the woman relax slightly but not enough to disarm herself. 

“I’m Alice. I—I just want to go home. I was… I followed. My therapist told me. I didn’t think—” She cut herself off.

“Alice,” Red tried slowly, speaking to her as she would a wounded animal. “Where is home?”

“Erm, Greenwich,” Alice replied, releasing the tree to fidget with her hands. Her eyes darted wildly around before landing back on Red. “In London.”

“How did you get here?” Red asked, ignoring the strange name of whatever place Alice came from. She’d already known Alice wasn’t from here. Red suspected the woman had crossed over through the door and Alice confirmed it.

“It sounds silly. I, erm, I came through a rabbit’s hole.”

“How did you find this rabbit’s hole?”

“I followed the rabbit. I… I didn’t think it was real. It’s not real,” she stammered, her confidence waning with each word. 

“You thought following the rabbit was a good idea? A rabbit you didn’t even think was real?” Red asked, dumbfounded. Everyone—everyone—knew to avoid the rabbit. This woman might be from the other side, but honestly, how did they not know too?

“Erm, my therapist told me to,” Alice admitted quietly. “But now I just want to get home. I don’t know where I am anymore."

“You’re in Underland, quite far from your London, I’d guess, if you came through the door.” Red shifted on her feet. If the rabbit had fetched her, he would know she was here. If Red was even caught talking to her, it could be detrimental. 

Was a lost woman worth the risk? She looked back at Alice. Tears pricked the edges of Alice’s eyes, and she mumbled vaguely as she wrung her hands. 

Red ground her teeth as she came to a decision she very much wished not to. But she couldn’t help it. She felt guilty leaving the stranger to get torn apart by creatures, provided he didn’t find her first. But the likelihood of the wolves getting Alice was stronger than him. Even he tended to avoid the forest during a full moon. It made Alice appearing tonight even more strange.

Red sighed audibly, replacing the arrow in her quiver and throwing her bow over her shoulder. “Come on, Alice. Let’s get you some help.” She turned away and started walking toward The Village, hoping someone would be around who could take Alice back. That way, Red could pretend like the only thing she was doing was helping a lost stranger. After all, this woman seemed mentally unstable. She could be lying about the rabbit. 

It could also be a trap. Red was willing to take that risk for the sole reason that Red knew she could kill Alice if it came to that. 

“You didn’t tell me your name?” Alice asked hesitantly, her voice lilting higher at the end. She did not move from behind the tree.

“Red,” she replied, turning and motioning for Alice to follow her, then waiting until she took a tentative step forward. “Come on.”

“Your name is Red?” Alice asked, catching up to her but staying just out of reach. Smart girl, Red thought. Maybe she could sense the danger.

“Yes.” Her reply came out more terse than intended, but she didn’t appreciate being questioned. Red wasn’t her real name, of course, but there were very few people alive that knew her real name, and she certainly wasn’t about to tell a complete stranger. 

“Is that why you’re wearing a red cloak?” Alice snickered mildly, and Red found the sound annoying. “And traveling through the woods?” She continued on as if there were a joke of which Red was not involved. Red elected to ignore the woman who seemed to sober quickly upon realizing Red was not entertained by her commentary.

“Sorry.” Alice cleared her throat uncomfortably. “It’s just, erm, why are you traveling through the woods… in the middle of the night?” 

Red side-eyed her before deciding to answer truthfully. “I’m hunting wolves.”

CHAPTER 4

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice had known it was a bad idea to follow the rabbit. Damn Dianne, never believed her. To be fair, Alice had never believed herself either. It was always a nightmare. Just a nightmare.

But the tree she had clutched felt real as the bark dug into her skin and under her nails.

The soft ground squished beneath her feet, which definitely made it feel real.

The woman walking beside her seemed very real. Alice wanted to poke her arm to verify the reality, but if she didn’t touch her then she could pretend for a little longer that she wasn’t real. She also had yet to forget the vivid image of the woman holding a strung bow with its arrow pointed right at her chest.

The thought of Red being a figment of her imagination was easy. Her warm brown skin contrasted beautifully with her bright red hair done up in two thick viking style braids cascading halfway down her back. Her mahogany eyes shone in the moonlight. Four thick scars slashed across her face, the first one had narrowly avoided her eye, and extended all the way down to the top of her lip. Alice tried to remember how large wolves were, wondering if those scars were from the ones she was supposedly hunting.

Red wore dark brown leather boots, dark cotton pants, and a sleeveless forest green shirt underneath a leather vest done up by laces. In addition to the bow and arrow, Red had a shocking number of other weapons strapped to her body, many of which Alice had never actually seen in real life before. There was also the deep red travel cloak hanging off her shoulders. Alice had never seen anyone actually wear a travel cloak.

Add to the fact she’d been in London minutes ago. This should have been impossible, but somehow, she was now in a different land walking through thick woods with a character of her own imagination. Therefore, it wasn’t real.

This justification of her hallucinations didn’t really bring any peace. She was still fidgety. Her heart thumped hard against her chest, and she was working exceptionally hard to control her breathing.

Then, when Red mentioned the wolves, the nerves spiked, and Alice looked behind her, listening to the unfamiliar sounds of the forest to determine if dangerous animals lurked nearby. It was hard to hear over her own footsteps. Not that it was real, mind you, but Alice truly was still in the woods.

Red made a noise that sounded distinctly like annoyance after Alice tripped over a root for the third time.

“They aren’t around,” she muttered. Alice stared at her, struggling to understand her words through the thick Scottish accent. 

“What?”

“The wolves. They’re not here. You can stop looking for them. It’s making you miss your steps.”

“Oh,” Alice said quietly, cheeks coloring with embarrassment. “How do you know?”

“We’ve made enough noise. They know I’m here, and they do their best to avoid me.”

Strangely, this was not a comfort. Now she was more frightened as she followed this stranger through the forest in the exact opposite direction she had come from.

Would Dianne encourage her to keep going? Alice had long since lost the rabbit, and a person was more of a threat, especially since said person had aimed a weapon at her. But people had empathy where animals did not, and Red hadn’t shot her. It was just a precaution, probably, in case Alice was dangerous. A laughable idea.

“Where are we going?” Alice finally asked after a long silence.

“The Village. Someone can help you there.”

“You… You can’t help me?” Alice asked, cursing herself for hesitating again. She hated how small her voice sounded, how scared. She’d been doing such a good job of hiding her fear so far, and she certainly didn’t want to meet more people. Not that Alice was afraid of people, she just was never comfortable around them.

“I can.” Red shrugged. “But I don’t want to.” 

Alice was at a loss for words. The bluntness made her like Red—just a little bit—people tended to coddle Alice. She relaxed, not entirely, of course, but her breathing started to even out without having to think about it. Her heart was still beating hard in her chest, but that could have been the brutal pace the other woman was keeping. Alice swiped at a drop of sweat threatening to fall into her eye.

With no response forthcoming, it became clear the conversation was over, so Alice took in her surroundings. The view hadn’t changed. The dense forest undergrowth was essentially all she could see, but she focused on it more now.

A thick covering of shaggy green moss was on the base of many trees, and it wasn’t just on one side, as expected. The moss was surrounding the whole trunk at least five meters up. It was gorgeous, the lush green moss in comparison to the rich brown trunks. Alice wished she had her camera to capture the sheer beauty of everything when she woke up, for she had determined now that she was in a dream. That had to be it.

The trees were an assortment of species. Alice could really only identify the oaks because her own yard had so many of them. Carefully, she reached out and touched some moss when she passed close enough. It was soft and squishy and lovely. 

And real.

She would adore that in her garden. It would be so nice to walk across a moss carpet every day. 

“Watch out.”

The words startled Alice out of her reverie—the only warning before walking face first into a low hanging branch. While spluttering and flailing wildly, trying to get the thing away from her, a noise came from her right, and she looked over to see Red laughing.

“I tried to warn you,” Red said in between breaths. Alice glared half-heartedly back, but was unable to hold laughter back as it bubbled up inside her chest. She caught herself quickly, stopping to scowl at Red, who took the hint and controlled herself. 

Dianne would be so proud of her. The thought popped up suddenly. When was the last time she’d laughed with anyone, let alone a complete stranger in the land that she was positive was from her nightmares? 

“Thanks for the warning,” she grumbled. “Even if it was too late.” 

Red snorted. “Alice?” Red asked, waiting for the other woman to look at her before nodding her chin towards her body. “What are those marks on your arms and legs?” Alice turned her arms up towards her.

“Huh,” she said, a little confused. “Er, I was pruning my roses this morning. I didn’t realize they got me. It’s not a big deal,” she finished quickly, wondering how the woman had even seen the tiny scratches.

“No, not the cuts. The…” Red paused, unable to locate the correct words. “The marks. They don’t look like runes, you’re too floral to smell like magic, and I can’t figure out what they’re for.”

“Oh! My tattoos? ”

“What do they do?”

“Nothing?” Alice turned her arms over in front of her, admiring the designs. “They’re just… decoration, I guess.”

“How’d they get there?”

“Someone stabbed me with tiny needles coated in ink a thousand times,” Alice said sardonically. Red did not mask her expression of horror. When Alice saw it, she smiled.

“What?” Alice asked, chuckling lightly.

Red just shook her head. “I’ve never heard of that before.”

“You don’t have tattoos here?”

“No. If someone has markings like that, they’re usually runes for spell casting, or a brand.”

“A brand?”

“Yes.” Red answered curtly. Alice took the hint, letting the topic drop.

They continued on in silence for quite a while, and Alice went back to admiring the forest around them. She looked up to the sky. The moon shone bright above them. 

Hadn’t she left to follow the rabbit in the morning though? Had the time really gone by that quickly? 

She searched her memory. She didn’t remember passing out. It had been mid-morning when she found the door, of that she was certain. When she crossed through, however, it was night. How peculiar. 

Her musings halted abruptly when she saw a figure lying motionless on the ground ahead of them. Eyes widening, she froze. Panic set in immediately. Urging herself to breathe, she tugged at Red’s sleeve and pointed. 

“Oh, for fuck’s sake.” Red grumbled, walking up to the woman. 

“Is… is she dead?” Alice whispered, following at a distance and watching while Red bent down to scoop the woman up.

“No,” Red snapped. “She’s just making sure you’re not the only one who’s been stupid tonight.”

Alice opened her mouth to reply, but then thought better of it and opted for silence.

“Come on. We have a detour to make.” Red announced, a twinge of annoyance in her response.

“Where are we going now?” Alice tried and failed to keep the fear from her voice, and her tone wavered. 

“My cabin. She’ll be safe there until she wakes up.”

“What’s happened to her?”

“She was cursed,” Red answered succinctly, in a tone that bartered no follow up. Still, Alice couldn’t help herself.

“Cursed?” she repeated in disbelief.

“Yes. Shitty witch was trying to kill her, but instead, she just passes out at extremely annoying times.”

Alice peered closer at the woman in Red’s arms. Her straight, dirty blonde hair and tanned skin were flawless, even in her slumber. 

“So, how does she wake up?”

“Just have to wait. She might be out the rest of the night, but if it takes longer than that, I have a potion that’ll wake her.”

“What’s her name?”

Darting a skeptical look at Alice, but clearly seeing no harm in telling her, Red answered. “Aurora. Why?”

Alice cleared her throat and shrugged. “Just seemed polite to ask. Do people not normally do that here?”

Red did not respond.

CHAPTER 5

Red

PRESENT DAY

When they reached Red’s cabin, she was just a touch under furious to not only find the door left unlocked, but open. If her cabin hadn’t had such stringent protections, she might have entered with more caution. There should have been absolutely no reason for Aurora to leave at all, let alone leave without taking her potion and without shutting the damn door. 

Red adjusted her hold on Aurora before kicking the door fully open, then went to the bedroom. Laying Aurora somewhat gently on the bed, she straightened. Alice was still lingering in the doorway, fiddling with her hands.

“Won’t be but a moment,” Red informed Alice, then stomped into the kitchen to grab a parchment and ink pen and scribbled a note.

STAY HERE

Red stomped back to the bedroom and cupped Aurora’s hand in hers, curling it around the note. That way, it should be the first thing Aurora would find upon waking. Then, Red stalked back into the kitchen to riffle through cabinets and grab the potion Aurora clearly neglected to take.

Aurora must have been doing some rearranging before deciding to leave the cabin because the shelves were in disarray. Finding the potion took longer than anticipated. Red had to move several potted plants out of the way to even access the potion cabinet. 

She could hear Alice shuffling from foot to foot while she dug through vials and plants. Absently, Red’s thoughts drifted to the state of her cabin, not caring what Alice thought of it. But at the same time, maybe she cared a little.

Most of the plants she kept to make potions. A variety of herbs, flowers, and vines littered the floors and window sills. The vining plants were mostly decoration, because Aurora had once complained how dull Red’s home was, so she'd increased her plant collection to compensate.

Red liked it—the plants. They provided nice color, and the jasmine brought a lovely fragrance to the space. Other than the plants, she only had standard furniture that one required to live. It wasn't like any of them spent much time inside. There was a shelf she'd hung which Aurora had decorated with her favorite shells, bringing another one back each time she’d left for the sea until it was filled.

The kitchen had been better equipped when Aurora decided she wanted to learn how to cook and bake, so there were pots and pans lining the walls above and around the wood burning stove. Flowers were drying overhead in many spots, but they were pretty. It was a nice space, Red knew, and she didn't care what Alice thought. 

The moment Red finally found the correct vial, a strangled cry emanated from the door behind her. Dropping the vial onto the counter, she whipped around.

The scene in front of her was not exactly what she’d been expecting. Red saw a short, silver blade pressed against Alice’s throat. There was fear in Alice’s eyes, and her entire body was frozen in place. A hand was holding her shoulder, keeping her still, though it obviously wasn’t needed. Then, Red saw the figure behind Alice and let out a frustrated sigh. 

“Let her go,” Red ordered, keeping her voice neutral but demanding. She saw the muscles in the hand tense and knew the knife’s pressure had increased on Alice’s throat. “Now."

“Who is she?” The low, honeyed voice came from behind Alice’s ear. Alice shivered. Red couldn’t blame her. That voice tended to have involuntary effects on people. 

“She’s no one,” Red answered quickly, guilt seeping through her every time she caught a glimpse of Alice’s expression. She didn’t like this strange protective instinct she was starting to feel. “She won’t hurt you, Alice. Don’t do anything stupid.”

“How do you know I won’t?”

“Fuck off, Snow. Let the poor girl go. I just found her in the woods.” Red let the annoyance ooze out of her voice, not bothering to hide her feelings. 

“The last one you found in the woods, you kept.”

Red rolled her eyes. “She’s human.” Apparently those were the words Snow needed to hear. Snow loosened her grip on Alice, and Red was on them in an instant. “I told her I’d find someone else to help her get home.”

Snow made a sound of disbelief, and Red snatched the dagger out of her grip, careful not to knick Alice by accident, and made note of her shallow breathing. Then, Red pulled Snow inside, away from the other woman. 

“Alice, this is Snow. She won’t hurt you.” Alice looked at Snow for the first time and Red could see the exact moment she really looked at the woman. Alice’s eyes widened, and her mouth parted in a gasp.

Red couldn’t blame her. Snow was striking. Her midnight skin was vaguely tinted blue in the light of the cabin, and absolutely flawless. Her shocking white hair was in locs and pulled beautifully into a loose braid behind her head. She had sharp cheekbones, a smooth jawline, and stunning emerald eyes. 

Snow truly was one of the most gorgeous women Red had ever seen. It was unclear to her how much that had to do with what she was, but it didn’t matter. Red knew Snow would have been that beautiful even if she were a human. 

Snow’s eyes narrowed ever so slightly, and Red cleared her throat, pulling both her and Alice back to reality and away from Snow’s mesmerizing beauty. Red tried not to laugh at the embarrassment on Alice’s face, but she couldn’t help it—the poor woman’s face was practically beet red. 

“Snow,” Alice said shyly in what might have been a greeting as she looked down at her feet. “Are you here to help her hunt wolves?”

Snow’s lip twitched. “Only when Red wants help.” Red snorted. She never wanted help, this was a hunt she had to do on her own.

“Are you cursed?”

Red cocked her head to one side and Snow’s brows pinched, eyes narrowing again to glare at Alice. “Why would you ask that?”

Alice shrugged. “I… Sorry, er, Aurora is cursed so I wondered…” Alice trailed off, shifting uncomfortably on her feet.

“She knows Rora?” Snow’s eyes narrowed even further, her glare shifting to Red. “How long⁠—”

“Just tonight,” Red cut her off, holding her hands up to placate Snow. “She arrived tonight, they didn’t actually meet. Rora just forgot to take her potion. Again.”

“Hmm.” Snow nodded, turning her intense gaze back to Alice.

“So, Aurora got cursed by a witch, Red is hunting wolves… What’s your deal then?” Alice asked. Red snorted a surprised laugh. Snow looked entirely taken aback by the abrupt bluntness of the woman.

“Well, the queen did try to kill her. Does that count?” Red laughed.

Alice gasped, her hand coming up to cover her mouth. She looked between Red and Snow before finally asking, “Why?”

Snow answered Alice in a tone that staked her claim despite not needing to, “I bonded.”

Alice looked between Red and Snow, they could see the confusion on Alice’s face.

“Snow is a siren.”

“A siren?”

“Do you not know sirens?” Red asked, brows furrowed as she exchanged a glance with Snow. Alice shook her head again, and Red fumbled for an explanation. She’d never had to explain sirens before. It was akin to explaining wolves or witches.

“Well, sirens aren’t human. They’re, erm, creatures from the sea.”

“You certainly look human,” Alice replied skeptically. Snow smiled, baring her sharp pointed teeth. Alice’s eyes widened, and she took another step backwards, gaze skirting over Snow’s body as though trying to spot anything else abnormal. 

“On land, they don’t keep many siren features. It’s in the water where the real difference is,” Red continued. “They have a tail instead of legs, gills, webbed fingers, nails sharpened to claws—but I guess you can choose to do that on land too. The claws are more of a fighting thing, and the eyes change too, right?” She listed off each trait, looking to Snow who nodded her verification every time. 

“But the biggest thing is their magic. That doesn’t lessen on land, and it’s really what gets the humans all riled up,” Red joked with a teasing smile. 

“Is that why the queen tried to kill her? Magic? What makes that such a big deal? I assume she’s not the only siren in existence,” Alice asked.

“It’s because of who I bonded with.” Snow answered, eyes drifting briefly to Red. “Our magic allows us to control people, make them see whatever we want them to see. It’s how we lure in our prey.” Snow answered in a voice that was entirely too sweet to have produced the words she said. 

“Makes ya more dangerous when bonded with a human,” Red agreed before turning back to Alice. “When sirens bond, it’s not their choice, obviously, and it means their life is now connected to their mate. If their mate happens to be human, that human then becomes a huge target for other sirens who might have a vendetta, and Snow has a lot of enemies.”

“So, the queen wanted to protect the human?” Alice scrunched her face together, trying to understand the onslaught of information in relation to her questions.

Snow shrugged and gestured toward Red, who made a face but tried to answer. 

“Eh, it’s complicated. The human was valuable in her army, and she didn’t want a resource wasted, especially during war. She thought the best way to keep her weapon safe and contained was to eliminate the threat, which she took to be Snow. But also, she’s controlling. Most queens tend to have that quality.”

“Is she still hunting you?” Alice asked, darting a glance toward Snow before looking back to Red, clearly assuming she would be answering again.

“No,” Snow said with a sly smile gracing her lips but didn’t elaborate. 

“Is it because of the magic? Did you… force the queen to make her stop?” Alice asked, visibly tensing as the words came out. 

“We can’t just control people from anywhere. There are limits to our magic,” Snow said with a scoff.

“Are you worried about sirens’ magic, Alice? About Snow’s magic?” Red asked softly. Alice swallowed and shook her head. It was a lie and they all knew it. Alice’s heart rate had shot up when Red asked the question. 

Instead of doing anything to put Alice more at ease, Snow took a step toward Red with a wicked look in her eyes. Red took a step back. She had an idea of what that look meant. Usually, it meant fun. Now, it meant distraction, and possibly scaring Alice more.

“Would a demonstration make you feel better?” Snow asked innocently while not taking her eyes off Red. 

Red shook her head ever so slightly, but the warning was ignored entirely. Poor Alice looked like she was cemented in place by fear as she registered what was happening. Alice didn’t respond. It was too late anyway, Snow had made up her mind.

“Aurora’s gonna be pissed,” Red mumbled as she felt the magic taking hold. She backed up until she was flush with the wall behind her. Then, she watched Snow close the distance and trap Red in between her arms, a hand on either side of Red’s head.

In the next instant, Red relaxed, body slumping against the wall as Snow cupped her cheek, and Red leaned into the warm touch. Red should fight it. Snow had spent years teaching her to do exactly that. Logically, she knew she shouldn’t just let Snow take control and scare Alice. After all, Alice didn’t know that Red could stop it all with a single word, didn’t know that she liked it when Snow took her mind away. When Snow made her feel like this.

But Snow had been gone for six days, and Red missed her. In addition to the blinding desire forced upon her by the magic, Red already had a base level of need for the siren. Snow was the only thing that mattered to her right now. The longer she allowed this to continue, the less she cared about Alice and her entire situation.

CHAPTER 6

Snow

FIVE YEARS AGO

Snow’s day began uneventfully, which was typical for this type of job. She’d been dispatched by her clan to take out a high-value enemy. Her target enjoyed preying on humans who wandered unwittingly into their territory.

Today marked her third day scouting the sandy shores of their beach. She craved the feeling of sand between her toes, but as she was trying her best to look like a land dweller, she’d shoved her poor feet into stuffy boots. Now, as long as she stayed out of the water and didn’t bare her pointed teeth, anyone should assume she was human. 

Her plan was simple: walk the shoreline until the target spotted her and tried to lure her in, then slit her throat before she knew what happened and dispose of the body where it wouldn't be found for several days. That would give her plenty of time to flee the territory without being caught.

Snow was used to missions like this. She preferred them. The solitude provided a nice break from the tedium of training others or making the clan's tactical decisions. 

She’d walked the same long stretch of land back and forth since sunrise to no avail. By mid morning she was considering taking a break when she spotted two figures tangled together on the beach. At first glance, they looked like a human couple engaged in a little fun, not realizing where they were. But as she got closer, it became obvious it was a human victim and the very siren she’d been sent to kill. 

This could not have worked out better. She would sneak up while her target was distracted. The siren would never know what happened. 

Forcing her steps to be slow and deliberate, and keeping an eye on the water for others, she inched toward the couple. Even from a distance, she could see the blood on the human. It fell from her shoulders and thighs in thick streaks. Distressed moans escaped the woman. 

Snow felt a flicker of irritation. The siren could have at least numbed the human’s ability to feel; they weren’t savages. The more she watched, and the closer she walked, the angrier she became. A tight fist gripped her heart and throat, striking through her like a lightning bolt. 

The human muttered faint words, bringing Snow back to the present. She had stopped walking with the sudden onslaught of physical and emotional pain. 

Where the fuck did that come from? She thought looking wildly around. 

There was no one else. It was only the three of them. This could not be happening to her. She pushed those thoughts aside, Snow was close enough now to see the amount of blood flowing from the human as the siren feasted. Her gut churned and she clenched her fists, fury invading her thoughts and spread through her body like wildfire. 

Closing the rest of the short distance in large strides, she no longer cared about keeping the element of surprise. The only thought consuming her mind was killing the siren and getting the human healed, then keeping her safe forever. 

The human was hers, and she would kill anyone who touched her. 

That idea should have startled Snow, it would have, if she’d stopped to consider it for any amount of time. She shouldn’t be having those thoughts at all, this couldn’t be happening. Not to her, not now.

Snow yanked the siren up by her hair, slitting her throat in one fluid motion. Blue blood mixed with red as it spurted from the siren’s throat onto the human who was slowly coming out of the haze of magic she’d been held under. 

Snow tossed the siren haphazardly to the side and dropped to her knees beside the human, ignoring the sharp stings of sand and crushed shells digging into her skin. The furthest thing from her mind was hiding the body. Nothing about her mission mattered anymore as she assessed the woman’s wounds.

They were deep and plentiful. The siren had taken chunks of her skin, tearing into muscle and through to the bone in some spots. 

Snow didn’t know a terrible amount about humans or their healing abilities, but she was worried the injuries were too severe to heal without help. The woman’s clothes were shredded and clung to her skin, and the blood seeping into them made Snow’s assessment more difficult. 

The human blinked rapidly as if that would help clear the magic from her mind. She tried to sit up, to prop herself up on her elbows while registering her surroundings. Snow jerked forward, arms outstretched to help her as the woman looked down, seeing the wounds for the first time. Her breathing was labored, her eyes unfocused.

“Oh, fuck,” she muttered weakly before collapsing, eyes rolling back into her head. 

Snow caught the woman before her head hit the sand. From there, time moved in a blur, Snow was barely aware of her actions as she carefully scooped the human up and carried her away from the beach and into the surrounding forest, out of the siren clan's reach. Something in the back of her mind screamed at her to dispose of the siren’s body and finish the mission properly, but that was mere background noise. 

At the forefront of her mind, propelling her actions, was the urgent need to keep this woman alive. Snow’s entire body was in pain. It was as though she’d suffered the injuries herself. That didn’t bother her as much as the ache in her chest. 

She needed help, fast. The woman was fading. She could feel it. The scent of copper and iron clung to the air around them and caught in her throat as she ran. 

Snow raced through the forest and darted between trees, careful to avoid banging the woman up more on their branches. She carried her to the only place she thought would be willing and able to help a human: the Cove.

The Cove was home to several mermaids. It was by no means their only home. There were rumors of an underwater cave system running from their pool in the forest out into the sea, their true home. The mermaids who spent time at the Cove were known to provide healing assistance to humans, as well as other kinds of help to sirens, and all manner of creatures.

For a price.

It might not have been the smartest move, but at that moment, she would pay anything to keep this human alive. She’d only been to the Cove a few times for information, though, which made this decision risky. 

Mermaids deal in information. They wield it like a weapon, and for that reason, one or more of them knowing her new secret could be incredibly dangerous. For her and for her human. She could only hope to be able to pay for secrecy in addition to the healing.

“Ariel, your human is dying again.” The bored voice broke through Snow’s thoughts. The trees had begun to open up, revealing the pristine pool and waterfall beyond, ferns jutting out and moss lining the water’s edge. Mermaids lounged on rocks, sunning themselves in the center of the pool and ignoring Snow’s arrival, save the one who’d called for Ariel.

Ariel. That name was familiar. That might have been one of the mermaids she’d dealt with previously. How convenient. But the nonchalance of the voice, the utter lack of urgency brought a fresh rage. A familiar head popped out of the water nearby. Color drained from the mermaid’s tanned face as she saw the pair approaching. Her dainty hands splashed urgently and words formed in a shimmering layer above the water’s surface before her.

Put her in the water, quickly! 

Snow obeyed, recognizing this mute creature was one she’d dealt with on prior occasions. Snow knelt on the soft moss at the pool’s edge and carefully leaned over to slide her human in the water, making sure her head didn’t go under as the mermaid dipped below the surface. Humans couldn’t breathe underwater after all. 

She almost dropped the woman when the water started glowing a bright blue. She gasped, and the other mermaids looked their way. None of them seemed bothered by it, or by her, and they diverted their attention elsewhere once more, seemingly no longer paying attention. A few of them disappeared under the water while the others continued sunning on the rocks.

Ariel reappeared shortly, taking the woman away from Snow and applying a muddied salve to the worst of her wounds. The mermaid barely acknowledged her. Snow stayed firmly planted, unwilling to allow the woman out of her sight. She watched with rapt attention to everything the mermaid was doing, every touch on her light brown skin, every salve smeared over injuries until the mermaid finally finished and looked up. More words appeared before Snow.

Thank you for bringing her. I can take care of her until she’s healed.

Snow bristled at the dismissal. She could not leave her mate. With the immediate threat of death over, she was able to think slightly more rationally.

“I can wait,” Snow replied a little too quickly, chiding herself for not sounding as casual as she’d hoped. Ariel cocked her head to the side, curious. 

“I mean, isn’t there a payment or something?” She tried to amend, but Ariel knew. Snow had immediately fucked everything up. 

Snow inhaled a quiet breath, trying to slow her breathing and calm her mind. Sirens’ magic doesn’t work on mermaids, which was incredibly annoying. She couldn’t make Ariel forget about this. 

Mermaids are smart. Ariel absolutely already knew what Snow wished she didn’t. 

Her cover-up was too late. 

It was also extremely unlike a siren to care about a human, let alone offer to pay for their healing. She must not be thinking clearly after all. Her spiraling thoughts were interrupted by a new word appearing in front of her.

Why? Ariel watched Snow’s face intently. Snow tried her hardest not to give anything away, but she’d never been good at hiding her emotions.

“It feels wrong to force her into debt. She wasn’t conscious when I brought her here, so I feel responsible for the payment.” Yes, that sounded good. Her voice didn’t waver. Her reasoning was believable. 

In that case, you’ll be happy to know she’s already paid.

“What?” She couldn’t help the disbelief in her voice, her eyebrows furrowed. She had to re-read the words three times, and she still didn’t believe them. 

A mermaid's help did not come cheap. Snow knew this from experience. The idea that a human had paid in advance for healing she might not even need was… Well, concerning, to say the least. 

What happened? Ariel asked, instead of answering Snow. The words were full of accusation as she swam closer, leaving the human floating nearby, just out of Snow’s reach, her head supported by a pillow of bubbles. 

Snow hesitated. She swallowed, weighing out how much of her story she could risk sharing. Eventually, she settled on an abbreviated version, which left out the more crucial aspects of why she’d brought the woman here. 

“I had a target who was… over-indulging. It felt wrong to leave the woman there to die after disposing of my target.” Ariel nodded, not bothering to respond. Instead she turned her attention back to the woman, and Snow couldn’t keep her curiosity silent anymore.

“So,” She started, aiming for a nonchalance she didn’t feel. “She paid in advance?”

The response appeared in front of Snow even though Ariel was still focused on the woman, a sad smile gracing her features. 

It isn’t hard for her to find trouble. She knows that. Sometimes I think she goes looking for it.

Great.

“You know her well then?”

I do. Ariel nodded as the words appeared, looking back at Snow. Several years ago she came by for a job. I helped her with some information that she needed, and she helped me with something in return. She kept coming back, and we’ve become close.

Snow felt a sudden, hopefully irrational stab of jealousy at the word “close”. She didn’t know how to deal with that emotion. It kept her from being able to respond to, or even look at, the mermaid as she turned her focus back on the human instead. 

She shifted on her knees, suddenly all too aware of the discomfort from kneeling. The rushing waterfall at the back of the Cove was deafening, the chatter of birds in the trees overwhelming, the sun shining down too bright. 

It was all too much. They were too exposed. 

Everyone would know.

More splashing brought her back as Ariel tried to get her attention.

I won’t tell anyone. Her words appeared small, like a whisper. Snow snapped her head up, eyes wide and darting around before meeting Ariel’s gaze.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” she hissed. Ariel raised her eyebrows and tipped her head as if to ask if Snow really wanted her to put it in writing that anyone could see. She did not. Snow sighed, resigned.

“Thank you. But…why? What will it cost?”

Just take care of her. I don’t want a target on her head for something she can’t control. She’s got enough going on.

This, of course, did not put Snow at ease, she could feel the tension coiling in her gut. Mermaids didn’t often care for humans. They had that in common with sirens and a myriad of other creatures. 

She didn’t like having a mermaid worry for her mate. That was her job now. This surge of possessiveness was another thing she’d never experienced before, and she didn’t like that either. Apparently, there was quite a lot about bonding she did not like.

Instead of addressing any of her concerns about the mermaid with her human, she forced herself to focus on the bigger issue. What is wrong with her new mate? Is the human broken?

“What does that mean?”

Ariel sighed. Something happened to her. It was a couple years ago, but it changed her. She used to be different, and now… The words dropped off as Ariel shrugged. She appeared to be thinking about how much more to divulge. When she continued, the words formed more slowly. This isn’t the first time she’s been brought to me on the verge of death. It happens often.

Snow did not respond as she processed this new information. She fidgeted with her hands in her lap and tried to control her breathing. The torrent of emotions rushing through her was too much. 

Fear for her life, now tied forever to this fragile human. 

Anger at herself for bonding. 

Anger at her human for being broken. 

Unease about the entire situation. 

And finally more fear about how her human would react to everything. She vaguely wondered if it was anxiety rather than anger, but anger felt more palatable to her, so she clung to that instead.

She can’t love you. Ariel wrote after a while. Snow looked at her, a new type of gut churning feeling tying knots in her stomach. But, I don’t believe she will try to cause you harm. She’s a good person.

“Okay,” Snow whispered. Ariel had essentially just told her she wouldn’t be rejected, but she’d also not be fully accepted. Snow wasn’t sure how to feel about that.

The effects of bonding weren’t a commonplace discussion among her clan, and if she were being honest, she’d never paid much attention when it was discussed. Snow knew if a siren bonded they would experience very intense emotions, and the bond was quite one-sided. That meant, Snow would be the only one experiencing this rush, this terror. 

The bond would demand an answer from the mate. 

If the answer was acceptance, then the siren would grow to depend on their mate’s presence, and not just their life, in some capacity. The more specific requirements were said to be different for each individual siren and highly variable. That was a daunting thought. She’d always been alone. 

She’d never wanted to be around someone for more than a day. Now she would be required to stay close to this woman she didn’t even know for the rest of their lives. She’d never spoken a word to her, didn’t know her name, and yet her entire being already was consumed by her. 

But the worst thought of all was that of rejection. It was rumored to be the most painful way a siren could die.

Time passed by too slowly after Snow and Ariel’s conversation lapsed into impatient waiting. Or rather, Snow lapsed into impatient waiting while Ariel periodically tended to the woman’s wounds.

Continuing to heal her in silence and unconcerned by the speed of progress, Ariel occasionally dipped back under water to refresh the salve—wiping away the old, checking the wounds underneath, then applying the new. 

Snow stared in disbelief as she watched the minor cuts and bruises slowly mending together and healing up before they vanished entirely. Now they only waited for the magic to repair bone and regrow muscle tissue and skin for the more serious injuries. And for the woman to wake up.

Snow opened her mouth, about to ask the mermaid how much longer it would take, when the woman groaned as Ariel applied fresh salve to a nasty bite on her collarbone. Her head rolling back before she registered the touch on her skin and froze. Her eyes flew open, body tensed, and her hand shot out of the water grabbing Ariel’s wrist. 

Ready for a fight. 

Snow had to admit, she was relieved that the woman appeared to have at least some sense of self preservation. The woman focused on Ariel, blinking a few times, her head cocked to one side and brows furrowed before she relaxed and let go of Ariel’s wrist.

“Oh. Hi.” She smiled, taking a deep breath and leaning back. She didn’t seem to have noticed Snow. Yet. 

Using the obliviousness to her advantage, Snow stayed silent and watched. Snow hated how utterly and pathetically in love with the woman’s voice she was already. The mermaid’s delicate hands suddenly whipped out of the water, moving furiously. Snow didn’t understand what was happening until the human held up her own hands in surrender.

“Sorry,” the woman mumbled, looking down for a brief second before more hand movement caught her attention. 

Snow realized then that Ariel was communicating with the human using her hands instead of with the words on the water. She knew this language. Sirens occasionally used it too. Rather—Snow realized as she watched the hands—she knew a variation of this language. 

From what she could interpret, Ariel was currently berating the woman for a “half-assed apology” and for “doing stupid, dangerous things again.’

“Well, what do you want me to say?” The woman hissed back, surprising Snow with the anger in her voice. 

Ariel made more hand movements, telling the woman to not let it happen again. The human took so long to respond that Snow started to doubt her translation. She glared at Ariel who glared back before sighing, shoulders dropping and sinking further into the water. She turned her eyes down.

“Thank you for healing me,” she whispered. 

The human was not looking, so she couldn’t see the daggers Ariel shot with her gaze, but Snow could. Ariel took a slow, exaggerated inhale before grabbing the human’s attention to sign again, moving faster this time. Snow had more trouble interpreting, but she recognized the words “bond” and “mate.”

Even though the human didn’t look at Snow, she knew the woman was now paying attention to her presence. This time when the woman responded, it was with her hands instead of her voice, apparently wishing their conversation to be more private. Snow allowed herself to be distracted by the graceful fluidity with which she moved her hands before realizing this was most definitely not what she needed to focus on.

“What does that have to do with anything?” The woman signed, wrist flicking in irritation.

“I just don’t think it’s nice for you to keep doing this… given the new circumstances.”

“Well, if she wants me to stop, I’ll stop.”

“Of course she’ll want you to stop! Anyone who loves you would!”

A smirk graced the woman’s features before she replied. “Bold move to admit you love me in front of my mate.” Snow’s eyes widened at the acknowledgement of both Snow’s existence and Ariel loving the human. She didn’t like the mermaid anymore after all. Ariel only rolled her eyes, not even bothering to look at Snow before replying. “She can’t understand us.”

The human quirked an eyebrow up. “Then why hasn’t she spoken or looked away from our hands this entire time?”

Ariel’s head snapped up toward Snow, who looked anywhere else.

Snow heard the woman laugh. It was the loveliest sound she’d ever heard. Her gaze unintentionally drifted back to her mate who was looking right at her now. Snow was struck by her beauty but unsure if her view was being influenced by the bond or if this really was just the most lovely human she’d ever seen. Her deep mahogany eyes held Snow entirely captive.

“Thank you for saving me,” the woman said with a smile. Then Snow saw recognition dawn on her face.

“Oh, you were at the beach.” Snow nodded. “You killed her, didn't you? The siren, I mean.” Again, Snow nodded. Her surprise at the calm declaration must have shown on her face. 

“Don’t look so shocked.” The woman laughed. “I knew she wouldn’t have just let me go. Food and all that, ya know?” She shrugged, giving Snow an appraising look as she spoke.

Snow didn’t reply, she just waited for the woman to finish her assessment, trying not to let the fear show. She shifted on her knees and clasped her hands in her lap, trying not to fiddle with the shirt hem and give away how nervous she was. When the woman’s eyes traveled back up to her face, Snow realized she was waiting for something, so she nodded, unsure what other response to give. 

“Really, though, thank you for helping me,” she said again, more seriously this time, and Snow knew she meant it. Then a sly smile spread across her features. 

“The Cove must have been pretty far out of your way…” She looked back at Ariel and cocked an eyebrow. Ariel glared at her in a warning that was entirely ignored. 

“So,” the woman started again, turning back to Snow with an expression that made Ariel try to interrupt whatever was coming next. “Can you speak? Or did you end up on the shit end of a deal resulting in your voice being stolen too?” Ariel narrowed her eyes before the woman turned and asked, “Does she speak?” The mermaid looked like she was preparing to berate the woman again before being interrupted by Snow’s reply.

“Yes, I speak,” she snapped more harshly than she’d intended, surprising everyone.

The second the words left Snow’s mouth, her eyes widened and she clamped her mouth shut with such force her teeth clacked uncomfortably against each other. Her first chance to win over her mate, and so far it was not going well. Before panic could grip too tightly, the woman laughed. 

“Name’s Red, by the way.”

“Snow.”

Red nodded, moving closer to lean her head back against the shore and closed her eyes before continuing. “So, why’d you do it?”

Snow stiffened, unsure how to respond as she was fairly confident Ariel had already disclosed the bond. The mermaid did not seem eager to come to Snow’s rescue, looking curiously between the two. Snow wished Ariel would give them some privacy. This was already uncomfortable enough. 

She knew she had to tell Red the truth. Red already knew, and hadn’t done anything resembling rejection. It shouldn’t have been this hard to say it. She just needed to blurt out the explanation and let the woman tell her what she wanted.

“I was on my way here.” 

Coward.

Red cracked an eye open to look at her. “You were on your way here…” She started slowly, opening both eyes now and turning to face Snow again. “And what, you just decided to make your trip longer and more difficult by killing a random siren then carrying a dying stranger the entire way? Out of the goodness of your heart or something?”

“I’m nice.” Snow ground out sourly, hating herself for digging her hole deeper. Red snorted a laugh.

“If you’re going to lie to me, at least make it believable.” She closed her eyes and leaned back again, waving her hand in the air nonchalantly. “You don’t even look strong enough to do that.”

Before Snow could retort, Ariel’s hand appeared out of nowhere and smacked Red right on the nasty collarbone bite.

“Ow!” She snatched Ariel’s wrist, keeping her hand away, looking insulted. “What the fuck was that for?” The mermaid glared at her before yanking away, allowing her words to form in the water for Snow to see.

Don’t be rude. You know why. She needs an answer.

Red sighed, a resigned sound that had Snow’s heart clenching. “Fuck,” Red muttered, now accepting that she would be forced to deal with the severity of the situation.

They both would.

Snow never knew one word could shatter her entire being so thoroughly. Fear flooded through her unbidden, that annoying fist clenching around her heart, lungs, and throat had returned, working its way through her with a greater urgency than before. Her breaths shortened, but she refused to give anything else away and stared at the ground, unmoving. 

Technically, it wasn’t a no. There had been no rejection, just what she could only assume was a normal human reaction to learning a siren had bonded with you. It would take some getting used to for anyone, and Red hadn’t even reacted when the mermaid told her. That could be a good thing. Snow hoped that didn’t mean there was another siren to contend with. That would make this trickier. Though, given how she’d found Red, it was unlikely she already had a mate. 

There was a soft splash of water, but wasn’t pulled from her thoughts entirely until a calloused hand covered hers. She looked up. Red had pulled herself partially out of the water, propping her elbows on the moss. They were so close. Close enough Snow still wasn’t able to breathe.

“It’s not a no,” she whispered so quietly, Snow knew it was meant for her ears only. Immediately the pressure on her organs let up, and she released a shaky breath. 

“Can we have some privacy, please?” Red asked, turning her head. The mermaid bristled, and she quickly continued. “I left some things with you. It’s time I get them back.” Ariel narrowed her eyes but nodded once before disappearing under the surface.

“I’m not going to change my whole life,” Red announced in a low voice as soon as they were alone. Her focus turned fully back to Snow.

“I don’t expect you to,” Snow answered cautiously.

“I didn’t ask for this.”

“Neither did I…”

“But,” Red took a deep breath before releasing it, and continued. “I’m willing to try it. We can figure something out that will work for both of us.” 

Despite the woman already accepting her, Snow couldn’t help her surprise. Red was hers. Snow was going to keep her. A warm feeling swept through her body, the bond solidifying. 

Red watched Snow intently, and upon seeing the surprise, let out a soft laugh. “Well, I’m not a fucking monster. Besides…” She let her eyes drift down Snow’s body before slowly making their way back up to meet her gaze. “I don’t think I’d mind getting to know you better.”

Her suggestive tone sent a wave of heat sliding up the back of Snow’s neck, warming her cheeks. An image arose unbidden of how she’d first found the woman, and all desire she was feeling immediately dissipated by the unexpectedly strong urge to lash out about her mate’s recklessness. 

Her thoughts were now a torrent of unwanted images, filled with scenarios that could have happened if she hadn’t been there. But Red had told Ariel she’d stop doing things like that if Snow wanted her to, right?

A noise indicating Ariel’s reappearance drew Snow’s thoughts back to the present, and drew Red’s attention away from her. She already missed being her sole focus. Ariel had brought with her a bundle of clothing and a small crossbow with a quiver of bolts, which she handed over to Red who set it on the bank before pulling herself out of the water. Ariel made a soft tutting noise.

“I’m fine.” Red waved her off without turning to look at the mermaid. 

She looked down at herself, assessing the damage. Salve still covered the worst of the wounds. Red knelt down to wash it off. Snow’s jaw dropped. No more deep gouges littered her body. Her skin had grown over the injuries. The only sign the skin was fresh was the slightly darker bruised pigment where Snow knew there had previously only been bone. 

“See?” Red said to Ariel when she’d finished her self-assessment. “Fine. Your healing, as always, worked perfectly.”

Ariel narrowed her eyes and twirled her finger. Red obediently turned as Ariel made her own inspection. The longer the mermaid’s eyes lingered on Red’s form, the more Snow didn’t like her. 

It didn’t matter how much Ariel had helped, Red was not Ariel’s to look at in that way. Snow swallowed her impulse to snap at the mermaid, to tell her to leave Red alone, and never touch her again. The mermaid was only helping. Snow had to remember that. Then Ariel nodded, sending a splash of water in Red’s direction.

Red turned around with a grin, and Ariel rolled her eyes but admitted Red was right. After receiving the approval, Red—without any warning—shed her torn and tattered clothes and picked up the new ones. That was the moment both Ariel and Snow saw the bites that had been hidden, the ones that didn’t get salve because the mermaid couldn’t see them.

“You are not fine!” Snow bit out angrily before she could stop herself. Red paused mid-movement to look at Snow, then down at herself. Grimacing, she ran her fingertips along several dark bite marks. When her fingers came back free of blood, she shrugged.

“No blood. It’s healed enough.” Before Snow could retort, Ariel’s splashing called their attention to new words in the water.

If you stay longer, I can apply the salve to those too, and they won’t scar like the others.

“Nah, I like the scars.” Red winked at her, grabbed her fresh clothes, and tugged on dark brown linen trousers. 

Snow admired Red’s body while she wasn’t paying attention: the smooth curves of her muscles, the warm brown skin marred by too many scars, several that looked suspiciously like someone had tried to slice her open. 

Snow could stare at Red forever and never tire of learning Red’s body. Someone cleared their throat. Snow realized Red hadn’t moved in a long time. Forcing her gaze up, she saw Red was smirking at her, letting her look.

“Enjoying the view?” she asked, amused. Heat crept up her neck as she quickly averted her gaze. 

When she did, she saw the mermaid staring at her mate, too, like she was about to eat her. A low growl emanated from Snow’s throat, and Ariel looked at Snow, eyes wide. She dipped under the water, leaving them alone again.

“Is that gonna be a whole thing?” Red asked, not bothering to keep the annoyance from her tone.

Snow sucked her teeth. “Are you going to undress in front of everyone?” she shot back.

Red gave her a sly half smile. “Maybe,” she said and pulled on a dark red, sleeveless shirt. Bending down, she tugged on and laced up sturdy boots before picking up the last of her clothes—a leather vest, which cinched up her loose shirt so there was no runaway fabric. She then bent down, grabbed the crossbow, and attached a quiver of bolts to her hip.

“Ready?”

Snow nodded, standing and ready to follow her. “Where are we going?” 

“My cabin. I figured we need some privacy, and you probably don’t have a way of getting that?” Red asked.

“That would be accurate.”

“But first, I need to get back to the beach where you found me. I left some stuff.”

“It isn’t safe to go back there so soon.” Snow shifted on her feet, looking around nervously.

Snow knew she could defeat any of the sirens from that clan, but if one of them attacked her mate… It was too dangerous. They would avoid the territory, and Snow could go back another time to retrieve her mate’s possessions for her.

Red didn’t notice her discomfort and waved off her concern saying, “Ah, it’ll be fine.”

“It’s too dangerous. I’ll get your things later. We can just go back to your cabin now,” Snow insisted.

Red turned to look at her, an eyebrow raised and her face set in a stubborn expression. “No. I’ve left it too long already. Can’t risk it disappearing. It’ll be fine.”

Snow huffed. “‘Fine’ like your earlier visit to their territory?”

Red made a noise of irritation before mumbling her response. “She wasn’t supposed to kill me. It was supposed to just be a bit of fun.”

Fun? Fun! What the fuck! 

Snow froze in her tracks. She felt her blood cool. Red walked a few more steps before realizing Snow wasn’t going to follow, and turned to face her. Her face was expressionless. She gave Snow no hint as to what she was thinking. Snow, on the other hand, was much less subtle. Everything her mate wanted to know was written plain across her face. Anger, jealousy, hurt, Red could read it all, and Snow knew it. She didn’t have to say anything.

“Come on. It’s a long walk. We shouldn’t stop if we don’t have to,” Red whispered softly before turning and continuing on. 

Snow followed. She didn’t have any other choice. She stewed in her thoughts the whole time. She would have to let it go for now. She couldn’t argue with the woman or discuss anything about their bond out in public like this. The forest had many ears, and one could never be too cautious.

CHAPTER 7

Snow

FIVE YEARS AGO

Once they crossed back into enemy siren territory, the trees began to thin, giving way to the beach where it all started. Salt clung on the ocean air and breathed new life into Snow. It was strange to think that just this morning, she’d been on a standard mission, and now—before the day had ended—her entire life had permanently changed. When they passed the last cluster of trees, Snow tensed. They were on the beach, exposed. No more hiding in the forest.

The clouds had cleared and the low setting sun was glinting off Snow’s black skin, accentuating the blue undertones. It would be more obvious she was a siren now. Her sights set habitually on the sea, searching for faces while straining her ears for footsteps over the gently crashing waves. 

If the clan had already found their murdered leader, then they could be lurking, scouring the beach for the culprit. If they hadn’t yet found her, then Snow might have time to hide the body, though it would now pose a bigger risk with her mate present. The nearer to their meeting point they got, the more Snow checked over her shoulder. 

She was more twitchy than usual, ready to jump at the slightest sound or movement, claws out. Kill first. Don’t wait for them to ensnare her mate with their magic. 

“Don’t be alarmed.” Red’s voice was a mere whisper over the waves as she managed the only three words that do, in fact, tend to cause immediate alarm. “We’re being followed. Don’t look!”

Snow’s head immediately snapped back. How could she have missed that? 

“On land, one, human.” Red continued. Snow relaxed. A human. That’s why she hadn’t caught it. Humans were nothing. 

“How do you know?” Snow whispered back. How could Red differentiate a human from a siren on land? Even sirens had trouble determining the differences.

Red didn’t answer, instead she hissed, “Get down.” Snow looked at her a beat too long and Red huffed. “Now!” was the only warning Snow got before her mate shoved her to the ground and whirled around. 

Snow opened her mouth to tell her off when an arrow flew right past where she’d just been standing, lodging in the sand behind them. Snow turned to see a human, a soldier by the looks of it, several paces away holding his chest where a small bolt protruded. 

He wore a stunned expression as blood dripped down his chest, staining his white tunic and covering his hand. His mouth opened and closed several times as he fell to his knees.

Frozen, Snow looked at Red who was holding up her weapon, still aiming at the man, already loaded with another bolt. She didn’t look at Snow but gave a tiny shake of her head, indicating for Snow to stay down while she scanned the rest of the surrounding area. 

Too overcome with shock to argue, Snow stayed exactly where she was until Red nodded and relaxed her weapon. The soldier, still on his knees, gripping his chest, made several noises which likely should have been words. Red strode up to him and yanked the bolt out of his chest before stabbing it back through his throat. Blood spurted out of the new wound, staining her fresh clothes, but she paid it no mind. Pulling her bolt out again, she wiped it on his tunic before she replaced it in her quiver and strode back to Snow.

“You all right?” she asked, offering a hand up, which Snow happily accepted. 

“What just happened?” Snow asked, trying to ignore the fluttering in her stomach and the heat of the woman’s hand in hers. 

Red pulled her over to a bundle on the beach, not answering until they got there. It turned out she had left quite a few possessions here. Snow could see now why Red didn’t want to wait to retrieve them. 

“What happened,” she said, rubbing the back of her head and taking a deep breath before wincing as she continued, “that would be a hazard of my job.” 

She did not meet Snow’s eyes as she collected what turned out to be a massive cache of holstered weapons, nor did she speak again as she reattached every single weapon to a different part of her body. 

Snow watched in silence and maybe some adoration until Red picked up the last item. A deep red travel cloak that matched her shirt had been buried underneath everything else. The emblem emblazoned on the front made Snow gasp and take an involuntary step back. Red flinched at Snow’s reaction, but she had to know it was coming.

“You work for The Red Queen.” It wasn’t a question, but Red nodded anyway. “Why were you here?” Snow asked, the words coming out harsher than intended.

Sirens typically avoided human conflicts. It was messy, and they were a weaker species. Sirens didn’t need to involve themselves in the humans’ mindless murdering and petty squabbles. 

The Red Queen disagreed. She believed she could control sirens and make other creatures do her bidding. This made her an enemy of sirens in all but name. There had been many humans sent by The Red Queen to try and coerce sirens into joining. The only real way to do it would be if one bonded with a human. 

Snow was an absolute sucker. She was an idiot. Though she had no say in the bond, she still blamed herself, and now she was trapped. 

She no longer had a choice. She had to become involved. Her mate could not die. 

Humiliation burned through her body, unpleasant and raw. She held back the tears threatening to spill over. 

Snow had never thought she’d bond. Never thought it would be a human that did it. And in all her life, never had she thought she’d belong to The Red Queen. There was nothing left to do but accept her new fate or die, and Snow really preferred living.

“I wasn’t here to trick you,” Red whispered, all but reading her mind. “My mission was entirely unrelated; it didn’t involve sirens at all.”

“I don’t have a choice,” Snow spat bitterly. Despite everything, she still wanted the woman to want her, to love her, to keep her. It was the bond. “I can’t just say no to you.”

“I’m not asking you to join,” Red assured quickly. “I… It would be better if no one knew about this.” Snow looked at her, eyes narrowed, but Red’s face gave away no signs of ill-intent. Her expression was open and honest, and Snow’s chest loosened.

“Why?” She asked, voice softer now.

“It’ll be safer. For both of us.” Red uttered the last part quietly as she turned to lead them away again. Snow wondered if she’d even meant for her to hear it.

CHAPTER 8

Snow

FIVE YEARS AGO

Snow was consumed by a cold dread as Red directed her toward a cabin door. The wood on the building was light-colored and still smelled of fresh cut trees. The ground around it was disturbed, with no plants or signs of life nearby. Snow moved slowly, looking around for signs of an ambush. 

It wasn’t that she didn’t trust her new mate, but she didn’t know her. She’d also never been so far from the sea before. Her heart raced, palms clammy as she stepped inside. The forest outside had contained a magnitude of noises, new and strange, but inside was devoid of sound—a suffocating silence like she’d never known. She stopped just inside the doorway, feet turning to lead.

Snow cleared her throat, surprising herself when her voice didn’t shake. “I don’t know much about human dwellings, but this one seems… lacking.” 

She wasn’t trying to be rude, but the place was bare. There was nothing inviting her to come inside, and the scant amount of furniture looked far from comfortable. 

Nothing to prove this wasn’t a trap.

“It’s new.” Red’s response came from directly behind, much closer than she’d expected. 

Snow could feel heat radiating off the other woman’s body, and a shiver ran up her spine. Her mate was too close. She couldn’t think in this proximity. Swallowing the lump in her throat, she turned, coming face to face with Red. Snow’s eyes widened, they were so close, all other concerns now forgotten. 

Red gave her a quick once over and smirked. “Excuse me.”

Snow’s eyes widened further as she realized she was blocking Red from entering. A blush crept up the back of her neck, and she stepped to the side, giving her mate space to enter the cabin properly. 

Red closed the door behind her, a dull thud sounded as it latched. Trying to ignore the noise, or lack thereof, Snow drifted close behind Red, following her to the chest in the corner. 

Red was in the process of removing all of her weapons, and when the last of them had been replaced, Snow cleared her throat.

“We should talk about… this.” She gestured between the two of them. 

“Yes, we should.” Red turned to face her confidently. There was no fear in this woman. Snow admired that, but it meant only Snow feared what all this might mean. 

She needed to learn about her new mate, her likes, her dislikes. Has Red ever had a siren bond with her before? If so, what happened? That was important to know. If she hadn’t, then Snow would need to explain what little she knew about it. 

Sirens can’t spend very long away from the sea. How long could Snow last? That was another variable. 

How long could she be away from her mate? 

Would she need more closeness in the beginning, or less? 

What would happen if Red never loved Snow, like Ariel said?

Was it getting hotter in this cabin? The air was stuffy, more so than when she first entered, it filled her lungs, making it hard to breathe. This was a trap.

A warm hand against Snow’s shoulder cut through her spiraling thoughts, and she took a step back.

“I’ve never experienced being a siren’s bonded mate before.” Red’s voice was close, and Snow blinked, clearing her vision. 

The air hadn’t changed. They were still alone, and her mate was pressing her back into a wall, her bright eyes piercing Snow with a charged heat. The soft curve of her lips tilted upward in a wicked smile, distracting. Desire pooled between them. Then the words registered, and Snow’s relief was palpable. It would be new for both of them.

When they locked eyes again, Red continued. “No one can know. I think we both agree on that already.” Snow nodded. It was the only way to keep her safe. “We can continue to live our lives as before and meet up however often you need in order to be okay. I don’t know much about this type of bond, only that it’s powerful, and if you don’t get what it demands then you’ll be hurt. I don’t intend to hurt you.”

This should have been comforting. It was reassuring and kind, but Snow didn’t know how she could continue her life as she had when she didn’t want to leave this woman’s side. Ever. 

“I don’t want to find you how I did today again.”

“I figured.”

“So you’ll stop seeking out sirens? I’m assuming from what you said earlier that’s what happened?”

“Yes.” Red didn’t sound happy, but she agreed. That was all that mattered. “But I can’t refuse mission orders.”

Snow cocked her head to one side, brows furrowing. “What does that mean?”

“If this is to be kept secret and I’m sent out for the queen, I don’t have a say. I have to follow the orders. If those orders happen to involve sirens, I can’t say no.”

“You don’t have a choice?” Snow always had a choice in her missions. 

She could pick and choose as she pleased. She had the ultimate say. What Red was telling her—it didn’t make sense. How could she just be sent off for anything, even things she didn’t want?

“No.”

“What missions do you usually have?”

“Mostly infiltrations or assassinations. I don’t deal with sirens often, but I have before. The queen uses me for almost all work dealing with non-human creatures.”

“Why?”

Red shrugged. “I’m good at it.” Something told Snow there was more to it than that, though Red didn’t give her time to linger on it. She leaned in closer. “Are we done talking? Doesn’t your bond need something more?” she whispered, her lips a breath away from Snow's, who suddenly had lost the ability to think. 

“Are you sure?” Snow breathed, fighting with her desire to immediately give in. 

Red didn’t answer with words. Thoughts of anything else vanished as she closed the distance between them. Snow had never needed someone so intensely before. A fire flickered to life inside her, crawling up her spine and burning everywhere Red touched. Snow breathed her in, the fresh scent of dirt and forest clouding the rest of her senses. Snow let tendrils of her magic flood through the woman, delivering an all-consuming pleasure, and Red gasped, falling into her.

“Bedroom,” Red breathed. Snow barely pulled away as Red led them to a darkened room Snow hadn’t seen yet. 

The back of Snow’s knees hit something soft and pliable, and she was pushed down onto it, Red straddling her as she fell. A low growl rumbled in her throat, raw and carnal, and she flipped them so that Red was underneath her. 

Moonlight filtered into the room through a window near them, making Red glow. Her light brown skin, marred with scars and abrasions, was screaming for Snow’s touch. She wanted to trace every scar, learn them all, and kill whomever had given them to her.

Snow didn’t bother examining the room, not caring if it was a trap any longer. Everything was suddenly moving too slowly. She was on top of her mate, kissing her lips, her neck, her collarbone, but their clothes were still on. 

Snow fumbled with her mate’s vest for a minute, then, too frustrated with the laces, settled for shredding it with her sharpened nails, accidentally nicking skin in the process. The sight of blood tore her from her lust-filled frenzy and back to reality.  

She was no better than the siren on the beach. The one who’d almost killed her mate. She hadn’t asked Red about any of this. They hadn’t discussed desires or boundaries. She could have just ruined everything.

Releasing her magic, she eased back and waited for Red to come fully into her mind again, panic clawing at her insides. Red was breathing heavily. They both were, but she seemed only bothered that Snow was stopping.

“What?” She asked breathlessly. “Why’d you stop?”

“I didn’t…We haven’t…” Snow took a frustrated breath, unable to bring herself to voice any insecurities. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

Red bit her lip, hesitating. “Well, what do you need? Isn’t this just a physical thing?”

“I,” Snow paused, thinking, “don’t know.”

“What do you mean you don’t know?”

“Bonding isn’t really discussed much among my clan. I don’t know what I need. Other than you, I guess.”

“Okay. I’m yours. Do whatever you want.”

Mine, she’s mine.

The thought overwhelmed Snow with an emotion she couldn’t identify, a possessive beast she’d never known coming to life inside her. 

“Take off your clothes,” Snow ordered without hesitation. 

There would be time to work everything out later. It wasn’t solely physical but if that was what Red was offering right now, the desperate need to have all of this woman was taking over. Red grinned, scrambling out of her remaining clothes and drawing Snow’s attention to the fresh blood smeared across her abdomen before lying back down. Snow sucked in a breath, her fingers danced lightly over the skin she’d accidentally sliced.

“I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you,” she whispered, unable to look anywhere but the blood. 

“I like the pain,” Red assured her, no anger in her voice. Tangling her hands in Snow’s hair, Red pulled her back down to kiss her. 

Their mouths moved together, the kiss quickly heating back up. Snow shifted to Red’s neck, kissing and licking down to her breasts. Red moaned softly when she pulled a nipple into her mouth, teasing it gently. She showered light kisses down her stomach, carefully avoiding the slice and the blood, guilt gnawing at her, warring with the desire to lick her clean. The taste of copper caught in her throat as she tried to pull herself away from the blood.

Snow didn’t often seek out human prey—she’d never wanted to risk bonding with one. Which she realized now was pretty ironic. Looking at the droplets of blood oozing from the cut on her mate’s skin made her mouth water. She swallowed. As if Red could hear her thoughts, she chuckled lightly.

“I’ve been with sirens before, you know.” Snow couldn’t see how this was relevant unless she was trying to anger her. “You can feed. I don’t mind.” Red clarified to a startled Snow, who looked at her with narrowed eyes. Still, she bent, unable to resist the temptation. 

Snow watched Red’s face as she licked a drop of blood, waiting to see disgust or fear on her mate’s face. Instead, she was met with a heated gaze that held an intensity Snow had never felt before. 

Encouraged, Snow pushed her magic through Red’s body, forcing more pleasure, careful not to lose herself to it as well. Then she bit. 

Blood flooded her mouth, sticky and sweet. The most delicious blood she’d ever tasted. She could live off this woman if it wouldn’t kill Red. Above her, Red let out another moan, this one louder and practically begging for more. The hand in her hair tensed, then pushed her further down, Red’s meaning clear. 

Snow moved one hand between the woman’s legs, slowly massaging her while she sucked on her hip. Listening to her mate’s soft moans fueled the fire inside Snow. She entered her with one finger then with two, pumping in and out slowly as she adjusted. She licked the bite clean before moving down, settling herself between Red’s legs. Then, she truly feasted, moaning against her center as she licked until Red was shaking and swearing between gasping breaths.

CHAPTER 9

Snow

FIVE YEARS AGO

By morning, they’d reached an uneasy agreement about how the next few months would proceed. Red seemed reluctant for their relationship to progress beyond purely physical. She’d all but jumped out of bed when Snow tried to pull her closer to cuddle before falling asleep. Snow had tried to hide the hurt, but she knew Red saw it.

Ariel had been correct, though. Red was a good person. As soon as she’d seen the insult on Snow’s face, she relented and scooted back, allowing the siren to wrap her arms protectively around her while they slept. 

It hadn’t been difficult to sort through the onslaught of emotions when they discussed their rules. Snow knew already that she would need more than a strictly physical connection—she needed every type of connection she could have with this woman. 

Red didn’t want any of it, though. Snow would be a fool to push too hard too fast and ruin everything. So, she kept her mouth shut and agreed, pushing only when she thought she could get away with it, and only then to ease the pain of a bond stretched to its limits.

They agreed, tentatively, that Snow would come back to the cabin every six days. They’d spend the night together, and she’d leave in the morning only to reconvene again at the agreed upon time. 

Snow knew it wouldn’t be enough. She insisted they leave room to adjust the agreement, if needed. Red reluctantly agreed.

Snow also demanded that Red be more careful with her life from here on out. That was a more difficult promise. Red was willing to not seek out sirens anymore, unless ordered to by the queen. But she had no control over her missions. Which meant Red would still be in nearly constant danger, as she always had been.

Snow didn’t like this. She would be forever on edge, waiting for the crashing pain from the severed bond at her mate’s death. Snow didn’t want to leave her side, but Red didn’t want to change her life, and Snow couldn’t stand the thought of leaving her clan, her family, so she agreed to their deal. 

One night every six days was all she would get for now. They would pretend like nothing else in their lives had changed and carry on living as normal. With the exception of Red hopefully being more careful, and not entering into or maintaining any relationships more serious than that with Snow, which Red assured would not be an issue.

As time passed, Snow quickly learned—confirming what she already knew—that she did need more than just a physical relationship. Now she needed to make it known to her mate as well. She was desperate for a real connection. 

Despite Ariel’s warning, she couldn’t handle being held at arm’s length. On their third night together, she told Red she would need increased visits. Red agreed. On their sixth night together, she told her she needed to know more about her, to establish an emotional connection as well. Red was less receptive to this. 

She shared some, but it was scraps. Red had three brothers, one she was estranged from, a grandmother, and both a mum and dad. Her family had witch ancestry, and she had been trained to use her scant magic to detect eyes on her and anyone hiding in her surroundings. She had worked for the queen since she was a child. Her favorite weapon was a bow and arrow. She was favored by the queen, to the point that she had been gifted a specially designed sword.

In turn, Snow shared about her clan, the sisters she liked, the ones she didn’t, how she’d been with them as long as she could remember—they were her own family, and she’d kill for them. She had, of course, already killed for them many times, but she would do it without hesitation, without being ordered. Snow told her about her favorite parts of their territory, how certain times of the day at certain depths in the sea the sun would hit the water just so and rainbows would dance across her vision.

It was nowhere near what Snow needed. She was giving more than Red, and Snow worried their relationship would always be that way.

By their eighth night together, Snow had started dropping by outside of the planned times more frequently. She would come earlier in the day, and try to stay later the next morning. Half the time, Red wasn’t even there, but Snow stayed regardless. Red had added Snow’s blood to the wards after all. She was free to enter anytime.

Being surrounded by Red’s scent and belongings calmed the anguish inside her that stemmed from being apart. Sometimes she’d stay the night, alone in Red’s bed, and would wake up with Red wrapped around her. 

On those mornings, Snow’s heart was whole. 

She was at peace in those early morning moments where she could let herself be held before Red woke and the peace was shattered. Not because Red was cruel, but because she was distant. 

The feelings that had been building up in Snow for months weren’t returned, and it was slowly chipping away at her heart. There was tension welling up inside her surrounding their bond, pulling her taut. It wouldn’t be long before it all came to a head. Snow just didn’t know what the breaking point would be.

Five months after she bonded, everything changed.

Snow was wandering the beach, intending to go to Red’s cabin for yet another unscheduled visit, when she came across two figures tangled up. Even from a distance she recognized the woman underneath the siren. By the time she reached her mate, she was shaking with rage. 

Snow ripped the siren off, slicing her throat without hesitation, then she stood there, glaring down at her mate while Red came back into her own mind. The blood was minimal compared to the first time she’d found Red like this, and the immense relief flooding through Snow at seeing Red alive and relatively unharmed was almost enough to let go of her anger. 

Almost.

“You have to be fucking kidding me, Red,” she hissed as soon as the woman groaned and opened her eyes. “You promised.”

To Red’s credit, she did look genuinely apologetic, refusing to meet Snow’s eyes and wringing her hands as she stumbled through a terrible excuse. 

“I didn’t mean to…” she winced as if even she heard how weak it sounded. “She ambushed me. I swear! Fuck, I didn’t come here for that. Please believe me.”

Snow did not look impressed, nor did she respond. To her knowledge, Red didn’t lie to her, but Red always avoided the full truth. Then again, Red also did not get ambushed. Ever. 

Snow had pried enough information out of Red to know that to be a fact. Due to her witch blood combined with her training, she never got ambushed.

“Snow,” Red whispered, finally looking up with an out of place sadness in her eyes. “I promise, I’m not lying. Please.”

“Get up,” Snow ground out, trying desperately to hold on to this anger. This was serious—Snow could not impress upon her how serious it was. So it was imperative she wasn’t forgiven just because she looked regretful.

Red stood, shaking slightly. 

“Let’s go home,” Snow said, leading them away from the ocean and through the forest to Red’s cabin, their home. Red followed her, neither one speaking. Their lack of physical contact was torture for Snow, and she had to keep her hands clasped together to avoid reaching out. Snow needed Red to know she was serious. 

Behind her, Snow heard something thunk heavily on the ground followed by a muttered curse and looked back in time to see Red barely keep herself from falling over after she tripped over a rather large root. 

“Are you drunk?” Snow asked incredulously, all the pieces of the day’s events beginning to slide into place. 

“I… might have had a few drinks,” Red mumbled, accepting Snow’s hand to keep her upright.

That would certainly explain the ambush, Snow thought. Red hadn’t lied. Snow thought she was getting better at detecting when Red had been drinking, but she hadn’t considered it until that moment. Snow rolled her eyes and huffed so Red would still know she wasn’t happy, but having their hands entwined made everything easier to handle. 

She knew Red had been drinking more in the past months. Red had reluctantly explained it to Snow one night when she came home drunk and Snow was unexpectedly there. Snow had been so concerned about her unusual behavior that Red admitted she’d been drinking. This, at the time, meant nothing to Snow, so Red also had to explain fermented drinks and how they affect humans.

Pushing the cabin door open, Snow hauled Red in more forcefully than intended, catching her before she fell. She shoved Red back roughly against the door, slamming it behind them.

“Fight. It.” Snow snarled at her mate before throwing a small amount of magic at her, dragging her mind under. She spoke again, making sure her words penetrated the haze and could be heard, “Think about the magic inside your mind and push it away. I don’t want you to ever be under another siren’s control again.”

It took half the night, but Snow felt the moment Red started being able to push back. She was able to utter three words through the fog before Snow finally relented. Immediately upon release, Red shuffled over to her potions cabinet and swiped one she claimed would help heal her minor wounds she’d gained from the ambush.

Snow followed her, grabbing some fruit and placing it on the table for Red who sat down and picked at the berries absently.

“Look. I know you don’t care about me,” Snow said, taking a deep breath, avoiding eye contact as she powered through her admission. “But I love you, and I need you. So I’m going to keep taking your mind until you can break free. We’re not leaving this cabin until I’m satisfied.”

Red looked at her hands, shifting on her seat. “Is that the bond talking, or you?”

“It’s me!” Snow snapped without thinking. 

When Red finally looked up at her, Snow faltered. Snow had never thought about the feelings being separated before, but they were. The emotions forced by the bond were possessive and intense. They were overwhelming at the best of times.

The only thing the bond demanded was her life. 

But what Snow had been feeling was softer than that. Yes, Red was hers. That would never go away, but there was more to it now, a tenderness in her heart for the human. Snow didn’t need her just to stay alive. She wanted her to, and that feeling was entirely Snow.

“Okay,” Red mumbled, looking down at her food but not eating. 

Snow stared at her for a few moments, waiting for an argument that never came. Red must have been feeling guilty over her ambush, Snow thought. 

It took twelve days. Red wasn’t perfect, but she was good enough that Snow couldn’t easily take her mind away, and that was a decent starting point. Snow could tell Red was getting antsy staying in the cabin and not being allowed to leave. So the next morning, she left, going back to her clan, back to the sea. She would see her mate again in another six long days.

CHAPTER 10

Red

FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO

Red was screwed. She was falling for Snow, despite all the attempts to keep her away. The evidence was there in the way her heart skipped a beat when she saw Snow, or the way her tension eased away when Snow showed up on her doorstep. The eagerness she always had to return to her cabin as often as possible, just in case. How jittery with anticipation she was leading up to the nights her mate came over, and how her stomach fluttered when she saw her.

That night six days ago was the first time Snow admitted to feeling the same, but Red couldn’t say the feeling was mutual. Not until it was safe. 

Red had to force herself to stay away, choosing to sleep in her seldom used room in the castle barracks while she waited for any mission to come up. They’d not been happy that she disappeared for twelve days without a word, so this also worked to placate her superiors. After the second day back, she was sent out on a mission with an estimated completion time of four days.

Red jumped on it, not even bothering to read the details, not that she’d have much of a choice either way. They told her to take a break the night she finished, then report for her next mission the morning after. The second one would be three days.

The consecutive missions were a blessing. Red had become too attached, she’d thought about Snow every single day they were apart. If she wasn’t careful, people might start to notice her distraction. It took her a while to realize how relaxed she’d become in Snow’s presence. 

It didn’t mean anything, she told herself at first. Just sex. That’s all a siren’s bond was. 

But she knew that wasn’t true. Red had researched as much as she could in The Red Queen’s library about siren’s and their bonding. It was intense, it was different for everyone, and it was much, much more than Red was willing to give. She also knew that if she rejected her mate, Snow would die, and she couldn’t bring herself to do that. 

As a result, she’d spent months trying her hardest to keep feelings out of it, to keep everything strictly physical. Even when Snow pushed to get to know her, she kept the details sparse and unwilling. It was only under force of magic that she’d divulge information, and Snow didn’t do that often. Only when she was particularly cagey about a topic. 

Red had royally fucked herself. 

If anyone found out about her feelings, they would both be in far greater danger. That was the reasoning which led her to the tavern on the sixth night instead of back to her cabin. The longer she put off seeing her mate, the less time she’d have to spend with her. It didn’t make it easier, but it was necessary.

Entering the crowded pub, Red glanced at the table in the furthest corner. At their usual spot sat Harlan, Collins, Calvin, and Pepper. She grabbed a drink at the bar then joined them, heading to the chair in the corner they always left open for her.

Red drank with them often. It built up her tolerance, but she could never keep up with the dwarves. Their physiology differed just enough for alcohol to have significantly less impact. By the time they were on their fourth round, Red had already started feeling her world tilt, dizziness clouding her vision while the dwarf brothers were still sober. 

Just in time for a familiar face to enter the tavern.

CHAPTER 11

Snow

FOUR AND A HALF YEARS AGO

Snow arrived at Red’s cabin at the usual hour. She’d gone by three times in the six days Red had been away, each time finding the cabin empty and the bed unused. When she found the cabin still empty, worry began to gnaw at her. 

For all her faults, Red had never been late for one of their meetings. She was alive—Snow would be dead if she weren’t. But Red’s work was dangerous. Thoughts of every possibility sprinted through Snow’s mind. 

Red had been sent on a mission. She could have been captured. She could be seriously injured. She could be locked in a dungeon somewhere. Those were the scary thoughts Snow tried to avoid when they were apart, but now that Red was late, she couldn’t keep them at bay. 

The other thoughts plaguing her mind were of heartbreak. What if Red was late because she was with someone else? What if she preferred them to Snow? She could end their bond at any time. Had Snow done something to upset her? She had pushed her luck keeping Red in the cabin for so long the last time, forcing her magic on her time and time again until Red could beat it sufficiently. 

Had Red decided that was too much? What if she never came back?

No. Snow couldn’t think that. Red was many things when it came to their relationship, but she had never been a coward. If she wanted to end it, she would. Which only left one other option; she was in danger.

The ever-present but distant tug Snow felt whenever she was apart from Red came into clearer focus now. She’d wondered for a while if it would lead her to her mate. Now, it was time for her to test it.

A pit settled in her stomach as the little dingy building came into sight. It was loud. Louder than she was used to experiencing in human areas. Though, she’d really only ever been inside Red’s cabin before, and that was a different type of loud. 

This noise was roaring with other humans, their laughter and yelling. A sour smell poured outside from the open windows. Despite the warm night air, Snow shivered. This would be the first time she’d been around so many of the land dwellers at once, in one of their buildings. She swallowed the lump in her throat, hands shaking as she reached for the doorknob. Snow steeled herself with the reminder that she was more powerful than every human in the building.

The door closed behind her, and a low whistle coming from the corner made her hair stand on end. She snapped her head toward the sound, and what she saw was the very last thing she expected. 

Red was sitting at a table with four of the largest humans Snow had ever seen in her life, and she was laughing with a drink in hand. The man beside her elbowed her and nodded his head in Snow’s direction, whispering something to her. 

Red followed his gaze and locked eyes with Snow. A smile crept slowly onto her face, her features lighting up. Without looking away from Snow, she replied to the man.

“Next round says she’ll pick me over you.” Red’s expression was mischievous as she looked away from Snow to shake the man’s hand. Another man across from her roared with laughter and hollered in response.

“Oh, Pepper, she doesn’t make bets she can’t win! Get your coin out now.” 

Red laughed and nodded in Snow’s direction. “Go on. I’ll give you a head start.” 

The man, Pepper, grumbled something Snow couldn’t hear before shoving Red’s shoulder as he stood up. Snow was about to step in to defend her mate, but then she saw that Red was laughing, watching the man walk up to Snow. 

Snow didn’t take her eyes off Red. Her mate turned to the man who’d yelled earlier and winked before turning her focus back to Snow then silently mouthed “Come here,” and tilted her head to the empty chair next to her. 

Without another thought, Snow started towards her, ignoring the approaching man entirely as she stepped around him to a burst of laughter from Red’s table. The man behind her made an indignant squawk and followed her when she sat beside Red. 

“Pepper,” Red addressed the man. “This is Snow. My partner.” There was a short silence around the table as everyone collectively dropped their jaws then quickly closed them again. 

Red seemed to find this much more comical than Snow did. She chuckled whilst Snow fidgeted in her seat, having realized with great significance what Red had just declared for anyone to hear. The man across from Red who’d yelled earlier recovered first.

“Harlan, nice to meet you.” The rest of them quickly followed suit, introducing themselves. Harlan turned to Pepper. “Told ya not to bet against her,” he joked, more subdued now but still jovial.

“You cheated,” Pepper grumbled beside her. Red grinned and did not look remorseful in the least.

“So, Red,” Harlan started, rubbing the back of his head awkwardly. “How long has this been going on, and, er, when were you gonna tell us?”

“‘Bout six months,” Red answered, ignoring even more shocked faces. She leaned back and threw her arm over the back of Snow’s chair. “I don’t think I was gonna tell you lot, but you got me drunk and she showed up. Couldn’t let her suffer through Pepper’s horrible come-ons, yeah?”

Pepper gave her a half-hearted glare while the rest chuckled lightly, still apparently shocked to discover Red had a partner, and kept it a secret for so long. 

“Now,” Red said in the most smug tone Snow had ever heard her use. “I believe Pepper owes us more drinks.”

“You cheated, so you have to order them,” Pepper declared, shoving coin into Red’s outstretched hand. 

“You never had ale, right?” Red asked Snow before she stood. 

“Why wouldn’t she have?” The man—Collins, Snow thought his name was—asked foolishly. 

“I don’t know many sirens that drink, do you?” The uncomfortable silence surrounding the rhetorical question told Snow the others had no idea she was a siren until that very moment. Snow elected to ignore them, focusing on Red.

“No. I haven’t.”

Red nodded and squeezed Snow’s shoulder, standing up without another word and stumbling over her chair before leaving Snow alone with the men to get them drinks. They all watched her walk unevenly to the bar before turning on Snow. She squared her shoulders and raised her chin, meeting their looks, daring them to say something.

“So,” Harlan said, unperturbed by her silent challenge. “A siren, huh? I assume that means you’re a little more than a partner, eh?” Snow didn’t react, which told them everything they needed to know. “Thought as much. Been wondering why… I think we owe you a thanks.”

Snow blanched, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “What?”

“Well, seems it’s been about six months since any of us have found her in a, er, life-threatening situation.”

“That happened often?” Snow already knew the answer.

“Like I said, not so much anymore. It’s nice to see her like this again.”

“Like what?”

“Happy.” He shrugged like the word wouldn’t throw Snow into such emotional turmoil. Red was happy because of her?

“Oh. No, that… It’s probably something else,” Snow answered immediately. It was suddenly too hot in this building.

“Why not?”

“Just… something someone told me.” Snow felt foolish even saying the words. She immediately wished she could take them back.

“Who told you what?” Pepper asked, looking angry even though Snow couldn’t understand why. She darted a glance to Red chatting with the barkeep. She wished Red would hurry up and get back so she could stop talking to them.

“Ariel told me she won’t love me.” Snow blurted out, unsure what else she could’ve told them after digging this hole so thoroughly. 

“Hah!” Harlan barked a laugh so loud it caused Red to turn from the bar and check on them briefly. “Don’t you listen to a word that mermaid says.” He leaned in conspiratorially before whispering. “She’s jealous she can’t have Red.”

“So they’re not… They never…” She didn’t want to speak the words aloud. To be honest, she didn’t even want the answer, but she needed to know now. Fortunately, she didn’t have to finish the thought.

“Oh, I’m sure she has,” Collins interjected, laughing. “Leave it to our Red to figure out how to manage that one! Put a pretty woman in front of her and she won’t say no—oof, hey!” Harlan elbowed Collins hard in an attempt to get him to shut his mouth, but it was too late. 

Snow tried to hide her reaction, keeping her clenched fists below the table so they couldn’t see, but her face was another story. She was an open book, and they could clearly read her.

She shouldn’t be letting something like this bother her still. She knew Red slept around—she’d always been open about that. Plus, she’d always been good about following Snow’s rules, even going so far as constantly reassuring Snow that no one would ever make her end their bond. She listened to and accepted Snow’s hold-ups, and agreed to mostly stick with humans.

Snow also knew none of the girls stayed like she did. That was another rule: flings were fine as long as it didn't evolve into more. Red agreed to never bring anyone to her cabin, or come on to anyone if Snow was near. 

Not that Red had much of a chance for the latter since they were still a secret and didn’t go places together. But something about it being the mermaid got to Snow. Collins cleared his throat, breaking her out of her haze.

“Sorry,” he muttered awkwardly, eyes darting away as he looked down at his empty glass.

Snow jumped when she felt a hand on her shoulder, only to relax when she recognized the touch.

“You all right?” Red’s soft voice came from right next to her. She nodded, sitting up taller, trying to school her features.

“Fine.” Red raised an eyebrow before glancing at everyone else at the table and seeing some obviously guilty faces.

“All right, what’d you fuckers say to her?” There was no anger in her tone, but Snow still noticed the men shift in their seats, glancing around as if none of them wanted to answer. 

In any other setting, Snow probably would have found this comical. Each of these men was at least double Red’s size, and yet Red made them cower with only her words.

“Collins told her you fucked Ariel!” Pepper blurted out. 

Collins’ eyes went wide. “Snitch!” he shot back, leaning over to hit Pepper’s arm.

Red laughed. “Oh, that’s all? Come on. I got you a drink, try it.” Red excitedly shoved the foaming mug into Snow’s hands.  

She hesitantly took it, looking it over and sniffing suspiciously before deciding to take a sip. The drink appeared to be the source of the sour smell she’d noticed earlier. Hopefully the alcohol would work the same way on her as it did on Red, making her forget that Red hadn’t actually denied being with the mermaid. 

The face Snow made was enough to tell Red she did not like alcohol. Red relieved her of the drink without making her drink more of it.

“Maybe you could give one of them that drink since they seem to be handling it better,” Snow murmured, poking at Red’s ale, not at all upset Red was spending what was supposed to be their night getting drunk.

“‘Cause they’re dwarves! Dwarves always hold their ale better. ‘S not fair!” Red griped, slurring a little and shoving the ale to the man beside her. 

“You’re not humans?” Snow looked at them more closely, trying to determine the difference. Aside from being significantly larger, Snow couldn’t see much difference. They all had the same light brown skin, two arms, two legs, two eyes, a nose, and a mouth. The dwarve’s eyes were all shades of brown, but Snow knew human eye color varied too.

“Of course not!” Pepper roared much too loudly, and Snow frowned. It was clear they were insulted, but Snow didn’t understand why. She thought it better to change the subject.

“If you’re not the same species, how do you know them?” Snow asked Red.

“They’re my brothers,” Red explained casually. Snow’s eyes grew wide. But Red only had three brothers, right? Was Snow actually meeting her mate’s family? How did that even work?

“But you’re a human, and they’re dwarves.”

“Yeah, well, is your whole clan blood sisters?”

Snow frowned. “No, sirens are made, not born.”

“Exactly. We might not be blood related, but we’re a family all the same.”

“Plus, we’re better than her real brothers!” Harlan roared with laughter. Red nodded solemnly in agreement. 

Snow had to bite her tongue before blurting out a question about the ones they called Red's real brothers. She was learning more about her mate right now than she had their entire time together so far. Aside from telling Snow they existed, Red had never talked about her family. Snow hadn’t thought to ask further, but now she hated that these dwarves knew more about her mate than she did.

She would have to inquire more, but not tonight. Tonight, Snow just couldn't seem to stop saying the wrong things around these people—her mate’s chosen family. Snow was beginning to believe she might die from discomfort when Red saved her by excusing them for the night. 

The brothers told Snow it was good to meet her and they hoped to see her again. Snow thought this was odd as she’d barely talked to them, and when she had, she’d inadvertently insulted them. She would take their declaration as a win regardless. If her mate's chosen family claimed to like her enough to want to see her again, then she certainly was not going to complain. 

Most of the frustration toward Red had dissipated. She felt lighter as they walked to the cabin. The night air had cooled to a more comfortable temperature, and the light of the moon illuminated their way. Snow linked arms with Red in a bold move, which Red allowed. Snow suspected this was mostly because Red kept stumbling over her own feet. 

Red went straight for her potions cabinet as soon as they got back to her cabin. She claimed she had one that would sober her up more quickly, which she needed before her mission tomorrow morning.

And there went Snow’s good mood. It had been six excruciating days, and now they only had mere hours before Red had to leave again. Why had she wasted almost their entire night if she had to leave the next morning? The peace Snow had when leaving the tavern was shattered. Now, she wanted to fight.

Then Red sauntered back over to her, looking the way she did, with a hunger in her eyes, and Snow decided she could stop thinking and try to enjoy their incredibly limited time together.

In the morning, when Snow caught Red trying to sneak out early, she could no longer hold her temper.

“So, you’re just going to leave without saying anything?” Snow all but yelled as Red’s hand touched the doorknob. Based on the speed with which Red whirled around and the widening of her eyes, she hadn’t expected Snow to be awake yet, hadn’t expected to see her standing in the bedroom doorway looking disheveled and heartbroken.

“I was trying to let you sleep… I told you I had a mission this morning.” Her excuse faltered. She looked like she hated herself for what she was doing, but then, why was she doing it? Snow didn’t respond, she just stared at Red in disbelief.

“Er, see you in a few days?” Red tried again, rubbing the back of her neck.

“That’s it?” Snow asked, biting her lip to keep it from trembling.

“What do you mean?”

“I mean last night…” Snow sighed, pinching the brim of her nose in frustration. “You were different. Almost loving. You introduced me to your family, and now it’s just ‘see you later’?” 

Red, at the very least, had the decency to look incredibly guilty and refused to meet Snow’s eyes as she answered the floor.

“I was drunk last night. I never planned on you meeting them.”

“That doesn’t make it better, Red!”

“I know, I know. I just… I have to go. You can stay here. I won’t be gone more than a few days.” She sighed, finally looking briefly at Snow before she practically ran away.  

The moment the door closed, Snow let out a frustrated scream and turned to fling herself back into bed, hoping it had all been a fucked up dream. 

She would stay. Waiting three days wasn’t the worst thing. Maybe she could even interrogate the dwarves to learn more about her mate and make them like her. Somehow, she knew their approval was important. 

When Red returned, they would fight, and she wouldn’t let her off the hook like all the other times, because this time hurt more. She’d shown Snow how kind and caring she could be. She’d opened up a part of her life previously hidden, and now Snow needed it all. There was no going back.

Staying was Snow’s mistake. That was how he got her.

CHAPTER 12

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice was frozen in place. She couldn’t move, she could barely breathe, and she definitely couldn’t speak. The siren’s magic swirled around Red, a shimmering cloud in the air surrounding her. None of it touched Alice. Red’s eyes had fogged over to a solid white lens, her body slackened against the wall. Was there any of her left? Alice worried.

The thought to run, to leave this cabin, didn’t even occur to her. Alice was still more afraid of the monsters outside than she was of the ones inside. At least Red had protected her, and Snow hadn’t actually harmed her. 

Alice knew all too well what could happen if she were found by something else. 

The siren’s nails sharpened into talons. Snow brought one claw up and sliced a thin line along Red’s chest. Alice gasped, and Snow turned to her as blood welled up in the cut.

“Don’t worry, darling,” Snow drawled. “She can’t feel anything but pleasure right now.” Then she chuckled to herself. “Though if she could feel the pain, she would like it.” Snow winked and turned back to Red before dipping her head and licking the blood from her chest. 

Alice’s eyes widened, and she took a hesitant step back. Was human blood siren food? She didn’t dare ask. She didn’t want the answer. 

When Snow grabbed Red’s chin and titled it up, kissing her viciously, Alice still couldn’t force herself to exit the perceived safety of the cabin. She stared wide-eyed in growing discomfort for longer than necessary before finally clearing her throat, interrupting the siren’s play. Snow turned her attention to Alice instead. 

“How does she get free?” Alice asked, voice small and scared. If Snow sensed her fear, she did nothing to set her at ease.

A conniving smile crossed Snow’s face. “She’ll be free when I release her.”

“Or I do.” A new voice cut through the air like steel, breaking the hold of Snow’s magic. Alice jumped, but Snow only rolled her eyes before turning to the source: the woman who had been carried back to the cabin, and the whole reason they’d stopped here in the first place. 

Aurora was awake. And she looked furious. 

“Oh, hello Aurora.” Snow smiled sweetly, her face and voice the picture of innocence. A low growl emitted from Aurora. Alice had never actually heard a person growl before and found it discomfiting. Darting a glance behind her, Alice made sure the door was still open, just in case she needed to make a run for it. 

“Told you she’d be pissed,” Red mumbled, slowly coming back to herself now that the siren’s hold was broken. Alice watched Red’s eyes clearing but her words slurred just enough to further rankle Aurora. Alice noticed Aurora’s eyes narrow, her nails turn more talon-like at Red’s slurred words. Great, Alice thought to herself, another siren.

“Yes, but you failed to mention she was here,” Snow commented, her posture still relaxed, her voice filled with sweet honey as if she wasn’t being threatened in any way. 

“Didn’t give me much of a chance,” Red answered lazily. Red hadn’t moved from her position against the wall. She was still trapped between Snow’s arms but looking calm as ever. Then, Aurora noticed the blood on her chest.

“You just got back,” Aurora hissed, words coming out like a threat. The sudden calmness in Aurora’s anger made Alice’s hair stand on end. To Alice’s immense surprise, no one seemed overly concerned by this. Red lolled her head to the side to look at Aurora for the first time, her view partially obscured by Snow’s arm. 

‘It’s fine, Rora.”

“Fine?” Aurora all but yelled, finally turning her wrath on the woman trapped between Snow’s arms. “I’m angry with you too, Red!”

Red let out a sharp laugh before pushing Snow’s arm out of the way and turning to face Aurora fully. 

“Oh you are, are ya?” Red crossed her arms. The tone of her voice made Aurora hesitate. “You wanna talk about where you were? Middle of the fuckin’ woods, passed out. You’re lucky I found you before something else did. Don’t even know why you thought you needed to leave the cabin anyway!”  

“I can handle myself. You know that.” Aurora sniffed, demurred but still holding on to some of her anger. Snow smirked. 

“Yeah, you handled yourself beautifully while I carried you all the fuckin’ way back here,” Red scoffed, rolling her eyes.

Aurora’s jaw clenched, and her eyes narrowed. When Red didn’t back down, Aurora flashed a wicked smile, and Alice watched the fog of magic fall over Red for a second time.

Red took a step back only to hit into a different type of wall. Snow was still behind her, apparently unwilling to let her escape. Alice almost turned tail to finally run when Snow’s hand snaked up, wrapping around Red’s throat, holding her in place. Then, Red shocked Alice by speaking, voice clear, not slurring her words this time.

“Really?” Red hissed through clenched teeth, fighting the magic more effectively than Alice had thought possible after Snow’s little display. “We have a guest.” Red jerked her chin towards Alice. Aurora snapped her head over, seeing Alice, whose presence she hadn’t registered through the anger. 

Alice remained stock still. Not as if she had been moving much to begin with, but now it was yet again impossible for her brain to properly communicate with her limbs. She had to admit, Red’s tactic was effective regardless of how much Alice hated being the center of attention of at least one very angry siren. The magic surrounding them faded away to nothing.

“Who is she?” Aurora snapped harshly, not taking her eyes off Alice. 

“Alice. She’s lost.”

“Lost.” Aurora scoffed in an unbelieving tone. Alice nodded as if her confirmation would somehow make anything about the situation better.

“I’m taking her to the village.”

“I just want to go home, please,” Alice whispered as Red pushed away from in between the sirens and started towards her. 

Alice shrank back, even though there had been many chances for Red to hurt her. She hadn’t. Yet. Moving away from the threat was a reflex, she couldn’t help it. Her steps made Red pause, and Alice thought she saw a flash of guilt cross Red’s face. Aurora grabbed Red’s arm, trying to pull her back but Red turned and gave her a hard stare. 

“She’s human, she’s not from here.” Red darted a quick look at Alice before lowering her voice. “Ches brought her over.” 

It was a single word, a name. And it completely shattered Alice. None of the others were paying attention to her anymore, for which she was grateful. Alice vaguely thought she heard one of the sirens reply, but it didn’t matter. 

She could no longer breathe, no longer speak, no longer think. 

She needed to focus. 

Focus on not collapsing, on not allowing them to learn the truth.

The truth. They were never just nightmares, never hallucinations, none of this was something created by a lost child.

It was all real. 

Earth shatteringly real. Every sordid detail. Alice had been a child when she was taken by the rabbit and tortured by Ches. Seven years old and her supposed nightmare was not just that.

A strange feeling overcame her as her reality collapsed in on itself. A single thought. 

I’m not crazy.

It was odd to feel vindicated in her fears and anxieties. Maybe she never needed the medication. There was nothing wrong with her. But that wasn’t true; she was still plagued by nightmares, still riddled with anxiety, and her diagnosis was still accurate. Whether the memories were real or not, it would always still be accurate. But now she knew the cause. 

Nothing had changed except the knowledge that it was all real. Real, and could easily happen again, was happening again. Just like that, Alice’s throat closed and breathing became a struggle. It was easy to recognize the physical symptoms of a panic attack, they weren’t uncommon, but that didn’t make managing them any easier. 

Now, Alice had the startling realization that she couldn’t take medicine to calm herself. She hadn’t brought them with her, but why would she when she was so positive none of this was real? Alice was hyperventilating. She didn’t notice that she’d grabbed onto a nearby chair for support. Didn’t notice the focus had shifted back to her. 

“Alice?” The voice was muffled, far away. She couldn’t place it. Closing her eyes, she tried to cut out everything until only her breathing was left. Counting the real things around her wouldn’t help now. It was the realness sending her into a spiral. 

“Do something!” The words cut like glass, interrupting her focus and forcing her to peel her eyes open. The siren was in front of her now, reaching out. The angry one, Aurora. But she didn’t look angry anymore, Aurora looked worried. 

Alice tried to scramble back, out of reach, but it was too late. A sudden calm flooded her body, and before long, she could breathe again. A warm hand wrapped gently around her bicep and guided her to sit. Alice felt lovely, like she was floating. Her medicine had never made her feel this good before.

“Alice?” The voice asked again, gentler now, softer. Alice tilted her head but couldn’t open her eyes. Her eyelids were too heavy. She sighed peacefully. There was nothing to worry about, she’d been so silly before. Everything was blissful and wonderful.

“You’re going too strong, pull it back.” A sharp voice cut through her bliss. Alice blinked rapidly. The floating feeling was disintegrating, but the calm stayed. When she focused, Aurora stood in front of her, a hand on her cheek. Alice leaned into the warmth, a comfort like she’d never felt before. 

“Still too strong.” The other voice said. Alice looked over Aurora’s shoulder to Snow, who looked serious now, no more playfulness in her expression. 

“I know how to use my magic,” Aurora snapped, looking over her shoulder.

“Alice, are you with us?” It was Red speaking now, her voice gentle with an undercurrent of concern. Alice nodded slowly, her whole body felt heavy.

“Rora, let her go,” Red ordered quietly, and with those words, the calm evaporated. Alice shook her head and quickly straightened in her chair. Aurora backed up, and Red stepped forward with her hands held up.

“You’re okay,” Red said quickly. Surprisingly, Alice’s panic didn’t return. The calm heaviness Aurora had evidently been instilling in her was gone, but so was the gripping fear, which had almost caused her to hyperventilate into unconsciousness.

“What just happened?” Alice asked, her voice shaky and uneven.

“I was about to ask you the same thing.”

“I—It was just a… a panic attack.” Alice winced. She’d been bullied for panic attacks in primary school. It was a weakness she didn’t like anyone to know about. 

“Why?” Red asked. It didn’t sound angry or mocking, she was genuinely curious. Alice had always wished panic could be a mystery to her.

“What did you do to me?” Alice snapped instead of answering.

“Don’t get angry,” Red replied sternly. “You were about to lose consciousness, so Aurora… took over. We didn’t know what else to do.”

Alice looked between the three of them. She’d never had anyone help her like that, save for Dianne.

“Why?” Alice asked, not bothering to hide her skepticism. People weren’t just nice for no reason.

“We didn’t know what else to do,” Red repeated, as if that might help Alice understand anything.

“No, why did you help at all? Why are you helping?” It was a valid question, and not just in regards to them calming her panic attack. 

Alice had seen the exact moment in the woods Red decided Alice wasn’t worth her time. Saw the change in her eyes from confusion to annoyance at Alice wasting her night. Alice was familiar with that change—the expression of someone giving up on her. And yet, here they were. Red, Snow, and Aurora were helping—had been helping—even though Red clearly hadn’t wanted to at first. So, what was the reason?

CHAPTER 13

Snow

THREE YEARS AGO

Snow wasn’t entirely sure how she’d ended up so thoroughly fucked. She’d left the cabin for a reason she couldn’t even remember now. Then everything went black. 

Stifling a groan as she came to, she tried to get a sense of her surroundings. She attempted to move only to find her arms were bound by thick rope and held in the firm grasp of unfamiliar and rather large hands.

Her head pounded and her feet dragged as her limp body was carried. Two large dwarves were on either side of her, and she could hear others behind them. They thought they had the upper hand, but she was awake now. 

They were still in the forest somewhere. She could see trees through her blurred vision.

“Siren magic doesn’t work on dwarves, sweetheart.” One of them chuckled when she sent her magic singing through the air, trying to force them to release her.

“Let me go!” she growled, but her captors ignored her. 

There was nothing more she could do except struggle uselessly against her binds, but that would tire her out. She needed to save her energy and wait for them to slip up, so she let her feet continue to drag. She would not make this easy for them.

They tromped through the woods for what must have been half the day, maybe longer. Snow fell in and out of consciousness, but she could tell they were far from the safety of Red’s cabin. 

She couldn’t feel the sea’s usual proximity. The forest had grown denser and more imposing, a crumbling stone wall coming into view in the distance. 

Crows cawed, their shadowy figures appearing as they gathered atop the wall. A dense fog surrounded them as they crossed into a field and stopped before a large labyrinth. 

Figures cloaked in fog lurked just inside the maze, murmuring indistinct pleas but not approaching. Snow’s skin prickled, a shiver running down her spine. A bone-deep chill seeped into her making her queasy. 

A strange man emerged from the fog, walking toward them and the dwarves threw Snow to her knees in front of him. An unnatural magic crept up her legs, vining around her limbs and leaving her with the odd sensation of being held in place by plants. It pulled taut against her skin, binding her to the ground. 

The labyrinth walls loomed on either side, spanning as far as the eye could see. Behind her the forest remained, stalled in its tracks as though afraid to come any closer. 

“Ah, Snow.” The man in front of her greeted, bringing her wandering attention back to him. 

He was much smaller than the dwarves who’d brought her here. Something about him set her on edge. She could tell he was dangerous, despite the lightness in his voice and the wide, exposed smile. His large eyes were too sharp. He was a predator, and she was not used to being prey. The power he exuded was a magic unfamiliar to her.

“I’m so happy to finally meet you.”

“How do you know me? What is this?” Snow snapped, trying her best to sound threatening and letting her anger take the lead. 

There was a mischievous twinkle in his eyes as he responded, as though she’d just unwittingly entered into a game with him. A game which he’d already won.

“You are here because we have a… friend in common.” His gaze pierced her, widening slightly as he forced the word “friend.” “I’d like to have a chat with her, but she’s been rather hard to get to lately.” 

Snow stared at him, a horrible feeling creeping over her. She knew exactly what his next words would be. 

“I believe you know her as Red.”

Snow sucked in a breath and his smile widened.

“Yes, you do know who I’m talking about.” He paused. “You see,” he continued conversationally, “she’s been causing quite a bit of trouble for me over the last several years. I’ve tried sending distractions. I tried to make her see reason, force her to realize she shouldn’t mess with me. But sadly,” he sighed, “It didn’t work. I made her a monster.”

“What did you do to her?” Snow breathed, her voice quiet but clear as day.

“Well, I tried many things.” He waited, and Snow nodded slowly. She wasn’t sure if she actually wanted to know what he’d done to her mate, but she didn’t have a choice. She needed to know.

“I killed her sister. Oh, don’t look like that. I learned my lesson. I thought she might get the message if she lost someone she loved dearly, but it had the opposite effect. Don’t get me wrong, it worked for a few months. She spent all her time drinking, fighting, fucking, and letting sirens have their way with her. But then something changed. She still did all those things, of course. As you know. But she also started getting closer to a secret which I simply cannot let her have.” 

He narrowed his eyes at Snow, looking at her dangerously.

“But now you’re here.” His voice sounded happy, delighted even, despite the anger in his expression. “And you can help me.”

Snow stared at him, shock written plain across her face. “You expect me to help you? I’ll never hurt her.”

“No, no, no.” He waved his hands looking off into the distance. “Your help is much more passive. She will come to collect you, and I’ll talk her into a deal she cannot refuse.”

“And if she doesn’t come?”

“I left a note.” He continued looking into the distance, his eyes growing vacant before he popped loudly out of existence entirely. 

Snow jumped, or she would have jumped if she were capable of still moving her body. He was definitely not human, then. Her head swiveled side to side, but there was no sign of the strange man anywhere. Only her guards remained, and they hadn’t reacted to his disappearance at all. 

She had to get out of here. There was no telling what he would do when Red didn't show up. All magic had its limits. She could fight it. At least, she should be able to fight it, but the magic around her was no longer tangible. The vining sensation she'd experienced had dissipated, but the effects remained. 

The sun was setting. She could escape under the cover of night. If she could slip the binds, beating the guards would be easy. Then, she only had to find her way back to the sea. After several minutes of trying to move her limbs and failing, one of the dwarves beside her grunted, and she looked up at him.

“Ya won’t be able to move so long as his magic is on ya.”

“Then why are you here guarding?” She hissed back.

“In case it stops.” He shrugged and promptly went back to ignoring her.

A loud popping startled Snow awake. Her entire body ached. She tried to stretch her arms out before meeting resistance, suddenly much more alert as she remembered where she was. The feeling of the two guards beside her was ever present now, as well as the same man from before—now staring at her. 

His piercing eyes looked right through her as his head slowly tipped in one direction, then swiveled past the point it should’ve been able to go.

“I’ve been rude,” he started after an uncomfortably long time, his voice vacant and his eyes slowly refocusing on Snow. “I know you, but you don’t know me,” he explained. His voice returned to the shrill sound Snow quickly learned to despise.

Lack of a proper introduction felt like the least rude thing in the world after being kidnapped and held hostage.

“My name is Ches.” He tipped his eccentric top hat and bowed until his head was where his feet should be and his feet were up in the air. 

Snow couldn’t hold in her gasp as he let out a high-pitched laugh that grated on her ears. A cold dread gathered in the pit of her stomach. She knew this name. Of course she knew. How could she not, with so many working for him and so many fearful of him?

Her clan had been taught for generations to stay away from him. He was a being of an old, ancient magic, a monster. She should have known.

“What are you going to do to me?” she asked after he’d righted his position, fear seeping into her tone.

“Why, I’m not going to do anything to you, dear. Weren’t you listening earlier?”

“Then why am I here?”

“I already told you.” He clicked his tongue impatiently. “You’re here because I need to speak with your mate.” He bit out the last word aggressively, and Snow flinched internally. “If you’d like to consider your presence here as bait, that would be apt.” He cocked his head, thinking very seriously with his brows knitted together. “You could also think of yourself as leverage, whichever you prefer.”

He plastered on a smile so wide Snow thought it would exceed the confines of his face. 

“You have nothing to fear from me. I’ve tried to have this chat before, as I told you already. It didn’t work. But I learned! I believe you’re the key to controlling her.” 

“It won’t work!” Snow spat the words like venom, pouring every ounce of her frustration into them. “She doesn’t care about me.”

She didn’t know exactly how Ches planned to “chat” with her mate, but she didn’t want to find out. It would be absolute torture if Red showed up to retrieve her, and she had to sit idly by, helplessly watching as he hurt her. She couldn’t stand the idea. More than anything, she wanted Red to love her back, but not if it meant risking her life.

Ignoring her claims entirely, Ches pulled out a pocket watch and checked the time before snapping it shut.

“She should be here any second.” His voice was a song that became a threat in Snow’s ears.

As soon as the words left his mouth, the two dwarves guarding Snow dropped, an arrow protruding from each of their backs, perfectly placed through their hearts. She watched Ches’s smile change to something like excitement as a positively murderous look settled over his features.

“She’s here,” he sang with delight, turning Snow with the flick of his wrist so she could see just how wrong she’d been. “Now the fun can begin.”

Standing at the end of the field closest to the forest was her mate, a new arrow already nocked. Before Snow could even react to her arrival, Ches whistled. It was a low, sickly sound that radiated uncomfortably throughout her body. Her chest tightened, and she forgot how to breathe.

“Have you ever watched her fight?” he whispered as four giant inhuman soldiers climbed over the labyrinth wall, stalking towards Red. “She’s marvelous. The Red Queen knows what she’s doing when she trains her weapons. I’d love to have her join my collection.”

He gripped Snow’s face as she tried to turn away, not wanting to see what came next as the soldiers approached. They were at least twice the size of her mate and bristling with spears. 

“Watch,” he hissed, tightening his grip as she fought against it. 

By the time Snow finally stopped fighting and looked, Red had already shot down two of the approaching soldiers, quickly exchanging her bow for her sword as the others got too close. They were fast for such lumbering beings, but her mate was faster. 

She ran for the closer one, sliding toward him, sword outstretched and striking his legs. When he fell, she struck like lightning along his neck, slicing halfway through then whirling to face the next one. 

The last soldier standing was a tougher fight. He attacked first, forcing her into a defensive position. Snow hated to agree with Ches, but she had to admit Red was an incredible fighter.

She deflected each blow the guard threw at her with practiced ease. She didn’t even look out of breath, though it was hard to tell from a distance. No part of Red slowed or faltered, and Snow realized with a start, she wasn’t actually on the defensive. 

She was waiting.

In the blink of an eye the tempo changed, and Red attacked, striking with a well-placed cut to his midsection, which he’d left unguarded. While he was distracted, she flicked a dagger from her wrist into his neck. Blood poured from the wound, and he dropped while she stabbed him straight through his heart. 

Bending down to pull the dagger from his throat, Red didn’t see the fifth soldier appear behind her, spear raised. Snow tried to yell out to her, but Ches clamped his hand over her mouth.

“Shh, shh. Don’t worry your pretty head. They won’t kill her. This is just a game,” he whispered soothingly.

“What?” Snow’s whimper muffled by the hand. 

She couldn’t tear her gaze from the scene unfolding before her. It felt like it happened in slow motion. The soldier struck with their spear, but Red narrowly avoided it slicing through her, the blade catching only the side of her arm. All that seemed to do was enrage her as she threw herself at the soldier.

“Oh, she made a deal with the Jabberwock. I can’t kill her and my magic doesn’t work on her. Very annoying really, but that’s why I have you now.” 

Snow barely heard him, but she wouldn’t have understood even if she had. Red had just taken down the last guard and was stomping her way over to them.

“Always one for an entrance,” he called cheerfully, as if he wasn’t the one who’d called the fighters. He stood up and removed his hand from Snow’s mouth. 

She was close enough now that Snow could see the death grip she had on her sword, turning her knuckles white, and her jaw clenched tight as she ground out her demand.

“Let. Her. Go.” Red ordered, punctuating each word with another step toward them. Unfortunately, Ches was closer. Snow felt a blade, oddly hot against her throat, and watched as Red froze mid step, her eyes widening with panic.

“Ah, ah, ah. Not so fast.” 

“What do you want?” Red spat, eyes darting between the knife on Snow’s throat and Ches. 

“I want a lot of things, my dear. You’ll have to be more specific.” He smiled calmly. “Are you meaning to ask what I want in exchange for her life?”

“Obviously.”

“You thought she didn’t care,” he purred, caressing Snow’s cheek with his free hand, then looking back at Red. “It’s quite cruel of you to make her think she doesn’t have your heart. You see, she was under the impression you wouldn’t come for her.”

“And yet, here I am,” she said. He tilted his head to each side, staring at her unblinking. “Now, what do you want?” 

“You know, I have heard actions speak louder than words, and it seems like words aren’t your forte…” He pressed the knife tighter against Snow’s throat. Red tensed but didn’t move, didn’t speak. Ches smiled. “Good. You understand what’s at stake. Now drop your weapons.”

Red let her sword fall to the ground in front of her and removed her bow from her shoulder, dropping it beside the sword. 

“All of them.” Chess narrowed his eyes, watching as one by one she removed every weapon strapped to her body. She glared at him as the last dagger fell clanking onto the pile.

“Happy?”

Ches was delighted.

“Knees,” he sang, laughing as Red dropped to the ground. Ches’s magic whipped through the air and bound her there. She didn’t even struggle as control of her limbs was taken away. Her eyes were firmly on Snow, an unspoken apology in them.

“You have me, now let her go. She doesn’t need to be a part of this,” Red pleaded. Anger still laced her words, but there was also a hint of desperation.

“Oh, Red.” Ches sighed. He looked at her, his voice full of mock pity. “You know I can’t do that. We’re going to make a deal.”

“We can make a deal without her.”

“She is the deal.” He smiled, watching her expectantly, but this time she refused to give him anything. Sighing again, he continued. “I will not harm her, on the condition that you agree to just one simple request.”

“What?”

“Let’s play a game!” Ches exclaimed suddenly, clapping his hands in front of him, dagger gone from his hands, his face was alight with mischief.

Red narrowed her eyes. “That’s your deal?”

“No, but I’m bored.” Ches pouted. He moved away from Snow and floated around, closer to Red, without touching the ground. 

“Do you have any idea how dull it is to live for centuries? No, you wouldn’t. And then you come along bearing the Jabberwock’s mark and stealing my playthings. Life had finally become interesting, but it was so easy to break you.” He gave a dramatic flourish of his wrist, but he sounded disappointed.

“Your attempts to kill me were entertaining for a while, but you got too close. If I ever die, it’s certainly not going to be at the hands of some… human.” He spat the word like some distasteful thing. Circling Red and floating higher, he relaxed, almost lying down in midair. “I admit, finding an adequate distraction for you was a challenge,” he continued, casually. “It was the most fun I’ve had in a long time, but I never quite got it right. Nothing truly made you stop.” He turned his gaze on Snow now, head tilting unnaturally, a wicked look in his eyes.

“Would you like to know which distraction was most successful? Other than you, of course. But I didn’t make you happen, so it doesn’t count.”

Snow looked at Red who, for once, wasn't meeting her eyes. She wasn’t looking at Ches either, she was simply staring down at the ground, hiding any expression. Snow sucked in a breath. Red didn't want Snow to know what had so thoroughly distracted her. 

Because it would hurt her? 

She narrowed her eyes, trying in vain to read the woman’s body language, her face, her mind, anything that could prepare her for what Ches was about to say. Then she realized. The only possible reason Snow would be upset by the distraction was because⁠—

“It was a siren,” Snow answered, her voice hollow. Red’s eyes flicked up briefly to meet hers, another silent apology in them, before returning to the ground. 

Ches’s gleeful laughter was shrill in her ears and Snow winced. 

“Oh, and not just any siren, my dear.” His voice was too chipper, too excited, and Snow realized what was about to happen before Red did. Her eyes grew wide as she watched a figure prowling up behind her mate.

Red must have sensed the woman approaching because she stiffened and her head snapped up, shooting Ches the most venomous look Snow had ever seen. When the siren came into view, Snow couldn't help but let out a quiet curse. Of every siren, why did it have to be that one?

“I was wondering,” The siren purred, running her hand through Red’s hair and keeping it there. “Who could have possibly cost me my favorite toy.” She looked down at Red now, pulling her hair back, forcing her face up to look at her. “I missed you, love,” she whispered, just barely loud enough for Snow to hear it.

Snow couldn’t bring herself to respond, too shocked to speak. A memory rushed to the forefront of her mind: her sister warning their clan not to touch a human she was seeing, and Snow taunting her for it. Snow hoped their time with Red hadn’t overlapped, but was trying not to dwell on that thought.

“Don’t touch her!” Snow spat at her sister, finally snapping out of her shocked haze and finding her voice again. The words only seemed to delight the siren as she gripped Red’s hair tighter, making her wince.

“Do you find it funny?” she asked, finally looking toward Snow with a malicious glint in her eye. “That I told you to stay away from my human. And look what you went and did? Poor Snow. I tried to warn you.”

“Why is she even here?” Red snapped at Ches. It was the first time she'd spoken since the siren had arrived, and Snow couldn't have been more pleased with the anger in her tone. 

Ches, who had been enjoying watching the proceedings, laughed. “I told you I wanted to play a game.”

“What’s the game?” Red ground out, fully ignoring the siren’s other hand now tracing small circles on her shoulder.

“Well, I think it's only fair, since she was supposed to be the one to control you, that we give her one last chance to try. Wouldn't you agree?” He mockingly pouted, gripping Snow’s face so she couldn't speak.

“I like that game,” the siren purred, hand snaking its way around Red's throat without applying any pressure.

"I think three years should have been enough time to figure out that Ti wasn't right for the job,” Red sneered in reply, and Snow saw anger flash across her sister’s face before her hand tightened around her mate's throat.

“Do you want to hear something fun, love?” Ti said, her voice surprisingly calm despite the fire burning in her eyes. "The only reason we’re even here now is because you messed up. If you hadn't left me, we never would have found out about the bond you have with my sister.”

“That was months ago,” Red spat. "Why now?”

“We had to make sure it was real.” Ches was giddy. Snow could hear it in his voice despite not being able to see him. “Had to know you wouldn’t come crawling back to her. There were eyes on you, you know. We watched you get comfortable. After that, it wasn’t hard to figure out the way in.”

“Then you should know she still can’t control me,” Red snapped viciously. The next sound was her pained whimper as the siren’s sharp claws pierced fragile skin.

“Let her go!” Snow cried. She wanted it to sound threatening, but it came out more pleading. The fear she was trying to hold in came out through her words. “Stop fucking touching her!”

“Oh, feisty. Is she always this jealous?” her sister taunted, looking down at Red. She didn’t wait for a response before continuing. “I’m only here to finish what I started.”

Snow didn’t know what their relationship had been, didn't want to know or think about it at all, to be perfectly honest. She only hoped her sister was not intending to kill her mate. Really, she would have preferred Ti not to touch Red at all, but given Snow’s current restraints, she was powerless to stop it.

Droplets of blood were now pooling around the siren’s nails and beginning to drip down Red’s throat. Red hadn't spoken a word since the pressure had increased, but she also hadn’t taken her eyes off Snow. 

There was no real pain showing on her face. Her expression was blank, but her eyes were giving Snow the world. She was sorry, she shouldn't have let this happen, she didn’t know, it was her fault. Snow understood it all, forgiving her for every fault already.

Then, Ti knelt behind her mate and licked the blood off her neck, and Snow knew in that moment she was going to kill her sister. Rip her stupid head right off her sorry body and discard it like she was nothing. 

A blinding rage consumed her entire being, fire lighting up her insides, until she was brought back by Red’s voice. Quiet, slow, and filled with a rage that hadn't left her since she'd shown up in this realm to save Snow.

“Get your fucking claws out of my neck before I cut every single finger off your hand.”

Ti let out a groan of desire. “I love it when you talk dirty to me,” she whispered before removing her hand from Red’s throat, then biting down on her shoulder hard. When Ti let go and looked back up at Snow, her eyes were alight with lust, and her mouth was dripping blood. 

“I almost forgot how good she tastes.” She winked at Snow, bending her head back down to kiss the bite.

“I will kill you,” Snow promised, and her sister gave a delighted laugh.

“Well, then. I suppose I should enjoy my life while I still can.” The siren turned to face Red again, shifting around in front of her but not blocking Snow’s view of what she was doing. 

Taunting her. She met Red’s warning glare with a wicked smile. One hand still tangled in the woman's hair she brought her face closer and crashed their mouths together. The kiss was so violent it looked like they were fighting. 

A moan escaped from someone, and Snow couldn’t tell who it was until she saw blue dripping down the side of their lips and her sister tore away. They were both breathing hard, but now the corner of Red’s lip twitched upward before she spat a glob of the siren’s blood at their knees.

“You little…” But whatever the siren was about to say, about to do, was cut off by a harsh sound from behind Snow. One, two, three claps in slow succession.

“You failed, my dear.” Ches's voice stilled the siren where she was. “And now it’s only blood and threats and I’ve grown bored.” 

His words were casual, spoken in an almost uncaring tone, but they all understood the meaning behind them. Bore the magician and you're given two choices: run or die. They waited to see which option Ti would be given. 

“We’re done with this game. Leave.”

Ti released Red immediately and stood, nodding once and turning to go. Red called out to her.

“If I see you again, I’ll kill you.” The siren faltered in her steps but didn't turn back, rushing away from the scene, and from Ches’s boredom.

“I suppose you're ready for my deal now.” Ches sighed. The drama was gone and the minutiae had returned. Even though he was the one who’d dismissed the drama. 

“Yes.” Red gritted her teeth, eyes on him.

“You are to never step foot in my realm again.” 

“That’s all?” Red asked, eyebrow raised, evidently waiting for the catch. 

Ches’s smile never wavered, and he let her consider the implications it brought. Red was silent for a long time, too silent. Snow started shifting where she was, as much as she could at least. What was taking so long? It seemed simple enough to her. Why would Red ever come back here anyway?

“Fuck. I can’t refuse a mission.” Red finally answered, looking down, her voice so quiet Snow almost missed it. 

Then her heart shattered. It was the very first thing Red had ever said to her about their bond. She wouldn’t change her whole life for her, and now Snow understood the full scope of Ches’s request. There would be no possible way for her to honor the deal and keep her post with the queen. 

“That’s not my problem. Do we have a deal, or have I overestimated her worth?”

“You will not harm her. Ever. Release her back to me now and don’t come after her again.” Snow’s head snapped up, tears welling in her eyes as she looked toward Red. Red’s only focus was on Ches. He laughed.

“I don’t think you’re in a position to make demands. If I release her, how will I be able to keep you in check? Perhaps I should keep her, just to provide you with incentive to be on your best behavior.”

“Your magic is all you need to seal the deal, but sure, I’ll play your little game. If you keep her, I will not rest until everyone under your hold is freed. I’ll make as many deals as I need to until I can ensure every single living creature's protection from you. Your reach will end. Your realm will be in ruins. And if you still try to keep her away, I’ll release the Jabberwock and we’ll finally get to see who the stronger Old Magician is, once and for all.”

“You wouldn’t dare.” His voice was low, eyes narrowing.

Red snarled. “If you take her from me, I will gladly watch the world burn.”

Snow heard Ches’s many teeth grinding against each other, and she knew Red had him. Snow would be freed.

“Fine,” he spat at her. “She goes back with you, unharmed, but you will never step foot in my realm for the rest of your life.”

Red gave a single curt nod. “Deal.”

Ches laughed gleefully, despite his earlier vexation. It was Red who’d lost the game. Red who’d shown her hand and been backed into a corner. A brief sting of unfamiliar magic engulfed them, and then both Red and Snow were released from their hold, free to go.

The deal was done. They were now magically bound to uphold their respective ends of the bargain. Ches vanished with a loud pop and laughter that didn’t sit right in their ears. 

Despite it all, Snow couldn’t be happier. Red had chosen her. She’d changed her whole life to keep Snow safe, and all her previous behaviors suddenly clicked into place. Every time she’d pushed her away, every time she’d acted like she didn’t care, it was all to keep this very situation from happening. Of course, now the details of their partnership would need to be drastically altered, but Snow had a feeling she would prefer the new arrangement.

CHAPTER 14

Snow

TWO YEARS AGO

Snow was happy. In the months following their ordeal with Ches, Red quit the queen’s service in a rather spectacular fashion. No one had ever done it before, and the queen didn’t take kindly to her only weapon who could deal with Ches being the first. 

Red admitted that she believed Ches had meant for the queen to execute her for the departure, but he’d vastly underestimated how much the queen valued Red. Instead, the queen tried to kill Snow.

They spent many months seeing very little of each other, as Red decided Snow needed to be hidden away while Red hunted down all the would-be assassins. When the queen kept sending more, Red knew she had to take more drastic measures. Red not only took out each assassin sent for Snow, but she also snuck back into the castle in the night and delivered the dead assassins directly on the front steps—presents to be discovered in the morning.

They stopped coming after the fourth one.

As a result of Red’s sacrifice for their bond, Snow felt it was only fair to tell her clan about the bond, providing her sister, Ti, hadn't already ruined the secret. She would soon have more time to spend with her mate now, after all. She certainly wasn’t going to pass it up. 

Unsurprisingly, her clan didn’t take the news well. But they didn’t try to execute her, either. It had come as a true surprise to them, and Snow was most shocked that her sister had kept the secret. They decided, because of the bond, she should be exiled from her clan. She was warned that if she were ever spotted in their territory again, she would be considered an enemy and treated as such. 

It was a difficult time for both of them. Red struggled to adjust to losing her position with the queen and adding a new person to her household permanently. Snow had a hard time with no longer being a part of a clan, no longer having a family. The new rules of their relationship were discussed almost daily.

They fought often.

Fights frequently ended with Red leaving the cabin for the night and Snow crying herself to sleep. Red had never had to handle a relationship like this, one where she was depended upon with no ulterior motives. She’d never had a partner who loved her with every fiber of their being. It was intense, and she didn't know how to do it. Predictably, she wasn’t good at it in the beginning. 

After a fight, they always made up in the morning, but Snow still had little control over the bond, which amplified emotions during times of distress. Red learned early on that Snow needed constant assurances and expressions of love. 

It took time for Red to acclimate to this, but soon she provided them easily—the affirmations–and Snow melted at every single one, but it always took a little more after she disappeared for the night.

About six months later, they had finally fallen into their rhythm. Two years after that, they were stronger than ever. Their life was calm, things had settled. Red had found a new way to make coin—she was an expert potion maker, and Snow helped grow and gather ingredients. They’d figured out a new neutral sea area for Snow to visit and how often she needed to stay there. 

Red loved Snow, she truly did, but she relished the times the siren returned to the sea. They were the only times where she felt like she could just be, with no worries. 

Everything was good. Nothing could hurt them now.

CHAPTER 15

Red

PRESENT DAY

Alice had asked why Red was helping her. And it was a valid question, why was Red helping? She didn’t know.

Because no one should be subjected to the horrors he would put them through? Because even Red didn’t know what all he was capable of doing, what he was capable of taking? 

No, Red helped because she had to. And, as much as she didn’t want to think about it, the air of innocence surrounding Alice reminded her of Marian. Poor, sweet Marian, who didn’t deserve any of what she got, who had been scared and alone just like Alice was now. 

Even with the risk it posed, Red couldn’t just leave her. After what happened to Marian, she couldn’t leave anyone else to Ches, not if there was something she could do to help without risking Snow. But how could she explain that to Alice, this girl who was already terrified and so far from any sense of comfort or familiarity, from friends or family. Red knew Alice wouldn’t be able to handle that explanation.

“I’m nice,” was the ground out response Red settled on, uttering the words in a way that she hoped wouldn’t brook any follow-ups. To doubly ensure that, before Alice had a chance to respond, she followed up with, “Can you walk?”

“Yes.”

“Let’s get you to The Village then,” Red said, pushing up from her kneeling position in front of Alice and walking to the door. She turned when she got to the front and saw Alice hadn’t moved. 

“We should go now, Alice,” Red ordered more sternly, snapping the woman out of her stupor. Alice looked between Snow and Aurora, who had almost immediately begun bickering about Aurora’s use of her magic. Scrambling out of her chair, Alice rushed over to Red. If the woman wasn’t so terrified, Red would have found her eagerness to get away from the sirens funny. 

They did not get very far from the cabin before Alice broke their silence with a whisper.

“Are they going to be ok by themselves?”

“Who?”

“Snow and Aurora… They looked ready to tear each other’s throats out before…” Alice trailed off.

Red chuckled lightly. “They’re going to come with us, and they’re going to behave,” Red answered, saying the last part louder and with more force.

“We always behave,” a voice drawled to Red’s left. Alice jumped at the sound. Red scoffed in disbelief. It took everything in her not to roll her eyes.

“So, you’re both sirens?” Alice asked awkwardly, looking to Aurora who had come up on their right. 

“It would seem,” Red started, mildly amused. “You’ve chosen to put your faith in dangerous creatures.”

“Yeah, but you’re all helping me.” Alice said, as if that meant anything.

“How do you know we’re not leading you to a trap?” Snow asked with a wicked smile on her face, provoking Alice.

“Because you’ve been nice,”  Alice whispered.

“Two of the three of us came very close to killing you,” Red helpfully pointed out. 

“But you didn’t. And you helped me already. I don’t think someone would do that if they were going to trick me later,” Alice argued, her voice small. Red felt a little guilty for her comments. Not that they weren’t entirely inaccurate, Alice had chosen very dangerous creatures to stick with.

“Hm,” Red responded, noncommittal. “Ah, almost forgot. Rora, you took the potion this time, right?” Red asked. Without it, there was no telling when she’d lose consciousness again, and with what they were doing, no good could come from that. 

“Yes.” Aurora sniffed. “You could make it taste better.”

“Is that why you’ve not been taking it?” Red practically yelled, rounding on her. “Are you fuckin’ kidding me, Rora?” Aurora at least had the grace to look guilty. Red sighed and shook her head. “If you’re not gonna take them regularly, the least you can do is stay home when you don’t.”

“What does the potion do?” Alice piped up, saving Aurora from responding.

“It helps me not succumb to the curse.”

“How?”

“What do you mean, how? It’s a fuckin’ potion,” Red snapped. Aurora’s refusal to take care of herself had instantly set off Red’s mood.

“I mean, is it just like a cure-all or is it medicine for her specific…curse?” Alice asked, subdued and hesitant. 

“It’s specific.”

“Oh.” The quiet reply was the only thing Red got, then Alice was silent.

They were almost to The Village by the time Alice spoke again.

“How are we going to find someone to help me when it’s the middle of the night? Won’t everyone be asleep?”

“Not everyone can sleep around a full moon, Alice,” Red answered simply before nodding in front of them. Lights from The Village had begun shining through the trees. 

“Oh.” Alice sounded taken aback. “It’s a tavern.” 

The Village was the name of a small, rather average-looking tavern on the outskirts of town. The lights they could see from the woods were mostly what shone through the open windows. There were candles on all the tables inside and fae-magicked light orbs floated near the ceiling illuminating the inside enough to see. The lighting was lowered in the night to hide some of the less savory folks who came around at that time, like the group walking up to the doors currently.

Laughter and light chatter poured from inside as Red reached the door and pushed it open. Stepping over the threshold, followed by Snow then Aurora and Alice, she almost laughed. It was comical, the immediate tapering of conversations, the sudden full, fearful attention of the fae behind the bar. 

Everyone who frequented The Village knew Red coming to the tavern alone might end in trouble, but Red coming to the tavern—on a full moon night—with her sirens, could only end in violence. Red slowly scanned their surroundings, ignoring the reaction of the room.

“Not out for trouble now are you, lass?” A voice boomed from the corner. Red’s lip twitched up as she turned to face the man.

“And if I am?” she asked in reply, a cocksure grin gracing her features. 

“Best not do it here, eh?”

In a flash, Red withdrew one of her throwing knives attached in a holster on her wrist and flung it at the man, lodging the knife into the beam directly beside him. 

Behind her, Alice gasped as the rest of the patrons roared with laughter. Red couldn’t help but join in before walking to the table and pulling her knife out of the beam.

“Oh yeah, that was real nice of you!” he hollered, adding his own reverberating laugh. The tavern noises returned to normal as Red winked and sat in the open chair next to him. 

“It needs sharpening, ‘sides, I didn’t get ya.” She laughed, tossing him the knife then turning to make sure the rest of their little group had followed. Snow slid into the seat beside her while sneaking a quick glare at Aurora, who had the forethought to place Alice between them.

Alice didn’t look happy about that development, but it would ensure Snow and Aurora couldn’t continue their argument, not comfortably at least. Red was surprised Alice hadn’t asked about Snow and Aurora, about what their deal was. The woman had certainly seemed curious enough. She chalked it up to Alice simply being too afraid to ask.

CHAPTER 16

Aurora

TWO YEARS AGO

Unbeknownst to the couple saying their goodbyes on the beach, Aurora was hidden behind a large cluster of boulders along the shoreline, fighting back nausea as they held each other in a lingering embrace. It was as though this was the last time they’d see each other. 

Then again, she thought smiling to herself, if her plan worked, it would be. Well, the last time they saw each other safe and happy at least. Despite their disgusting display, nothing could dampen her excitement.

This mission had been years in the making. Her leaders had rejected her appeal time and time again, and each rejection only pushed her to train harder, to be better. Their enemy’s strongest warrior wouldn’t be easy to beat, but it was worth the effort. Snow had killed countless of their own—her sisters, her friends, her lovers. 

She craved revenge.

When she’d asked most recently, her leaders had given her the worst news. Snow had been ousted. She was now exiled, an enemy of her clan. On her own, she would no longer be coming after them. Which meant, she was no longer worth the risk.

Aurora was crushed. She begged and pleaded. She couldn’t accept that she’d put in all that work for nothing. It had taken over a year for them to agree to send her out for this kill. 

They’d only given her a measly two weeks. If she could not get it done in that time, she was to come home immediately and forget about pursuing this issue further. She had one shot.

The hardest part had been finding them. 

None of the usual sources had heard anything about the other siren since the banishment. Wherever she was, and whomever she was with, they were keeping a very low profile. Two days into her search, she gave in and went to the mermaids. Her deadline was too near to waste any time. She usually preferred keeping the mermaids out of her dealings—they were terrible gossips—but this time that fact might work in her favor. 

Throwing Snow’s name out there as subtly as possible, she was met with more disappointment. Until one, not in the group she was speaking with, piped up.

“Isn’t that the name of Ariel’s human’s mate?”

Aurora smiled. She had them. She lied to the mermaid, saying she was of the same clan, and looking for her exiled sister without anyone’s knowledge. The naive creature fell for it and told her exactly where to find the pair, with the promise she wouldn’t harm the human. Though Aurora had a sneaking suspicion the mermaid would later thank her for killing Snow.

The cabin Ariel described was not far from the Cove, but it was too late in the day to get there the same day. Aurora had to go to the sea and wait out the night. It was frustrating to have wasted so much time finding them. She’d lost four days by the time she spotted them on the beach. 

When they finally broke apart, she watched the siren leave for the sea and the human leave for the forest. She followed the human.

The worst way for a siren to die was by rejection. Her plan was simple: seduce the mate and convince her to leave Snow. Any siren could accomplish it easily so she wasn’t worried. Humans were weak, foolish creatures, highly susceptible to a siren’s beauty. 

Despite the wasted time finding them, she shouldn’t need the full two weeks. 

The only choice left to make now, as she followed the human through the woods, was whether or not to use her magic. Doing it without magic would be more satisfying, but with magic it would be faster. The quicker she got this over with, the sooner she’d be back home with her sisters. 

But, perhaps she was in the mood for a little fun.

She could have the human longer. 

That thought was surprising enough to make her stop walking. She had rarely been interested in humans as something more than food. It must have been because she’d been following the woman for nearly an hour now, and the curves of her body were tempting. How long had it been since she’d gotten laid for her to be looking at a human like that? Not that she’d never looked at a human like that, of course, but it wasn't typical.

Shaking the thoughts from her head, she continued walking, following the human deeper inland than she’d ever gone before. The sea was a distant rush in her ears, and the sounds of the small forest animals almost drowned it out. She had to strain to keep the comfort of crashing waves within reach.

Trees surrounded them, towering far into the sky. Aurora had never seen trees so large before. They were beautiful, she thought. She craned her neck, looking up at the canopy, admiring the strength and beauty of it all.

Too late she realized the footsteps in front of her had stopped. 

She looked forward. The human was facing her, bow strung and aiming an arrow at her chest. Aurora took a foolish step back. This had to be a mistake. There was no way a human was threatening a siren. The woman clearly hadn’t been able to tell Aurora was a siren, or she wouldn’t be aiming at her like that.

Aurora looked around, but there was no one. Looking back at the human, Aurora decided maybe she should play this game. Make the human think she was scared and weak so she would take pity on her and bring her home.

“Why are you following me?” The human asked, eyes narrowed and voice steady. 

She wasn’t the least bit concerned with Aurora. A sudden burst of fiery heat flowed through Aurora’s body, and she tried to swallow down the reaction as she held her hands up in front of her. It was a pleading gesture she’d seen many humans use before. 

“Please,” she whimpered, letting her voice crack. “I’m lost. I need help.” Waiting a beat too long, Aurora realized her facial expression didn’t match the words, and she tried to look frightened, lowering her head and averting her eyes. 

“Try again,” the woman answered with barely suppressed annoyance. Her weapon remained pointed, unwavering. 

“I’m in trouble!” she cried, looking up in time to see the human roll her eyes. “I’m not lying,” she tried again, quieter now. “I just need some help. I’m lost.” She took a tentative step forward. “Please.”

No sooner had she spoken the words than an arrow whizzed past her ear. She froze, blood pounding in her ears. Slowly, she turned to see the arrow protruding from the tree directly behind her, a tiny strand of her hair snagged against it. 

“Don’t come any closer,” the woman ordered. Swallowing thickly, Aurora turned to see she already had another arrow notched and ready. 

“And do not lie again.”

Aurora’s eyes widened. That had been an extremely well placed warning shot. It would appear she’d underestimated the human. A flurry of emotions ran through her, and she tried ignoring the heat pooling in her stomach. She’d been bested by a human for the first time in her life and she was… aroused? What the fuck was wrong with her?!

Screw this. Using her magic to get the woman wouldn’t negate the satisfaction of beating Snow. The woman’s eyes slowly fogged over as she pushed her magic to make her lower the weapon, a soft song drifting through the air, clouding around her to make her more compliant. Then she learned what her second incorrect assumption was that day. The human was not giving in to her control.

“Keep that up, and my next shot won’t miss.”

Aurora took a step back. Tipping her chin up, she tried to insert all the haughtiness she could manage into her reply. “I’ve never met a human who could follow through with that threat.”

“You really want to find out?” The woman’s lip tugged up on one side, her words smug and confident. 

She took a step forward, a full smirk forming as Aurora took another step back without meaning to. Cursing, Aurora withdrew her magic wondering how she’d lost the upper hand so atrociously, in addition to making a horrible first impression. 

Humans were fickle things, but regardless, a poor first impression would be much harder to overcome without her magic. Then again, she could always just kill the human in front of Snow. That would work, but she wasn’t fond of that idea. She wanted the human to live, to be hers. Aurora shook her head again at the thought, pushing the idea far away and trying not to think about where it came from.

“Why are you following me?” The woman asked again when her eyes had returned to normal and Aurora’s magic was gone from her system.

“Curiosity,” Aurora purred, her voice low. Maybe this human would respond better to her real desire than her false fear. She made a show of dragging her eyes slowly down the woman’s body then back up to her face, which was infuriatingly blank.

“Find someone else for that. You can leave now.” She pointed her weapon towards the forest, indicating the way they’d come from, before re-sheathing her arrow and throwing the bow over her shoulder, clearly finished with the conversation. This insult was the final straw. Aurora could no longer hold her tongue.

“You cannot dismiss me like that, human!” She spat the last word as though it was a curse. 

Anger raged inside her like a caged beast clawing her ribs to be free, her fists clenching and unclenching. She watched as the woman’s expression changed, morphing from blank boredom into a warning as another smile tugged at her lips, this one more dangerous than the last. Aurora subconsciously took yet another step back. When the human took one forward, she retreated again, realizing the mistake as her back hit a tree.

“Oh yeah? What can you do about it?” The woman challenged, taking another step, and another, until she’d come face to face with Aurora. Distance closed, she pulled the arrow back out from its quiver, ignoring the bow, and pointed it directly at Aurora’s heart, pressing into her skin. 

Taunting her.

But the human was finally the one to make a miscalculation.

Aurora smiled sweetly and struck out. Her hand flew toward the woman’s face, and she readied herself for the scent of copper and iron in the air, the heat from blood and skin under her nails. But it never came. Instead, she felt a different kind of heat. A fire burning from her wrist and moving into her veins before traveling down her body. 

The human caught her wrist, mid-strike, and pinned her arm against the tree above her head, a move that brought them even closer together and sent Aurora’s heart racing. The flames in her wrist and veins shot straight between her legs and a breathy sound escaped her lips.

“Not smart.” The woman whispered to her, either ignoring or not having heard Aurora’s obvious reaction.

Aurora tilted her head up, all too aware of the arrow still pressing into her chest and her wrist still in the woman’s grasp. They were so close, so painfully close. She’d never wanted to close the distance as badly as she did in this moment. Desire burned through her as she let her gaze drift to the woman’s lips before meeting her eyes, completely unashamed. 

She still had one hand free, and the human did not. She moved slowly, so as not to be stabbed, running her hand lightly up the woman’s arm and watching her skin prickle in the wake of her fingers. She stopped at her throat. 

Instead of pulling her in as she so desperately wanted to, she tightened her grip around the woman’s throat, letting the tips of her sharpened nails bite into her skin. Not enough to draw blood, just enough to make the threat known. 

The woman swallowed under the pressure of her hand and she felt the weight of the arrow leave her chest. Before she had any time to rejoice in her victory at hearing the damned thing shoved back in its quiver, the feeling was replaced by a different type of cold steel. This time, against her throat. How many weapons does this woman have on her? Her breath caught as the heat between her legs intensified. The woman’s eyes never left her own. 

They were officially in a stalemate. 

Aurora made the first move.

“It would seem we might benefit from starting over.” She tried to make her voice even, but could hear the light, desperate breathiness underlying her words. 

How had this all gone so wrong? How could she possibly want a human more than the human wanted her, especially one that she didn’t even know?

The human remained silent, so Aurora continued.

“I’m Aurora, and you are…”

Still, the human didn’t answer. She wore a calculating look, her eyes narrowing as she peered down at Aurora, unmoving. Aurora wondered if the woman needed a reminder of the power she held too. She tightened her grip on the woman’s neck, piercing flesh with her nails, blood welling up against their skin. Aurora’s mouth watered involuntarily as the ripe ruby droplets dripped down the woman’s throat. 

Immediately, the knife pressed harder against Aurora’s throat and she could feel her own skin giving way under the blade. Reassessing her strategy for the third time that day, Aurora pulled her hand away. 

The knife’s pressure released but did not disappear. She held up her hand in a placating gesture and raised one eyebrow. Aurora did not bother hiding the annoyed look on her face when the woman still didn’t reply. 

The woman gave a light chuckle at her expression and finally answered. “Red.” Aurora could not decide if she was lying. “Since we’re playing nice now, Aurora,” Red continued, filling the name with a mocking disdain. “Tell me the truth. Why were you following me?”

Aurora opened her mouth then quickly shut it again. Somehow, she didn’t think the truth would go over well, so she had to think of a more palatable version to feed the woman. If she stuck close to the truth, perhaps Red would believe it.

“Haven’t you ever been curious about sirens, Red?” she purred, her voice low and sweet. Red surprised her by laughing.

“I’ve been curious many times.”

“How many times?” Aurora gritted out through clenched teeth, any trace of sweetness gone and replaced with a clawing feeling in her gut that she didn’t understand.

“Enough to know I don’t need another.”

“Maybe not need, but what about want?” Aurora tried again, barely keeping the desperation out of her voice. 

She slowly moved her hand back up the woman’s arm, this time curling it around the back of her neck and pulling her in closer. She watched her pupils dilate and heard her heartbeat quicken. Red wanted this. Maybe not like Aurora did, but in this moment, it was enough. 

Aurora bit her lip, watching as the movement drew the woman’s eyes down before shooting back up to hers, a new heat behind them. She could see the desire mirrored.

“Or, if you don’t want me…” she teased playfully, jittery excitement rolling through her at the woman’s willingness to be pulled in even closer. A brief, wicked smile graced her beautiful features, and she removed the knife from Aurora’s throat.

“Yeah. You should go.”

Aurora felt her stomach drop. For a split second, she couldn’t breathe, couldn’t think, couldn’t feel anything except the crushing weight of rejection. Then the fire in her wrist burned anew, lighting up her body with the realization that she had not been released. She couldn’t leave. Red wasn’t letting her.

Encouraged, she surged forward, pulling the woman into her, crashing their mouths together in a scorching kiss. Red not only allowed it, she was an active participant, running her tongue across Aurora’s lips until she opened her mouth, welcoming the woman in. Every single aspect of her being lit up like an inferno raging inside her like she’d never known as she tried to pull the woman closer and consume all of her. 

Nothing was enough anymore. Aurora was tired of waiting. She needed everything Red could give her, and she needed it now. Summoning her magic, Aurora was careful only to use it to increase the woman’s pleasure and not take control. She’d already learned that Red wouldn’t respond well to that. 

It was a risk even trying at all, but she needed Red to want her as much as Aurora wanted Red. Unfortunately, she felt the instant the woman registered her magic. Red’s whole body stiffened, and she tore away.

“If you’re going to do that, you really do need to leave,” she whispered into Aurora’s mouth, pressing their foreheads together as she caught her breath. 

Red dropped Aurora’s wrist and stepped away. Aurora instantly released her from the magic, terror clawing its way up.

“I’m sorry,” she whispered, cursing herself for how desperate and sad she sounded. 

They stood there, breathing heavily and watching each other for far too long before Aurora realized something important. Aurora was a siren, and sirens didn’t bend for humans. She was in charge here, not the other way around, which is what the human clearly thought. 

With both arms freed now, she reached out and grabbed Red by the hips, spinning them so that they had traded places against the tree before Red had time to react. Aurora slammed her against the tree much harder than she’d intended to. 

Red sucked in a sharp intake of breath, but didn’t pull any more weapons. Instead, she let her bow fall off her shoulder and drop to the ground, one hand shooting to the back of Aurora’s head and gripping her hair tightly as she pulled them back together. 

Aurora wrapped an arm around Red’s neck and stood on her toes to bring them even closer. She let her free hand drift down, sliding over her breast and moving to pull at the ties on her vest.

Aurora’s fingers fumbled as she tugged in vain, and Red laughed into her mouth, making no move to assist.

“A little help?” Aurora grumbled, pulling away to focus on her task. Red swatted her hand away, grinning playfully.

“You’re not gonna get my clothes off out here.” Aurora’s heart skipped a beat. This was it. This was her opening. To get into Red’s home, to invade her life, and when her mate returned, convince her to choose Aurora over Snow.

And watch her enemy die.

“Then let’s go somewhere more private. Do you live nearby?” 

“No.” The woman smiled. 

Liar, Aurora thought, pulling her best pouting face, lower lip sticking out with eyes wide. 

Red leaned down and bit her lip lightly, teasing. “You’ll figure it out.”

“Figure what out?” Aurora asked breathlessly, following Red when she pulled away again.

“How to do what you want. Right here.”

“What if I want to taste you.”

Red gave her a sly smile. “In what way?”

Aurora took her time, dragging her eyes all the way down the woman’s body before replying. “All of them.”

Red chuckled, grabbing Aurora’s hand and bringing it close to her face. She raised an eyebrow and turned her hand. Her nails were still sharpened to claws. Aurora’s face flushed, and she retracted the claws turning them into more blunt, human-like nails instead. Something snapped between them and fell to the ground with a thump. Looking down, she saw the woman’s tactical belt lying at her feet.

Red took her hand, guiding her down into her pants and between her legs until Aurora’s finger slid through the wetness pooled at her center. Red let out a soft moan before pulling Aurora’s hand away again. Without giving her a chance to argue, Red brought their hands back up to the siren's face.

“Open,” she ordered, voice full of heat, and Aurora parted her lips without a thought.

Red took Aurora’s fingers, coated in Red’s excitement, and guided them into Aurora’s open mouth before releasing her hand. Aurora’s eyes rolled back as the taste hit her tongue. She moaned, licking her fingers clean. If it hadn’t been for the intense desire in the human’s eyes, Aurora might have been embarrassed with how she was salivating over her. But that look, that burning want—it took her breath away. 

There was nothing Aurora could think of other than getting this woman to look at her like that forever.

Without any further delay, Aurora plunged her hand back down Red’s pants and pushed herself harder against her. Their lips met in a bruising kiss and she swallowed the woman’s moans while slowly stroking her. 

When Aurora slid one finger inside, Red broke off their kiss with a soft gasp and tipped her head back against the tree. Aurora added a second finger, encouraged by the reaction, and kissed down Red’s neck, pumping in and out of her with a slow rhythmic pace, her palm positioned to grind on the woman’s clit with each push inside. Red tilted her head, giving Aurora more access. She couldn’t help but bite. 

She did so gently at first, careful not to break skin, then Red’s fingers tightened in her hair. 

“Harder,” she whispered, breathless, pressing Aurora firmly against the soft skin of her neck. 

No siren ever needed to be told twice to feed, so Aurora happily bit into her skin. 

The second the blood hit her tongue, she knew she needed to be careful. She didn’t exactly make a habit of feeding on humans, but this one… Her tastebuds exploded in her mouth as she lapped up every drop, then moved to a new spot down her shoulder and bit again. A soft cry tore Aurora away from the haze of feeding as she remembered where she was and what she was doing.

“Fuck,” Red gasped. “Don’t stop.”

At first, Aurora thought she meant the biting, but then she realized her hand had stilled between Red’s legs, so distracting had the taste of her blood been. Aurora knew for certain in that moment, the desire to have all of her wasn’t a want but a need.

“Sorry,” Aurora whispered, licking blood off her skin, this time not hating herself for the apology as she started working her fingers again. Pulling out, Aurora swiped lightly over Red’s clit, kissing the bite marks as she sped up. 

Red moved her hands from Aurora’s hair for the first time since they’d started and tilted Aurora’s chin up to pull her back in for another kiss. Red’s other hand drifted down to massage Aurora’s breast, pinching her nipple until she gasped. 

The woman smiled against Aurora. They breathed each other in, both unwilling to break their kiss. Red’s legs started to shake, then Aurora moved away, kissing her neck instead, craving the sound of Red’s moans as she came undone. She let Red ride out her orgasm, fingers moving at a more gentle pace, until Red tried to pull her away. Red used the tree to support her full weight as her legs shook and her body sagged.

Aurora didn’t give her time to recover before snatching Red’s hand and shoving it down her own pants. Red let out a breathy laugh that rushed straight to Aurora’s head. The sound was dizzying in combination with the lightning bolt of energy shooting through her at the woman’s touch. 

She clutched Red’s biceps, relishing the feel of her muscles rippling under her hands as she moved between her legs. Unable to fully appreciate the woman’s toned muscle in the moment, Aurora’s only focus now was not immediately finishing. Nothing had ever felt this good before, it didn’t make sense. She’d had so many lovers, mostly non-human with a few humans sprinkled in. 

Not a single one had ever made her feel like this. Like she was on fire in all the best ways.

It felt like hardly any time had passed at all before Aurora was shaking and holding her orgasm back by the skin of her teeth. She was moaning loudly with every breath now, still clutching the woman’s arms and squeezing her eyes shut. 

If she managed to last much longer, she wouldn’t be able to stand anymore. Then, Red worked two fingers inside of her, and she cried out in pleasure so loud, Red clamped a hand over her mouth. 

To keep herself from making more noise when Red pulled out then plunged back in, Aurora bit Red’s hand. The taste of blood on her tongue in combination with the rough fingers curling inside her and calloused palm grinding on her clit was too much. She was tipped over the edge with another cry.

Red caught her before she started falling, removing her hand from Aurora’s mouth and wrapping it around her waist to hold her up while she rode out the best orgasm of her life. She couldn’t even be embarrassed; the woman was amazing. 

Resting her head in the crook of Red’s neck, she tried to catch her breath. Red pulled her hand from between Aurora’s legs, and she felt an instant sense of loss. A flare of annoyance flicked across her brain when Red wiped her hand on her pants. Then, the woman gently nudged her off and shattered her entire world.

“Is your curiosity sated?” Red asked, dismissal clear in her words. 

This was it, this was what Aurora had told her she wanted. She shouldn’t be so broken about it ending. But she was. She needed the woman. Shaking her head, trying to rid those thoughts, Aurora lied to herself. 

She only needed Red to finish her mission. 

That was why she was here; to kill Snow. 

For that to happen, Aurora would need to keep the woman until Snow returned. Which would hopefully not be for a while. Aurora didn’t know their patterns though. She hadn’t been given the time to learn them.

“No.” Aurora responded primly when Red nudged her again prompting her to speak. The woman raised an eyebrow and she clarified. “I want more.”

“What more do you want?” Red asked hesitantly, the calculating look returning to her eyes.

“I told you, I want everything. I want to taste all of you.”

“You did.”

“Not properly.” Aurora ground out, an unintended frustration lacing her words. Red tilted her head and looked at her with a penetrating gaze. Aurora fidgeted under the scrutiny and tried to distract her. “You could at least take me somewhere to stay. It’s late, and it would be incredibly rude to make me wander the forest alone at night.”

Red snorted but looked at the sky and saw Aurora was not lying, the sun was setting. She nodded, looking uncertain.

“There’s an inn. It’s not far.”

“You don’t want to go back to where you live?” Aurora prodded innocently, looking up at Red from behind her thick lashes.

“No.” Red responded curtly. Aurora huffed but didn’t push her luck.

CHAPTER 17

Aurora

TWO YEARS AGO

It took much longer to arrive at the inn than it would have if Aurora could have kept her hands to herself. When they did finally arrive, Red made Aurora stay by the door while she got them a room. Usually Aurora would’ve been frustrated by being told what to do, but the view of Red bent over the desk was enough to placate her. 

Red walked her to their room and held the door open for Aurora to enter first. Looking around, her eyes slid over the inconsequential details—a dresser and chair and window—before landing on the only thing she cared about, the bed. 

Perfect.

As soon as the door closed, Aurora was on her, tearing eagerly at her clothes, which Red thankfully helped with this time. Then Aurora pushed her down onto the bed. She didn’t waste a moment going down for the taste she’d been desiring, moaning greedily against her as she slid her tongue inside.

Her taste, the feeling of Red’s thighs on either side of her face, it was everything Aurora had never known she was missing. The way Red arched her back when Aurora hit the right spot. Her low curses when the siren scratched or bit her. 

The woman was perfect. 

A feeling of utter bliss surrounded them inside the tiny room. Aurora could stay like this forever. She didn’t even care if it was debasing her kind to be on her knees for a human. For Red, she would fall anytime, anywhere.

The following morning, Aurora woke to quiet shuffling sounds. Her eyes snapped open, her body tensing as she rolled over to wrap a protective arm around Red. 

The spot beside her was empty. Aurora shot forward, lurching upright and blinking as her eyes adjusted to the new morning light streaming in through the windows. Red was standing in front of her, frozen and looking like she’d just been caught doing something naughty before letting an easy smile grace her features. Red was fully dressed, in the middle of strapping weapons back onto various parts of her body.

“Where are you going?” Aurora demanded. A fist had seized her chest and wrapped itself around her heart.

“Good morning to you too,” Red answered sardonically before resuming her task. When Red looked up again, she saw Aurora’s glare and sighed. “I have business to take care of.”

“Well, when are you coming back?”

“Erm… why?” Red looked around the room, shifting on her feet before finally letting her gaze drift back. Aurora gestured to herself, straightening as she did and letting the covers fall away to expose her still naked form.

“Don’t you need to get back to…” Red trailed off, shrugging and waving vaguely in the air, “to whatever clan you’re in?”

“I have time,” Aurora answered too quickly, failing to sound casual and uninterested. Red gave her a look that one could have misconstrued as pity.

“I don’t. Sorry. This was fun though.” Before Aurora could even react, Red slipped through the door, which gave a soft click behind her.

Aurora sat in the bed, completely dumbfounded by the turn of events. It didn’t make sense. She’d had her. They’d spent the whole night together. Aurora was a siren, Red was a human. 

Humans weren’t supposed to leave sirens, that wasn’t how this worked! 

A chasm formed in her chest, ripping her beating heart away from her body. Aurora couldn’t breathe, she couldn’t think. There was nothing she needed more than being back with Red. But the woman couldn’t have known that, so her leaving didn’t mean anything. 

It wasn’t rejection.

The more she repeated the thought, the better she started to feel. Her breathing came normally, and her heart slowed from a rapid drum to a normal steady rhythm. Everything was fine. She would be fine. Aurora just needed to find Red and make her choose her. That was all this was, nothing more. It was only fear of failing her mission, and Aurora never failed her missions.

She was out of bed and grabbing her clothes, getting dressed on autopilot before she’d had a chance to consider anything else. She was too late. Red was gone. 

The room they’d come through the night before was empty save for the desk worker. It was the same woman from the previous night. Surely she would remember them.

“Where is she?” Aurora asked confidently, striding up to the desk and looking down at the woman sitting in front of her.

“Who?” The stupid woman countered with an air of false innocence that set Aurora off.

“You know exactly who,” she snapped, slamming her fist on the desk. “Where is Red?” Though she’d ignored it in favor of checking out her human bent over the desk last night, Aurora hadn’t missed the flirty exchanges and the glare the innkeeper had given Aurora.

“Oh, Red! Of course.” The innkeeper smiled as if she’d forgotten the previous night already. “Hmmm.” She tapped her chin and Aurora had to fight the temptation to break her stupid finger off and eat it. “I’m not sure. But apparently, she did not want company.” 

Her smirk made Aurora growl, a low threatening sound vibrating up her throat, and she let her magic surge forward, capturing the woman’s mind. Then, because she’d provoked her and surely deserved it, Aurora grabbed her throat turning her human nails back to claws, drawing blood.

“Where. Is. She?”

“The market!” she rasped, unable to struggle against Aurora’s grasp or her magic. Aurora relished this reaction for a moment before releasing her.

“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” she asked sweetly, licking the blood from her nails as the innkeeper clutched her throat.

“Her mate is going to kill you!”

Aurora only laughed as she pulled the front door open.

“Not if I kill her first.”

Stepping outside, Aurora found herself facing the market square. She hadn’t noticed the stalls the previous night, but they’d likely been sitting empty anyway. Either that, or she had been too consumed by her human to notice their surroundings. 

Now, though, she was aware of everything. Aware of the vast number of humans walking around, laughing, talking. The closest were watching her with wary expressions, but they couldn’t have known she was a siren. The shimmering green remainders of her scales only shone through at certain angles in the sun, and she was not standing in the sun right now.

There was such a variety she’d never seen before. Some humans were big, some were small, some had different ears or hands. Some were different colors. Aurora had never seen this many in one place, and she’d certainly never seen such a color variation in the species before. 

Sirens tended to have blue accentuating dark skin or green accentuating light skin, but a human having a green or blue hue was unheard of, or so she thought. She wondered if the elders in her clan knew about this. 

Aurora watched the smaller humans run past. They were barely tall enough for their heads to reach her shoulders. One of them knocked into her before shouting a quick apology as they continued on their way, laughing with the others in their group. Aurora took a tentative step away from the inn, scanning the crowd for her human’s telltale red hair. 

It was not, as she originally thought, a unique hair color among these humans. There were several exhibiting similar red hair, making her search much more frustrating as she followed the fifth wrong person into a little shop on the other end of the market.

When Aurora realized she had been following the wrong person, she turned to leave the shop, but the scent stopped her. It made her mouth water in a way food normally did not. Several humans were sitting at little tables eating fruit pastries. Turning back abruptly to where the foods were supplied, she walked up to the counter.

“What are they?” She asked the person stretching dough beside the raised platform of pastries.

“Fruit galette,” they answered gruffly.

“I’d like to try one.” 

They nodded once and wiped their hands on the towel hanging from their pocket before getting a serving of galette for Aurora. Before they handed it over they said a number which didn’t make any sense to her.

“I don’t understand.”

“You have to pay. You don’t just take it for nothing.”

“Oh.” Aurora cocked her head to the side. She didn’t own any human coin. She gave her magic a gentle nudge in their direction, quietly telling them to give her the galette. They narrowed their eyes at her.

“Siren magic doesn’t work on elves, love,” they warned dangerously, and she gasped.

“Elves? You’re not a human?” The not-human nodded, but the look on her face must have shown her confusion.

“You’ve never been inland, have you?” they asked, leaning back. Aurora shook her head. The elf’s features softened. “Let me give you a bit of advice then. If you see this”—they tapped the top of their pointed ears—“and the blue skin”—they gestured to their exposed arms, a light blue splotched with powder from the baked goods—“you’re dealing with an elf. And we aren’t susceptible to siren magic. It’s only humans or part-humans you lot can get with that. Well, witches too, but they’re a might harder, yeah?”

“Oh,” Aurora repeated dumbly. 

She didn’t know there were any creatures on land aside from sirens that took human form. Did that mean the green-hued ones also weren’t human? They smiled watching her face changing expressions with the news.

“Here,” they shoved the pastry across the counter. “I’m betting you’ve never gotten to eat a galette before?”

“Only sea creatures and humans,” she confirmed. The elf winced when she admitted to eating humans, but Aurora ignored it. There wasn’t a siren alive who hadn’t had at least one.

“I’m always happy to have new folk try my food,” they said kindly. “But that’s the only freebie you get. If you come back, you better bring coin.”

Aurora nodded and accepted the pastry, moaning in delight when she bit into it. They gave her a proud smile and shooed her away to help the next person.

She wandered back around the market as she ate, but there was still no sign of Red. The innkeeper couldn’t have lied to her. She was a human for sure, and Aurora had forced her answer. Red would be here. She just had to wait. 

It was early. The market was still opening up for the day. Aurora found a bench toward the end, partially obscured by a well, and sat, finishing her pastry and watching for her human.

Several other humans approached while she was waiting. A hazard of being a siren around humans, she supposed, and one reason she avoided inland. It was easier with just one or two humans to lure, but even without using her magic, they were drawn to a siren’s natural beauty. 

Every time one got near her, Aurora let her magic sing through the air, shooing them away before they had a chance to speak. It wouldn’t do to make a scene when her human could show up at any moment.

And show up she did.

As Aurora fended off the most recent human, she spotted a flash of braided red hair that was achingly familiar. The woman was moving through the crowd with ease, most people moving out of her way. 

Aurora watched with a smile on her face as one of the small humans ran up to Red. She smiled and ruffled their auburn hair, tossing them an apple before they ran off. Aurora had heard the tiny human call her a strange name. She made a mental note to ask about that later. For now, she contented herself to just watch. She would wait to approach Red until she settled. She didn't want to make another bad impression.

Red made her way to an empty stall in the market and set a bag on the table, greeting the older woman beside her with a kind smile before handing over a small bottle and receiving several dried plants in return. 

Then, Red turned to the vendor on the other side, a large man with huge arms who had to be at least double her size. Aurora almost stood, urged by an instinct to protect her from this strange man. Until she saw them laughing while she set up her stall. 

They did not make any trade, which was surprising as the man had weapons set out. She didn’t know a lot about Red, but she would have thought weapons would have been more appealing than plants. It made sense that Red seemed to get on so well with him, though.

Watching for much longer than she’d intended, Aurora found herself smiling when Red smiled. She was seeing a different side of the human, one that wasn’t so guarded. Aurora would do anything for Red to be like that with her. 

Unwilling to risk ruining the interactions, Aurora settled herself where she was. As she watched, the innkeeper approached, weaving her way through the crowd while anxiously looking around the market but not spotting Aurora. Aurora narrowed her eyes as the woman approached her human.

Angry blue and red welts had formed around scabs on the woman’s neck, and Aurora’s lip tugged upward in satisfaction. Served her right trying to get in between a siren and their—Aurora cut her thought off. The next word forming was ridiculous. 

It was inaccurate. She wouldn’t think it. 

The innkeeper gesticulated wildly at Red, drawing Aurora’s attention back to the humans. She stood without thinking and started walking towards them, ready to defend her human from the crazed woman, but slowed when Red pulled the innkeeper around to her side of the table. She gently touched her neck, a concerned look on her face. Red handed the innkeeper a vial, accepting nothing in exchange. Anger coiled in Aurora’s gut. 

Red looked up and slowly scanned the market. Their eyes met, and Aurora froze under the weight of her glare. Aurora held her breath until her human looked away. Aurora had to approach now, or she could wait until Red made the innkeeper leave. 

Instead of shooing the woman away, though, Red exchanged words with her then slipped her hand around the woman’s neck and pulled her in. Their lips came together for a gentle kiss, and Aurora may have blacked out because the next thing she knew, she was ripping them apart. 

Her hand was outstretched to tear the woman’s throat out, but there was a familiar warm grip on her wrist, and then she was slammed back against the stall’s column, a forearm pressing against her chest and a knife to her throat. Her vision cleared to find one extremely pissed off Red glaring down at her. Before Aurora could stop herself, she smiled.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Red hissed at her. 

Aurora noticed a fresh scratch on Red’s cheek, blood welling up, and she forced herself not to reach up to swipe it away. A shuffling sound beside them alerted her to the innkeeper, who was still there, watching with a smug expression. Aurora growled. She was going to rip that smile off her face.

“I was trying to kill her,” she spat, her sole focus on the innkeeper, who finally got the hint and took several steps back.

“You will do no such thing,” Red growled at her.

“You can’t stop me!”

“I already did.” Without breaking eye contact, Red raised her voice to address the innkeeper over her shoulder.

“I think you should leave now, Gigi.” 

The woman, Gigi, opened her mouth to protest, but Aurora shot her a look so vicious that she snapped it shut and scurried off through the crowd. Aurora would deal with the innkeeper later. She couldn’t see where she went, but knew she’d go back to the inn. Stupid human.

“Show’s over. Get lost,” Red called over Aurora to the crowd that had gathered.

Aurora heard muffled conversation and shuffling footsteps as the onlookers moved on. Red turned her focus back to Aurora, nothing but malice in her eyes. No sign of their previous night remained. This was a different human she was dealing with now, and despite it all, Aurora’s insides warmed at having all of her attention.

“Leave,” Red gritted out through clenched teeth. Aurora tilted her head down, looking up at Red through her lashes, pulling her best pouty face that had gone over so well the night before. Red was unfazed. “Now.” 

“I can’t.” Aurora gestured to the knife at her throat and then at her wrist pinned above her head. 

She didn’t want Red to let her go. She wanted Red to keep her wrist pinned and fuck her again up against the column. But Red had other plans. She stepped back, releasing Aurora entirely, but keeping the knife held ready.

“Leave.”

“No.” Aurora raised her chin high in defiance, daring Red to do anything. A muscle ticked in the other woman’s jaw and she huffed in frustration, snatching Aurora’s arm and dragging her away.

They didn’t get more than a few steps before Red stopped and turned around.

“Harlan?” she called to the man in the stall beside her, then thrust her chin in the direction of her stall in silent question. He nodded and waved them away. Red turned back and dragged Aurora away from the market.

Aurora matched Red’s pace, walking beside her when they were out of view instead of letting herself be pulled. Her arm burned where Red was still gripping it tightly, the sensation shooting straight between her legs. 

Aurora wanted to stop them, to push Red up against a tree or a building and have her way with her again, but she refrained. Red had to be leading them to her home, finally. There was no other reason for dragging Aurora away. She could wait until they were in private. Each step had Aurora practically bouncing with excitement.

What she did not expect, however, was for Red to fling her around as soon as they reached the edge of town. Aurora stumbled, almost losing her balance as she was whirled around to face her human. Her incredibly angry human. Anger she hadn’t realized was possible for a human to experience towards a siren. Aurora swallowed and stepped back.

“What the fuck is your problem?” Red snarled at her. “You stalk me, twice. You attack Gigi, twice. And now you refuse to fucking leave!” 

Aurora was speechless. She wasn’t afraid, but she didn’t think it was wise to say anything yet. Waiting, hoping, for the anger to work its way out of the human’s system, she stayed silent.

“Fuck!” Red yelled in frustration, throwing the knife into the dirt so forcefully, it landed with the hilt sticking straight up and the blade buried halfway. 

For a second, Red looked like she might hit something. Then, for a more frightening second, Aurora worried it might be her. Tentatively, Aurora reached out a hand to calm her, remembering magic wouldn’t be well received. 

“Don’t fucking touch me,” Red growled, smacking her hand away and turning in time to see Aurora flinch back. 

Hating herself for her reaction, Aurora rubbed the back of her hand. She saw a flicker of regret across Red’s face before it was smothered. Red took several deep breaths, lacing her fingers behind her head and looking up to the sky. Aurora waited while her anger deflated. Red bent down and retrieved her knife before speaking again, wiping the dirty blade on her pants.

“Why did you come here, Aurora?” Red sighed, resheathing the knife and finally deigning to look back to the siren’s face. 

“I…” Aurora hesitated, voice quiet, making her sound small and scared. She cleared her throat and tried to inject more confidence into her words. “I already told you.”

“That doesn’t explain why you’re still here.”

“Well, you left so quickly and…” Aurora trailed off when she saw the look on Red’s face. “You didn’t explain anything⁠—“

“Because I shouldn’t have to! You,” Red sighed again, swiping her hand over her face. “Look. It was fun. We had a good time, but you’re a siren.”

Ouch.

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“It just means, in my experience, sirens don’t like to stick around unless they want something from you. So, Aurora, what do you want from me?”

“Nothing,” Aurora whispered, taking another step back and shaking her head. Red raised an eyebrow, matching her backward progression.

“Nothing?” she asked, tilting her head to the side. Aurora swallowed and nodded, taking another step back.

“So you can leave any time.” It wasn’t a question but Aurora nodded anyway. “And,” Red took another step. She was so close now. “You didn’t bond?”

Aurora’s back hit a tree and her breathing hitched. She tried to play it off as a laugh.

“Bond?” She said, her voice shaking. “With a human?” She laughed, but it sounded weak to her ears. “Don’t be ridiculous. I would never bond with a human.” Aurora couldn’t look at Red. She swallowed hard, hoping the woman wouldn’t hear the pulse pounding in her ears.

“Uh huh.” Red didn’t sound convinced. 

Aurora couldn’t blame her. She was no longer certain herself. She’d always imagined bonding would be a huge life changing feeling, but now… Aurora didn’t want to think about it. 

Didn’t want to think about the suffocating feeling she got every time the woman told her to leave. The panic coursing through her when Red left that morning. This wasn’t happening. Aurora had just gotten attached. The sex had been mind-blowing and she wanted more, that was all.

Oh, and Aurora still had to kill the mate, of course. She hadn’t forgotten that. But thinking of it now did lend her the bravado to continue as she should. As a siren with no attachment to a human, much like herself, should continue. 

“Well then, what’s your reasoning for attacking Gigi? Cause to me, it looked like you were jealous.” Red was leaning over her now, her hand resting on the tree she was backed up against.

Aurora looked up at her. There was no more anger, just a playful light in her eyes. She was enjoying watching Aurora squirm. Well, Aurora wasn’t going to give in. Aurora would prove she could hold her own. Show this human who was in control, who should be in control.

Aurora scoffed, looking away as an unexpected flush crept up her cheeks. They were so close. Aurora swallowed, mustering all the nonchalance she could, remembering her mission and forcing down her body’s reactions.

“How much experience do you have with sirens, Red?” she asked, ignoring the dig about the innkeeper. She immediately regretted the question when Red answered truthfully.

“A lot.”

“Then you should know we don’t share.” Aurora lifted her head back up to meet Red’s gaze, a challenge in her eyes.

“Some do.”

“Well, I don’t,” she snapped, surging forward and wrapping her arms around Red’s neck. 

The woman let out a surprised squeak before Aurora’s mouth was on hers, crushing them together and not letting the woman go. 

Heat coursed through her body and she sighed into the kiss, deepening it when Red parted her lips and allowed Aurora’s tongue inside. When Aurora finally released Red, they were both breathing hard. There was fire in Aurora’s veins. It took everything in her to stop.

“You are mine, Red. And I will have you until I am done.”

Red let out a disbelieving laugh, running her hand over her braided hair. She bit her lip, considering the siren’s words. But Aurora wasn’t asking, and she had every intention of keeping this woman as long as she wanted. 

“You can have me,” Red breathed, “until I am done. And no longer.”

“We’ll see.”

The corner of Red’s lips tilted up and she breathed out again, shaking her head.

“No more attacking people,” she ordered. “If you still want me by nightfall, you can meet me outside the inn.”

Red started to leave but Aurora grabbed her arm.

“Wait!” Red turned back and Aurora relaxed her grip, leaning back and trying to appear casual but not letting go of the woman’s arm. “I mean, why wait? We can spend the day together.”

Red raised an eyebrow. “You want to hang about while I sell potions all day?”

Aurora had forgotten about that. “Yes.”

“Why?”

“Why not? It’s not like I have anything better to do here.”

“All right.” Red shrugged as though she didn’t care either way which absolutely did not bother Aurora. “Let’s get back then. Can’t leave Harlan to watch my stuff for too long.”

When they got back to the market, Red thanked the man at the booth beside hers, asking if he had any trouble. Then she introduced Aurora and made her apologize for her “outburst,’” as Red called it. Which was humiliating.

“Hah!” Harlan boomed a laugh in response. “Reminds me of when she met—” He cut himself off before finishing, covering it with a cough and looking awkwardly away. 

Aurora turned in time to see Red glaring at him, head shaking in warning. Looking between the two of them, Aurora considered how she should react. She knew what he was going to say after all. 

When she met Snow. 

But Red couldn’t know she knew about her mate, so she had to ask. It would be more suspicious if she didn’t.

“When she met who?” she asked innocently, voice light. Aurora looked at Red again in time to see her eyes widen in warning. Harlan shifted in his seat, eyes darting to Red. It was almost comical how he was clearly afraid of upsetting this woman that was half his size.

“Erm, nothing. Just a friend of mine,” he mumbled, turning away to end the questioning. Aurora looked at Red who had a challenge in her eyes. Red was practically daring Aurora to ask. Aurora decided it was not, in fact, worth pushing her luck about this so soon after Red had finally relented to her staying.

And she was absolutely not pouting when she turned away and walked over to the front of Harlan’s stall, examining his weapons.

“These are lovely,” Aurora said. She let out a surprised gasp when she spotted the carvings on one of them, reaching out to run her fingertips along the divots in the blade.

Harland puffed out his chest and smiled proudly. “Made that one myself,” he announced.

“You make all of these?”

“Well, me and me brothers. We’ve got our own forge up the mountain a ways out by the mines.”

“They’re quite impressive,” she praised again, earning a smile from Red.

“You know, I made most of her weapons myself too,” he proclaimed loudly, jutting a thumb in Red’s direction, who produced the knife she’d threatened Aurora with earlier. Red winked.

The move made Aurora’s insides flutter and she had to look away. Something told her it would be a good idea to keep Harlan on her side, endear him to her. Compliments had seemed to go over well so far, so she tried another one.

“I didn’t know humans were capable of such artistry.”

“I am not a human!” Harlan gasped, affronted. Then he shot a quick look at Red and amended. “Not that there’s anything wrong with ‘em of course.” She raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

“Oh, what are you then?” He didn’t have the pointed ears of an elf, but how many other humanoid creatures could be here?

“I’m a dwarf,” he replied, puffing out his chest and raising his chin in pride.

Aurora had heard of dwarves before. Someone in her clan had complained once of a large human-like creature who couldn’t be compelled by their magic. She’d said it was a dwarf, but they didn’t usually live near the water, Aurora thought. To be fair, this village wasn’t near the water either.

“How can I tell dwarves and humans apart?” she asked, thinking of the elf again and their differences.

“We’re bigger,” Harlan said simply, and that certainly seemed to be true. Looking around, Aurora didn’t really see anyone else who compared to his size.

“Is it just you here then?”

“Just me today. And like I mentioned before, I have brothers. They’ll all be up working the forge now. We rotate who sits here and keeps Red company,” he joked. 

Aurora darted a glance over to Red. She was smiling, nodding in agreement as if the dwarves were only ever there selling their weapons for her sake.

“If you’re with her again tomorrow you’ll meet Collins, then Calvin, then…” he paused, scratching his head. “Gilbert, I think. Don’t remember who’s got this job after him though,” he laughed. “But, I’m Red’s favorite.”

Red rolled her eyes, not denying the claim. “Have Calvin remind me to skip Gilbert’s day.”

“You don’t like him?” Aurora ventured cautiously, eyes darting between the two of them, not wanting to offend either party.

“He never stops sneezing. Drives me fuckin’ mad.”

Harlan laughed. “Lay off him, he’s got allergies.”

“And he refuses my potions! I won’t even charge him. I told him that last time and he refused. Then he sneezed nine fuckin’ times in the next breath. I almost murdered him.”

Aurora’s eyes widened at the admission, but Harlan only laughed again. 

“You love him,” he teased, and Red rolled her eyes. Aurora noticed she did not deny it, leading her to assume Red had not been serious about the murder.

The time passed quickly with their idle chit chat. Aurora had begun to feel confident that she’d fully won the dwarf over. She tried to sneak some more personal questions into her conversations with Red, but quickly discovered the woman had an annoying habit of not properly answering them. Eventually, she got frustrated and stopped trying, announcing instead that she was going to wander the market for a bit.

Red asked her to get them some food while she was out, handing over several heavy coins without any further instructions. Aurora would have to guess what a human and dwarf wanted to eat.

No pressure there.

CHAPTER 18

Aurora

TWO YEARS AGO

By the time Aurora wandered back around with their food, hoping she had chosen correctly, Red and Harlan were hunched close and speaking in hushed tones. Aurora stopped before they noticed her and loitered at a nearby stall, pretending to look at whatever they were selling while she eavesdropped.

“Come on, when do I ever ask you for anything?” Red was saying, sounding like she was trying to put on the charm to get Harlan to agree to something he very much did not want to do.

“Snow’ll have my head if she finds out I helped with this. I thought you liked me.” He pouted back. Aurora almost dropped the food she was holding when she heard the name. She could sense the nervousness underlying his joking tone at the mention of the other siren. 

“Oh, you know she won’t do nothing to you.” Harlan made a noise which sounded like he very much did not agree. “I’ll be quick, I promise. You won’t make it past the third drink.” Red looked at him expectantly. When he didn’t respond, she continued. “You said you liked her…” Her voice took a more whining tone now, which might have made Aurora laugh if she hadn’t known they were talking about her.

“I like her enough,” Harlan relented with a sigh. “But it’s not like she’ll be sticking around. ‘Sides, how do you know this one’s not another sister?”

“How do you know about that?” Red snapped before shaking her head and composing herself. “Never mind. She’s not… probably. But even if she was, like you said, she’s not sticking around.”

“Didn’t Snow also say no more sirens?” he asked skeptically.

“Does she just fuckin’ tell you everything now? She only said that so I’d stop trying to get myself killed. Her words. And so there’s no competition. Aurora said she didn’t bond, plus she stalked me. Can’t blame me for wanting to enjoy myself for a few days.”

“How do you know she didn’t lie about the bonding? She looked… I don’t know. Do you believe her?”

“Pretty sure they can’t lie if asked straight up about it, which I did.” Red’s voice sounded uncertain, but she shrugged it off.

“Fine.” Harlan let out an exaggerated sigh. “But Snow doesn’t know I helped you. And you owe me.”

“Done.” Red smiled victoriously, having clearly won the better end of the deal.

“You know G’s gonna tell her about this,” Harlan cautioned.

“Ah, she’s just jealous. So long as Aurora doesn’t come back around, it won’t matter anyway.” Red leaned back casually. “Oh, and you know, make sure none of you mention Snow or anything to her. I don’t want her to know, just in case.”

“Yeah, yeah. We can be subtle,” he grumbled before finally looking away and spotting Aurora, who picked up the first thing in front of her at the booth she’d been pretending to check out, examining the trinket before placing it back on the table. 

Darting a glance over, Aurora saw he’d moved away from Red and was refusing to look at her. Red had followed his gaze and swallowed whatever reply she’d been about to give, watching Aurora suspiciously instead.

Meeting her eyes, Aurora’s feet pulled her body along toward the human without her permission. Red didn’t smile when she got closer, and a bad feeling bloomed in Aurora’s gut, dread slowly growing as she approached.

“Did you lie to me?” Red asked when she walked around the table to join her. Aurora knew what she was asking, but admitting so would let the woman know she’d be eavesdropping.

“Lie about what?” she asked, turning away to give Harlan his food and hoping to hide the fear in her eyes.

“About bonding.” Aurora could feel Red’s eyes boring into her back, and she didn’t dare raise her head in case Harlan was watching. She forced out a laugh, composing herself before turning to face the market and not the people next to her.

“Sirens can’t lie about a bond.”

“Hmm.” Red and Harlan exchanged a look as Aurora finally went to sit on the small bench beside her human, closer than was necessary, craving the warmth of their legs touching.

“I had to guess about the food,” Aurora admitted quietly, hoping to shift focus away from her. “I hope it’s good.”

That finally earned her a smile, and Red thanked her, assuring her they didn’t make anything at the market that wasn’t delicious. She put a hand on Aurora’s leg, gently squeezing it, and Aurora relaxed into the touch, letting her head fall onto Red’s shoulder.

“After we finish up here,” Red murmured quietly. Aurora knew what was coming, and refused to move while the woman finished her sentence. “You can go out to the tavern with Harlan for a bit. I’ll be by after I sort some things out.”

“Why?” She tensed, but Red let her thumb rub light circles on Aurora’s thigh which helped ease some of the tension.

“I have stuff to do,” Red told her in a clipped tone that brooked no argument. Then, she kissed the top of Aurora’s head. “I won’t be long,” she whispered into her hair.

CHAPTER 19

Aurora

TWO YEARS AGO

Harlan led Aurora away from Red to a dingy pub on the outskirts of town. Once inside, she met three more dwarves: Collins, Pepper, and Calvin—his brothers. Thankfully, the one who sneezed all the time wasn’t present. 

Calvin opted to leave shortly after they arrived, claiming to be tired, but Aurora didn’t believe that excuse. They were all on edge in her presence, eyes darting to the door whenever they thought she wasn’t paying attention. She was relieved to have already got Harlan on her side. He was the only one who seemed to be acting normally. 

The rest looked like they were waiting for a storm.

Everyone visibly relaxed after Red arrived, as if her presence would prevent anything bad from happening to them. 

Red’s hair was damp and loose, the curls falling past her shoulders. She’d taken her braids out and lost the leather vest, opting instead for loose cream colored linen trousers and a forest green shirt. Aurora’s attention drifted down to her own clothes. She hadn’t even thought to bring a change. It hadn’t seemed to matter at the time, but now she brushed at a few dirt smears self-consciously.

“Sorry I’m late,” Red teased, holding up a drink as she sat down. The dwarves had just gotten their third round.

“Heard about the fun at the market today. Sad I missed it.” Collins joked when she slung an arm over the back of Aurora’s chair. “Smooth things over with G?”

“Ah, you know her. She never stays upset for long.”

“Speak for yourself! She’s still angry with me from months ago.” Collins exaggerated an eye roll. Harlan and Pepper roared with laughter, and Red couldn’t hold back her own smile.

“Well yeah, you almost burned down her inn,” she teased with a laugh.

“It was an accident! Apparently, I should’ve just pinned the blame on you,” he grumbled.

“That might’ve gotten you out of it faster,” she agreed thoughtfully. “I don’t think you’ve done enough groveling.”

“Can you do the groveling for me?” he asked pitifully, earning more laughter around the table.

“Might not be the best time to ask, Collins. I think she's at her limit for that at the moment!” Harlan joked, gesturing to Aurora, who glared at him halfheartedly, even though she was thankful he at least acknowledged her. Hopefully their conversation would change to a more enjoyable topic. Aurora would have to kill the innkeeper after she took care of Snow.

When they’d finished the drinks, Aurora leaned in and asked Red how much longer they had to stay. Red smirked at her and told her they could leave now, excusing the two of them and saying her goodbyes to the brothers.

“Where are we going?” Aurora asked, filled with uncertainty when they bypassed the inn’s front doors and walked around back instead, pushing open a door that had been obscured by shadow. 

“Since someone decided to attack the innkeeper, we can’t go in through the front anymore. I had to work out an arrangement for us to even get the room for another night. This is a precaution to make sure Gigi isn’t attacked a third time.” Red gave her a pointed look, and Aurora sucked her teeth.

“And what exactly was this arrangement?” she asked as they stopped in front of their previous room and Red slid the key in the lock. Aurora entered first. Red closed and locked the door behind her before answering.

“She doesn’t want to see you. Doesn’t want to risk being attacked.”

“How did you work that out?” Aurora's eyes narrowed, remembering the joking about it in the pub. She didn’t trust it.

“If I tell you that,” Red started, casually leaning back against the door. “You might try to kill her again.”

“You pawned me off on your friends so you could fuck her?” Aurora growled, fists clenched as she stepped closer. She didn’t care about upsetting Red anymore as she forced her magic through the woman’s mind. It was humiliating, debasing. The innkeeper would die tonight.

“I did it,” Red stated calmly, unaffected by the magic with a mischievous smile on her face. “So I could have you all night. So, are we gonna fuck or are we gonna fight?”

Releasing her magic with a growl, Aurora surged forward, crushing their mouths together in a rough kiss. She grabbed her human by the hips and spun them, leading her to the bed and shoving her down. Red looked up at her with a heated gaze, watching hungrily as Aurora tore her own top off and threw it on the floor.

“I expect you to make it up to me.” A wicked grin graced Red’s lovely features.

“Of course.”

The next morning, Red did not try to sneak out. She was already dressed by the time Aurora woke, but she stayed and patiently waited for Aurora to get ready, suggesting that Aurora wash up a bit before they go out. 

Red showed her how to use the bath, correctly assuming that Aurora had no experience with human inventions. Which absolutely did not result in Aurora getting jealous. Then, they went to the market together, and Aurora made it her mission to get the next dwarf to like her as much as Harlan did.

This became their routine, and Aurora grew so content that she’d almost forgotten the reason she’d even come here and sought out this woman. Until everything was shattered on the fourth morning.

“No market today?” Aurora asked. Red dressed in a different linen shirt with loose cotton trousers, then climbed on top of Aurora instead of waiting for her to get up.

“I figured we can enjoy our last day together without having to listen to a dwarf sneeze two hundred times non-stop,” she teased.

“Last day?” Aurora asked, instantly feeling her heartbeat racing. “What do you mean?”

“I have to leave town for some work this afternoon. Might be a while,” Red informed her. “You should probably be getting back to your clan anyway, yeah?” 

This was it. This had to be the day Snow was coming back. Or she really did need to leave town, and Aurora would not get a chance to enact her plan as she'd imagined. She couldn’t just force the woman to stay, could she?

A thousand thoughts ran through Aurora’s head. She couldn’t hurt Red. Aurora knew that from the moment she saw her, despite trying to lie to herself. But Aurora also had to kill Snow. She had to make Red keep her around until the siren came back.

“I’ve always been curious about what kind of work humans do.” Aurora lied calmly, surprising herself by the even tone she held.

“You got to watch my work the last few days.”

“Then why do you need to leave?”

“Sometimes I deliver.”

“I’ll go with you.” 

This time, Red raised an eyebrow. “I don’t need company.” She sat back on Aurora’s lap looking at her. “You said you didn’t bond.” 

Aurora swallowed. “I didn’t.”

“Then why won’t you accept leaving?”

“Sirens have feelings just like humans do, you know,” Aurora snapped, a little more harshly than she’d intended.

“It hasn’t even been a week. You’ll get over it.” 

I’ll die. Aurora thought, finally acknowledging the lie she’d been telling herself for the last three days. Though, she wouldn’t say it out loud. Logically, Aurora knew she had to tell the woman. Just not right now, not so suddenly. It was too soon. She couldn’t give it away yet. She had to make sure she wouldn’t be rejected first.

“You’re right,” she said, forcing her voice to be lighter than she felt. “I’m already starting to forget why I liked you.”

“Is that so?” Red teased, slipping easily back into her playful smile that Aurora craved so badly. “Well, perhaps we should just say our goodbyes now.”

“Better make it good,” she agreed, grabbing Red’s hair and pulling her down on top of her.

Aurora was nearing her second climax when the banging on the door started. She instantly froze, having never heard a sound like that before. Red ignored it easily, trailing light kisses down her body until she replaced her fingers with her tongue in a slow, languid lick. Aurora couldn’t stifle her moan at the new sensation.

“Just ignore it,” Red whispered, moving to push her fingers back inside. “They’ll leave.” Aurora gasped in pleasure and tried to focus more on the feelings than the sound, but it didn’t stop.

Finally, Red groaned and pulled away, shouting over her shoulder, “Go away!”

“You better open this fucking door right now, Red!” An incredibly angry voice yelled back. 

Red froze, eyes widening as she loosed a muttered “fuck” under her breath and extricated herself from Aurora.

“Hold on,” Red called, wiping her hand on her thigh. “I wasn’t expecting you back for a couple days.” She leaned back, looking around the room for their clothes when the voice came again, freezing Red, who snapped her focus to Aurora.

“And I wasn’t expecting another fucking siren to bond with my mate while I was gone! Now open the damn door before I break it down.”

Aurora felt the flush creep into her face. She couldn’t bring herself to look Red in the eyes.

Red leaned forward and grabbed her chin roughly, forcing her to look at her. “What is she talking about, Aurora?” she asked, her voice low and hard. There was panic in her eyes, and fear behind her anger. 

“You lied to me,” Red growled when Aurora didn’t answer, shoving her away and standing up. “Get dressed,” she ordered harshly, throwing Aurora’s clothes at her before dressing herself. 

Fear seeped through Aurora’s veins making her blood run cold. The fist had returned, clenching her heart in a death grip. Slipping her clothes on quickly, she watched Red pace while she waited for her decision. Waited to die.

“Fuck!” Red growled again before grabbing Aurora’s arm and shoving her into the wash room. “Stay there,” she ordered, slamming the door. 

Aurora swallowed thickly, her breathing coming in short bursts, but she wasn’t dying. She hadn’t been rejected. Aurora had been hidden away, protected. Her heart swelled, breath coming easier with the realization. Then, the bedroom door opened, and her enemy entered.

CHAPTER 20

Snow

TWO YEARS AGO

As soon as the lock clicked out of place, Snow shoved her way in, pushing past Red to find an otherwise empty room.

“Where is she?” Snow demanded, her voice unnaturally calm. Red grabbed her arm and Snow whirled so they were face to face; she saw all the emotions running across her mate’s face. Red opened her mouth before closing it again, and Snow knew what was coming.

“I had one rule,” she snapped. “One. Rule. No sirens. I don’t care what you do with the humans, Red. But no sirens.”

“Technically,” Red said in a small voice, “you didn’t want me to seek them out, and I didn’t. She followed me.”

“Oh, don’t bullshit me, Red,” Snow snarled, backing her mate up against the wall. “You could’ve walked away or killed her, but instead, you went and let her bond with you!”

“I don’t have any control over that! Plus, I asked if she bonded, and she said no. I didn’t think sirens could lie about that.”

“Fine. New rule then. No more sirens. Ever. I don’t care what they tell you. You leave and if they follow, kill them,” Snow ordered.

Red nodded her agreement. “No more sirens,” she whispered.

“Now, where is she?”

“I don’t want her to die,” Red admitted, her voice quiet in the stillness of the room. “I like her.”

“Oh, you like her? She lied to you.”

“Would you have done anything differently?”

Snow scoffed. “Where is she?”

“Come on, Snow. I’m not a monster,” Red whispered. Snow narrowed her eyes at the not-so-subtle reminder of her reaction to Snow’s bonding.

“Well, I am.” Then Snow’s voice softened and she leaned in, “I’m sorry, but you’ll get over her.”

“Don’t do this,” Red pleaded in a whisper, struggling against the pull of the siren’s magic. 

Snow had been teaching her for years how to beat it, but she’d never used her full power on Red. Until now. Then, Red was under and Aurora was flinging the door open, enraged. She clearly didn’t care that Snow had been Red’s mate first, and therefore, could use her magic on Red as she pleased.

“Let her go,” Aurora yelled, bursting into the bedroom. Red sagged against the wall, Snow’s hand on her throat, claws out.

Snow barked a sharp laugh when she recognized Aurora. “Are you fucking kidding me? You sure know how to pick them, Red.”

“Don’t blame her. She didn’t know,” Aurora snapped, and Snow released her grip, turning to face Aurora with a dark smile.

“Oh, I am going to enjoy killing you. You finally got them to let you off your leash, and here you are, fucking up the job.”

Aurora lunged with a yell, digging her nails into Snow’s arms and dragging her away from their mate. Snow’s fist came flying, cutting down on the soft part of Aurora’s elbow, forcing her grip to release. Snow lashed out the second Aurora’s hand left her elbow, narrowly missing her throat as Aurora side stepped and went in with a blow of her own.

They’d done this dance before. The first time they met, Snow had been newly out on her missions and hadn’t checked her surroundings before making a kill. Aurora had seen it all, and had attacked. She was untrained, and Snow easily beat her, but hadn’t killed her. 

There was a small part of Snow back then that had felt bad for the siren. She looked devastated, and Snow couldn’t blame her for attacking. Plus, Aurora hadn’t been her target, so there was no point. There were a few other times they’d run into each other. Each time left Aurora bloody and frustrated while Snow was almost without a scratch.

Aurora had learned some new moves since the last time they’d fought, but Snow was still better. 

They were both breathing hard. Scratches criss-crossed Aurora’s face, arms, and neck, but none were deep enough to deliver the final blow. Snow only had the one on her arm, where Aurora had first grabbed her. Aurora was getting frustrated, sloppy. 

Snow smiled when Aurora lunged for the third time in the exact same manner. Snow could get her kill with this pattern. Aurora would lunge for her left, her weak side, and Snow could whirl out of the way and bring her claws down on the woman’s throat. 

Except, that wasn’t what happened. Aurora turned mid-step and stabbed her claws right into Snow’s unprotected gut. 

The sudden pain made Snow falter. She sucked in a sharp breath, losing some of her focus—just enough for Red to get free of her hold. 

Before either siren knew what was happening, Red was pushing herself in between them. They stopped as soon as they realized, but it didn’t save her from taking a few hits first. Red didn’t even flinch, holding her arms out between them to keep distance, using her body as a blockade.

“Stop. Fighting!” Red ground out as the sirens eyed each other warily. Neither dared make a move while she was there. The sheer rage pouring from Red made them both hesitant to refuse her demand.

“We are going to work this out. Neither of you is killing the other!” Red declared. Snow let out a snort of laughter. Red shot her a venomous glare. “I am not joking,” she said, her full focus on Snow before turning to Aurora.

“If you try to kill her again, I will kill you myself,” Red snarled at her, and Aurora’s eyes widened. She now understood just how serious Red was. Aurora looked past Red to see Snow smirking, and shot her a glare.

“And if she tries to kill me?”

“She won’t,” Red stated, turning back to Snow. “You won’t.” 

The two had a glaring match which seemed to last an eternity before Snow finally backed down, a movement hardly perceptible to Aurora. Red dropped her arms and relaxed.

“Two sirens can’t share one mate,” Snow said, not even bothering to acknowledge Aurora, who stayed quiet while they argued. The first smart thing she’d done, Snow thought.

“According to what?”

Snow hesitated. There wasn’t actually any rule that it couldn’t happen. It was clearly possible since the bond had been established four days ago and neither of them had spontaneously died. They weren’t the first to have this happen either, but in all previous occurrences, the sirens had fought to the death and the victor remained with the mate.

“That’s what I thought,” Red crossed her arms over her chest. “So, you two already know each other?”

“Yes,” Snow bit out tersely. Then, upon seeing the look on Red’s face, clarified. “Not. Like. That.”

“Hm,” was all Red gave before grabbing Snow’s arm and marching her out of the room. “Stay here, Aurora,” she ordered, tossing a look over her shoulder, leaving Aurora standing in their room, covered in blood and looking thoroughly upset. Obviously Aurora followed. At a distance.

Snow let Red drag her to the desk where Gigi waited, looking entirely too concerned with the state of Red’s arms. She had no business rushing over and gripping them in her grubby little hands. A spike of satisfaction shot through Snow when Red yanked them away. Snow glanced over and caught a mirrored look on Aurora’s face, which immediately made her scowl instead.

Red was angry with Gigi, which meant the innkeeper, in turn, would get angry with Snow. She’d never seen the logic in this, but she didn’t care. Red was hers and Gigi was simply jealous. They exchanged harsh words before Red slammed the coin for the room and the key back on the counter and turned to stalk away, snatching Snow’s arm again, dragging her along.

Now Red moved like a storm through their room, collecting clothes and weapons, throwing them into the sack.

The sirens stayed on opposite sides of the room, watching her. Neither dared speak. 

Red’s temper still hadn’t cooled by the time she’d finished packing. She shoved Snow through the door in front of her, leaving Aurora to follow. They left the inn from the side door, which opened to the bright light of day, temporarily blinding Aurora. Snow led them out of the town to a small footpath in the woods.

“Where are we going?” Aurora whispered to Red after they’d been walking in silence for several minutes, moving deeper into the woods.

“Home,” Snow ground out. Despite knowing Aurora would almost immediately be sent away when they got there so she and Red could talk, she still didn’t appreciate the new development in their life.

CHAPTER 21

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice did not prefer being seated between Snow and Aurora in the tavern. They were sneaking glares at each other over her head. Despite being used as a blockade for their conflict, she still felt safer with them close to her. Though it was less rowdy than she’d anticipated, the tavern was overwhelming. Alice couldn't stop wringing her hands and looking over her shoulder. She didn’t trust any of this. Sweat made her body sticky and uncomfortable. 

There were too many people, too much unfamiliarity. Alice tapped her foot and scrunched her hands in her dress, balling the fabric up.

The man who sat before them, the one Red had thrown a knife at, was quite possibly the largest person Alice had ever seen. She couldn’t tell exactly how tall he was, but she guessed he had to duck to avoid hitting door frames. 

His broad shoulders and muscular arms made him look like a powerlifter, though Alice doubted they had those in this world. Black stains covered the brown skin on his arms and hands. Despite the power his body clearly held, his face had a softer edge to it, putting Alice a tiny bit at ease. He had a look about him that instantly made her think of him as a friend, someone she could trust. The other two men at the table were just as large as the first, though they looked slightly less friendly.

Alice soon learned the man who had called to Red when they entered was named Harlan, and the two beside him, his brothers, were Calvin and Collins. Red told her they were dwarves, and they worked in the mines and had their own forge to make weapons.

“Dwarves?” Alice exclaimed without thinking after the introductions. “But you’re all huge!” She promptly slapped a hand over her mouth, her eyes widening as soon as the words were out. To Alice’s immense relief, they just laughed. It sounded like a laugh you’d share with a friend rather than at her ignorance. She mumbled an apology but couldn’t stifle her smile. 

“What size did you think we’d be?” Harlan boomed in a voice large enough to match his body. He waved off Alice’s apology, smiling warmly. She decided he was her favorite thus far. Maybe because he was the first to be properly friendly and hadn’t threatened her life, despite Red having made up for their initial meeting already by helping her. 

Alice returned the smile and shrugged. “I don’t know… Small?” Unsure if she should explain that she came from another world or not, she hoped he wouldn’t ask why. Fortunately, she was saved from answering by Red cutting in. 

“Where’s the rest of the party?”

“Ah, you know they don’t come round this late,” Calvin replied. “They’re too tired. Been a busy day.” 

“Full moon overload?” Red asked and they all nodded. “Whatever pays, right?” She smiled and they agreed. 

“Not that we aren’t happy to see ya, but why’d ya come here?” Harlan asked, bringing them back to the problem at hand.

“Seen Robin anywhere around tonight? Got a return, thought he might be able to take her to the rabbit’s hole,” Red asked. At this request, Alice noticed the brothers shift in their seats, exchanging solemn glances before Harlan leaned closer.

“I thought you would’ve heard,” he whispered, eyes shifting around the tavern. “Ches took him.”

“When?”

“Just—“ Harlan cut off when a drink appeared on the table in front of Alice. She looked at it, puzzled, before Red snatched it up.

“Do not drink this,” Red snapped, gripping the glass so hard it shattered, drink spilling over the table. She glared with murderous intent at the person behind the bar. As Alice watched, all evidence of the drink vanished other than the blood remaining on Red’s hand. 

“When was he taken?” Red asked again through gritted teeth. Alice stared at her in shocked silence. Movement drew Alice’s attention as Snow placed a hand cautiously on Red’s thigh. Collins cleared his throat, answering for Harlan.

“Last night. You’re not going after him, are you?”

“Can’t.” Red sighed. “I’ll figure it out. Know anyone else who could make a return out that way tonight?” Harlan shook his head, peering more curiously at Alice now.

“Think you’re the only one who could risk it,” Harlan cautioned. 

“Of course,” Red replied, lips forming a tight line of displeasure, letting the table fall into silence while she debated their next course of action.

“Fine,” Red announced after a painfully long time. “Let’s go then.”

Red pushed through the tavern doors into the cold night air, heading straight for the forest in front of them, Alice following close behind with Snow and Aurora on either side. 

“What was that all about in there?” Alice asked as the doors closed behind them.

“What do you mean?” Red snapped in answer, Snow and Aurora tensing beside her. Alice hesitated before continuing. 

“The… Well, the drink thing I guess. I mean, you crushed it and then it disappeared.” 

“Yeah, you’re welcome for that. Don’t need to go indebting yourself to the fae while you’re trying to leave this world. Wouldn’t get very far doing something stupid like that now, would ya?”

“Indebted?”

“Drink or eat something they offer without payment exchanged beforehand and they got you. You were about to drink something without even talking to them.” Red sounded exasperated.

“I wasn’t going to drink it…” Alice mumbled quietly to herself. She couldn’t drink on her meds anyway, but they didn’t need to know that. “How do you know it was from a… a fae?”

“Only thing that would’ve given you a drink. They run the bar.”

“Oh.”

“Yeah. Now, you done with all the questions?” Alice nodded. “Good.” Red turned to face them all. “While we’re out here, I need you”—she pointed at Alice—“to stay behind me and between them,” she said, gesturing to the sirens on either side of her. “Do not speak a single word. Make as little noise as possible, and if anything happens, do exactly as I say. Got it?” Alice swallowed visibly before nodding. 

Alice didn’t dare speak in case that rule began now. Apparently satisfied with her reaction, Red nodded once before turning to lead them into the forest. With Red’s rules, some of Alice’s previously subdued anxiety returned.

CHAPTER 22

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alow level hum of magic was singing through Alice’s veins as they traipsed through the woods. The vague cloud of it surrounded her and Aurora, and she knew for certain the reason was that they heard her breathing start to shorten as they entered the forest.

She was otherwise in control of herself and her mind, grateful that whatever Snow had done to Red in the cabin would not also be done to her. Thus far, it seemed Aurora had only ever used her magic to trick Alice's brain into thinking everything was okay and there was no need to panic. To force a calm into her. 

Part of Alice wished she could keep the siren with her forever and forget about having to take meds every day. To be able to forget what it was like to have panic claw its way through her veins until she couldn’t think straight anymore, and grip her brain like a dark shadow until she thought she was going to die. 

How blissful it would be to no longer be broken. To no longer feel like an outsider in her own body.

The sound of a branch snapping made everyone freeze. Aurora dropped her hold on Alice, and the air around her cooled. Red whipped around and slammed Alice against the nearest tree, her hand covered Alice's mouth, muffling the surprised squeak.

“Stay,” Red ordered in a quiet voice. 

Red looked at Snow, then, and nodded towards Alice. To Aurora, a tilt of the chin signaled the siren to join Red, and they silently rushed off. Alice was grateful to have her back to the tree. She stayed silent, looking around wide-eyed. She listened but couldn’t hear anything out of the ordinary. Snow looked beyond frustrated, standing far away and scanning the woods. 

Fear made Alice hold her breath. Her heart pounded in her chest until she was floating again, Snow’s magic stronger than Aurora’s had been, but it essentially produced the same effect. There were no longer worries plaguing Alice. Nothing bad would happen.

“What’s happening?” Alice asked. Being quiet still seemed vaguely important, but she no longer thought it necessary to hold her tongue. After all, nothing bad was going to happen. Snow’s eyes snapped to hers in an instant, narrowed and looking even angrier than she had before. When Snow refused to respond, Alice tried again.

“Will they be ok?” 

Finally, Snow relented, taking a few steps closer before a terse, barely audible “yes” escaped her lips. Alice attempted to move closer, but her limbs were like putty, and she was fighting just to keep her eyes open.

“Even after their fight?” Alice pressed, much more carefree after receiving an answer. She couldn’t hear their footsteps anymore, and she was whispering, so it would be fine.

Another near silent “yes” came from Snow, who took a few more steps toward Alice. The magic started to withdraw. Alice felt herself coming back. Worry about the other two women pressed into her more now than it had a second ago.

“You’re sure? It feels like they’ve been gone too long…”

“Let’s call that their foreplay. Now. Shut. Up.” Alice’s face heated, and based on the smirk Snow gave her, that was her aim. The siren had been taunting her one way or another since the moment they'd met. Why would the tiny amount of kindness she’d shown in calming Alice result in her stopping the taunting now?

Whether or not the words were true, Alice didn’t want to think about that. Another couple minutes passed, Alice remaining resolutely silent until she felt a warm hand on her arm. She jumped, opening her mouth to scream before another hand clamped over her mouth. A voice hissed in her ear.

“I thought I told you to not fucking speak.” Alice turned to find Red fuming beside her, and shockingly, Alice was not the target of her glare. Snow looked entirely unapologetic as Red continued. 

“The whole fucking forest can hear you,” Red snapped. Snow raised an eyebrow, smiling of all things. Behind Red, Aurora appeared looking smug. Red removed her hands from Alice and stalked off without another word. Only Alice was left to feel guilty about the turn of events as Snow dropped her magic and they followed Red further into the forest. 

Her discomfort did not last long, for everyone had gone back to ignoring one another, instead focusing on their surroundings. After another long stretch of walking, a familiar, small, intricately carved door in the trunk of a very large oak tree came into view. Relief washed over Alice. An excited buzzing began in her stomach, and she increased her pace.

“That’s it!” Alice whispered, pointing to the tree, all but running now. Abruptly, she was yanked back, Red’s hand strong and firm gripping her arm, holding her still. Red had her finger pressed to her lips and took a slow step in front of Alice. 

Listening.

Something wasn’t right.

“My Alice.” A velvety voice came from in front of them, near the door, but Alice could see no one. Ice slid down her spine and the hairs on her neck stood on edge. 

“You’ve returned to me. Lovely, Alice,” the voice continued, sickly sweet. Alice knew that voice. Her stomach dropped and her heart hammered in her chest. 

It was the voice that haunted her nightmares. 

His smile appeared first. Always that smile. The one that was entirely too large for his face with an unnatural amount of teeth. 

Next were his predatory cat-like eyes, bright yellow, slitted and menacing. These were the features Alice remembered most, the ones accompanying the voice in her deepest fears. 

The rest of his face was remarkably human, as was his thin body, which only served to make his eyes and smile that much more unsettling. 

A crazed, wild haired human with a smile too large and eyes too wide, but human nonetheless. That wasn’t true though. He was so much more than human. She tore her gaze away, finding it difficult to look at him as memories from her fragmented past resurfaced. 

Memories. Not nightmares.

They were real. Everything was painfully real. Screams from long ago rang in her ears—blood dripping everywhere, from Alice, from him, the broken knife burning hot in her hands as she stabbed it through his face, the laughter cutting down to her core. The disjointed images appeared one after the other.

He still bore the scar, a scar that marked her freedom from this horror. Alice’s skin pricked from all eyes turning to her but she couldn’t break free from the memories.

“I see you kept that to yourself,” the voice sang, ripping her mind back to the present. “You’ve evaded me so well. My rabbit has had quite the time finding the right Alice. I shouldn’t be surprised you would finally return on the most dangerous night. As soon as my rabbit lost you, I knew he’d finally found the right one. And I see you’ve made friends.” His piercing gaze shifted to Red, who pulled her incredulous stare away from Alice to meet his look with a cold, unflinching glare. 

“Been a while.” He tilted his head unnaturally, studying Red with a look that Alice could not read.

“Ches.” Red spat his name at him like a curse. His eyes flashed playfully, his smile broadening.

“Big. Bad. Wolf. Come back to play,” he taunted, taking a step closer. “I wonder what it will cost.” His eyes shifted to Snow behind her. 

“It will cost you more,” Red threatened, her voice colder than Alice had heard it before. “We have a deal.”

“Ah, but that was before you broke it.”

“I never broke it.” 

Ches cocked his head. “You’re breaking it now.”

“Not in your realm. All I’m doing is helping a lost stranger return home,” Red countered evenly. 

Ches continued smiling, considering her point, taking a step closer without moving his eyes from hers. Red didn’t flinch, just held her ground.

Before he spoke again, his eyes glazed over and his ears twitched as he shifted into a more cat-like appearance. It was as though he were no longer seeing or hearing the group in front of him. A dangerous look crossed his features before snapping his focus back to the present.

“Well now. This has been fun. Shall we make it a game of loopholes, then?” he asked brightly, eyes moving to take in every reaction. Red narrowed her eyes with clenched fists. She watched him, not responding. Waiting. Abruptly, he clapped his hands together, laughing when Alice jumped.

“I’ll be seeing you. Let the game begin,” he said, voice full of excitement. His body began disappearing as he spoke. 

He snapped his fingers, then the door behind him shuddered and disappeared with a loud pop along with the rest of him. The only sound remaining in the forest was his echoing laughter dispersing through the trees. Alice stared in disbelief at the space that used to hold a door, now just a gaping hole in the side of the tree.

Everyone stood motionless. The tension was palpable. Red was the first to break it. Swearing loudly, she threw her sword in the dirt beside her. Alice hadn’t even noticed her draw the weapon. The rush of anger made Alice flinch back. Aurora and Snow were between them in an instant, reaching out to Red with their magic, Alice all but forgotten.

“I’m fine!” Red snapped at them the second their magic shimmered through the air. Alice thought it a rather generous claim given the anger she radiated, but the sirens backed off. 

For several minutes, the only sound was the ragged breathing of the woman who claimed to be “fine” as she fought to control her rage. With one final deep breath, Red turned to face Alice, who took a step back before freezing under the intensity of her glare. 

“Alice,” Red gritted out through clenched teeth. “Give me one reason not to leave you right here.” Alice opened then closed her mouth, words unwilling to form in the face of Red’s ire.

“Red,” Aurora started, voice a gentle warning as she took a step closer.

“No.” The harshness in her voice cut off whatever Aurora was about to say. “She lied. Explain yourself. Now.”

“Red,” Snow replied, stern but calm. “Not. Here.”

“We should get her somewhere safe,” Aurora added with a pointed look.

“She’s safe with us. For now.”

“None of us are safe here and you know it,” Snow said more harshly this time, the calm dissipating, replaced by an urgent undertone. Red flicked her gaze around the woods and backed down. 

“Fine.” Red turned and stomped back in the direction they’d come from, shouldering past Alice with more force than necessary. Red must be heading back to her cabin, but Alice didn’t dare follow. She couldn’t bring herself to move, watching as Snow caught up with Red, whispering to her, twining their hands together.

“Best give her some space, yeah?” Aurora murmured to Alice before urging her gently forward with a hand on her back. 

Alice took in a shaky breath and let the siren lead her. Alice had been calm the whole time, there was a small part of her that registered the magic’s return, but she couldn’t bring herself to care.

CHAPTER 23

Red

PRESENT DAY

“I’m fine.” Red snapped at Snow again when her magic flowed through her. Snow tried to take her hand, but Red yanked it away. “I don’t need it.”

“Yes, you do. She might have withheld information from us, but she’s still human. Do you really want to risk it?”

“Are you sure about that?” Red turned her head briefly to face Snow, features still too hard and angry as she turned back away. “How certain are you that she’s a human, huh? No one has ever escaped him before. No. One.”

“You did,” Snow whispered almost inaudibly.

“That’s not the same and you know it.”

“Just as you know she’s human. You said so yourself, but you need to calm down.” Snow forced her magic through Red’s barriers this time, calming her just enough to think more rationally. Once the magic had taken effect, Red’s shoulders relaxed some, and when she spoke again, her voice was softer.

“She put us all in danger. She put you in danger.” Red turned to look at Snow pleadingly. “She can stay tonight, but after that she’s on her own. I won’t let her risk you.” 

Nothing and no one was worth risking her sirens’ lives. 

“You don’t mean that,” Snow chided, releasing her. 

Snow had seen the look in Red’s eyes when Alice was panicking. She saw the concern, and Snow knew what Red was thinking. Red would help Alice and she knew Snow knew it. Just as Red knew that Snow understood she would never purposefully do anything to put Snow at risk. But some things were out of their control. 

Alice hadn’t stumbled into their lives for nothing.

The moment they entered the cabin, Aurora shuffled about setting Alice up with everything she might need for the night. Aurora grabbed a set of her own clothes, as they were the closest in size, and dragged Alice to show her the room she’d sleep in, then to the bathroom.  

While Alice was in the loo, Aurora arranged fruit and bread on a plate and set it on the table. They had all heard Alice’s stomach growling during the walk back to Red’s cabin.

Meanwhile, Red sat at the table tapping her fingers and trying not to be angry with Aurora for being so nice to Alice. Aurora couldn’t help it—she’d developed a soft spot for humans over the last couple years, especially for humans in unsafe situations who didn’t threaten her bond. The final touch was mugs of water passed out to every one when Alice re-entered the room.

“Sit,” Red ordered. Alice scrambled to sit, and Aurora pushed the plate of food in front of her.

“Thank you,” Alice whispered, looking down and fidgeting with her hands before taking a piece of bread. Alice was allowed to eat in awkward silence for a few minutes until Red could no longer hold her patience.

“Well?” she asked after Alice had finished the bread and a handful of berries.

“I’m just trying to get home. I swear.”

“You lied to us.”

“I didn’t mean to. I’m sorry!” Alice choked back her tears. “I didn’t… I didn’t think any of this was real,” she admitted quietly, shocking the room into silence. 

“What do you mean, you didn’t think this was real?” Aurora asked after it was clear Red wasn’t going to speak.

“I have nightmares. I thought… It felt like my nightmares.”

“Why does he want you?” Red asked.

“I don’t know.”

“What happened last time you were here?”

“I don’t—“ Alice cut off at the look on Red’s face. “I was just a child. Please, I really don’t remember.” Alice was begging now, but Red didn’t care. 

“Try,” Red ground out, forcing her hand to unclench and her body to relax. 

“Perhaps,” Aurora interjected before Alice could answer again, “we all need rest. Alice has clearly had a very difficult day. She might be able to remember more in the morning.” 

Red glared at Aurora, who didn’t back down, meeting Red’s gaze evenly. They needed Alice to remember. Aurora couldn’t understand how important Alice’s memories of her time here could be. Red looked back at Alice, whose hopeful gaze darted to Aurora, eyes big and pleading.

Red shook her head. “No. Now.”

CHAPTER 24

Alice

PRESENT DAY

“I,” Alice paused, taking a deep breath, trying—for once—to remember her nightmares instead of shoving them into the little dark box in the back of her mind. They were real, after all. She might as well face reality. 

She looked to Aurora for help, unsure what exactly she thought the siren could do, but looking at her was still better than looking at Red. Even though Red had calmed down, she remained visibly angry.

“I don’t remember much, but I remember I hurt him. That was how I got out. I hurt him, and I ran.”

“Not possible.”

“Look!” Alice huffed indignantly, finally facing Red. “I told you I don’t remember. I am trying. As soon as he appeared, I remembered hurting him. I had a knife, and it burned. It burned everywhere it touched. I slashed his face, and he screamed. I know he screamed. Those screams have haunted me for twenty years!” The more she spoke, the louder her voice grew, and the more confident her words. 

Alice started to shake with an anger she hadn’t felt in years—hadn’t felt since she’d started seeing Dianne. Her hands shook, but this time she knew it wasn’t from panic. It was from rage. Red raised her eyebrows, surprised by Alice’s sudden shift, but Alice couldn’t bring herself to care.

Her emotions were raw, her reality snapped in half. The anger was better than the fear. 

“Alice. It’s not possible,” Red repeated, looking otherwise unfazed by the outburst. 

“Just because you can’t touch him doesn't mean I can’t!” She was practically yelling now, the rage billowing out of her. She’d held it back for so many years. Thankfully, Red did not respond in kind. Red tilted her head, studying Alice in a new light.

“That’s not what I mean,” Red explained, her voice holding more calm than Alice thought possible after being yelled at. “I mean, it’s really not possible. There is only one thing in existence that can hurt him and, no offense, but I doubt it’s you.”

“I know I hurt him,” Alice argued emphatically, the anger rushing out of her, leaving her deflated and exhausted. “I remember the blood, the knife burning my hands. I didn’t make that up.”

Alice sagged back in her chair. 

They don’t believe me. 

She could see the looks. The same looks of pity everyone always gave her when they didn’t believe her. They thought Alice had gone mad just as everyone else had. Then, Alice had an idea.

A horrible, horrible idea.

“Take me back there,” she said, sitting up suddenly and looking at Aurora. “In my mind. Sirens can control people’s minds, right? So make me think I’m there again. Maybe it will help me remember. I can prove to you I’m not lying.” 

Alice couldn’t read the expressions on their faces. Red and Snow exchanged a look, while Aurora just gawped at her, eyes wide. Red’s expression was inscrutable to Alice, her face blank, showing her nothing. Alice had thought it was a good idea. Red turned toward Alice.

“Aurora won’t be able to. She’s never been to his realm, but Snow has.” 

Alice swallowed. She would have much preferred Aurora. “Let’s do it,” she managed to choke out the words. 

If Aurora was in control, she would have felt safer, felt better, but with Snow in control, Alice didn’t know how it would go. Snow hadn’t even apologized for holding a knife to her throat. 

It was too late to back out now. Swirling tendrils of magic started to fill the air. She vaguely heard Red say something, which made Snow snap back at her, but her mind was too far away to understand them. 

She was being taken to a different world.

Alice had been sent directly into her nightmares. 

She knew down to the very fiber of her being that this was the place they originated. This was real. 

No, it wasn’t. Not right now. 

She had to remind herself that her physical body was still safely seated at the table in Red’s cabin. The whole thing felt so real, though. An air of desperation clung to her skin, filling her senses. Dark trees loomed in the night sky, different and foreboding—unlike the ones surrounding the cabin, unlike the forest they’d tromped through earlier that night.

It was exactly as Alice dreamt, exactly as she remembered. 

Soft incessant murmurs came from her right and she froze, a glacial cold trickling down her spine before she forced her body to turn. A dense fog crept along the lower half of a crumbling moss covered stone wall. She could barely make out shapes hidden beyond. 

Humans.

Their murmurings were unintelligible from where she stood, but she dared not move closer. Alice knew what they would look like, what they would be saying. They’d be begging. Their voices would be filled with despair and pleas for a different life. 

Memories sprang up like fresh wounds in her mind. The blank stares. She remembered them looking not at her, but through her, their eyes unseeing. Their minds far off, experiencing unthinkable horrors, their worst fears come to life. 

He did that to them. 

He could break their minds, sort through their traumas and memories, forcing them to relive the worst. If he couldn’t find trauma, Alice knew from experience, he would make the trauma himself. He’d find their deepest fears, their secrets, and push until they broke, hurting them in any way possible. 

She knew it wasn’t all mental. Some of the murmuring humans would also bear physical scars, like the ones on her back. They would be deep—he made clean cuts—covering their arms and legs and torsos, but most of the scars would be in their minds. 

That was where he liked to play best.

Perhaps Snow would do her the kindness of keeping these visions in the fog. Alice wondered how much of what she was seeing the siren could see with her, but Alice was in her mind alone. She was here to remember what happened, to obtain a clarity she hadn’t possessed for the last twenty years, and to convince Red to help her. Though, she wasn’t sure how she was supposed to do that last part. 

Alice started walking, one hesitant step after the other, away from the wall and the murmurs. There would be no memories found there. Only horrors. 

She walked toward a large opening at the other end of the wall. A small part of her mind told her to stop, that when she got there, bad things would happen. She couldn’t remember what would happen, but she knew it was true. 

The dilapidated table just visible around the edge of the wall told her everything. Her memory flashes always included that table, its spoiled contents, its cracked dishes. And the others. 

That’s right. She’d met others. It wasn’t just her. But they weren’t real, were they?

Alice kept inching her way toward the truth of her childhood. The closer she got to the edge, the more shallow her breathing became. Sweat drenched her dress, and her hands started shaking. Then, a noise. Alice’s heart rate skyrocketed, her pulse pounding in her chest.

It’s not real, it’s not real, it’s not real. 

She forced herself to turn around and face the sound. 

Nothing.

She breathed a sigh of relief, a light laugh bubbling up inside her chest. Of course there was nothing. None of this is real.

“Not real, am I?” The voice came from behind her. 

Alice whirled, coming face to face with her nightmare for the second time that night. She immediately squeezed her eyes shut. 

This wasn’t real.

But it felt real, just as the burning weight in her hand felt real. When she opened her eyes, there was a broken knife in her grip. 

Her brain was tricking her. Snow was playing a cruel prank. That’s right, she was in her own mind. This wasn’t real.

Alice reached out and her free hand hit soft fur. Brows furrowing, she opened her eyes. Ches was real. She was touching him, and he had transformed. He was no longer the human from the woods. In front of Alice was a cat the size of a small child with shocking dark blue and purple and black fur, iridescent in the moonlight. His facial features were stretched, too large for this form, but that only made his smile even more menacing. 

He floated in the air right in front of Alice’s face, his wicked smile and sharp eyes staring at her like prey. 

Alice screamed.

She couldn’t do this. Screw getting the memories, this wasn't worth it. She ripped herself out of the vision, pushing at the magic and expelling it from her body in a rush.

CHAPTER 25

Alice

PRESENT DAY

The forest was gone, replaced by wooden walls and a roof. Ches was no more. Instead, in front of her, staring with disbelief, were Red, Aurora, and Snow. 

Snow was the only one not standing. She had been thrown from her chair and was on the ground, dazed, mouth open with shock.

Alice looked around the room wildly, gathering her bearings, trying to make sure this was real.

“What the hell was that?” she yelled, finally settling and letting her panic turn to rage. Alice looked accusatorially at Snow—glared at her, really—waiting for an answer, her voice snapping everyone out of their trance. Red grabbed Snow’s arm and hauled her up to stand.

“What did you do to me?” Alice ground out, blinking back the tears welling in her eyes. She would not cry in front of these people. Her hands were shaking, and she clenched them into fists in her lap. 

“You—” Red began, breaking off as she struggled to find the words.

“You pushed me out,” Snow finished for her. “All I did was make you think you were back there. Whatever you saw while there, whatever details popped into your mind, that wasn’t me.” She didn’t sound angry. A little awed maybe, but not angry. Alice took a deep breath. It wasn’t Snow. It wasn’t a cruel joke. 

“What did you see?” Aurora asked, hesitating before reaching out a comforting hand. Alice flinched, drawing back on instinct. She was still shaking. Maybe she needed the siren’s comfort. Alice took a deep breath and then told them everything. 

When she got to the part about seeing Ches again, her voice cracked. She tried to hold it in, but the tears fell freely now. This time, Alice didn’t flinch away from Aurora when she felt the background level of calm flowing through her, the warm hand covering her own.

“He can’t reach you here. You’re safe,” Aurora whispered, kneeling in front of her and looking into her eyes. 

“How do you know?”

“The cabin is… protected. There’s a barrier he can’t cross. A barrier no one can cross, unless I’ve allowed it,” Red answered haltingly. Alice nodded, not sure how much she could trust that, but still feeling safer. 

If they weren’t concerned about it, maybe she didn't need to be either. Alice eased back in her chair, feeling her body relax ever so slightly. 

“There is one other thing…” Alice paused, looking at Red. “I had the knife again, but I don’t think it was a knife. It burned my hand, and when I looked at it, the top was jagged like it had been broken in half.”

“And this is what you believe you used to hurt him?”

“I know it’s what I used.”

Red looked past Alice and out the window behind her, lost in thought. She stared blankly for several uncomfortable minutes before Snow nudged her.

“Go to sleep, Alice. You’ve had a long night. Do not leave this cabin. Do you understand me? You’re only safe inside this cabin,” Red ordered. 

Alice squeaked out a terrified “yes,” nodding with wide eyes before letting Aurora lead her back to her temporary bedroom.

CHAPTER 26

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice drifted off into a restless sleep the second her head touched the pillow. Between fits of nightmares waking her up in cold sweats, disorienting thoughts from being in a strange location, and concerning noises coming from behind her bedroom door, it did not make for a comforting night. 

It was a miracle she’d gotten any sleep at all, though she was exhausted from the entire ordeal. As the sun began to rise, bathing her room in morning light, she knew any further attempts at sleep would be fruitless. 

Slipping out of bed, she softly padded to the window and prepared herself to look outside. Last night was the first night in her life she hadn’t used curtains to block out the outside world before falling asleep. An irrational part of her mind told her something—or someone—was out there now because of her failure to cover the windows. 

Breathe.

In through the nose, hold five seconds, out through the mouth. 

She could do this. Red had told her nothing could get to her in here. Nothing bad would happen just because the window could be peeped through. Alice sighed, relieved. The forest surrounding the cabin was beautiful and empty in the early light of the morning. 

There were neither people nor creatures in sight, just a vast expanse of trees, their leaves glistening in the sunlight from early morning dew. She quite loved the view, being surrounded by woods. It was peaceful, making it easier to ignore the gnawing fear in the back of her mind. She closed her eyes, basking in the sun warming her through the window. A smile crept onto her face.

Gurgling from her stomach brought her back to the present, and she became acutely aware of the pain in her body. She needed food, and the loo, one more urgent than the other. She reluctantly left the patch of sun and rushed from the room. 

There was a change of clothes and a bath already drawn. Since her parents had gone, she hadn’t had anyone think about her in such a way in a long time. Her eyes stung with tears she had no desire to shed, swiping at them with the back of her hand before undressing and stepping into the bath. She was surprised to find the water still pleasantly warm.

Her body immediately relaxed as she submerged her head under the water. The dirt and sweat layered on her skin from the previous day washed away as she scrubbed. It was refreshing enough, she could almost forget the predicament which had brought her to her current location. 

Alice stayed immersed in the soothing comfort of the bath long past the point when the water should have cooled, but her stomach still complained, and her head started to hurt, so she reluctantly climbed out of the bath, toweled off, and redressed in clean clothes. When finished, she tiptoed out into the main room.

Something about snooping around someone else’s kitchen for food made Alice uncomfortable. Perhaps because she’d never been close enough with another person to have done this before. Or perhaps it was because it seemed like stealing. But she’d already been waiting so long to eat that her small headache was morphing into a pounding migraine, and she was beginning to shake. 

They probably wouldn’t miss one apple, right? Thankfully the mug she drank out of last night was still on the table, so she filled it with water, downing the whole thing before refilling it and taking a bite of apple. 

The door leading to the other bedroom was still closed, and no noises came from behind it. She didn’t want to retreat back to her sleeping quarters, so she walked around the open rooms instead. The cabin was larger than she would have thought by looking at the outside, and from what she could tell, the whole thing was open other than the two bedrooms and the loo. 

She couldn’t help but touch plant leaves as she passed. She missed her garden already, more than she thought possible. 

The roses always brought her happiness, but she’d never viewed them as much more than a chore. As she stuck her finger in the dirt of the nearest potted plant, she realized how wrong that had been. Needs water, she thought idly as she moved to poke the next one.

The other bedroom door opened, and Alice yanked her finger out of the dirt, whirling around. She hadn’t been expecting the woman who stepped out to be fully nude save for the red cloak she’d been wearing the night before. 

Alice was in the corner by the plants in the window on the opposite side from the bedroom, and Red didn’t even seem to notice her as she walked into the kitchen. She grabbed a potion and tipped it back, downing it in one gulp. 

Setting the empty potion vial on the counter and slowly turning, Red made eye contact with Alice, who remained cemented in place. Red narrowed her eyes and cocked her head, examining her. Alice, for her part, tried to look anywhere but at the woman standing before her. 

It wasn't like she was trying to be disrespectful, but Alice wasn’t comfortable with nudity, especially after she'd accidentally slipped her eyes over Red’s form and seen scars scattered across her midsection and what looked like fresh bite marks on her shoulder. That was definitely not something she should know about her. In her haste to turn her eyes down, Alice noticed a small mark on the inside of her ankle. Alice squinted, trying to make out what it was. Then a voice tore her away and she looked instead at her hands.

“Who the fuck are you?” Red asked gruffly, her voice thick with sleep and something else Alice couldn’t quite pinpoint. 

“Alice… I slept in your guest room,” Alice squeaked politely, wringing her hands. 

Alice tried to remember that this woman wouldn’t hurt her despite the shocking and obvious fact that Red did not remember her. Their tense silence was interrupted by the door opening again. This time, the figure who stepped out was, thankfully, fully dressed and seemed to remember everything.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake, Red! Get dressed. We have a guest,” Aurora snapped, yanking Red’s arm and pushing her back into their bedroom. Aurora slammed the door behind her before rounding on Alice, her demeanor exuding calm as she smiled at her.

“So sorry about that. She’s not good with mornings. Anyway, how did you sleep?” Aurora asked brightly, like nothing out of the ordinary had just happened. 

“Erm, okay… Why doesn’t she remember me?”

“She took the potion, right?” Alice nodded. “Then she will remember everything. It just takes a little bit of time to work.” Aurora moved over to the table as she spoke, pulling out a chair and motioning for Alice to sit before taking the chair opposite. 

“Why does she need a potion to remember?” Aurora shifted uncomfortably in her seat before answering.

“The day after a full moon is just… hard for her.”

“Why?”

“How much did she tell you about…” Aurora paused, struggling to find a delicate way to ask. “About why she was out last night?”

Alice shrugged. “Just that she was hunting wolves.”

“Did she tell you why?” Aurora prompted, watching Alice carefully. She shook her head, frowning, and Aurora sighed. 

“About a year and a half ago, her family was attacked… They turned everyone.”

“What do you mean they ‘turned’ them?” Alice asked, hesitant. She was shaking again—or had the shaking ever stopped? 

The air around her shimmered to life with magic, and a wave of calm poured over her. Despite this, her hands wouldn’t stop trembling. Aurora’s brows knitted together, hesitation writ across her face like she was about to stop the conversation entirely. 

“Aurora,” Alice said slowly, her voice calm and steady despite her shaking hands. “Are there werewolves here?”

Aurora nodded, still looking worried.

“Was Red hunting werewolves last night?” Another nod. “They turned her family into wolves…? Her… whole family?”

“They’re all werewolves now,” Aurora confirmed. Alice let out a breath, then another, and another. She was fine. Everything was fine. It was just that the person who saved her was a freaking werewolf! 

“Oh.”

The word hung in the air between them.

Looking down, trying to focus on stopping her hands from shaking, Alice asked, “How come she didn’t turn last night?”

“My cloak.” Red’s voice startled Alice. She looked up to find the woman, now dressed, leaning casually against the doorframe to her bedroom. She watched Alice closely as Snow walked over to the table and sat with them. 

“Your cloak?” Alice repeated.

“It’s imbued with magic. Helps keep me from changing during full moons.”

“Why don’t all the… Why doesn’t everyone do that?”

Red winked at her. “Not everyone has witch blood in their family. A lot of us prefer the wolf side.”

“I take it you don’t?”

“It’s not the worst. The transformation is painful as all fuck, though I like the kill better as a human, but there is power in the wolf form that some find irresistible.” Red grinned a terrifying smile at that. Alice tried to ignore the spike of fear. Aurora’s calming magic spreading through her made it easier to accomplish. 

“You’re still wearing the cloak.” Alice gestured to Red’s ensemble. “But the moon is set. Do you have to wear it all the time?”

“No.” Red didn’t elaborate. Aurora huffed and rolled her eyes.

“She can change any time. The phase of the moon doesn’t really matter that much. The only thing is that a full moon makes the change compulsory, whereas the rest of the time she can be in control. It’s about emotional regulation. It’s harder for her to stop it if she’s angry.”

All at once, every move the sirens made last night flashed through Alice’s mind: the times when they had put themselves in between Red and Alice when she got even the slightest bit upset, how they’d tried to force calm through her when she was shaking with rage, when Aurora held Alice back from following Red until Snow had eased her anger.

Alice had seen the cloak in full effect last night. Red didn’t change, but if she had gotten angry enough, would she have changed anyway? She didn't say that it completely stopped her from changing, after all…

“How did it happen?” Alice asked, unable to keep her curiosity at bay.

“I got bit,” Red replied tersely, her tone indicating it wouldn’t be a bad idea to switch topics.

“Why?”

“None of your business,” Red snapped. At the same time, Snow cut in, “Fucked the guy’s wife.”

Snow turned to meet Red’s glare with a snide look of her own, challenging. Red sucked her teeth in irritation before turning back to Alice.

“I didn’t know she was married,” she snapped in the same annoyed tone she’d used before.

“Clearly.”

“Don’t know why you’re so bothered. Stupid witch didn’t stick you with a sleeping curse,” Aurora muttered angrily under her breath.

“Oh, please. You deserved that,” Snow sniped back. “If you didn’t threaten everyone who so much as looks at Red, none of this would’ve happened.”

“I didn’t know she’d try to kill us!” Aurora yelled back, abruptly standing and whipping around to face Snow.

“Fuck’s sake, stop it.” Red groaned exasperatedly, pushing off the doorframe and moving to stand between the sirens. “Not like you did anything to stop her, Snow.”

“Why would I?” Snow shot back. “I didn’t know what would happen! At least I tried to protect you while she was unconscious!”

“Failed to protect her, you mean,” Aurora corrected cruelly, bringing on a long, tense silence, both sirens glaring so hard at each other that Alice was certain it would come to blows. Red gave a tired sigh.

“Well, it’s over innit? ‘Sides, one good thing came from this.” She looked between the sirens and smirked. “The two of you started getting along.”

Alice couldn’t stop her mouth from dropping open. This was getting along? Red chuckled quietly, and Alice realized she was watching her now. She promptly shut her mouth and looked down.

“Have you remembered anything else about your last visit here?”

Alice shook her head, relieved for the change of topic now that it’d gotten more hostile. And, on a happy note, Red remembered her again. 

“Nothing more about the blade?” she pressed.

“Just that it burned and there was blood.”

“Do you remember what color the blood was?” 

Alice furrowed her brows. “No…”

“What can you tell me about the blade?”

“Erm, just that it was jagged and I think broken. It didn’t look like anything special.” She shrugged.

“I know someone who might be able to help.” Red looked only at Alice, ignoring the glares both sirens were giving her. Alice, however, was not ignoring the sirens’ looks, and had a sense that whatever Red was about to say, she wouldn't like it one bit.

“Help how?” she asked tentatively, eyes darting between all three women in front of her.

“Just with some information. It can help you get back.”

“Oh! Yeah, sure.”

“We’ll have to go to the Cove,” Red answered, looking out the window and squinting. “If we leave now we can probably get back here by nightfall. It’s a little later in the day than I’d usually leave, but we should be fine.”

“Storm’s coming,” Snow warned casually.

“How bad?”

“Bad enough. We should wait until tomorrow.”

“We aren’t going anywhere. Alice and I are. But we’ll wait for the storm to pass.”

“Why aren’t we coming?” Aurora asked. “You’ll need to pass by the sea anyway.”

“We’re not passing the sea. It’ll take too long.” Red shook her head like she knew what was coming next.

“Well, you’re certainly not going the other way.” Snow narrowed her eyes at Red, who was conveniently still not looking at either siren. “It’s too dangerous.”

“It’s not dangerous,” Red replied quickly, seeing Alice’s eyes widen. “It’s fine.”

“She can’t even defend herself. It’s not worth the risk.” Aurora gestured at Alice, wincing as if she felt bad for insulting her. They didn’t know what Alice could do. 

“She’ll be fine. It’s our only option.”

“Stop being selfish! It is not the only option.” Aurora raised her voice.

“It’s realistic. Being out after dark with her is an even bigger risk,” Red gritted out angrily, finally turning to face the siren. “It’s our best shot, and he won’t attack if it’s just the two of us.” She darted a glance at Snow. “There’s nothing he can do to me if you’re not there, and he knows it. He will definitely attack if you come. It’s just for information. We’ll be back in less than a day. Please.” Her voice took on a softer more pleading tone with the last word, and Alice saw the sirens’ simultaneous decision to back down. Snow sighed, exchanging a look with Aurora, who deflated.

Red, on the other hand, looked victorious as she walked away from the table and started packing two bags. When she went to grab a chunk of bread, Snow interrupted her.

“You still have to wait until tomorrow.” She pointed out the window at the now distinct storm clouds looming in the distance. “Aside from the storm, if you’re really insistent on going through the Moors, you need to be at full strength.”

“Fine.” Red relented, clearly unhappy about semi-losing the argument. She stopped packing and instead walked over to the corner near the couch which held a large chest. She flipped the latches, opening the chest to expose the largest collection of weapons Alice had ever seen. A playful smile formed on Red’s face as she turned to Snow.

“Do we have time to play before the storm?”

“‘Til about midday,” Snow replied with a soft laugh. Red turned to Alice.

“How would you like to learn to defend yourself?” she asked, pulling out a rather impressive sword.

Alice’s eyes widened and she nodded. “Yes,” she squeaked out, intimidated but excited. Red set the sword down beside her before pulling out a significantly less impressive one. It still looked like good quality to Alice’s untrained eye though. She flipped the sword and offered the hilt to Alice, who quickly stood to take it.

CHAPTER 27

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice realized her mistake as soon as her bum left the chair. Spots clouded her vision and she fell back into the seat. Blinking to clear the rush away, she saw Aurora watching, concern etched in her features.

“Head rush. Just stood up too fast,” she mumbled before trying to stand again. Still dizzy but not blacking out, she walked over on wobbly legs to take the sword.

“Have you eaten today, Alice?” Aurora asked as Alice stumbled over nothing, getting another sudden dizzy spell.

“I had an apple,” she said shyly, not wanting to admit it. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think you’d mind.”

“Sit down.” Aurora ignored her excuse and went into the kitchen, filling Alice’s water mug and getting some cheese and berries and setting them on the table. Alice was grateful for the gesture and allowed Red to lead her back to the table, a firm grip on her arm. 

Alice felt quite silly to be so weak from missing one meal. After all, none of the other women in the cabin had eaten yet. But then she remembered the weird time difference from when she left home to arriving in this land and wondered how many meals she had actually missed. She ate quickly as the rest looked on with varying degrees of concern. As soon as she’d finished, Red was up again.

“Feel better?” she asked Alice, offering her a hand up. 

“Thanks.” Alice did actually feel better. She wasn’t dizzy anymore, and accepted the sword happily, doing her best not to drop it when it was much heavier than she’d expected. 

She glanced at Red’s sword with envy as they exited the cabin. The woman was holding it with one hand, and wasn’t even struggling. Alice was aware she was weak. She never went to the gym. The only exercise she got was her daily runs, but seeing the ease with which Red held her own sword made Alice self-conscious about her lack of muscle. 

Walking with it was awkward. Alice held it in front of her not wanting to let it drop but feeling strange holding it straight up, like she was a threat in that position. Thankfully, none of the women seemed to notice her struggling.

“It’s beautiful,” she commented quietly, tipping her head at Red’s sword. 

The sword had a polished black hilt with a blood red blade bearing an inscription in a language Alice had never seen before. The whole thing shone like it had just been cleaned. 

“It was a gift.” Red's smile was clear in her voice as she stroked the blade lovingly. Alice wanted to ask who would gift her such a thing, but she held her tongue. Weaponry could very well be a commonplace present here. 

They walked down the steps, Alice in front, presumably just in case she tripped so she wouldn't stab anyone. Following her out and passing cautiously, Red looked at her sword, then reached out a hand and took Alice’s without a word, bringing it to the ground to outline a boundary several steps from the front door.

She dubbed this the “safe area,” where the cabin’s protections extended. Alice was not allowed to cross this line without Red. Alice took this information very seriously, and stood as far from the boundary as she could while still having room to wield the sword.

Red had decided to forego the cloak for their training session, and Alice could see the muscle definition in her arms as she held the sword up easily, demonstrating proper hand position and stance. Red made it look so easy, bringing the blade up to her face while Alice had to struggle with both hands just to keep her sword from scraping the ground. 

Snow had followed them out and sat on the stoop to watch. Alice tried to ignore her, but having an audience made her more nervous. Time passed quickly with Red showing her the basics. She turned out to be a surprisingly good teacher. 

Red did not show Alice how to attack, as this was solely for the purpose of Alice defending herself, if needed. Red simulated potential attacking strategies in slow motion while giving Alice time to get into a new position and block, then she or Snow would correct Alice’s footing or sword placement.

Alice was positive they’d been working at this for hours. Sweat drenched her back and her arms shook, but Red looked entirely unaffected. She was holding her sword high without any wobble, and Alice couldn’t see a drop of perspiration. When Alice's grip on the sword failed at the last attack and she dropped it, Red gave her a knowing smile but did not laugh at her.

“I think you might be done for today,” she teased, picking up the sword and tossing it to Snow who caught it with a single outstretched hand. “You wanna see how it’s properly done for a bit?”

Alice nodded and watched with eagerness as Red and Snow squared up. The change in their demeanor was instant, both more focused, a competitive edge to their postures. Red announced they’d move slowly for Alice’s benefit. 

And they did. At first. 

Alice could track several of the stances Red had taught her as Snow easily defended the attacks, not faltering in her steps. Then Snow switched to the offensive. That was where they lost Alice, speeding up incrementally until they were moving too quickly for her to make out individual strikes and blocks.

They looked amazing together, fighting with practiced motions like they did this all the time—which, Alice thought, they very well might. They were matching hit for hit until Snow feinted left then quickly smacked Red on the arm with the blunt side of her sword. 

Red immediately returned the hit, claiming she let Snow have that one, to which Snow laughed. Then they moved even faster, more focused, and Alice realized she wouldn’t stand a chance in a real fight.

“Hey!” Red’s accusatory yell came seconds before her sword thumped to the ground. Snow danced back laughing.

“What?” Snow asked innocently. “You wanted to show her how to defend herself. She should know kicking her opponent's sword hand is a valid option.” Red narrowed her eyes, lunging at Snow and tackling her to the ground, pinning her arms with a triumphant grin.

“But that doesn’t work if your opponent is better than you,” Red commented smugly.

“Hah, you only got that because I let you,” Snow claimed, releasing her grip on her sword and flipping so Red was pinned under her instead. “See?” she asked, leaning down and kissing Red briefly before getting off and helping her up.

When Red looked over at Alice and saw her grinning at them, she rolled her eyes, collecting both fallen swords before addressing her.

“So, what happened there,” Red started in a tone that told Alice the next sentence was absolutely not going to be informative, “was a cheap shot. She kicked my hand and made me drop the sword, like a dirty cheater.”

“Like a winner,” Snow corrected before looking over her shoulder. “Come on you sore loser, let’s get inside before the storm comes,” she teased, grabbing Red’s hand and pulling them to the door. Alice looked up. She hadn’t even realized the sky had darkened so much during their time outside. Now, she could hear the low rumbles of thunder in the distance.

CHAPTER 28

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Back in the cabin, the mouth-watering aroma of sautéing onions and garlic mingled with the scent of freshly baked bread, assaulting Alice’s senses. Aurora worked near the stove, chopping more vegetables and throwing them into a pot. 

Red brought the swords into the kitchen to clean them, which made Aurora yell at her to get the dirty weapons away from her food. Aurora shoved Red away with a wet rag. Red barely reacted as she continued to complain about Snow’s cheating. 

Unsurprisingly, Aurora sided with Red, who gave Snow a smug smile, sticking out her tongue.

Aurora finished cooking shortly after the wind and rain began their violent assault against the cabin. Alice looked around at the cabin walls then at the other women who seemed entirely unconcerned by the storm raging around them. The walls held, so it was probably fine? 

Alice was relieved to find a real proper meal in front of her. She had begun to wonder if she’d have to survive on nothing but cheese and bread while stuck in this world.

“Thank you. This looks amazing,” Alice praised, happily diving into her first bite of some type of fish on a bed of cooked vegetables with bread and jam on the side. And it was delicious. 

“Cooking is my favorite human thing. It was one of the first things I really liked about them, so I learned how.” Aurora smiled, but her words gave Alice the unsettling reminder that she was a siren, and still incredibly dangerous despite how kind she’d been.

“Siren’s don’t cook?”

Aurora shifted in her seat before shooting a glance at Red who gave the smallest nod before she continued.

“We hunt. We prefer our meals more… fresh,” Aurora replied delicately. Alice nodded, trying very consciously to not look at either of the sirens’ plates now, not particularly wanting to see exactly how “fresh” their food was. 

They continued eating in silence until Red got up abruptly and started riffling through a cabinet with potion vials in it. Snagging one and returning to the table, she set the vial of liquid in front of Alice who looked dubiously at it. 

“What’s this?”

“It’ll help your muscles recover from the lesson this morning.”

“Oh.” Alice tried not to sound surprised. “Thank you. I was wondering if I’d be able to use my arms tomorrow.”

“Probably not without that,” Red joked, and Alice smiled at her, ignoring the fact she was the only one given the potion.

“Thank you for the lesson. It was really fun.”

“It was practical. You’ll need to be able to use a sword if you’re gonna stick around much longer,” Red answered matter-of-factly. Alice had absolutely no intention of staying longer than necessary. Aurora must have sensed her panic at the words because she chided Red.

“Oh, don’t scare her! Not everyone needs to be able to wield a weapon, dear.” She turned to Alice, smiling. “You’ll be fine.” The smile was so genuine that Alice immediately calmed. But then she realized it was the magic and not the smile.

“Stop coddling her, Rora.” Red rolled her eyes and the magic fell away, leaving Alice shaking. None of them noticed as Red continued. “She’ll need to know how to defend herself, especially with Ches after her,” she said, gesturing with a piece of fish while talking. 

Red seemed completely oblivious to the sudden drop in mood, the ensuing uncomfortable silence she’d created. 

“Your heart rate is elevated.” Aurora commented after a long silence, finally looking at Alice. “Are you scared?” Not trusting herself to speak, Alice nodded instead.

“You’re safe in the cabin,” Red reminded her mid-chew, and Aurora made a face.

“Is it because of… him?” Aurora tried, hesitantly. Again Alice nodded.

“How did you know my heart rate was elevated?” Alice asked shakily, hoping to steer the conversation away from Ches.

“It’s loud. The cabin is always so quiet, but I noticed your heart beats quite loudly when that name is mentioned. And the last time it did, you had those breathing problems.”

“Panic attack. Yeah, I get those. I usually take medicine, but I don’t have it with me,” Alice explained as her breathing returned to normal and her voice steadied. 

She didn’t like discussing her panic attacks, but she did usually know her triggers. It was the reminders of being in this place that were the worst. The nightmares. Alice had forgotten his name until that night, and she was unprepared to hear it so often, let alone to face him. It made her emotional control wildly unpredictable.

“I’m also just… Well, I’m having a hard time adjusting to”—she gestured vaguely in the air—“everything. And facing him again… It’s like my nightmares have crossed with my reality. It’s just hard.”

“You’re shaking.” Aurora pointed at her hands.

“I’m fine. I just need to distract myself. Tell me something fun,” she requested in a slightly pleading tone. The three of them exchanged a glance.

“Fun like what?” Red asked finally, clearly uncertain what Alice's version of fun would be and hesitant to set her off again.

Alice shrugged, then her face lit up. “How did you all meet?”

Snow snorted a surprised laugh, and Aurora looked uncomfortably at Red, who seemed surprised by the question. 

“Er, Snow saved my life, and Aurora tried to kill me,” Red answered. Aurora let out an affronted gasp and immediately defended herself.

“I did not try to kill you! I tried to kill her.” She jerked her thumb over to Snow, who smirked at that. Alice couldn’t stop her mouth from dropping open. Aurora waved her off. “Oh, don’t look like that. I didn’t do it. Obviously.”

“Not for lack of trying.” Snow laughed at her, and Aurora turned to glare. Sensing a fight incoming, Red tried to intervene.

“I met Snow first. Sirens get territorial about their mate, so when Aurora bonded, neither of them particularly wanted the other to live.” 

“But… You’re all good now?”

“Yeah, we worked it out.” Red grinned at them.

CHAPTER 29

Red

PRESENT DAY

Red woke in a cold sweat from an all too familiar nightmare-ish vision of a body bleeding out in her hands while disembodied laughter suffocated her senses. Jerking bolt upright in bed, she forced herself to take deep breaths, pressing her hands against her eyes to stave off the tears. The only thing in the room she could hear other than her ragged breathing was the soft sound of her sirens sleeping.

They were safe. There was no blood, no body, no laughing. 

It was only a dream. 

Slipping out of bed, Red spared one last glance back to her mates, tucked away safely under the covers, before she stole out of their room, softly closing the door behind her. It would be easiest if she and Alice were able to leave before the sun rose. Snow and Aurora would follow despite their agreement not to. The more of a start she had on them, the safer they’d be.

After her deal with Ches, Red had taken out additional protections on her cabin. He already couldn’t enter because of her deal with the Jabberwock, but now no one else could either. Not unless she was with them or their biological signature had been added to the wards. 

As long as they stayed in her cabin, they were safe. 

Before Red went to bed, she and Alice had packed supplies for the trip. It wouldn’t be long. They’d be back by nightfall, but Red knew firsthand how things could go wrong. They had food and water for two days, a healing potion each, and a few salves. Additionally, a small dagger was hidden in Alice’s pack. 

Meticulously strapping on all her sheaths, and placing her knives and arrows in them, Red waited for Alice to emerge from her room. When she’d finished and there was still no Alice, she tapped gently on the door.

“Alice?” she whispered, opening the door a crack and peering in. Walking over to the still sleeping figure, she reached out to gently shake Alice’s shoulder. Her skin was drenched in sweat. Moving with a sense of urgency now, Red shook her again, sitting on the bed next to her.

“Alice, wake up!” Alice groaned weakly, squeezing her eyes shut and scrunching up her face in the process. 

“What?” she whimpered, cracking her eyes open. Her pupils were blown, and Alice wasn’t focusing on her. “Where am I?” she asked, tipping her head to the other side, examining the room. 

“Alice, do you know who I am?” Red asked, concern lacing her voice.

Alice squinted up at her, thinking. “Red? What are you doing here?”

“This is my home, Alice,” she said gently. “Can you try to sit up for me? What’s going on?” 

“Oh, God” Alice burped, covering her mouth and throwing the covers back. She scrambled out of bed and rushed to the toilet, vomiting aggressively. Red fetched a mug of water and set it on the sink beside Alice, hovering. She grimaced when the next round of vomiting started, then left the bathroom. 

When the noises stopped, Red returned to find Alice’s head resting on her arm on the lip of the toilet. She was breathing hard, tear streaks running down her face mingling with spit and snot that she’d obviously tried to wipe away with her hand. 

“Are you okay?” Red asked, her voice soft and tentative.

Alice looked up with difficulty. She was shaking all over. “I…I don’t, I don’t know.” Alice’s voice was cracked and shaky. She clutched the toilet so hard her knuckles were white. “What’s happening?”

Red shook her head. Her mouth opened then closed before settling on something to say. “Do you feel like you’re going to be sick again?”

Alice swallowed. “No, I think my stomach is empty.”

Red wetted the towel and handed it to her. Alice thanked her, taking it with shaky hands and wiping her face.

“Let’s get you something for the nausea,” Red told her after she’d finished and helped her stand. Keeping a firm grip, she guided Alice on her wobbly legs to the table, then grabbed some ginger from the kitchen.

“Here, chew on this,” Red ordered, handing her the root. She rushed back to put some water in a kettle and light the stove. She had some chamomile and dried cinnamon somewhere.

Shuffling from plant to plant until Red found the chamomile, she picked a few flowers, crushing them and throwing them directly into the kettle while the water heated. Then she grabbed a mug and a cinnamon stick from her stores while she waited. 

The sound of the kettle whistling woke Snow and Aurora in the other room. They emerged when Red had placed the tea in front of Alice, still looking quite pale. Hair was plastered to her forehead, and she hadn’t stopped shaking. 

Red chewed on her bottom lip while watching Alice drink. She hadn’t been able to stay still, and now she couldn’t do anything else to help, so she stood, shifting from one foot to the other, waiting. 

“What happened?” Aurora gasped upon seeing Alice. She rushed over and placed a hand on her damp forehead. “What’s wrong, Alice?” she asked when no one answered. Alice shrugged weakly. Aurora looked to Red, who didn’t have any better answer.

“She got sick,” Red shrugged, helplessly.

“She looks bad,” Aurora noted. Red agreed with her assessment, but she didn’t know what to do. Red made potions for ailments, she wasn’t practiced at diagnosing them.

“Does she need a healer? There’s one in town, right?” Aurora asked.

“Maybe.” Red winced. “I gave her ginger root, and she has tea that should help. Might not need the healer.”

“But she’s a human, and…well, look at her!” Aurora exclaimed. “You cannot take her to the Cove today.” 

Red sighed, nodding. “I know.” 

“I’m sorry,” Alice whispered weakly. She hung her head, mug of tea clutched in her hands in her lap.

“Don’t apologize for something you can’t control, dear,” Aurora chided gently, stroking her cheek before lifting her face. “Drink your tea. It’ll help.”

“Can you think of any reason you’re feeling like this? It doesn’t look like a natural sickness,” Red hedged, wondering if she’d been cursed somehow. 

Did Ches have that kind of power? It wasn’t his usual game, but Alice also wasn’t his usual prey. He could be panicked or desperate, though that seemed unlikely. Red had never seen him look remotely concerned about anything before. Even when he learned he couldn’t touch her.

“I—“ Alice cut herself off, eyes widening with realization. “I haven’t taken my medicine since I got here.”

“What medicine?”

“For my… To help with my panic,” she mumbled, as though ashamed of the words. Red had no idea why something like that would bring shame.

“What was in it? What does it do?” Red pressed.

Alice furrowed her brows and tilted her head, looking up at Red with utter confusion on her face. “Erm, it’s a synthetic drug. I don’t know what’s in it, but it helps with my… It helps with the physical reaction you saw me have the other day.”

“Synthetic drug?”

“Yeah, er, manufactured? Man-made. Like, it came from a lab and not nature.” She tried again seeing the clueless look on everyone’s faces.

“Okay. It’s something you need to take how often?”

“Every night. I don’t know all the withdrawal symptoms, but this is a bad one to withdraw from.” Alice’s voice had a panicked edge to it now. Red thought back. It had been at least two nights since Alice arrived. That meant she had missed at least two doses of this medicine. 

It reminded Red of the time her brother had tried to stop drinking after he’d gotten too out of control one night. He’d been overindulging for months before that too, and he was wracked with the same shivers and sweats that Alice had. She still had a potion left over from the results of that mishap. 

Turning and rushing to the kitchen without another word, Red dug through the potion cabinet until she spotted the shimmery white potion at the back. She pulled it out and uncorked the stopper, counting five drops into Alice’s tea before handing it over with the instructions to drink it all. Alice obeyed without questioning her. When she finished her tea and placed the mug on the table, Red grabbed an apple and shoved it into her hands.

“Eat. It might help.”

“Are you feeling anything else?” Snow asked, appearing beside Red and sitting at the table, pulling her mate down onto her lap.

“My head hurts still, but I don’t think I’m going to be sick again."

This time, Red got up and returned with a yellow potion. She gave her two drops of that in her mug now and filled with water, instructing her again to drink the whole thing.

“That’s amazing! How did you do that? My headache, it’s gone.”

Red gave her a soft smile. “I’m good at what I do.”

“And a bit of witch blood helps,” Aurora added, winking at Alice, whose mouth dropped in horror.

“I just drank blood?” she heaved like she might be sick again. Snow snorted a laugh, not the least bit insulted by Alice’s reaction. Aurora, on the other hand, frowned and moved away from her.

“No, I have witch in my blood. The potion has some magic, is all she meant,” Red answered hurriedly. “It just helps everything work quicker and more efficiently.”

“Okay.” Alice sighed, nodding and releasing the tension in her shoulders. “I guess we can go now, right? Since I’m better?” 

Alice looked out the window to see the sun had risen, and light was shining throughout the forest. The three other women exchanged looks, all hesitant and in agreement before Red turned back to Alice.

“We’re not going anywhere today, Alice,” she said gently, sensing the guilt in the other woman. “You still look like shit, and you haven’t stopped shaking. Are you cold?”

“No.” Alice shook her head even as a shiver wracked down her spine and her teeth clashed together. 

“Should I get a healer?” Snow asked. Red shot her a betrayed look for taking Aurora’s side, but Snow shrugged. “Look at her.”

“Fine,” Red huffed. “But neither of you are leaving this cabin until this whole thing is over. I’ll get the healer.”

CHAPTER 30

Red

PRESENT DAY

The healer took a lot from Alice. She claimed it was toxins infecting her mind; Alice insisted it was simply withdrawals from her medications. Either way, the healer warned it would be exceedingly painful to heal her. Alice had spent the entire day sleeping, mumbling sometimes, and tossing fitfully. The healer left instructions to watch over her, and handed Red a potion to give to Alice as soon as she awoke.

When Alice woke late that evening and took the potion, they decided if she felt better in the morning, they’d leave first thing. Alice told them of the dreams that had plagued her during her healing. More of the same, more memories. None of them were useful, but it solidified Red's determination in what she would soon ask Alice to do. It would help her healing, it would help both of their healing.

The following morning, Red slipped out of bed before her sirens awoke, with the intention, once again, of getting a head start on the day. Alice came out of her room while Red was strapping on all of her weapons again, giving her a wary look.

“I thought this wasn’t supposed to be dangerous,” Alice said, her voice an octave too high to be casual.

Red chuckled and nodded to the table where her breakfast was laid out: an apple and cheese slices with a mug of water mixed with a few drops of the potion from the healer. “Glad to see you up. Now, eat your breakfast, Alice.”

“Red…” Alice pried, sitting at the table and grabbing the apple, then inspecting it before taking a bite.

“Just a precaution since we’re going through the Moors. We should be fine as long as they don’t recognize me.”

“And if they do?” Alice asked, stilling visibly and forcing the food in her mouth down her throat.

“Well, then you’ll be glad I came prepared.” Red winked as she slid the last dagger into a sheath on her ankle then straightened. “Before we leave, I need to know how you’re feeling, better I assume?”

“Actually, yeah. I feel really good today,” Alice said brightly. A smile graced her features.

“Good. Don’t forget to drink the potion. We’ll leave now, and you can finish the apple while we walk.” 

Alice did as instructed, throwing the small mug of water and potion back quickly, then shoving a piece of cheese into her mouth.

“Ready?”

“I guess so,” Alice said. She took a deep breath and grabbed her sack while Red waited for her to follow.

They had been walking for hours, and the sun was finally rising. Neither had spoken since they left the cabin. A part of Red worried that if the silence were broken he would find them. This was their first time out of the cabin since they’d run into him the night Alice arrived in this new world. She knew he would be on alert, listening for whispers of their movements. Going anywhere was a risk now.

“Thank you,” Alice whispered. “I never said it, the first night or any other time, but thank you for helping me and for trying to get me back.”

Red gave her a half smile. “I have to admit, it’s not entirely selfless.”

“What do you mean?”

“A long time ago,” Red sighed. “Ches… Well, he took something from me, and I promised to get my revenge.”

“I don’t understand what that has to do with me…”

Red gave her a sideways look before clarifying.

“I’ve spent years learning about him. Learning everything I could get my hands on, looking for a weakness. I tried to kill him.” She let out a wry chuckle. “I’ve tried to kill him hundreds of times. Everyone said it was impossible, but I knew there had to be something. No one is invincible, Alice.” She gave her a meaningful look. “No one. And now, you’ve shown up. He’s going to get what’s coming.”

Alice was shaking her head before she even knew what Red was telling her. Red had told her this trip was for information. Information that would provide the answer to getting Alice back home. Back to her own world where she belonged. She did not tell Alice the part about it also being a revenge quest for a years old grudge Red held.

Red intended for Alice to kill Ches, and now Red could tell that Alice was finally putting the pieces together.

“I—I can’t. I can’t ki⁠—”

“Don’t,” Red warned, cutting Alice off and shaking her head. “Look, I know you don’t want to, and I’m sorry it has to be you, but as long as he lives, you’re trapped here.”

Alice’s breath hitched, and her eyes widened. “What?” 

“How did you think you were going to get back? He took the only known door. He’s not going to just give it back if you ask nicely,” Red snarled. She didn’t mean to make Alice flinch. She knew the woman was scared of her, but honestly, how could she be so daft?

“I—” Alice tried, but Red cut her off again, shaking her head.

“It’s you or him, and if you don’t want to spend the rest of your life in this world running, I suggest you get comfortable with the idea.”

Alice didn’t have a response to this. Red watched as she opened and closed her mouth, words failing her as the truth of Red’s statement washed over her.

There was no other way.

There was always a chance this trip wouldn’t be as helpful as Red hoped. Maybe Alice would come to terms with it if given more time. It wasn’t often someone got to enact their revenge for a decades old torture, after all.

CHAPTER 31

Alice

PRESENT DAY

“We’re about to cross into the Moors,” Red announced after another hour had passed in silence. 

Alice hadn’t even noticed the forest around them begin to change as they walked on. She’d been so consumed with worries that she wouldn’t be able to do what Red wanted. Wondering how long their hospitality would last if she couldn’t go through with it. She had been so stuck in her head that she stopped noticing her surroundings. No time to dwell on that now. This was the dangerous part. She had to keep her wits about her.

Before the forest started to thin out and give way to water, Red turned to face her. “Alice. You need to do exactly as I say while we’re crossing through. Do you understand?”

Alice nodded.

“That means,” Red continued seriously. “If I tell you to run, you run. If I tell you to leave me, you do not wait. You turn around and run as fast as you can the direction we came from. If you can remember how to get back to the cabin, run straight there and don’t look back. I’m serious, Alice. Can you do that?”

Alice swallowed thickly but nodded again.

“Good. Now, don’t speak and stay behind me. Hood up.” Red dug through Alice’s bag for a moment before pulling out a small dagger and pressing it into her palm. “Keep that in your hand but out of sight.” 

Then Red turned, drew up her own hood and they entered the Moors.

Whatever Alice had thought they were about to walk into, it wasn’t this. Instead of a sudden depletion of trees in favor of an expanse of ocean they would need to boat across, there was a large, murky lake. The smell of salt water was thick and pungent. The trees didn’t fully disappear until several meters into the water. 

They were left to cross a foot path split in the middle of two sides of the lake. A footpath which looked barely large enough for a vehicle, though Alice doubted they had those here since they’d walked everywhere so far.

The path was well-trodden, with several breaks in the center divots where individual footprints broke off and led into the water, but never out. The further they walked, the more exposed Alice felt. Then the trees diminished, and the full force of the sun blazed down on them, all coverage abandoning them as they crept on.

Beneath her cloak, Alice readjusted her grip on the knife and, keeping her head firmly lowered, darted her gaze around, waiting for the sound of whispering or splashing water to indicate the sirens she’d been warned about had come. There was no one to be seen save for the two of them. 

The path was empty as far as she could tell, but she couldn’t see very well around the woman in front of her. And she was loathe to step away from Red for the sole purpose of examining their surroundings better. 

Alice didn’t know how long they’d have to be walking in the open like this, but she did not like it one bit.

Her skin prickled with the sensation of eyes boring into her back, but when she turned her head subtly to either side, she saw no one. The longer they walked, the more she fidgeted with the knife in her hand, ready to strike out at a moment's notice.

In front of her, Red looked entirely at ease and in control of herself. She was walking with her head dipped but her shoulders back, and there was no hesitance to her footsteps. Red didn’t jump at the breeze curling around them or the small waves it brought to the water. 

There had been no birds or bugs flitting overhead while they walked, no fish jumping in the lake. Despite this, Alice knew there were sirens. She knew they were being watched, even though she couldn’t see the source.

A sudden whispering song traveled through the air, caressing her ears, and Alice snapped her head toward the noise. Nothing. More water, no life. She hadn’t imagined the song. When she looked back in front of her, she’d noticed Red had tensed. Her step faltered before she continued, increasing her pace. Alice was not comforted by this change.

How much further did they have until they were safe? Red had claimed it wasn’t dangerous, but Alice certainly was doubting that more and more as they moved deeper into this area, losing faith altogether when Red came to a sudden stop right in front of her. Alice almost ran into the woman, but was able to narrowly avoid her. She peered over Red’s shoulder to see another woman stark naked walking right up to them.

The new arrival was dripping from lake water, her scales shimmering a deep blue before melding into perfect, unblemished black skin that still glinted with blue tones in the sunlight. Her nose popped out and extended into a human nose while gill slits on her ribs vanished. Her hair was dripping with seaweed, but her nails stayed sharp, threatening. 

She was stunning, and shockingly familiar. Alice was transfixed. She couldn’t look away as the woman approached them.

Glancing back at Red, Alice noticed the woman hadn’t even moved her head. Red wasn’t watching the siren approach at all, with her thick, swinging hips and her tilting head. Red was just standing there, unmoving, like she was waiting. The siren was examining them, trying to sort out who would dare enter their territory. 

Red’s hood covered half her face and she made no move to adjust it. Then Alice spotted the magic in a swirling cloud around Red. None of it was around Alice. Perhaps the siren hadn’t seen her behind Red, she was shorter than her after all. 

Remembering how Red had behaved when Snow used her magic, Alice wished she could somehow push the magic from Red’s mind. Check Red’s eyes and see if she really was being taken over by the dangerous song. 

“We don’t get many travelers in this area. Are you lost, dear?” The sickly sweet voice was a song through the air and it made Alice squirm.

“Just passing through,” Red murmured, her voice quiet. Alice could tell she was fighting the magic, and based on the smoothness of her words, she was winning.

The siren cocked her head to one side, studying the woman in front of her more closely now. Her eyes narrowed and she ducked, trying to get a better look beneath the hood. Red lowered her head and turned her face to the side. 

A soft growl emanated from the siren’s throat. She reached out and snatched Red’s chin, lifting her face up. Alice saw movement under Red’s cloak as she tensed, her elbow jutting out just a bit further.

“Oh.” The siren blinked in surprise. She ran her hand up Red’s cheek before using it to fully push the hood back. Red raised her head to level a challenging look at the siren.

“Red,” she purred, her voice low. Alice noticed several heads pop out of the water surrounding them at the name. They were suddenly much more interested than before. Red straightened, rolling her shoulders back and cracking her neck before sliding seamlessly into a defensive posture.

“How’s my sister?” the siren asked, drawing a small gasp from Alice before she could stop herself. 

“Lovely,” Red replied tauntingly, before lowering her tone in a warning. “Move.” Alice could see the siren smile, a wicked smile with teeth as sharp as razors. 

“Now, Red. Is that anyway to talk to family?”

“We are not family, Ti,” she spat. “And I told you if I saw you again, I’d kill you.”

“You enter my territory and have the gall to threaten me?”

Red shrugged. “You accosted me. Could’ve let me pass."

“I didn’t know it was you!” the siren hissed. “But I supposed it wouldn’t have changed anything,” she admitted, reaching out to stroke Red’s cheek again, letting her hand drift down to the nape of her neck. Red smacked her away, drawing her sword in the process. The siren just sucked her teeth.

“No need to be rude, love.”

“Move,” Red demanded again. Alice felt the magic swell in the air around them, and when the siren spoke again, her voice was the same song she’d heard when she first approached them, only angrier.

“Put that thing away.” Her voice snapped through the magic, pushing into Red’s thoughts. Then she changed to a sweeter, more seductive tone. “For old times sake.”

Red snorted. “No.”

“You’re just a human,” she spat, losing any sense of calm.  “How are you resisting?” Alice saw the magic pushing harder, an almost opaque cloud surrounding the woman in front of her.

“Oh, but I’m not just a human anymore, Ti.” Red smiled sweetly, the barest hint of slurred words in her speech. She winked at the siren. “Bit harder on wolves, innit?” The siren’s eyes widened a fraction, and a brief flash of fear crossed her features before she composed herself, dropping the magic away.

“Well, now. You’ve become much more interesting.” The siren slowly started to circle Red, looking her up and down as she did. She stopped when she got to her right side, spotting Alice. Red turned to keep Ti in front of her, her sword loosely gripped in her right hand, a silent barrier between Alice and the siren. 

“Who do we have here?” the siren asked playfully. “Does my sister know you’re bringing a human through?” She reached out for Alice who flinched back, but there was no need. Alice didn’t see Red move but the siren did, stepping back in time to narrowly avoid Red’s sword coming toward her throat. 

The siren made a tsk sound. “Touchy.” She seemed entirely unbothered by the sudden attack. “She doesn’t look like your usual type.”

Alice shifted, feeling even more exposed than during their entire walk as the siren dragged her eyes slowly down Alice’s body. Most of which was covered by Aurora’s travel cloak, but that didn’t help the discomfort, the prickling sensation of the siren’s eyes on her. She swallowed thickly, unable and unwilling to speak. Alice expected a fight to start, or for Red to swing again, but instead she lowered her sword.

“Fuck off, Ti,” Red threatened, closing in, bringing them face to face before lowering her voice. “We’ll be going now.” Then she jerked her head to Alice, a silent demand to keep moving.

Taking a hesitant step forward, Alice inched past them, moving behind Red so she was blocked from the siren’s reach. Neither Red nor the siren paid Alice any mind as she moved, both standing their ground. It wasn’t until Alice had walked a few steps away that Red moved. She sheathed her sword and took a step back from the siren. Exhaling a short breath, Red followed Alice who watched over her shoulder, unwilling to let the two out of her sight.

The siren reached out to stop her, digging her claws into Red’s arm and earning a fuming glare. She pulled Red in close and whispered something Alice couldn’t hear before giving her cheek a soft kiss, then nipped at her ear. 

“Not a chance,” Red replied with a soft smirk, yanking her arm out of the siren’s grip. Her claws left a trail of blood that Red didn’t bother wiping away before continuing to Alice. 

“Give Snow my regards,” the siren called after them, and Red merely threw a rude gesture her way without turning back to address the taunt.

Red stayed behind Alice until the siren returned to the water. Alice let out a sigh of relief when Red passed her, tugging her hood back up and resuming her position in the lead. She knew they weren’t out of danger, but she felt a little better. 

The siren had recognized Red, threatened her, cut her, and Red had swung on her in response, but their confrontation never came to a fight. The two really had hardly acknowledged Alice at all, and she was grateful. Alice didn’t want to run and leave Red if it came to it, and was certain she wouldn’t be able to find her own way back to the cabin.

As they walked, more sirens peered at them curiously, their heads only breaching the surface enough to poke their eyes out and watch. News of who they were must have traveled, but to her immense relief, no one else bothered them. 

They walked for a long time. The sun was high overhead now, and Alice had started sweating by the time she finally saw trees again. Her throat ached and she itched to grab the water pouch in her pack, but the thought of stopping for any reason was too daunting. Alice could wait until the forest. It felt safer there, out of siren territory, less exposed. 

What she wouldn’t give to be back in her home right now, sitting in her comfy chair, sorting through pictures of bugs. The thought made her homesick. Alice had never really traveled before, the unknown lending to an anxiety she preferred to avoid. 

How long had it been since she’d been gone, three days, four? She would have missed her appointment with Dianne by now. A pang of guilt shot through her at the thought. She never missed her appointments. Would Dianne be angry with her, or worried? Would she report her missing, or would Alice come home to a few concerned texts and calls and nothing else? 

Alice had no one else in her life, not really. The thought wasn’t new, but it was one she didn’t want to focus on. It had recently started to make her feel bad. She’d never felt lonely before. It just made sense for her. She was her own boss, she worked in a field most days surrounded by bugs and solitude. Why would she need friends? People weren't nice, that was just a fact in Alice’s world.

But there was something about the three women she’d met here that made her crave more relationships. Safe ones, comforting ones. These women weren’t safe by any means, she knew that, but they had given her a sense of comfort and protection when she was around them. 

At least, in the cabin, not out here exposed in siren territory. It was because they were nice. Nice without demanding anything in return. Well… that wasn’t exactly true now was it? Alice focused back on the woman in front of her.

Kill Ches. That was what Red wanted from her. But Red had also said she was sorry for it and it was the only way Alice could return home, so really, it was Red being nice. And killing Ches would probably be good for Alice’s mental health.

While Alice let her thoughts drift to home and the current predicament, they crossed back into the forest. Safe. Alice knew that wasn’t exactly correct, but with the trees surrounding them and the sirens no longer watching, she relaxed.

“You knew that siren,” Alice whispered when she thought they’d gotten far enough away. It wasn’t a question, and Red didn’t answer it, only sighed. “Is that why you said it would be dangerous if you were recognized?”

“Yeah. That was Snow’s clan.”

Alice sucked in a breath. She should have guessed. The siren had asked about Snow, mentioned her sister, and she bore a striking resemblance to Snow.

“If that’s her… clan, then why would it be dangerous if they recognized you?”

Red huffed a laugh. “Let’s just say neither of us are exactly welcome there.”

“Why?”

“Snow was kicked out after she told them she’d bonded with a human.”

“Oh… I’m sorry.” It wasn’t her fault, but it felt like the right thing to say in that situation. Red just shrugged like it wasn’t a big deal.

“Did Snow introduce you before she was kicked out?” Alice asked, wanting to know if Red was the reason, or if it would’ve been the same with any human.

“The siren clans just work like that,” Red answered. “They’re at war. If one of their own bonds with a human, it’s a liability. They couldn’t risk her turning against them because of her mate. I met Ti and a few others before I ever knew Snow. So to answer your question, no. Snow never brought me around to meet them. Even if she hadn’t been exiled, she still wouldn’t have brought me around. Like I said before, sirens are territorial. She wouldn’t want another one to see me. Could’ve turned into another Aurora situation.” Red laughed, but Alice could hear the sincerity. 

Alice could only imagine the bloodshed if one of Snow’s clan mates bonded, remembering the tension between Snow and Aurora. That also explained why they’d both been so angry when Red suggested she and Alice travel this way.

“Then, how did you know that one we met?”

“Like I said. I knew Ti before I met Snow.”

“How?” Red gave her a sideways glance, tilting her head and smiling. But instead of answering, she nodded in front of them. “We’re here.”

Up ahead, the trees gave way to a large pool of pristine blue water with lush green moss and ferns littering the edges. A waterfall rushed in the background, and several rocks jutted out in the center. It was a truly gorgeous sight that could have taken Alice’s breath away if she weren’t so distracted by the figures in the pool.

Atop the rocks, Alice saw women sunbathing. No, not women. Mermaids. Their exposed upper halves were tanned and human-like, more so than the sirens she’d just seen, but with gill slits along their rib cages. It wasn’t until their hips that they really started to differ. Their skin melded into beautiful tails with aquamarine scales that glistened in the sunlight. The mermaids lifted their heads when they heard Alice and Red approach, but not a single one moved to flee. 

“Ariel!” Red called out when they neared the water’s edge. Alice watched the mermaids, but none of them moved.

CHAPTER 32

Red

PRESENT DAY

Red knelt down when Ariel’s head popped out of the water before them. She tried to ignore the way Alice jumped beside her.

“Red, darling. It’s been too long,” Ariel signed, her face and hands visible above the water and her blue tresses pooled in the water around her. She smiled sincerely at the two women, looking curiously between them.

“We need information,” Red replied by way of greeting, digging through her pack and pulling out the potion she’d brought for Ariel as payment. The mermaid's eyes lit up as she accepted, a playful look crossing her features before she flicked her gaze back to Alice, an unspoken question in her eyes. 

“I need to know about the Vorpal Blade,” Red signed, switching to hand signals to keep their conversation private. She could explain to Alice once they were safe again.

“Red…” Ariel started, hands hesitating until she saw the look on the woman’s face. She sighed and continued. “Rumor is⁠—“

“I know the rumors,” Red signed back, cutting her off. “I need the facts. Where is it?”

“It’s been lost to time, broken and discarded long ago. But you already knew that.”

“Ariel.” Red spoke out loud, her voice a low warning. She knew the mermaid could give her more than that. Ariel huffed.

“Fine. He has one half, as I think you know.” Red nodded and Ariel continued. “I’ve only heard whispers about the other half, but I believe she has it, the other queen.”

Red sucked her teeth. “Thanks,” she said aloud, visibly irritated by the information. It would be much more difficult to obtain the other half if it really was with who Ariel suspected, and her information was rarely wrong.

“Red?” Ariel’s movement drew her attention back, an eyebrow raised in question. “I don’t know what you’re planning but… You need to be careful. It’s tired of waiting. The blade, it calls to its other half. It wants to be wielded again. War is coming.”

“War always comes,” Red replied with a nonchalant wave of her hands.

“A war beyond the queens. A war that could tear this world apart.”

Red looked at her more seriously now, contemplating Ariel’s warning. She cupped Ariel’s face gently with one hand and looked hard into her eyes.

“Thank you. Tell no one of this,” she whispered before leaning down and kissing her forehead. Ariel nodded.

“Let’s go,” she said to Alice, standing up and turning away from the pool. Alice trailed behind, and Red could practically feel the questions buzzing out of her companion.

“Are you going to tell me what just happened?” Alice asked once the Cove was out of sight and they were walking quickly back in the direction they’d come. Back to the sirens.

“Yes, when we get back.”

Alice stopped. “No. I came all this way with you. Risked my life through the siren territory.” Red rolled her eyes, but Alice pressed on. “For a conversation in sign language that I couldn’t even understand! All to help me get home, and you won’t even tell me? Why did I have to come with you if you won’t tell me what we’ve found out?!” Her voice rose with each word. Red shushed her, trying to get her to lower voice.

“Alice,” she hissed in a tight whisper. “Quiet. I will tell you, but it’s not safe here.”

Alice glared at her and refused to keep walking. It took Red several steps to realize Alice was no longer following. She turned and groaned.

“Fine,” Red whispered, moving in close and lowering her voice further so they couldn't be overhead by sharp, prying ears. “The blade. The one you remembered. It needs to be whole to do the rest of the job, and I asked about the other half. He has one half, as you know, but the other was lost. We need to reunite the halves. Now come on. That’s all I can tell you right now.” She turned and stalked off before Alice could further argue.

CHAPTER 33

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice hurried to catch up to Red. She did not like where this was going, didn’t want to think about Red’s plan for how the hell they were going to get both halves of the blade if Ches already had one of them. Maybe Alice was stuck here forever. Maybe it was impossible. 

Or, better yet, maybe someone else would come along who could actually bring themselves to murder like it was no big deal. The tiniest voice in the back of Alice’s mind said maybe it could be her—that part grew stronger with each passing moment. Maybe she was capable of this. Before Alice had too long to simmer in her irritation, a rustle came from a shrub behind them. Red whirled around, facing the affronting shrub and drawing her sword. 

Alice couldn’t see anything abnormal, and given how these things happened in movies, it was probably a hare or another inconsequential animal. But then Red stepped away from Alice, turning in a slow circle to survey the entire scene. 

There were trees—as there seemed to be everywhere here—and bushes, ferns, rocks, but Alice couldn’t see anything suspicious. Regardless, the forest had changed. It was entirely too still, too quiet, suffocating. Not even a breeze to shake the trees. No matter what she was telling herself, she could sense something was not right. 

The hairs on her arms and neck stood up, and she got the uncomfortable notion they were being watched. The rustling came again, behind them now, and Red spun again to face it, moving to block Alice when a soft tutting noise came from behind a particularly large tree on their left.

“You’re getting slow, Red.” The voice chimed out from the shadows. A horrible, horrible voice. Then, he stepped out. Alice took an involuntary step back. His unusually large smile was plastered on his face, and his sharp cat-like eyes pinned them in place.

“And you left your pets behind, good. That will make this much easier.” Ches tilted his head, examining Red. 

As he spoke, more than a dozen sirens appeared in between the trees surrounding them. Alice whipped around in a tight circle, clenching the dagger Red had given her like her life depended on it. There were too many of them. Alice turned back to Red, who hadn’t taken her eyes off Ches.

“How many sirens do you think we need to contain the wolf?” Ches asked conversationally, and Red narrowed her eyes, body tensing.

“Tired of your games already, Ches?” she bit out. “Or are you scared.” 

Ches giggled. There was no other way to describe the sound that ruptured from him, light and bubbly. It grated on Alice’s ears. His laughter was filled with genuine amusement.

“Oh, but my dear Red, we’re still playing. I got word from our friend you were galavanting about with my Alice, so I thought I’d come to test out a curiosity.”

Alice could see the cloud of magic coursing through the air. She tried to call out a warning, but what could Red even do to stop it? They were surrounded. Alice had seen her fight off that other siren's magic, but that was just one. This was sixteen. Every single one of them directed their magic toward Red, and Red alone. 

Watching helplessly, Alice saw Red drop her sword, and before she could process what was happening, Red had flicked two knives from their sheaths on her wrists, flinging them at the closest two sirens. They were caught in their throats, falling to the ground at the same time Red dropped to her knees, unable to fight the magic any longer. 

Throwing the cloak off her shoulders, Alice brandished her dagger. Ches’s laughter rang out through the forest, cruel and cold. But before anything else could happen, before she could even consider how to survive a battle with fourteen sirens and the creature of her nightmares alone, two more sirens hit the ground. 

Blood spurted from new gaping holes in their necks. Snow and Aurora stepped into the circle. Alice had never seen them looking so murderous, with blood dripping from their claws, their eyes scanning the other sirens as if determining who to take out next.

“We’re just here to contain the wolf. She won’t be harmed,” the siren nearest Snow hissed in a panicked voice. 

“Or maybe, the wolf needs to be reminded of what happens when she plays at breaking my deals,” Ches threatened, and every siren turned to him. He pointed to Aurora and simply said, “That one.”

“No!” Alice cried at the same time Snow muttered, “Fuck.” 

After a moment's hesitation, the fighting began.

Alice watched in horror as the remaining throng of sirens converged on Snow and Aurora, who had taken up defensive stances standing back-to-back. Alice wanted to help, to fight for them, but the flurry of limbs was too much to track. She wouldn’t last a second if she jumped in. 

One siren stumbled back, and before she could overthink it, Alice lunged, gripping her knife, blade pointed at the creature. She stabbed the siren right in the gut. Blood poured out over the knife, and she rounded on Alice, who yanked the dagger back, stumbling. But the siren didn’t strike, something had forced her to freeze amidst the chaos.

“Not. Her.” A low growl emanated through the sounds of fighting. It was a whisper, a warning, and then the siren was going down right in front of Alice. Snow took her place and gave Alice the briefest of smiles before turning back to rip a new siren off Aurora.

Snow and Aurora had taken out two more sirens by the time Alice moved again. There were nine left, all breathing hard. Blood was everywhere. Alice couldn't tell how much of it came from Snow and Aurora, but Aurora was limping and clutching her side, starting to slow. Snow hadn’t faltered, slicing another siren's throat as Alice looked on helplessly.

“Alice! Red's cloak!” Aurora yelled desperately before crying out as she took another hit. Aurora dropped to one knee, slicing out while Snow yanked another siren away from her. One more dropped. Seven left. 

Alice snapped out of her daze, turning to run back to Red. The cloak holds the wolf back. If she could get it off, maybe Red’s wolf side would be stronger than the seven remaining sirens’ magic. Alice winced. She didn’t believe the words she was telling herself, but it was better than doing nothing. She couldn’t let Aurora die.

Alice dropped her dagger and grabbed at the ties on Red’s cloak, fingers fumbling as they slipped through her grasp. The knots were impossibly hard to release with her hands shaking from the pressure. The cloak held on too well.

“Get her away from the wolf!” Ches cried out. Alice felt hands grabbing at her waist, pulling her away. She yanked at the ties. Frantically pulling the ties while elbowing the sirens grabbing her, she remembered her knife on the ground. Reaching down, one hand holding the knot, she desperately swiped up, trying not to cut Red and sliced through the ties before being thrown to the ground. Alice kicked wildly at the body on top of her, landing a hit with a grunt. She scrambled out from under the siren.

Crawling on all fours, Alice moved away from the siren back toward Red only to see her way blocked. The remaining sirens had fully surrounded Red, forming a barrier between her and Snow and Aurora. One of the sirens had a tight grip on Red’s throat, but Alice had succeeded. Red’s cloak was pooled at her feet. Snow picked up Red’s discarded sword, wielding it effortlessly. She lashed out at the two closest sirens, slicing through them like butter. Five left.

Ches stood out of the fray, watching intently. They were at an impasse. 

There was so much blood, and Aurora looked badly injured. She had shifted most of her weight to one leg and leaned heavily on Snow, who was looking almost entirely unharmed. Blood dripped from a slash in Aurora’s ribs, matting her disheveled and torn clothing. 

Alice wanted to rush to her, to try and help, but she was powerless to stop any of the events unfolding. Aurora looked ready to faint, and if it weren't for Snow’s support, Alice suspected she might.

“You can all walk away from this if you give me Alice.” Ches’s voice broke the tense standoff. “My sirens will release your wolf back to you, unharmed.” His words were sweet like honey, floating through the air on a song, a temptation. 

Alice looked wide-eyed to the sirens she had grown to call friends, a plea in her eyes. She knew it was hopeless. They would sacrifice anyone to save their mate, and everyone knew it. 

“How can we trust you?” Snow called, she refused to look at Alice, keeping the sword raised. Aurora gave Alice a sorrowful look. Alice started sweating, waiting helplessly for her fate to be determined.

“I’ll make you a deal,” Ches taunted, head tilting and gaze piercing Snow.

“You can’t kill her,” Snow answered, and Alice wasn’t sure if she was informing him or bargaining.

“True,” he conceded, eyes narrowing in suspicion.

“They can’t kill her,” she continued, looking at the sirens holding her mate. Ches didn’t respond, but that in itself was an answer.

Snow lunged, dropping her support on Aurora who stumbled before catching herself. She skewered her sword through one more siren, dancing away before the rest struck back, then waited to see what would happen. They couldn’t touch her, they couldn’t kill Red. Ches gave an outraged cry, the only break in his composure Alice had ever seen. Four left.

For a tense second, nothing happened. Then, through the silence, they all heard a bone snap. Then another, and another. The siren holding Red dropped her and took several quick steps back, watching in horror. Red had begun transforming. Painful sounding snaps and cracks filled the air before a howl pierced their ears. Standing in front of Alice and the sirens now was the largest wolf Alice had ever seen. 

On all fours, the wolf was taller than each siren surrounding her, head level with Ches. Red’s eyes were still clouded over from magic, but she snarled and snapped at the nearest siren, crushing her throat between her powerful jaws. 

“Keep them busy! But don’t kill the wolf!” Ches screamed before running toward Alice.

She couldn’t tear her focus away from the unfolding fight, clutching her knife and about to join in the fray.

The three remaining sirens jumped on Red, tearing out bits of fur and flesh as they dug their talons into her in a desperate attempt to hold her down, to prevent her from chasing after Alice. Snow lunged, trying to help her mate fight them off. None of them bothered with Aurora anymore, who could hardly stand on her own let alone pose a threat.

“Alice!” Red’s low, gravelly, monstrous voice cried out. “The blade.”

Alice had already drawn the knife Red had given her and tried to remember any of the weapon training they’d done, but she knew she was too late. Alice slashed out blindly, hoping her knife would find an enemy's body. Then a warm hand touched her shoulder, and before she could stab it, the entire world fell away. There was nothing but black.

CHAPTER 34

Red

PRESENT DAY

They were too late. Ches got her. Alice had gone under. Red could only hope Alice had understood her last words. The blade. Get the blade and come back. Because there was nothing Red could do to help her now, not with the sirens holding her down. Ches was using them as a distraction, to stop Red, Snow, and Aurora from getting back to Alice before his dwarves hauled her out of sight.

Fur and flesh were torn from Red, the pain biting into her back as she frantically kicked and nipped at the sirens. They shouldn’t be hurting her like this. She doubted it was intentional or Ches would have put a stop to it. He was too preoccupied with Alice now. Snow tried as much as she could to throw the sirens off, but Red, in her wolf form, was too tall.

“Move,” she growled at Snow before rearing up and falling onto her back. Sirens were quicker than werewolves, but if she caught them off guard, she could get them. And she did. Feeling the bones crunch underneath her was satisfying, but it didn’t last. She’d only gotten one. The others had scrambled away from her before her back hit the ground. 

Unfortunately, it was too late. Red couldn’t do anything except try to take out the remaining two of the sirens. They were on her and Snow. She knew Snow could protect herself, but she hadn’t seen Aurora. That thought made her fight harder.

She'd told them not to follow her, so was it only Snow? Had Aurora somehow been convinced to stay home? Red could have laughed at the thought. There was no way that siren could ever be convinced to stay put. Or had she gone after Alice? Red didn’t want to think about what would happen then. 

Then Red spotted her, collapsed in a heap on the ground and covered in blood that had to be a mix of her own plus everyone else’s. How many more sirens did they need to take care of before Red was safe to run to her? 

The remaining two sirens abruptly stopped fighting, choosing instead to flee into the surrounding forest. Red looked around them. Ches was gone. Alice was gone. It was only Red, her mates, and scores of bodies. 

She let herself change back, out of place bones broke and re-healed as she shrunk back into her human form. The gouges on her back screamed in protest, stretching as she contorted. Her skin thinned. She hadn’t realized the sirens had got so much of her. Too late she realized she shouldn’t have transformed, should have let the wolf’s accelerated healing take care of it before she changed.

The pain was worse now, the blood was flowing down her back in a way it wouldn’t have if she’d stayed a wolf. Trying to ignore her poor choice, she staggered over to Aurora. The siren was breathing. She was awake, but she was weakened.

“You followed me,” Red accused, her voice cracked and thin. She took Aurora’s face gently between her hands. Snow came up beside them with Red’s pack, setting it on the ground next to her before kneeling with them.

“Of course we followed you,” Snow answered. She didn’t sound as annoyed as Red had expected her to, mostly just relieved. Red found the healing potion in her bag and tipped it into Aurora’s mouth until she’d consumed every last drop.

“Do you have another one of those for you?” Snow asked while they waited for Aurora to start healing. The potion wouldn’t help her entirely, but it should make it so Aurora could get herself to the sea where she’d heal quicker. Red looked around, failing to spot the other pack. Ches must have taken it.

“I only brought one in my pack and one in Alice’s. I’ll be fine. They can’t kill me, it should be fine.” Red was acutely aware of the blood on her back, a sticky mess sliding down her body. She just needed to clean it off and she would be good to go. It would clot and dry on their walk back, and she could wash up at home and have Snow apply a salve. The breeze picked up, cooling her hot skin. She shivered, looking around as she registered her nudity.

“Are my clothes…” She trailed off, spotting the shredded pile on the ground and groaned.

Snow went over to collect them for her, holding them up to examine what was left. Snow grabbed the cloak instead and wrapped it around Red’s body to stave off the chill. 

Red’s skin was cool to the touch, drenched with sweat from the fighting, and she shivered. It wasn’t that cold out. The cloak was a welcome comfort but it didn’t stop her shaking.

“We should get home,” Snow encouraged, an urgent undertone in her voice. 

“Yeah.” Red swallowed, nodding and looking at Aurora. The siren’s color had returned, and her eyes had brightened.

“I can walk,” Aurora agreed. “Are we going to talk about Alice?” she asked quietly, her eyes on the ground and sadness in her tone.

“I’m sorry, Rora.” Red shook her head slowly. “But we can’t do anything for her now.” She stood, offering a hand to Aurora. Suddenly the world swam in her vision and she stumbled. Snow and Aurora both looked at Red with concern, and she furrowed her brows, blinking to clear the blur away. Her heart pounded in her chest, trying to escape.

“I don’t—” She couldn’t finish her sentence. The world had turned, and she bent over, emptying the contents of her stomach. Snow held her up as she heaved.

“I might need Ariel,” Red admitted weakly when she’d finished and was trying to stand. 

They made it halfway to the Cove before Red lost consciousness. Snow caught her before she hit the ground and left Aurora to limp behind them while she rushed Red to the mermaid.

CHAPTER 35

Snow

PRESENT DAY

Snow called out for Ariel, panic lacing her voice and tears stinging her eyes. She plunged her mate into the blue glow of the water the second Ariel surfaced and the pressure in her chest receded. Red’s pulse was low, but it was there. She was breathing. And now she was healing at an accelerated rate thanks to the mermaid’s magic. 

When Ariel finished applying the salves to the extensive wounds covering Red’s back, she turned to Snow.

“What happened?” she signed.

“Ches brought a small army of sirens,” Snow explained, and Ariel sucked in a breath, hands hovering above the water. Before she could ask, Snow cut her off. “How bad is she?”

“The cuts are deep. Her back is… shredded. She lost a lot of blood, skin, and muscle. Some of the cuts are to the bone. It’ll take a while to heal her, but she will live.”

Snow’s hands shook as she caressed her mate's cheek. Embracing her as much as she could. “Where’s the other one Red came with?” Ariel asked. Movement caught Snow’s eye, and Snow looked over her shoulder for Aurora before answering.

“Alice. She got taken…” Snow sighed. She couldn’t look at the mermaid, guilt seeping into her. Instead, she looked back to see if Aurora was closer again. When she saw she wasn’t, she turned to Ariel again, still avoiding her gaze. “Shit. I’ll be right back."

Aurora was still practically where Snow had left her. Her leg had given out from under her and she kneeled on the ground, breathing hard. Snow gave her an annoyed look as she hauled her up.

“Red gave you her only healing potion, and you can’t even make it to the Cove,” Snow grumbled at her.

“Oh, fuck you…” Aurora snipped without any malice. Then, more worriedly, she asked, “How is she?”

“She’ll live.”

When the Cove came back into view, Snow helped Aurora to the ground beside Red. They watched Red in worried silence, hating their inability to do anything other than wait.

Ariel looked between them before splashing then signing, “do you know what Red was planning?”

“I have an idea…” Snow admitted cautiously, looking around for listening ears. “Same thing she’s been planning since I met her, right?”

Ariel nodded.

“I’m worried,” she signed. “She thinks she can do it this time. Is that why she brought Alice?”

Snow took a deep breath. “Yeah. That’s why.”

“What is she going to do now? Now that he has Alice?” Ariel asked.

“There’s nothing we can do but wait.” Snow lowered her voice to a whisper and leaned in, “She escaped him once, I think Red is counting on that again.”

The three looked at Red, lapsing into silence. None of them liked the idea of Alice being left to Ches, but Red wasn’t wrong. If they tried to go after her now, they would be killed, or worse. 

Ariel diligently reapplied salve when she could, but the woman wasn’t waking up. Snow and Aurora were going mad waiting. It didn't take long before they were demanding updates from Ariel every few minutes. In turn, the mermaid got fed up with them.

“The sun is going to go down soon, and you can’t stay here. I’ll keep her until she’s ready to leave,” Ariel signed, shooing them away.

Both sirens bristled. Snow raised her chin in defiance. “We are not leaving her.”

“Well, you’re not taking her with you, and you can’t enter these waters. It wouldn’t be safe for you to stay.” Then she looked toward Aurora, who had been struggling to stay awake the whole time. She was regaining her strength much too slowly. “You would heal faster if you got to the sea, but you need to leave now so you’re not traveling at night.”

A muscle in her jaw ticked and Snow clenched her fist, first looking at Aurora who gave a curt nod. “Fine,” She snapped. “But you can expect us back at first light.”

Ariel rolled her eyes and the sirens turned to leave, heading in the opposite direction from which they'd arrived, toward a sea they could safely enter.

CHAPTER 36

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice opened her eyes. Her head was pounding, and she couldn't remember how she’d ended up here. She squinted against the sunlight, blinking to clear her vision and looked out over a cheerful meadow. Trying, and failing, to capture the fleeting memories that led up to her current situation, she surveyed her surroundings. She was seated at a table. It was tea time. But it wasn’t tea time, was it? 

Something was wrong.

The scent of spiced cakes was heavy in the air along with light chatter floating around her. There were so many voices overlapping, filled with happiness. The voices were light and high, like the ones flowers would use. Flowers? That wasn’t right, flowers couldn’t talk. Where had that come from? 

There was no one around. Alice was alone. 

Something. Was. Wrong.

The table that lay before her was set for a party. She sat at the head. There were six empty chairs. Why was there a party? Alice looked down. She was wearing a pristine blue dress. The one she’d arrived in before… Before what? What happened to her? The memory was just out of reach, flying lazily through her thoughts but never quite close enough to grab.

One voice floated above the rest, distinct in its words, intelligible above the rest. It was light and sweet and so, so faint.

“Happy birthday, Alice,” the voice sang as it drifted by. Deliriously, she tried to reach out and snag the words she couldn’t see. A new feeling inside her stirred. A gut-clenching fear.

“It’s not my birthday,” Alice heard herself whisper. “My birthday is in the spring.” 

The voice laughed. It was light and soft and wrong. There was still no one here.

Think, Alice! she commanded herself. Use your eyes.

No, that wasn’t right. Her eyes weren’t working. They couldn’t be trusted. She squeezed them shut, scrunching her whole face closed. Her eyes had been showing her the wrong thing. She brought her hands up to her head, except, she didn’t. Her hands didn’t move this time. Something stopped her.

Opening her eyes again, she looked at her arms. There was nothing amiss. They were free, sitting in her lap. Hands clasped together. But she couldn’t move them. A cloud crossed over the sun, shading her surroundings and darkening her hands. She saw a flash of something. Blood. Her hands were bloody. But when she tried to scream, no sound came out. The cloud moved on, and her hands returned to normal.

Squinting, she looked up at the sky. The sun was not right. It wasn’t blinding her, and her skin was cool despite the rays shining down. An unsettling familiarity sank into her bones. She’d been here before—the false sun, the birthday party, the whispers. None of it was new, but all of it was wrong.

I must leave. I must get out. 

This was not a good place. She closed her eyes again, focusing on the wrongness. She searched once again for the memory of how she got here. It was so close. The truth, dangling within reach. This wasn’t a place she’d always been. She left this place before, she knew it.

Leaves crunched under quiet steps in front of her, and the sound made the memory dance away again. A shadow blocked the sunlight, and Alice opened her eyes, head cocking to one side as she surveyed the man standing in front of her. 

Warning bells flared to life in her mind. He looked kind, a sweet smile on his face and eccentric clothes on his body, but there was something off about his eyes. Something she couldn’t quite place.

His overly large hat looked silly, and it made Alice laugh, forgetting for just a moment that she might be in danger. A name came to her then, floating on a memory she hadn’t asked for.

“I know you…” The words left her mouth uncertainly. His smile widened to an unnatural size.

“No,” she whispered, “this isn’t right. You’re not right.” The man frowned before disappearing with a pop. Alice tried to stand, but she was still stuck.

“Eat your cake, Alice.” The voice drifted past, lazily floating through the air. “For your birthday.” It was an order, a demand. 

Alice shook her head, there was no cake. A vision jolted her. The scene shifted for a fraction of a second. The table rotted and decaying, the false sun gone, her surroundings darkened. In a flash, it was replaced and the sun was back; the table was new, the food was fresh. Then she had it. The memory. The truth of where she was. It was there.

Alice’s eyes flew open, truly open. The illusion had vanished, and she was seeing beyond the magic, pushing against its effects, violently shoving her way to the truth. The forest began to change. The sun vanished. The table decayed right in front of her. Moss and mold replaced the fresh food. 

Silence filled the air, swallowing what remained of the laughter floating by and squashing the chatter. The scent of cakes no longer wafted to her. Now it was a musty damp smell settling in her nose. All that remained was a palpable despair.

“Well now, Alice. You’re getting faster.” A large, dark iridescent cat with bright, shining eyes and a smile taking up half his face hovered in the air in front of her. A jolt of fear shot through her, settling in her racing heart, followed by a blinding pain burning down her arm as she screamed. 

“Tell me, what gave it away this time?” His voice cut through her yell, forcing her silent as her mouth snapped shut against her will.

When Alice was able to open her mouth next, nothing came out. Her fear and pain prevented any words, lodging them in her throat. She followed the burning sensation to her left bicep, turning her head to see the cause. A strangled choking sound escaped her lips and tears formed in her eyes. 

Ches was removing the blade from her arm. The heat emanating from the weapon cauterized the wound, leaving no evidence aside from a fresh pink scar and searing pain in its wake. She averted her gaze, looking down at her hands instead.

Her blue dress had gone. Now, she was wearing the spare clothes that belong to Aurora. They were covered in splotches of blood, as were her hands. She was sticky with sweat, and a sob lodged in her throat as the memory of how she’d gotten here finally, finally, came back. 

A memory she might have preferred to stay lost now that it had returned. She let her tears fall freely as she struggled. Her friends could be dead, and she could be joining them soon. There had to be something, anything she could do.

Her arms looked free at first glance, but the more she struggled, the more it became clear they were stuck in place. Magic shimmered in the air around them, freezing them atop the arms of the chair. Her body was forced ramrod straight and glued to every inch of the chair. Only her head could move.

“Don’t cry, Alice.” Ches soothed in a way that set her hairs on end. “Crying is so boring. We’re going to have fun here. It’s been so long since I’ve had any fun. You’ve posed quite the challenge.”

“Red,” she choked out, tears streaming down her face and snot dripping from her nose. She couldn’t stop it as she thought about them—Aurora on the ground, Red with sirens climbing on her, tearing at her back. 

“Oh, hush now. Don’t be boring, Alice,” Ches snapped. 

The mention of Red set his gaze aflame and he stabbed into her arm again. She cried out in pain, which seemed to make him happier than her crying out in sadness. The wound left another pink mark on her skin, ruining her tattoo. There were six others just like it in a line, each one only millimeters apart from the last. They were like tally marks. She stared at them. She only remembered two.

“Yes, that’s how many times you’ve broken free, my dear Alice,” Ches sang, floating up and around her head. “Seven times. And each time you’ve neglected to tell me how you did it.”

Alice tried to push him out of her mind, away from her thoughts. She grasped the image of magic and shoved it away from her, but nothing happened. She was going about this in the wrong way. He was too near. Her focus was split. Every word he spoke sent an icy lash up her spine. The dull burning thud of pain in her arm scrambled her thoughts. 

She had to wait until he left, just like last time. The thought shot through her mind like a bullet. The longer he kept her under, the more bored he would grow, then he would leave her. But how was she supposed to know when he was gone? She couldn’t remember the other times. Was it always the tea party, or were there different visions? What would the next one be like?

The blade burned her skin again. This time it wasn’t a cut though. She’d been looking down at her lap, distracted, lost in thought. He was using the blade to tip her chin up to look at him.

“Come now, Alice. Don’t be like that,” he chided, his voice soft on the air. “We can have fun without them.” 

He thought she was still hung up on her friends. Good. He would underestimate her. But the mention of them and the feeling of that jagged edge under her chin reminded her. Red had told her to get the blade. She’d said it, and Alice had thought at the time that she meant the dagger. To defend herself. But with the heat coursing unnaturally through steel burning into her skin, she realized what Red had really meant.

Two halves: one in his possession, one elsewhere. Once whole, they could kill him. Red intended for Alice to get this half. She hadn’t shared that plan out loud, if it even was her plan to start, but that’s how it would materialize. Her best shot of getting away from this place looked very much like it did twenty years ago. 

Get the blade and get out. Use it if needed, but this time, keep it.

“Alice.” His voice stretched out her name, singing it like a lullaby and pulling her away from her racing thoughts. 

“You liked the party, didn't you? I think that kept you the longest. We can go back. Just tell me one little thing… What gave it away?”

Alice shook her head, as much as she could without the knife biting into her skin. “No.” Her voice was weak, a mere whisper in a vast ocean of emptiness swallowing the sound.

“Answer me, Alice. Time is ticking.” He made a soft tick tick tick noise as his head twisted upside down, pulling the knife away and replacing it in his hand with a pocket watch. He dangled the watch in front of her like a hypnotist, but that couldn’t be how he used his magic. 

She stared at the watch, swinging from left to right and time slowed. That watch… I’ve seen that watch before. Think!

The rabbit. This was the watch that belonged to the rabbit. But that made sense, the rabbit belonged to Ches. She didn’t realize her head had begun moving with the watch, eyes drifting shut as a previously unknown calm washed over her.

Alice opened her eyes. Her head was pounding, and she couldn't remember how she’d ended up here. Blinking to clear her vision, she squinted against the sunlight to look out over a cheerful meadow. Trying, and failing, to capture the fleeting memory that would explain the events leading up to her current situation, she surveyed her surroundings. She was seated at a table. It was tea time. But it wasn’t tea time, was it? Something was wrong.

“Happy birthday, Alice,” a voice sang as it drifted through the air past her.

CHAPTER 37

Red

PRESENT DAY

The first time Red woke up, the only thing she registered was pain. She couldn’t say if she cried out or not, but moments after regaining consciousness, she was surrounded by whispers before drifting back into a blissful sleep. 

The second time she woke, the pain had subsided. It was still present, but it had dulled to a minor ache rather than an all-consuming fire. Her body was heavy, opening her eyes was a chore, and her mind struggled to grasp her surroundings. A dull roar thudded around her, barely registered. Then, whispers guided her back into unconsciousness.

The third time she woke, the pain had gone. Her body was lighter and her eyelids weren’t heavy. The dull roar shaped itself into the recognizable sound of a waterfall. She was floating in a cave, behind the waterfall at the back of the Cove. 

It was dark. Rocks jutted out from every edge, including the top and bottom. Shielded from the outside world, the water surrounded her up to her chin and her head and back leaned back against a soft moss covered rock on the little cave beach—if it could be called a beach. There was no sand, but she wasn’t uncomfortable. She suspected some use of magic kept the chill from seeping into her bones.

No whispers started up this time as she flexed her fingers and stretched her arms, belatedly registering the body stirring at her side. Ariel had an arm thrown protectively over Red’s bare chest and her head tucked into her side as she slept. Confusion crossed over Red’s features as she looked around again.

No Snow. No Aurora. No Alice. No anyone aside from her and Ariel, tucked away behind the waterfall, hidden. Her heart started racing, and she tried to push away from Ariel. She had to find her mates. They’d been with her when she’d arrived, and there was nothing that would have kept them away… Nothing she was prepared to consider.

Ariel woke up with a start when Red lifted her arm away. Immediately pulling free and pushing Red back down, Ariel shushed her.

“Where are they?” Red’s voice was hoarse, her throat scratchy and her eyes darted to every empty spot around them. 

They’re fine. Ariel’s words sparkled on the water’s surface while she rubbed Red’s arm in soothing circles. They can’t stay here at night. They’ll be back when the sun is up.

Red let out a deep breath, nodding. She knew that, of course. It made sense. “Okay, when is sun up?”

We’ve got a little bit of time. Try not to worry. They’re healed. They’re safe, and they can certainly take care of themselves.

Ariel rolled her eyes, and it brought a genuine—albeit small—smile to Red’s face. She knew they could take care of themselves. She knew that better than anyone, but it would never lessen the worry, especially now when Ches could be hunting them. He wouldn’t be though. He had Alice.

A pang of regret shot through Red. She hoped Alice didn't think she had planned it this way. It was her intention to have Alice go back and get the blade, but certainly not this soon. And definitely not like that. Red was thankful she’d given Alice the small bit of information she had, and was hopeful she would put it together and grab the blade. Alice would be ok. She would escape just like last time. Now, Red had to focus on doing her part: getting the other half from a woman she’d hoped to never cross paths with again.

“Yeah, okay. You’re right,” Red breathed, relaxing back against the cave floor. “How long has it been? I remember waking up to voices…”

“You woke up too soon a couple times, in too much pain. So Snow and Aurora helped get you back to sleep. You still need to heal.” Ariel signed, removing her hands from Red now that she’d relaxed.

“Ariel… How long?”

The mermaid didn't look at her. Instead of signaling with her hands this time, she threw the words to the water and curled tightly around Red in case she reacted exactly how Ariel expected her to.

“Three days.”

“Three…” Red started slowly, staring at the words and willing them to be different. Three days and her body still wasn’t healed. Three days she’d been in screaming pain that had only now dulled to an ache. Three days since Alice had been carted off by Ches’s minions, held under his magic. When it became clear Red wouldn’t fight her, Ariel untangled herself, grabbed a jar of honey, and shoved it into Red’s hands.

Red blinked, clearing her spiraling thoughts away. “Honey?”

“Snow brought it. We didn’t have anything else easy for a human… for you to eat. You’re not allowed to go hunting yet.” Ariel jutted her chin out as she signed the last words, daring Red to argue. Instead, Red just opened the jar and started shoveling honey into her mouth. It tasted divine. She hadn’t separated the pain in her stomach from her actual injuries until the honey hit her tongue.

“Thanks,” Red answered quietly in between scoops of honey. She knew she sounded defeated, and it wasn’t a far cry from how she felt. 

Trying to distract herself, she began compiling a mental list of things that needed to happen, and fast. They were running out of time. The longer Alice was stuck in his realm, the harder it would be to get everything together. Unfortunately, that timeline was now solely on Alice. The only thing Red could do in the meantime was somehow get the other half of the blade.

First, she needed to see Snow and Aurora with her own eyes, to hold them and reassure herself they were alive and well. It wasn’t that she didn’t trust Ariel, she just felt better with her sirens by her side.

Second, she needed to break into the White Queen’s castle and steal the other half of the blade. Easier said than done given the amount of time she’d spent in that woman’s dungeons. Red knew the castle inside and out, as long as nothing had changed since her time in The Red Queen’s service. There was also an easy way in. Again, as long as nothing had changed. The biggest problem was finding where the queen kept the blade. She imagined having to search the castle top to bottom to find it, and that would take time. Time that she didn't have.

Ches couldn’t find out what she was doing. He would interfere, and then she would never retrieve the blade. No, this had to be done now, while he was distracted with Alice. Unless, of course, Alice had already escaped. In which case it would be infinitely more important for Red to return to her cabin.

Third, and most difficult, was fixing the blade and then concocting a sufficient plan for Alice to kill Ches. But she didn’t need to focus on that right now. That part required Alice.

Ariel waved her hand in front of Red’s face, once again pulling her out of her thoughts. Red looked blankly at an expectant Ariel, then shook her head.

“Sorry, what?”

Ariel huffed. “I asked how much pain you’re feeling.”

“Oh, not much. I’ll be good to leave when they get here.” Ariel made a tutting noise, and then, as if in challenge, slapped more salve on her back. Red winced as she hit the mark on a particularly deep cut. Trying to ignore the look Red could feel burning holes into the back of her head, she asked, “How long until the sun is up?”

Long enough you can relax more. The words snapped to life in the water, and Red sensed the frustration behind them. She sighed and waited for Ariel to finish before lying back in the water again, honey jar empty and discarded on the shore. Ariel moved around to face her, pouting, pulling her bottom lip out. Red raised an eyebrow.

“When did you stop enjoying my company?”

Red’s lip quirked upward as she rolled her eyes and pulled the mermaid into a prolonged embrace, her chin resting on Ariel’s head as the mermaid nestled contentedly into her. 

Red’s body was jittery with anticipation and her hands were unsteady as sunlight began filtering into the cave. She nudged Ariel off and started swimming to the edge, diving under the waterfall and resurfacing at the back of the Cove. The water sparkled in the early morning light, and she searched every bank for her sirens.

“They’re almost here,” Ariel swam up beside her. 

The mermaid could feel their vibrations through the water even though they approached on land. Red heard Snow’s voice before she saw them, calling for Ariel in what she assumed had become their usual routine, making sure the mermaid was there before they reached the Cove. 

Sirens weren’t allowed in the Cove’s waters, but Ariel explained she’d been able to allow them to the cave while Red healed, only if they followed a path on land.

Relief flooded Red as soon as she laid eyes on her sirens. They were okay. Ariel hadn’t lied. Aurora was walking a little slower than Snow, who had broken into a run upon seeing Red awake. But they were both alive. Both able to make the journey from the sea to the Cove. 

Swimming to the bank and hauling herself out of the water, she swept Snow up in her arms and felt her body for any marks or scars while they embraced, then did the same with Aurora once she’d caught up.

“I was so worried,” Red admitted, leaning back to take them in properly. “You’re okay.” She sighed, and they looked at her like she was clearly not the one who needed to worry. Then she remembered they were supposed to stay at the cabin.

“You followed me,” Red snapped suddenly, anger lacing her tone. Snow rolled her eyes, but Aurora looked affronted.

“You would have died if we didn’t!” Aurora shrieked back.

“No, I wouldn’t have. He would’ve just taken Alice. You could have died!”

“You were outnumbered. He brought a fucking army of sirens!”

“He only brought what he thought he’d need to contain me while he took her. He can’t kill me and he knows it.” She glared at them, but neither one backed down. Tears welled up in Aurora’s eyes and her fists balled up as she gritted her teeth, but it was Snow who answered.

“Don’t blame us, Red,” Snow ground out. “Don’t make us think we almost lost you because we tried to protect you. Don’t do that,” she whispered her last sentence, finally breaking eye contact to look down.

“It shouldn’t have gotten that bad,” Red admitted quietly. “I should’ve been fine.” She’d never fully understood the magic protecting her from Ches, but one thing she knew to be absolute truth was that he should not be able to kill her. The sirens digging their claws into Red, it getting that bad, was a fluke. Red shook her head.

“We need to go home, I have somewhere to visit and you’re not going to like it.” The sirens exchanged a glance but didn’t argue, letting Red lead the way back into the forest after thanking Ariel. 

They would have it out when they reached the cabin. Red already knew they would force her to spend the rest of the day recovering, and she wasn’t exactly in a position to argue. As soon as she was healed, she would have to leave, alone.

CHAPTER 38

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice got faster every time she escaped from her mind. Her birthday, and it was always her birthday, changed a little each time. Something was always wrong. The air, the sun, the cake, the voices, the host. Wrong, always wrong. Each time she broke free, he took her memories, but this time something was different. 

This time, she remembered everything. 

Twenty birthdays, all wrong in different ways. Well over twenty stab wounds on her arm, marring her skin and, most frustratingly, ruining her expensive tattoo. One wound for each time she escaped, and one for each time she angered him.

There was no telling how much time had passed, how long she’d been stuck in this hell. Time had lost all meaning. Her birthdays always had sun, her escapes always brought darkness. But this time was different in more ways than one.

Now, the moon shone through the fog. It was just a glimpse behind clouds, but she knew it was real. It was night, and he was gone. Her mind was her own again and the magical binds on her arms and legs had been replaced with rope. 

Odd, she thought, tugging experimentally. They were tight enough that she couldn’t wriggle out easily, but if she had enough time she could do it. 

It’s a trap. He wants me to get out because he’s grown bored of the literal mind games. Now he wants to hunt.

She stood a better chance if she was on her own two feet running than bound in the chair. She couldn’t wait him out. He wouldn't die of old age, and she wouldn’t sit here waiting for him to come back with a fresh torture. It didn't matter that this was almost certainly a trap, She had to fight back.

Twisting her way out of the ropes was more intensive work than she’d imagined, each sting of them digging into her wrists more painful than the last. Her left arm burned from the stab wounds, a numb coursing sensation flooding through the muscles, disconnecting them from her brain's orders entirely. She was left with only one arm as a result.

Her good wrist rubbed raw from the effort. Blood soaked through her binds and tears stained her cheeks. She was no closer to escape, but she refused to give up. Once the ropes were slick with blood, she finally slipped free. She tugged at the remaining rope around her left arm, freeing it too. Then, she made quick work of the ones binding her ankles.

She hesitated for only a second before pushing herself away from the chair. Her legs and bottom ached. Her back was sore. Her left arm hung limply by her side, so she placed her stronger hand on the chair to steady herself while her knees wobbled and her legs reawakened with pins and needles. 

She was well and truly alone. 

She’d done it.

There was no one here to stop her, she was free. Now it was time to get out. Step by painful step, she stumbled forward. She’d gotten out before, she could do it again. Escaping this horror show Ches called his home had been difficult the first time, but if she kept on, it was possible she'd remember the way out.

Get the blade. The blade. We need that blade. 

She reminded herself that escaping wasn’t her sole purpose. The last time she saw the blade was when he stabbed her after she’d broken free from the mind trap. It would be impossible to get it if he carried it on his person, but something told Alice he didn’t. The blade could hurt him as well, if she got it. If he knew she was free, if he set her up to escape for his little games, he would have the blade hidden somewhere.

She searched the table, peeling the mold away with only the tips of her fingers then letting it fall back when her search yielded nothing. She froze when it thunked harder than expected, the remnants of a dish tucked away under the layers of mold dropped to the table. Her eyes darted around until she was certain it hadn’t drawn any attention. 

It was foolish to think he would have left it here, but he’d had it every time she woke. Where else could it be stashed? Something drew her gaze away toward a decrepit rock wall behind her.

A maze. Ignoring the gut-churning feeling of unshakeable nausea, she stepped toward the wall. Something called her in, something she couldn’t stop. The blade was in there. She didn’t know how she knew, but she was positive.

The moment she crossed the threshold, entering the maze, her world shifted. Dark, ominous clouds filled the sky, hiding the moon entirely. The temperature dropped and a chill crept over her spine, tingling the back of her neck and she shivered, wrapping her arms around herself. A thick fog carpeted the ground, rising up to her knees before engulfing her legs and swallowing her body.

Breathing became harder as the air grew thicker and her heart pounded in her chest. Tears stung at the edge of her vision, but then there was something else. A light. Not a literal light, but in her mind, clearing her fog and urging her on. She could no longer see the entrance, but that didn’t matter. 

Moving almost in a trance, Alice started forward. She placed a hand on the wall to keep herself steady as she followed this tug.

Whispers and murmurs filled the air the further she walked, and the walls grew taller, lengthening and closing in around her. The voices were human, she thought. They didn’t sound like the artificial flower voices from her mind prison. They were real, they were all around her, and they were hollow—despair and hopelessness oozing from every sound muttered, every breath taken. She still couldn't see anything. The white fog had engulfed the surroundings so completely that it left her all but blind.

But she knew she was not alone. They didn’t feel threatening, the voices. They were too broken. Dead. The only other sounds were her own breathing and the ground crunching below her boots. Crunching that sounded unlike any sticks or other forest debris, more like the sound that would come from seashells on the beach. Or bones. Her steps faltered, slowing before she shoved the thought away and continued on. There was no turning back.

The trance fell away the longer she spent shuffling along the broken ground, the deeper she got into the maze. She no longer needed to be called inside, she was going exactly where she intended. Then she kicked something soft, sending her off balance. She flew towards the ground, hands coming up in a clumsy attempt to break her fall.

Sighing in relief when she hit soft dirt instead of the bones she’d feared, Alice turned to see what caused her fall: two logs, side by side in the middle of the path.

How odd. She used her one good hand to push herself upright then shuffled forward on her knees to get a better look.

Two legs stuck out into the middle of the path. They were, to her immense relief, connected to a torso. Alice sucked in a breath, hesitating. She looked back toward where she’d been walking. She should get up, should continue as if she'd seen nothing. But she had to know, had to check if they were alive. The fog dissipated the closer she got until it was only a thin veil of mist.

Alice yelped at the sight, falling back on her rear, frozen. Her chest rose and fell with each ragged breath. Staring directly through her, with eyes wide open and parted lips, was a human. His breathing was shallow and he was muttering something Alice couldn't make out, quiet and desperate. She reached out and waved her hand in front of his face. He didn't react.

“Don’t leave me.” The words caught Alice by the throat when she tried to turn. His voice was a whisper, a plea. 

He wasn't talking to her, wasn’t seeing her. He was trapped. She shook her head and started to push herself up. This was a distraction. She wasn't even sure the man was real. It was Ches’s doing. This whole thing was a trick. 

But, what if it wasn’t? What if she could save him?

Alice shook her head. No, that was a ridiculous notion. This man was broken. Ches had broken him. It would only ruin her escape attempt. She stood slowly, her legs shaking, and tried to find the wall again, reaching out near the man’s head.

A hand shot through the fog and latched onto her wrist.

“Marian?” The man was talking. To her, Alice realized with a start. He was seeing her, tugging her closer, squinting at her face, confusion writ plainly through his features. He looked familiar, but Alice couldn’t place him.

“No,” she squeaked, trying to wriggle out of his grasp. He dropped her wrist, looking straight through her again, unseeing.

“Not Marian,” he muttered, voice cracking. “You have to save her. This time, you have to save her, Red.”

Alice had started to leave again, but hearing that last word, the name, a whisper through the air, her head snapped around so violently, her neck cracked. A memory flashed through her, a name of someone who was taken.

“Robin?” Alice asked, poking his face. He didn’t react, only continued pleading.

“Not Marian. Save Marian. Please. Please. Please.” Alice’s heart broke for Marian, for this man she’d never met before.

She couldn’t say why she did it, what unknown force made her think she could, but as she brought her good hand to the side of this man’s temple and imagined the shimmering magic she’d seen swirling around Ches earlier, she pushed against it. 

She pushed just as she had when Snow had her mind trapped. Just as she wanted to when Red was fighting off the siren’s magic. She thought of all the ways Ches’s mind games had been wrong, and she pushed that away, the wrongness, the magic, everything she could think to do, just pushed it out.

This time, she wasn’t forcing it out of her own mind, she was forcing it out of his. Then, she felt something break, like a twig snapping under foot, and there was a gasp that wasn’t her own, an electric spark in her hand. She yanked away, clutching her left arm as it dangled uselessly and rocked back on her heels. The mist around them had vanished.

She watched as the man’s eyes brightened, the dull lifelessness receding, making way for the life she’d breathed back into him. He no longer had that distant look in his eyes, but instead his gaze pierced her. He stared, eyes narrowed, seeing what was really in front of him.

“Hello,” she whispered. He scrambled back. But with nowhere to go, he ended up hitting his head on the wall behind him and groaning in pain.

“I won’t hurt you. My name is Alice.”

He stared at her. She knew what he was thinking. He didn’t know if this was real, and if she told him it was, he would know it wasn’t. So she didn’t.

“I’m trying to escape,” she whispered instead, ignoring the shocked expression on his face and pushing on. “Will you help?” Alice couldn’t ask him to come with her because then he would definitely think it was a trap. She had been there herself. If she were being honest, she still wasn’t entirely sure this was real. 

“There is no escape,” he croaked, looking down at the ground. “She’s gone.” He choked back a sob. “Isn’t she?”

“Marian?” Alice asked carefully. He nodded and Alice didn’t know what to say. They sat in uncomfortable silence for a few moments.

“How are you planning to escape?” the man finally asked, still not looking at her.

“I…” Alice stopped. How was she planning to escape? She had only thought far enough to get the blade. He let out a wry laugh, more an exhalation of air really.

“That’s what I thought,” he grimaced before his mouth turned down. “Is this real?”

“Yes.”

“How?”

“How is it real?” Alice asked, face scrunching. The man nodded. “Er, I’m not sure, but I got the magic away from your mind. I need to escape before he finds out.”

“You…” He finally turned his face to look at her, truly look at her. “You got the magic away from my mind?” he repeated dumbly. “That’s not possible.”

“I’ve found,” Alice took a steadying breath, trying to sound confident, “I can do a lot of things that aren’t possible.”

“You’re mad.”

“Aren't we all?”

“He’ll kill us,” the man argued, but Alice could see the change. He was thinking through his options, and helping her might just be winning.

“I’ve escaped before. I will do it again. I’d rather not leave you here, but I will if you make me.”

The man sighed. “I suppose death is better than this. My name is Robin.” He held out his hand and Alice took it, pulling them up together.

“I know,” she whispered when they started walking.

“Know what?”

“Your name. I… Red told me you’d been taken. Well, Harlan told Red and I overheard.”

“Did she send you?” Robin’s voice had a disbelieving note to it. 

Alice stopped. Had Red sent her? For the first time, she remembered Red’s whole plan revolved around bringing the halves of the blade together. And then Ches took Alice. But she wouldn’t… Red couldn’t have known… Could she? Robin grunted, pulling Alice from her thoughts.

“I didn’t think so. She won’t come for us, Alice. We’re on our own.”

“You don’t think she would?”

Robin shook his head. “As long as her sirens live, she will not step foot here. I know that.”

“Why do you say that?”

“Love is a liability, Alice. Never forget that.”

CHAPTER 39

Red

PRESENT DAY

Red loved her life before Alice entered it. Really, she did. She had grown accustomed to the way it had been the past several years, since meeting Snow, then Aurora. She enjoyed the little things, the menial tasks, the day to day, but she would have been lying if she’d said she didn’t miss the adventure of her old life. 

Tiny thrills of excitement vibrated through her body as she circled the white brick walls of the queen’s castle. There was a foothold within reach. She knew it was there, she just had to spot it.

The night was young and storm clouds snuffed out the sky’s light, providing her the perfect cover to sneak up undetected. Grateful the impending rain hadn’t yet begun, she watched from behind trees as the guard walked their path, searching for blind spots. 

When she’d spotted the foothold, exactly where it was the last time she’d done this, she already had the guards rotation memorized. Red smiled to herself. It hadn’t changed in five years. 

Counting heartbeats between each guard passing, she waited to make her move. Running on light feet to the wall, she leapt, reaching out to grab the single askew brick with one hand and stifling a grunt as she collided with the wall in the process. 

Hanging on with one hand, she carefully flicked a knife out with her other hand and jammed it into the loose mortar as high up as she could reach, pulling herself up, now using the brick as a foothold and retrieving a second knife to repeat the action. 

The last time she’d scaled this wall, she had only been human and it seemed to take forever. This time, with her added unnatural strength, it took no time at all. She didn't even need to stop to wait out the next guard passing. She was on the parapet before they rounded the corner.

She stood quickly and ducked into the nearest guard tower. This bit, she knew, was a gamble. Being unable to stake it out beforehand, success here depended entirely on the guard having not changed in the last five years or her ability to silence any new guards before they could raise alarms. 

Careful to avoid pools of lamplight, she crept along the wall of the tower, one eye on the familiar guard, who had her back turned, and one eye on the door that would lead to the courtyard. From there, it was only thirty paces to the servant’s corridor entrance and she was in.

Red heard the guard move before she saw them, taking a step back mere moments before a knife clinked into the wall where she’d just been standing.

“Five years and you still can’t get me. Closer though,” Red teased, stepping into the light.

“Maybe it was meant to serve as a warning,” the guard quipped back, eyes narrowing on Red’s approaching form.

Red held her hands out in surrender. “I’m not here to kill anyone, Elara.”

“I know. ‘Cause if you were, I wouldn’t have seen you, right?”

A smile tugged on the corner of Red’s lips. “I just need to… borrow something.”

Elara tsk-ed. “I’m not gonna help you steal from the woman who feeds my family, Red.”

“Got a family now, do you?” Red cocked an eyebrow, a teasing tone in her voice. “Come on, it’ll be like old times.” 

The guard rolled her eyes. “I held a much less important position in those times. You should leave.”

“Oh?” Red asked. She hadn’t kept up with the guard since she’d left The Red Queen’s service. Upon seeing Elara’s face, she sighed. “Fine. You don’t have to help me, but I’m not gonna leave. Not without what I came for, so either you let me pass or I can remind you of what happened the last time you tried to stop me.”

The guard sucked in a breath, rubbing the scar over her abdomen before stepping back. “I’m going to warn her you’re here, but not that I let you in.”

“Thank you. I expect nothing less.” Red winked as she brushed past Elara and disappeared into the courtyard beyond. A flash of lightning briefly illuminated her figure before she slipped through the door to the servant’s corridor.

Drawing on all her memories from the times she’d been in this castle before, Red wound her way down the more rarely used halls until she found the throne room. It probably wasn’t in there, but it was as good a starting point as any. The room was empty, given the late hour. Exactly as she’d hoped to find it. 

She didn’t know how long she had until the guard summoned the queen, but Red knew she had to be quick. Searching room to room thoroughly, she turned up nothing.

Time was running out.

When Red exited the stairwell at the top floor, she suspected the queen’s bedchamber would be there. It was the last place she could think the woman would stash something so valuable. It hadn’t been included in her collections anywhere else thus far. 

Red slipped a knife out of its sheath before stepping inside. She knew how it would look if she were caught. A well-known assassin for the enemy sneaking into the queen's bed chambers in the middle of the night. But the knife was to deal with any guards who might give her trouble, not for the queen. 

Anyway, she was willing to bet her life that the bedchamber was empty right now. The guard would have already roused the queen, and they'd be searching the castle for Red.

She was halfway through searching the drawers in the room when she was interrupted. Red whirled around to face the intruder, knife at the ready.

“Looking for something?” The delicate voice filtered through the room. 

In the doorway stood Elara and beside her, The White Queen, in all her ethereal beauty. She looked as serene today as she had the last time Red saw her. Though she was considerably less angry now than she had been back then. Probably because Red hadn’t killed anyone. Yet. 

Her white hair cascaded down her back, the deep blue of her eyes sharp and bottomless as the ocean before a storm. Her nightgown draped delicately over her curvy frame. She was every bit the fierce beauty Red remembered. Red also remembered how her breath abandoned her lungs the first time she’d set eyes on the woman, but this time was different. She wouldn’t allow herself any distractions.

“As it so happens, I am.”

“Well, you’ve certainly always had an interesting way of asking,” the queen replied lightly, gliding into the room past Red. 

With a flick of her wrist the torches flared as she passed, a subtle reminder of her power. The guard trailed closely behind her, sword loosely by her side and eyes trained on Red.

“So tell me,” the queen began with a heavy sigh, perching on the edge of her bed, her back ramrod straight and chin held high. “What does my darling sister desire of me this time?”

“I wouldn’t know.” Red casually leaned against the dresser she’d been searching and folded her arms in front of her. “I don’t work for her anymore.”

“And yet, you still wear her sword.”

Red looked down at the sword on her hip then back up and shrugged. “It was a gift.”

“Hmm.” Was that a laugh? “But you’re still alive.”

“Not for her lack of trying,” Red answered, unable to keep the smirk from her face. 

The queen’s mouth twitched into an almost smile. “Well then, Red. Are we still calling you that, if you’re not hers?” Red nodded and the queen continued. “What do you want from me?”

“The Vorpal Blade. I know you have half.”

The queen’s eyebrows shot up, her mouth forming an “O”. Even the guard couldn’t hide her surprise as she snorted a disbelieving laugh.

“Are you trading loyalties?” The queen asked.

“No.”

The queen leaned back and crossed her ankles. “So, tell me if I’m understanding this correctly. You break into my castle and attempt to steal my only weapon against my sister’s⁠—”

“Broken weapon,” Red cut in. “And useless without a proper wielder.” The queen’s jaw clenched at the interruption.

“My only broken weapon,” she snapped, “that can defeat her monster, and you offer nothing in return, expecting me to just believe you.”

“What if I return it whole?” Red closed the distance in a flash, ignoring Elara, who took a step forward, sword raised. Red came to kneel in front of the queen, her head bowed enough to be moderately respectful but not as proper as was expected of someone of her status. 

“I can fix it,” she whispered.

“As you so helpfully pointed out, even a fixed blade is useless to me without a proper wielder.” The queen looked at Elara and nodded. 

Red saw the guard move out of the corner of her eye and felt the cold bite of steel pressing into the back of her neck. It wasn’t enough to break the skin, just to serve as a reminder of her place. 

“How am I expected to trust you? How do I know this isn't a trick?” the queen hissed, eyes narrowed. 

“You could ask her,” Red replied, taking the queen by surprise and receiving a sharp laugh in return. The queen did not respond, Red knew she was waiting for a real answer. “Your guards are all still alive, I’m alone, and I haven’t threatened you. Would that really be the case if this was for her?”

“And I’m supposed to think she just let you leave? Please. You were her favorite.”

“Did you know, if a siren bonds with someone in her service, she orders for that siren to be killed?” 

The queen raised an eyebrow at this. “That does not surprise me.”

“I did not appreciate her trying to have my mate killed,” Red said. Elara sucked in a breath behind Red, but she pushed on. “I sent her a message, one she couldn’t ignore. I’ve not had contact with her for five years.”

The queen’s expression remained blank while she catalogued the new information, debating the merit her words held.

“I’m not saying I believe any of this. But, if it’s truly not for her, what are your plans with the blade?” The White Queen asked. 

“I’m going to kill Ches.”

“You?” The queen laughed, a dainty sound that made Red grind her teeth. “My dear, I may not have the most up to date information, as you’ve so kindly pointed out, but I do know you’ve been trying to kill him for years. What makes you think you can do it now?”

“I found a wielder,” Red hissed, words shooting out as if the speed with which she expelled them would prevent any prying ears from listening.

The queen’s eyebrows shot up. “Again I must ask, how can I trust you?”

“How can I prove it?”

“Bring them to me.”

“I’m afraid she can’t do that,” a high chiming voice came from the doorway.

Red felt the steel removed from her neck, and she whipped around, jumping to her feet to face the newcomer. Ches was standing at the entrance wearing a grand tuxedo with his too large smile and predatory eyes.

“My queen,” he drawled, removing his hat and bowing so low his head touched the floor. As if on cue, a flash of lightning illuminated the room followed by a loud clap of thunder. “I hate to interrupt this”—he paused, cocking his head to the side and looking between the three of them—“party. But I must be the bearer of bad news. Little Red wouldn’t want to make promises she can’t keep, after all.” His smile turned menacingly on her, and his eyes widened with implication. Red hoped Snow and Aurora had kept their word to stay home this time.

“You see,” he continued, looking back at the queen. “I have your wielder, and I do not intend to let her go again. Though I must admit, I am tempted to see you try to fix the blade. I’m particularly interested in how you plan on obtaining my half.” He gave a mocking laugh before continuing. “You must understand, My Queen, Red has neither the wielder nor the other half of the blade.”

The queen glanced at Red, who ground her teeth before giving her a terse nod, confirming what Ches said to be true.

“If you think she won’t escape your clutches again, you’re wrong,” Red claimed, boldly. “She will, and she’ll bring me your blade.”

“You put so much faith in someone who has withheld her truth from you since the moment she met you. I know you won’t go save her. It would cost you too much.” He tipped his head to one side, gaze penetrating. “Or would you risk it? How much are your sirens worth to you?”

A thick silence clouded the room broken only by a loud clap of thunder.

“Upon second thought,” Ches said merrily, breaking the silence, “I don’t think I’d like to see you try healing the blade.”

He smiled and snapped his fingers, pointing to the queen while he began slowly fading away. Before anyone could react, he reappeared right beside her, his hand landing on her shoulder. She collapsed instantly at his touch, then he popped out of existence, his laughter lingering long after he’d gone.

Elara rushed to her queen, lifting her onto the bed and trying in vain to wake her. Red wanted to punch something, she wanted to scream, she wanted to kill him. She did none of these, turning instead to face the guard.

“Where is it?” she snapped. “I know you know. Show me. There's nothing more you can do for her here.”

“I can’t leave her, and I can’t just give you the weapon,” Elara hissed back, keeping her eyes on the queen’s trapped form.

“Yes, you can. She will not come back to herself until he's dead. He cannot die if I don’t mend the sword. But I can fix it. He will die.”

The guard took a deep breath, shaking her head and finally looking up to meet Red’s eyes. “What do I do after?”

“Keep this a secret. I’ll come back to help, I promise, but if anyone finds out about this…” Red didn’t have to say the rest. 

If anyone found out the White Queen was taken, then The Red Queen would destroy everything. There would be chaos and disaster and ruin for everyone. Nothing and no one would be safe. After what felt like much too long, the guard finally nodded.

“Okay,” she whispered. “Follow me."

CHAPTER 40

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice's sense of time had been lost long ago, perhaps the moment she crossed the threshold into this world. But here, in this maze, she had a particularly poor perception of time. They’d been walking through the maze for hours? Days? She couldn’t say. 

She was exhausted, her legs ached, her feet screamed with every step, her throat was parched and dry. 

When they reached a large courtyard with a stone dais in the center, it suddenly felt like only seconds had passed since Alice entered the maze.

She began to doubt herself. It couldn't be this easy. But it was. There in the center of the dais, floating in the air, was the blade. Hedges surrounded the small courtyard, which must have been the center of the maze, and a thin layer of mist covered the ground. Alice turned to Robin, hesitantly excited. 

Robin was staring into the courtyard, a cold look in his far away eyes. His face had paled and set like stone, and his hands were shaking. She watched his mouth open and close several times, as though he were gasping for air. A stifled sob crept up his throat and he dropped to his knees. Alice rushed over to him, putting her hands on his temples again and searching his mind for magic. She couldn’t feel anything. He was still free.

“I can’t,” he choked out, shaking his head. “I can’t. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.” Alice rubbed his back in small gentle circles. She didn’t know why he was apologizing, but she could attempt to comfort him. None of his behavior was making sense to her. There was nothing here. Unless… She looked back to the courtyard, examining every detail with a sharper eye.

Hedges—nothing out of the ordinary—just surprisingly green shrubs that had temporarily replaced the crumbling moss-covered walls surrounding the stone dais. The stone itself looked like a normal slab of rock. The blade—suspended in midair—was certainly abnormal, but she supposed the magic had something to with that. She sensed it was the blade that had called her into the maze. 

There was nothing else there, just… She gasped. The mist. It wasn’t mist at all, it was magic. Magic thick enough that Alice didn’t have to squint to see it, didn’t have to focus on what it might be, it was just a fog.

“Hold on, please hold on,” Alice whispered to Robin, then she stood and sprinted to the blade. There were no obstacles in her way, nothing previously unseen popping up to attack or stop her. She reached the dais without incident and the hilt of the broken sword flew into her hand the second she reached for it.

Just as she had remembered, it burned in her grip. It wasn’t painful this time—more proving its existence, melding with her body. She gripped the hilt until her knuckles turned white, eyes darted frantically around the opening. Where was he? If this was a trap, shouldn’t he have stopped her?

Before paranoia could sink its teeth into her, she dashed from the dais, desperately clutching the blade. She shoved Robin with her whole shoulder, cursing her bum arm, unwilling to release the blade for even a second. Seeing no other exit, they ran back in the direction they’d come.

CHAPTER 41

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice stumbled out of the maze. Together with Robin, they sprinted for the cover of woods—real woods—as they fled Ches’s realm. Rain started pouring from the sky the moment they crossed into the forest. 

They’d done it. They’d broken through the barrier of his realm. Alice stood there, her good arm splayed out beside her, face turned up to the rain. A hysterical laugh bubbled up her throat as thunder crashed in the distance. 

They were free.

She closed her eyes, spinning in the rain until she was dizzy and her laughter died down. The rain was cleansing, soaking her clothes, skin, hair, her very soul until everything she had been through in the last however many hours washed from her body. She turned to Robin, a smile still on her face, only to have reality come crashing down around her.

He was on hands and knees, barely keeping himself from collapsing to the ground as he heaved gulping breaths. His shoulders shook, and when he looked up, she saw his red-rimmed eyes, tears washed away by the rain. Alice shoved the sword into her belt and placed her hand on his shoulder. He jumped.

“Are you ok?” she whispered, flinching away and withdrawing her hand. The rain drowned out her question and she moved closer, asking again. He stared at her without responding, so she tried a new approach. “Do you remember… me?”

He blinked and took another heaving breath. “Is this real? I never thought it could happen.” He wiped his face, a small smile forming. “You freed me.”

Alice smiled back and nodded. “Yes, we’re free.”

“We should keep moving.” Robin shot up, and Alice stumbled back in order to keep her balance. “The further away we can get, the better.” He surveyed their surroundings. It was difficult to decipher where they were in the rain and darkness. Alice could hardly see the trees surrounding them, let alone any landmarks to lead them back to Red’s cabin. Not like she would know even if there were any.

“Do you know how to get to Red’s?” she asked. 

“I can’t even say where we are right now,” Robin admitted sullenly. He tried shading his eyes with his hands to see without the rain blinding him, but it was a fruitless attempt. Eventually, he shook his head in defeat. “If we stumble across anything I recognize, I can get us there.”

“So…” Alice turned in a circle until she wasn’t even sure which direction they’d come from. “Where do we go?”

Hours later, they still had not seen any humans or other creatures, the latter of which Alice was extremely grateful for. Unfortunately, they also hadn’t encountered any food or water. Robin seemed less bothered by this than Alice. 

She’d tried catching rain by cupping her good hand in front of her, but the measly amount was hardly enough to quench her dry aching throat. Her mouth was gritty and her stomach screamed for food. Every step was a leg-trembling struggle.

The moment Alice thought her body was going to give out, a village appeared through the forest, instilling hope and newfound vigor into each step with the thought of food, water, and shelter. 

In her state of near delirium, Alice imagined the villagers of storybooks seeing them stumbling through the woods, soaked from the rain, and then rushing out to help. They’d offer food, dry clothes, and a place to stay. Alice could warm herself by the fire, and this cold that had long since seeped into her bones would dissipate.

But Alice was quickly reminded that life had never been that kind to her. The nearer they got to the village, the more obvious it was that it had been abandoned. A depressing sight greeted them at the edge of town. The rain had lessened enough to see the crumbling rubble of charred stone buildings. It was like a picture of agony frozen in time. 

They walked through the desolate town, neither speaking while they held their own separate memorials for the life this place used to hold. Alice peered into the house's remains. Half burned beds, cribs, couches, tables, toys all peeked out from behind broken walls.

“It’s been many years since this place has seen life,” Robin said, his voice muted as he looked blearily from house to house. “The ones that survived this, they never returned.”

“Do you think the well still holds water?” Alice rasped. She couldn’t think about what happened here, not right now.

“If it’s unburnt then it could have captured some of this rain.” Robin didn’t sound hopeful. Regardless, they made their way toward the center of the town where the well would be.

The bucket held less than a cup of water, most likely collected from the rain as Robin had guessed. Alice gulped down half in an instant, saving the rest for Robin. The water slid cooly down her burning throat leaving her wishing for more. They continued on through the village, sky darkening as the sun set beyond the trees.

“We should stay here tonight,” Robin decided. “We can find a house with minimal damage to shelter us from the elements. It’ll be safer than continuing on after the sun sets.” 

Alice couldn’t summon the energy or desire to argue, so she let herself be led to the edge of town, stopping at the homes right before the forest. They found one cottage with its walls and roof still intact. It was furthest away from the village center and must have missed the majority of the fire. The door was barely holding onto its hinges and the stone walls were blackened, but that didn’t matter as much as the integrity of the walls.

While Robin wandered through the cottage, Alice plopped down on the couch, dust flying up all around her. She coughed, removing the blade from her belt and placing it gingerly on her lap, still unable to let it be away from her. She didn't have the energy to do anything else. Her eyes drifted shut. She couldn’t even bring herself to open them when she felt the couch dip as Robin sat beside her.

“Do you know what happened here?” she whispered, her voice too loud for the silence surrounding them.

“Same as every other village caught in their path,” Robin sighed. “The war.”

“The war…” Alice repeated. She vaguely remembered Red mentioning something about that.

“You’re not from here, are you?”

“No. I’m quite far from home I’m afraid.” Her laugh was hollow and raspy to her ears. It hurt to talk.

“Well, here, the queens have been at war for a long time. Longer than I’ve been alive. The Red Queen destroys everything in her path, especially when in a foul mood. Which is often, and usually caused by The White Queen. The Red Queen has a monster, an ancient magician like… Him. It destroyed this village and many others like it. That’s why nothing will grow here. Nothing can live here. The magic is too potent, even after all these years.”

“Will we be okay?”

“Yes, for the night.”

Alice nodded. “What was the war about?”

“I don’t know. I never cared to ask. Always just kept my head down and out of their paths. Red might know. You should ask her when we get back.” 

If we get back. 

“Why would she know?”

“She worked for The Red Queen.”

Alice gasped, sitting up and peeling her eyes open to look at Robin. “She what?”

“You didn’t really think her name was Red, did you?” He chuckled, a humorless sound. “All the people enlisted in The Red Queen’s service lose their name when they start. They become Red Soldier number whatever, or Red Assassin, or Red Archer, what have you. Whatever their role is, they get the color and a number tacked onto it. The queen claims it makes them harder to find, harder to track down their families to use against them. I think it was a way to steal their humanity, to make them merciless killers.

“Our Red was part of a special group. Her Weapons.” He looked at Alice, shaking his head. “Weapons were the most dangerous of the lot. They were trained to fill any role, and there were very few of them.”

“Why were there so few?”

“Because she only took them if they were signed on as children. The younger the better. It was easier to train out the empathy and train in the killer instinct. Red was eleven. She was taught armed and unarmed combat skills, archery, and espionage. Anything you can name, she can most likely do.”

Alice’s eyes grew wide. The more Robin spoke of it, the more bitter his tone became. He wasn't looking at her for any of it, just staring blankly at the empty room in front of them.

“How do you know this?” she whispered.

“I was there when she left. Five years she was gone. Holed up in that castle being drilled, beaten, whatever they could think up for The Weapons to suffer or learn. When they finally loosened their hold and let her come back, she wasn't up for talking about her experiences. Said we’re to forget her name, call her Red, and then she said we had to leave. Gave us cabins to relocate to that were away from The Red Queen’s reach. Said we’d be safe.” He gave a wry chuckle and shook his head. 

“She made us leave that day. Helped us pack, had a carriage ready and everything. She saved our lives then she disappeared again. This…” He waved a hand vaguely around. “This is the village where I grew up. The day after we left, it burned. Never thought I’d be back.”

“I’m so sorry.” Alice looked around again, taking in all the surroundings for any hint this might have been Robin’s home. But they must have cleared most things out that day. It was only furniture now.

“I spent so long…” Robin took a deep breath. He sounded tired—not just ready for sleep, but a deep emotional exhaustion. “...so long being angry with her. For leaving, for Marian. She promised we would be safe.” His voice cracked and Alice reached out to place a comforting hand on his back.

“I’m tired, Alice. I’m tired of fighting with her.”

“Do you want to talk about Marian? What happened?” Alice pressed, her words soft and encouraging, just like her therapist would do. Robin gave her a sour laugh and glanced at her from the corner of his eye.

“You know, if you’d asked me that before I got taken, I would’ve said Red killed her.” Alice sucked in a sharp breath. That was the last thing she'd expected him to say, but he pressed on. “It wasn’t her, Alice. It was Ches. Red was just too late.”

“He took her.”

Robin nodded. “Yeah. Red—she tried, she went after her. Told us she’d bring Marian back. But she didn’t. She didn’t come back, and she didn’t save Marian. I’ve blamed her ever since. But now… Now I know the truth.” He turned to look at her properly now, his lips a grim line and a serious expression on his face.

“You’ve been under his control. You know how he makes people see things?” Alice nodded. “He showed me. Over and over he showed me what happened. How Marian was gone before Red even showed up. How he’d tortured her, the pain she suffered. How Red tried to save her. Then, ultimately how she died. I watched my baby sister die over and over, unable to stop it, unable to change anything. Marian was only fourteen, Alice. She was a child.” Tears were fighting their way free now, his voice choked.

“He’s a monster,” Alice said ferociously. She didn’t have any words to comfort him. There was nothing that could right the wrongs done to him and his sister.

“Red spent the last seven years of her life trying to kill him, ya know? Losing Marian… It changed her in a way the queen never could. We thought she was going to get herself killed. Then Snow saved her. She’s still trying to kill him, but now she has something to lose again.” He sighed. “I don't think it’ll work. She won’t find the answer. I don't think he can die.”

Alice felt her heart pounding in her chest, her breathing becoming more shallow. She has found a way. The words lodged in Alice’s throat. She had to say them out loud. It was her. Alice was the way to kill him. She had half of the blade, and they could fix it.

“She did find a way,” Alice choked out after minutes of silence. “To kill him.” Robin lit up, oblivious to the terror settling into Alice’s heart.

“Then we have to go to her. I have to help her, and… Well, I wasn’t exactly the best person to her after Marian’s death. I have some amends to make.” He shifted on the couch and looked down, clearly uncomfortable. “Look, there’s a bed still here, in the room at the end of the hall. You should get some sleep. We’ll leave first thing in the morning.”

“Where will you sleep?”

Robin gave her a sad half smile. “I don’t sleep much these days. Get some rest, Alice.”

Alice had barely removed her boots before collapsing onto the bed, putting the blade on the nightstand beside her, and allowing sleep to drag her under. After the day’s events, she couldn’t have stayed awake if she wanted to.

CHAPTER 42

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Sun shone through cracks in the roof until Alice could no longer ignore the light. Groaning, she rolled over and rubbed her eyes. She woke slowly from the haze of sleep, her brain only half functioning. She squinted at the light coming in and froze upon finding herself staring up at an unfamiliar ceiling in an unfamiliar room.

A muffled noise came from outside her room, drawing her attention to the cracked door. Her heart raced and she looked around for something—anything that could be used to defend herself. Metal glinted in the sunlight from the bedside table and she saw the blade, snatching it up. The floor creaked under her feet as she tiptoed to the door and the noises outside stopped.

“Alice?” A familiar voice sounded from the other room. Alice sagged, breathing a sigh of relief and tucking the blade back into her belt. It was just Robin, the man she’d saved from Ches, and who had, in turn, helped her. She pushed the door open and limped into the hallway.

“Yeah, I’m up,” She called back, her voice raspy.

“Are you ok?” Robin asked when she came into view, concern etched in his brow.

She waved him away. “Blisters. I’m not used to being on my feet for so long in shoes that don't quite fit right. A little sore.”

“Well, are you ready? We really shouldn’t wait any longer… I’m sorry.”

Alice nodded. “Yeah. I know.” She knew they needed to leave as soon as possible to make it to the safety of Red’s cabin before Ches caught up with them. The thought of Aurora’s cooking spurred her on more than anything else at the moment.

“Do you know where we’re going now?” Alice asked, following Robin as he led them confidently into the woods.

“Yes. We can get there before dark if we’re quick. But we have to be careful. Don’t want him to find us first.”

Alice swallowed and increased her pace to catch up to him.

They went the entire day without seeing any other signs of life. Alice was beginning to think luck was finally on her side when they came upon another village. This one was decidedly more occupied, as evidenced by lights glowing in windows with figures moving around inside. Muffled voices drifted through the air when they passed an open window, and shadows crept down paths, briefly illuminated by lights on walkways.

Robin navigated them around the outskirts, sticking to the woods where they were less likely to be seen. Then Alice saw something she never thought she’d see again: the dingy little pub that she’d visited on her first night. She could have cried. They were so close now. If her legs weren’t screaming in protest, she might have run the rest of the way.

Alice had to stop herself from flinging the cabin door open. It would be, of course, locked anyway. When she knocked, a familiar velvety voice on the other end responded, laced with worry.

“Who is it?”

“Alice!” she called back to who she thought was Snow, bouncing on the balls of her feet. Darting a quick look behind her, she gave Robin an encouraging smile before scanning the rest of the forest while waiting for the door to open. It was Aurora who finally opened the door, flinging her arms around Alice and dragging her inside.

“Oh, Alice! I’m so relieved you made it back!” she cried, sounding genuinely happy to see the other woman. 

Alice melted into her hug, returning the embrace with her good arm. A warm comfort washed through her, calming her instantly. Aurora pulled back, holding Alice at arms length and examining her thoroughly. When she did, Alice noticed Snow lingering just behind her, watching them but not joining. Snow looked worried. 

“Come on, let’s get you washed up and fed. I can hear your stomach from here,” Aurora exclaimed with a nervous giggle. Behind Alice, Robin cleared his throat. The sirens’ heads both whipped up, seeing him for the first time. The welcoming atmosphere cooled noticeably. 

“May I come in too?” Robin asked the ground, shifting on his feet and refusing to look up. Aurora shuffled Alice fully inside before looking at Snow, brow raised in a silent question.

“Fine,” Snow sighed begrudgingly. Robin took a slow step inside, as if waiting to be forced out by some unforeseen shield.

“Is she…” He trailed off, looking around the room.

“No. You can eat with Alice, then you can leave,” Snow snapped, turning and walking over to the kitchen. She grabbed two mugs of water and handed one to Alice, setting the other on the table with a loud thud. Aurora distanced herself from the intruder by rushing to the kitchen to prepare food. Alice immediately downed the entire mug.

“I, er, I wanted to talk to her,” Robin admitted.

Snow rounded on him then, her hospitality apparently stretching only so far. It looked like she was about to rip him apart, so Alice stepped in between them. She couldn’t say where her boldness came from, but Robin had been good to her, and she knew he was going to apologize.

“He helped me get here. We escaped together, and we haven’t had food or water in… well I’m not sure how long. Please,” she held Snow’s gaze, hoping the pleading look would be enough. Snow looked over her shoulder at Robin once more, then growled, snatching the empty mug from Alice’s hand and refilling it. 

Aurora gave them a couple slices of bread and honey, which they devoured. She went back to cooking a proper meal, pulling out vegetables and starting a fire in the stove.

“Get washed up, Alice,” Snow said, placing a hand over hers. “There’s clothes on the bed.” Alice looked at her, surprise evident on her face. 

Snow just shrugged. “We knew you’d come back.”

CHAPTER 43

Red

PRESENT DAY

Red flung open her cabin door and rushed inside before coming to a dead stop at the scene before her. Snow and Aurora sat tensed at the table opposite an incredibly battered looking Alice and Robin. Any relief Red might have felt at seeing Snow and Aurora safe and unharmed was instantly dampened by Robin’s presence.

“Hi,” Robin mumbled, pushing away from the table to stand and face her. Red eyed him warily, her emotionless mask slipping easily into place. She saw Alice’s gaze darting between the two of them. How much did Alice know? And perhaps, more importantly, how was he here?

“Heard you got taken,” she said.

“Yeah.” He cleared his throat. “I got out.”

“I see that. I’m glad.” Red was truly relieved he’d gotten out, but she knew the blank harshness of her voice and face made Robin doubt her. The atmosphere was downright frigid at this point. Snow and Aurora hadn’t taken their eyes off Robin since Red entered. 

It didn’t escape Red’s notice that Robin’s gaze kept darting to her sword before returning to look at her face. Her hands twitched, but she didn't draw any weapons. She had never needed to with him before, so why should now be any different?

“You should go home. They’ll be happy you're alive,” Red said, bursting the tense silence like a bubble. 

Red strode over to her weapons chest and pointedly removed her sword, setting it inside. She was ignoring Robin while removing the rest of her arsenal, along with any temptation to escalate the situation.

“I wanted to apologize.” Robin's words came out in a rush, effectively sucking the air out of the room. Red straightened up and glared at him, suspicion plain as day. He stumbled on. “It wasn't your fault. I didn't understand, but I know now. It was never your fault. I’m sorry for treating you the way I did.”

“It was my fault,” Red snapped, “it was always my fault.”

“You were only trying to keep us safe. The whole time. I… I didn’t see that. What happened to Marian, you couldn’t have stopped it.”

“She would still be alive if it weren't for me. I killed her.” Red’s voice was low and cold, anger radiating from her. How dare he come back into her life right now with this?

“He killed her! Red, I watched it happen. That’s what he did to me. The whole time I was there. Over and over and over again I watched it. He had her for days before he sent the note. None of us knew, but by the time he sent for you, it was already too late.”

Red shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest. “You still don't understand.”

“He broke her mind long before he made her try to fight you. Have you forgotten that I’ve seen you fight before? You deflected every single one of her blows and never once struck her the whole time. You never stopped trying to save her. He was the one who made her fight. He was the reason she fought until she couldn’t stand, couldn’t breathe. You didn’t kill her.”

“If I hadn’t made him angry, he never would have taken her.”

“You can’t know that.”

“But I do!” Red was yelling now. Her hands were balled into fists and she forced them down to her sides, taking a step closer. “I knew he was searching for something to use against me. I knew that and I didn't stop. He didn’t have anything. Not until he found her. If I’d stopped sooner… I didn’t know what would happen,” she choked out, no longer looking at Robin, at any of them. She couldn’t. She could only stare out the window, memories of that night cutting through her mind like a fresh wound.

“Red.” Robin took a tentative step toward her. “You didn’t know. It wasn't your fault. I’m tired of fighting with you.” He sighed, reaching out. Red glared at the offending hand before snatching it and pulling him into a tight embrace.

“I really am glad you got out,” she whispered before pulling away, holding him at a distance and looking him over. “How did you manage that, though?”

“Alice.” Then all eyes turned to Alice, who was fiddling with the hem of her shirt, trying to pretend like they all hadn't been watching the argument that just abruptly ended.

“I guess I can get magic out of other people’s minds,” she explained, hesitating and uncertain. Red nodded, a plan forming in her mind at the new information.

“Well, isn’t that convenient,” Snow commented.

“Yeah, why Robin?”

Alice shrugged and looked down. “He… I heard him say your name.”

Red quirked an eyebrow at Robin.

“Okay… Well, did you get the blade?”

CHAPTER 44

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Feeling victorious but smiling shyly, Alice fumbled with her good hand, pulling the blade from her belt and holding it out for Red to take. Her left arm had still not regained the usual feeling, but it was no longer numb. Now it was a dull tingling sensation. The day and night of trudging through misery to get here had done nothing to help. Alice hoped all she would need was time.

Red stared at her with her eyebrows knit together.

“What happened?” she asked, taking the blade from Alice and setting it on the table. 

“What do you mean? I got it. That’s… That’s it, right?”

“Your arm, Alice. What happened to your arm?”

“Oh. I, erm, I got stabbed…” Alice shrugged her shoulders trying to play it off and turned to show Red. Red lifted her arm, examining the scars. Alice didn’t resist.

“Snow, healing potion, please,” Red murmured to the siren while running her fingers over the wounds.

Snow found the potion with ease and handed it over to Red, who uncorked it and shoved it into Alice's good hand.

“One sip. It should help you be able to use your arm again, but if there’s any nerve damage, you might need a healer to fix it further.”

“Thanks.” Alice smiled, taking the potion. She had one small sip, then handed the bottle back.

Once the potion was back on the table, Red reached into her bag for her half of the blade. She unwrapped it before gently placing it on the table. Before anyone had a chance to speak, the halves started vibrating, clattering against the hardwood table, then shooting toward each other. 

Alice hit the ground when they moved, one of the halves appearing to zip straight at her, but when the noise stopped, they were left with an intact sword. The halves had melded back together, with only a chip on one side giving away that they’d ever been apart.

“Huh.” Red’s voice broke the stunned silence. “Guess I’ll let Harlan know he's no longer needed.” Everyone stood around the table, staring at the sword, which seemed quite pleased to be whole again. The vibrations had ceased, and it hadn’t moved any further.

“What now?” Robin asked, looking around the table.

“Now, Alice kills him.”

“You?” Robin turned to Alice with shock lining his features. “You can do that?"

“Well, I’ve hurt him before…” Alice glanced at Red who took over.

“She's our best shot. She can beat his magic, beat any magic as far as I’m aware. She kicked Snow out of her mind the day she got here. Says she hurt him last time she was here. No one's ever been able to do that before. It’s gotta be her.”

“And if you’re wrong?” Robin looked at Red with a challenge in his eyes.

“I’m not.”

“Fine.” He sighed then crossed his arms over his chest, and Red looked like she was steeling herself for what might come next. A hard look settled over her features. “Then I’m helping.”

Alice beamed at him. He had helped her so much already, and now he was willing to stay with them despite the difficult past he clearly shared with Red. For once in her life, she felt like she belonged, like she was wanted and cared for. Even if his decision to help was based on his love for his sister, Alice didn’t care.

CHAPTER 45

Red

PRESENT DAY

Robin had been all but cut out of her life for the last three years, only speaking when one needed something from the other, and now he comes back and apologizes? On top of that, he not only wants to make amends, but he also wants in on her revenge plot? Red was having a difficult time wrapping her mind around the sudden turn of events, but she did not need him getting more involved right now. They could make amends when the danger had passed.

“You want to help?” Red’s disbelieving voice put her thoughts on full display, even if her face was kept carefully neutral.

“Yeah, she saved my life. The least I can do is help her end his.”

But Red was already shaking her head. “No. You can help us figure out how to lure him to her, but after that you’re done. I don’t want you anywhere near this.”

“Why not? You’re not the boss of me.” Robin leaned back and tilted his head.

Red groaned. “Nice to see you haven’t changed,” she bit out. “Look, you can help us figure this out. How do we get him to come to Alice, without him knowing we’ve fixed it?”

“Well, he probably knows we’ve escaped by now. I’m sure he’s looking for her. I could take her somewhere⁠—”

“No! Absolutely not. If anyone is taking her anywhere, it’ll be me. You’ll stay here or go home,” Red ordered. 

“What? No, no, no. I’m helping!”

“It’s not a bad idea though…” Red continued, ignoring him and looking at Alice. “What do you think? We could draw him out easily if we⁠—”

Robin slammed his fist on the table, and Alice jumped, a startled gasp slipping from her mouth as she looked at Red. Snow and Aurora tensed, but Red kept her composure, taking her time to acknowledge him.

“Really? A tantrum,” she sneered. 

Grateful as she was to have him back, she didn't want him touching this mission, and the more she pushed him away, the more likely he would leave it. He’d always been like this. She knew he hadn’t changed. They could feel the air chill again. Everyone held their breath while she baited him.

He clenched and unclenched his fist several times glaring back at her. “Why are you always like this?” he ground out.

“You’re the one trying to get yourself killed. If you ever listened to me for once in your fucking life.”

“Maybe I would if you'd bothered to stick around more!”

“Oh, here we go. Get the fuck over it. I did that to protect you. All of you. You said you were done fighting with me, so stop being a fucking baby about something that happened eighteen years ago!” Red slumped into a chair beside her sirens, her fingers pinched the bridge of her nose.

“You left us!” Robin yelled. “You left me.” His voice softened and he looked down, swallowing the lump forming in his throat.

Red sighed. “I told you, it was to protect you.”

“You could have come back… After Marian. You should have come back. Instead you decided to find creative ways to get yourself killed!”

Red gave an exaggerated eye roll. “It wasn't that bad."

“Yes, it was! I was there. You don't remember because you spent half the time drunk and the other half under sirens’ magic. But I found you so many times, Red. Do you have any idea what it's like to watch your sister actively trying to get herself killed?”

Alice sucked in a breath. Red ground her teeth.

“I wasn’t trying to die. I was trying to forget,” she admitted.

“Forget Marian?” Robin asked, his voice lowered with compassion. The mood shifted again with the admission.

“She was my sister too, Robin. You weren’t the only one who lost her,” she whispered. “But, no. I would never want to forget her. I just wanted to forget she was gone. I knew you couldn't understand.”

The silence in the room had grown suffocating. The amount Red did not want an audience for this conversation was trumped by the fact she knew it needed to happen. Knew he needed to understand before they could move on. 

But why did it have to be now? Why couldn't he have just shut his mouth and accepted that he couldn't help with this. Not in the way he wanted to.

“I know. The whole family was devastated. I always thought Mum took it the hardest, until I knew what it was doing to you.” He gave a sad laugh. “She was always your favorite.”

“That’s why he took her.”

Robin’s brow furrowed. “What?”

“He can’t touch me. So he took her. That’s why it was my fault. And why you’ll never understand.”

“That’s why you left us?” he asked incredulously.

“I was protecting you.”

“Protecting…? Are you kidding me?! Mum blamed me for that! She thought I made you leave. She hasn’t forgiven me.”

“Yes she has, you fucking idiot.” Red sighed. “Stop using that as an excuse. You haven’t been back home since… well, since we changed. She misses you.” 

“I want… I should have been there for you, and I want to be now. I want to help you kill him.” Robin swallowed, avoiding another touchy subject.

“You can help by staying out of the way. Please.”

“Fine,” Robin grumbled, sitting down in defeat. “How’s this gonna happen?”

“I’ve got an idea…”

CHAPTER 46

Red

PRESENT DAY

This would be the first time Red ever entered The White Queen’s castle through the front gates. It was odd. The uncomfortable knowledge that she was being watched  made her fingers constantly twitch toward her sword. They were waiting, poised to strike. She could feel it. Being out in the open was almost too much. One look at Alice told her the other woman felt the same, but likely for a different reason.

Alice was trailing close behind her, eyes wide and mouth open as she stared up at the castle walls, atop which several archers perched with their bows drawn and trained on them. Or, more specifically, trained on Red. But Alice was close enough that she would get hit in the cross-fire if they got twitchy.

“They look ready to kill us,” Alice whispered in her ear, her voice shaking. "Are you sure about this?”

“They’d be shitty guards if they weren't ready to kill us.” Red laughed without any humor.

She hadn’t exactly told Alice the full truth about her relationship with this castle and the people inside. It didn't seem like a detail Alice needed to know, especially if she was this nervous already. 

There had also been a little voice in Red’s mind telling her Ches would intercept them on the way. They hadn’t been subtle on their journey here, tromping through every public area they could find, staying at an inn directly in the center of the busiest village on their way.

Red hated that she hadn’t been able to figure out his game yet.

“Stop!” A stern voice rang out as they neared the gate. 

Two guards drew their swords in warning while the archers kept steady aim on them. Red reached out, stopping Alice, who hadn’t registered the command, then she took a step ahead of her.

“Seems like overkill, don't you think?” Red commented, gesturing to the archers. A dark smile crossed over the guard's face.

“Nothing is overkill when you’re here, love.”

“Nice to see you’ve got an upgrade, Dor.” Red smirked.

“No thanks to you,” the guard spat, taking a step closer, while the guard with her shuffled uncomfortably, clearly debating whether or not to follow.

“We’re here to help.” Red showed her empty hands, cloak hiding her sword.

Dor snorted. “You’re never here to help.”

“Call for Elara. Tell her I brought the queen a present.”

Dor narrowed her eyes. “An old fling won’t save you now.”

“Just do it.” Red rolled her eyes. Dor gritted her teeth, but turned to the other guard with a tight nod, and he scrambled away.

“I’ll kill you myself if you're lying.”

“I’d love to see you try.” Red smiled sweetly. 

Dor wouldn’t kill her. She wasn't even good enough to get through Red’s defenses. A few minutes after the other guard retreated to find Elara, Red could see Dor's eyes darting between her and Alice. 

“Go ahead, Dor. You can ask,” Red prodded her, tilting her head in Alice's direction. 

The other woman was shifting closer to Red, and she wished Alice wouldn’t. Even with the limited information Red had given her, Alice should have figured out by now that it was not a good idea to be close to her. Dor’s gaze flicked back to Alice, waiting for a trap, but nothing happened.

“Who is she?”

Red’s lip twitched up. “A wielder.”

The archers on the wall gasped and shifted, hesitating to keep weapons pointed at the potential wielder. This was it. The whole castle would soon know Red had brought a wielder to the queen. Word would spread. Ches would have to come now.

Dor stared at Alice, scrutinizing her. Then Dor raised her hand, making a fist-like gesture with one finger out and all archers except one stood down. The one remaining kept an arrow trained on Red. Having only one would make it less likely for Alice to get caught in cross-fire if they determined Red to be lying.

The silence stretched on, Dor having no response other than calling off the archers. All eyes were now on Alice, as if trying to see the truth behind the words. Footsteps sounded behind the gate, breaking the tense silence. The guard who’d been sent off earlier scurried back to his place, and following close behind was another guard. 

“You came back,” Elara said, her eyebrows raised, but she gave Red a small smile.

“Told you I would.”

“Yes, well, you’ll forgive me for not believing you after the last time,” Elara said. Red snorted, and Elara turned to Dor. “Let them in.”

Dor didn’t move. Her eyes narrowed in on Red, who gave her a smirk and crossed her arms, eyebrow lifting in challenge.

“Dor,” the other woman snapped. “Queen’s orders.”

“You cannot be serious, Elara,” Dor hissed back, not taking her eyes off Red, who met her glare evenly. “How can you trust this?”

“Why don’t you come with us, Dor?” Red suggested. “That way you can protect everyone,” she said with entirely too much mockery in her tone. Red knew she shouldn’t provoke Dor, but old habits die hard. Dor growled, turning abruptly to Elara.

“Shackle her,” she ordered. “And I am coming.”

“Oh, for fuck’s sake! I’m not gonna do anything, you idiot.”

“Elara.” Dor’s voice lowered and took on a more pleading tone. The other guard sighed.

“Fine. Red, wrists.”

Dor smiled victoriously, turning to Red and pulling out irons to snap around her wrists.

“You’ve got to be fucking joking,” she grumbled under her breath before stepping forward and holding out her wrists. Dor yanked her closer, snapping the irons too tightly, and Red glared at her. The temptation to stab Dor was overwhelming, but they were here to play nice. Here to get the job done, and get out.

“I lied to you earlier, Dor. This is overkill.”

“Well, unlike you, I did not lie earlier.” Dor leaned close to her and lowered her voice. “Nothing is overkill for you.”

Red groaned and bit her tongue, but she still couldn't stop the next words from slipping out.

“You could chain my ankles too and I’d still be able to kill you before you could think about drawing your sword.”

“Dor!” Elara snapped as Dor drew her sword, forcing Red back a couple steps to avoid getting swiped. Alice let out a strangled cry behind her. Red laughed at Dor and opened her mouth to retort, but before she could say anything, Elara interrupted.

“Both of you, stop it! Do not run away, wielder! We’re going to the queen now. Behave.”

Red snickered as Dor glared daggers at her. “Always.”

The group followed Elara as she led them through a vast expanse of hallways and staircases. Red felt Alice’s eyes burning holes in the back of her head as Red walked with Elara, and chatted the entire way. Red would answer any questions Alice might have, just not here. Dor brought up the rear, and Red knew the guard was getting angrier by the second with their casual conversation. 

That was kind of the point though. Make noise, make scenes, alert people to their presence. Ches would know exactly where to find them. And the sooner he came, the better. Red didn’t actually want Alice to meet the queen. Didn’t want her to get unwillingly enlisted to be the queen's wielder. Just hers. Not that it was like that—Alice had to kill Ches to get home, so it wasn’t Red forcing her to do it. Not the way the queen would, anyhow.

They came to a stop in front of two unnecessarily large doors, intricately carved with vining plants running through every part of them. Alice's intake of breath told Red that they were quite impressive. Though she’d seen better. Producing a small key, Elara took a step forward and unlocked the door, letting them enter the queen’s chambers.

Every single piece of furniture in the room was a pristine white. The bed hangings were sheer white and sparkled in the waning sunlight. The couch and chairs and table were a nice bold white that shone with polish. Only the plants weren’t white. They lent the room the spot of color it sorely needed. 

Green and purple vining plants crawled up the walls and over the bed. Flowers of all colors bloomed in dark corners where they had no right blooming. Herbs lined the dressers and several shelves. This, Red had to admit, was impressive. The vast number of plants made the air in the room feel fresh, if only a bit humid, and it smelled as if they were still outside. 

But admiration for the queen’s plant magic had a time and a place, and this was neither. Red rattled her chains, breaking the stillness of the room and earning a lovely glare from Elara and Dor. She smiled, holding her wrists out to Elara. The guard gave her a wary expression before removing another smaller key.

“Are you kidding?” Dor stepped up, snatching the key from her. “This is the worst place to let her loose!”

“If I was gonna do something, don’t you think I would’ve done it already? Come on, Dor. These things are fuckin’ annoying!” She jingled the chains again to prove her point. “Elara, tell her.”

After what felt like an eternity, Elara winced and nodded to Dor. “She’s right. She won't do anything. And it might be better to have her available…”

“Thank you,” Red said, exasperated and holding her wrists out to a reluctant Dor once more. Thankfully, Dor did not ask what Elara had meant by that. Once released, Red turned to Alice and nodded toward the bed.

CHAPTER 47

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice shuffled toward the bed, briefly hesitating and looking over her shoulder at Red who nodded in encouragement. She noticed the angry guard—Dor, she’d heard Red call her—had a sword at the ready and was standing much closer to Red than necessary. The other guard who’d been nicer to them was beside Alice, pushing aside the curtain and letting her see the woman asleep on the bed.

The bedridden queen was frozen in silence. Her eyes were open and unblinking, focused on nothing in the room and seeing none of them. There was a thin sheen of sweat covering her brow, and unlike Robin, she was motionless, unspeaking, and holding a look of sheer and utter terror. 

After what Robin told her he had seen, Alice knew she was bearing witness to unimaginable horrors. She felt a pang of sadness for her. For everyone who’d dealt with Ches’s mind games. But now was not the time to lament. She had a trick, and it was time to prove it.

Alice rushed the rest of the way over, laying her hands on the queen's temples. Just as she'd done for Robin, except this time, she was able to lift her left arm enough to use both hands instead of one. There was a rustle of movement, the sound of footsteps, of weaponry being drawn. Alice froze.

“Fuck’s sake,” Red grumbled behind her. The distinctly familiar sound of Red unsheathing her own sword came next. When Alice turned around, Dor had her sword up and pointed toward Alice. The guard was almost frozen mid-step, Red’s sword at her throat.

“Keep on, Alice. She won't hurt you.” Red nodded while Dor remained motionless, radiating anger. Alice decided she could inquire about this odd relationship when they were safely back at Red’s cabin and pushed the curiosity out of her mind for the time being.

Acting on instinct and memory from what she’d done before, Alice replaced her hands on either side of the queen's head, closing her eyes and trying to find the familiar sting of Ches’s magic. 

Upon finding the smokey tendrils of magic, she grabbed hold in her mind and pulled, yanking at the connection one by one instead of pushing, like she had with Robin. The magic surrounding the queen was different, it was as though, in order for them to stay safe, she needed to dismantle it instead of using brute force.  Her concentration was broken by light footsteps entering the room and a voice that turned her insides to ice.

“Oh, Alice. You thought you could run away again.” Her senses heightened when she turned to face him, hopefully for the last time. “You should know,” he continued. “I will always find you. I always find my toys.”

His words were a threat that Alice didn't understand until he stepped inside and was followed by two hulking dwarves with a much smaller, in comparison, man between them.

“No,” Red breathed. “Let him go!”

“Ah, but you never made a deal for him, dear. We can make one right now, if you’d like. Your deals are always so entertaining.” Ches’s silky voice was laced with venom as Red glared him down. “Give her to me, and I will release him.”

Breath lodged in Alice’s throat, suffocating and unwilling to be expelled from her body. Despite her shaking hands, she was ready. She could do this. She’d gotten away from him twice before, and now she had a means to end him once and for all. Her brain knew it, now it just needed to accurately communicate with her body. 

Then Alice wobbled. The now unsteady ground beneath her turned. Before she moved, she looked to Red, wearing a desperate expression. Red’s hand reached out to steady her. Static filled her ears and she saw Red’s mouth moving but words didn’t reach her. 

Alice knew she had to go to him. 

Had to go of her own accord. If he took control, everything would fall apart. She swallowed hard and turned back to face him, forcing herself to think about what came next, what they’d planned for. Reminding herself that this had been the game the whole time.

“I’m sorry,” Red whispered loudly enough for Ches to hear. 

The words penetrated the static buzzing in her ears. Alice clutched her cloak tightly and grabbed the hilt of the sword underneath, turning back to look at Red with wide eyes before she started her walk, hoping her turn would mask the movement of gripping the sword. Then, she took her first tentative, shaky step toward Ches.

Breathe in, breathe out. 

“NO!” Robin shouted as she got closer. 

He felt guilty. She could see it in his eyes. He knew if he hadn’t been captured, his sister would protect Alice. He had been there when they'd discussed the plan. Red was to act as a guard in case Alice messed up—she wasn't going to let Ches take her again. Robin’s presence would now prevent Red from acting, but Alice had to ignore him. She had to stick to the plan like nothing had changed, so she inched slowly closer to the monster in front of her. 

Ches’s grin spread across his face, and his eyes glinted with victory. He had won. He had Alice.

One step closer. Another. She was almost close enough. He reached out a hand. She couldn’t let him touch her. Fear made her movements choppy and irrational. Alice wasn’t close enough yet, but she saw his hand stretching out toward her and in the next step, she swung.

The blade sliced through his leg, traveled up his stomach, aimed for his heart. It was a surface wound. She wasn’t close enough. She got scared, struck too early. Lunging forward, Alice pushed the blade into his stomach with a death grip on the hilt. Then she his hand was burning her shoulder and the world changed.

CHAPTER 48

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Alice was falling.

Down, down, down.

Her world tilted, and then there was nothing. 

When she came to, a large caterpillar sat in front of her, blowing smoke from a hookah in her face. 

“Who are you?” he asked her. Alice looked around, confused. 

What just happened? Where was she? There was something important on the edge of her mind, something telling her she shouldn’t be here. A distant memory that was somehow familiar and strange all at once.

Giant mushrooms surrounded her. She was standing in a mushroom forest. It was dark and dismal, completely void of all color. The whole world was shades of grey. Alice swayed on her feet.

“Who are you?” the caterpillar asked again, more agitated and blowing smoke in her face for a second time.

She waved it away again. “I’m Alice.”

“No you’re not.”

She turned back to face him, head cocked. “Yes, I am.”

“But you’re a child.”

“I am no—” She cut herself off. She was a child. Alice looked down at her body. It was young. There were no more scars, no more tattoos. Had there ever been scars or markings, she wondered.

The dress was familiar. The last time she’d worn it, something bad happened. She had to push. Push out. But now the world was spinning again, a falling sensation pulling her down. She wasn’t moving.

“Who are you?” Another puff of smoke and she was in front of the caterpillar again. Again?

“Alice.” Her voice was quiet now, muted and uncertain. He had already asked her that, hadn’t he? Where was she? What was happening? Something was off, but every time it felt as though she came close to figuring it out, it was pulled away again. Like smoke drifting through her grasp.

“I’m Alice,” she said again, but there was no one around now. The caterpillar was gone.

What caterpillar?

The question floated through the air, and she turned. She was alone. Who had asked that? The falling sensation tugged at her mind again and her world spun, went black.

“Who are you?” A puff of smoke in her face drew her into consciousness. 

Standing in front of her was a large purple caterpillar smoking a hookah. A shockingly familiar caterpillar. She looked around. They were in a forest, but the trees were not trees. They were mushrooms. The world was colorful, the mushrooms all dancing shades of pastel. It was too vibrant. The colors hurt her eyes.

“Who are you?” The voice was tinged with irritation at having to repeat himself.

“I’m Alice,” she answered, looking back at him. 

This was too familiar. She’d done this before, but it wasn’t right. This had never happened to her. Being in a mushroom forest with a talking caterpillar. That wasn’t a thing that happened in London.

Real. The word flashed through her mind with a jolt. Real? 

The caterpillar was talking again, but she couldn’t hear him. Instead, she was hearing a scream. The scream was so loud it reverberated against her skull, pounding into her brain.

“No. No. No. No!” The words itched in the back of her mind.

“Wake up!” It was a different voice now, a familiar voice. There was no one around her. The caterpillar had vanished, but she knew the voice that spoke.

“Wake up, Alice!” It yelled again. It was a masculine voice, but she didn’t know who it would’ve belonged to. She only had Dianne. Who was talking?

The world flashed in front of her, but it wasn’t the one she knew. This was a new scene. One filled with humans and blood and swords. 

Wait!

There’s something important. The image was torn away almost the second it appeared, and she was falling again.

“Who are you?” The caterpillar was back. Back? She’d never seen him before. She had though. He kept asking this question. 

It isn’t real.

The thought cut through Alice’s mind like a knife. She gasped. This wasn’t real.

Alice scrunched her eyes closed and pushed. She didn’t know what she was pushing, but something told her she had to. Had to get back. Back to what, she didn’t know.

“They’re coming,” the caterpillar hissed as he started fading away. “Run, run, run, little girl. But be warned, you have started the beginning of the end. If you follow through with this, they will come.” The voice dulled to a mere whisper, a hint of a sound, “The Jabberwock will come.”

The words hardly registered in her mind, they didn’t make sense. She’d already started pushing back at the unseen source holding her hostage in this strange dream. The world was fading away around her, and sounds of reality filtered through.

CHAPTER 49

Alice

PRESENT DAY

The scene unfolding before Alice was chaos. The first thing she saw was blood—lots of blood. Then the sounds of metal clashing on metal, followed by a gut wrenching cry and gurgling. 

In front of her was the source of the gurgling. Blood poured from Ches’s stomach where her blade was still plunged deep. Before he’d taken her mind, she had managed to fall forward, pushing the sword further into him.

A sharp pain radiated through her knees. They were kneeling together, uninterrupted, as fighting carried on around them. Ches was laughing, but the ringing sound barely carried to her ears over the clashing swords.

This wasn’t over. Alice had missed, but she was back. More importantly, she still had the blade, and any strike from this blade would hurt him, weaken him. This was, after all, the only weapon he couldn’t fully heal from. As long as Alice held it, he would be forced to keep any wounds she gave him.

With a grunt, Alice pulled the sword from his body and swung for his neck with all the strength she could muster. Reality slowed. His eyes widened and his head started to turn, but he couldn’t react in time. It had taken him too long to realize she wasn’t in his trap anymore. He had wasted precious seconds believing he still had her.  

And it would be his end.

Just missing his jaw, the sword lodged into his neck, not quite making it halfway through. Blood spurted all over Alice’s hands. His laughter stopped, choking in his throat, and she watched his eyes glaze over. Then, several things happened at once as the world around Alice regained normal time.

First, the two dwarves who’d hauled Robin inside had dropped to the ground, dead. One from Red, the other from Dor. 

Second, Robin fell shortly after the dwarves. Red rushed to his side and sliced her cloak to tie up a huge gash going straight through his side, blood immediately drenched the fabric. 

Third, the two guards rushed to the queen, who groaned and stirred for the first time since they had entered the room. 

And finally, Ches’s dead body burst into a puff of magic, blade clattering to the floor. Sparks of light danced through the air like fireflies. Red was already helping Robin up, hurrying him to hobble out of there before anything worse could happen.

“Alice,” she hissed, voice low enough to not break through the worried chatter of the guards hovering over the queen. With one last look at the room, Alice turned and scrambled after Red.

CHAPTER 50

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Halfway back to the inn they’d stayed in the night before, the ground began shaking. Soft vibrations growing louder with every passing step. Branches started falling off trees, birds took flight, and small animals scurried for ground cover around them. 

Red, Alice, and Robin were forced to stop walking. Red, having to support Robin, couldn’t keep them both steady while the ground shook, the pair being off-balanced by his injury.

Then, just as abruptly as it began, it stopped. They all looked around, but nothing seemed to have changed.

“Earthquake?” Alice asked. She’d never experienced one herself, but there had been several in other countries she'd heard about.

Red furrowed her brows. “I have no idea what that was. But we shouldn’t stop here anyway. We can still make it to the inn before nightfall if we hurry. Might be able to find a healer in town too.”

“With Robin so injured…” Alice hesitated, watching Robin force his eyes open again with the mention of his name. “Is there not a way we could get back more efficiently?” She didn’t know how to ask for a different mode of transport, or if there were other ways here, but she had to assume people rode horses, right? The two exchanged a look before Red answered.

“We can try to get a carriage.” She didn’t sound sold on the idea.

“Why wouldn’t we be able to get one? Are they just too expensive?”

“Erm, Alice… The horses, well, they don’t like wolves.” Red shifted her hold on Robin, using the uncomfortable silence to readjust his arm over her shoulder. 

Wolves? Plural? Alice almost smacked her forehead. How could she have been so daft? He was her brother, and Red had told her that her entire family had been changed. And of course horses would be uncomfortable around predators.

She didn’t know how to reply so she settled on a very succinct, “Oh. What if he transformed?” she asked excitedly, perking up noticeably. 

“It’s… not a good idea,” Red answered vaguely.

“Why not? It would help him heal, right?”

“We have to be in relatively good health in order to,” Red paused, her words stilted and uncertain. “Well, to survive the change.”

“Oh,” Alice didn’t realize how much of a toll the transformation would take. She thought back to the snapping bones when Red had done it. She never considered the trauma their bodies endured while going through that. They continued walking in silence until they reached the nearest town.

They did not find a carriage, nor did they find a healer as Red had been hoping. They did, on the bright side, still have their room at the shabby little inn. 

Since they weren't lucky enough to have found a healer, Red attempted to make due with the limited supplies she'd brought. It wasn’t supposed to have been a proper fight. No one was supposed to get hurt that would need healing, but, fortunately, Red always prepared for the worst. On the downside, her potion bottles had managed to shatter in the chaos, and she was left with only salve.

Alice didn't understand what the difference was, so while Red attempted to help Robin clean his gaping side wound, she explained.

“A potion would heal him enough that he could walk on his own by morning. I use them for the more serious injuries. Broken bones or massive blood loss, the like. Salves are better for minor surface wounds, cuts that don't reach the muscle or bone. Robin went and got himself stabbed straight through.” She said this accusatorially, as though he'd done it on purpose. He didn’t even have the energy to argue as he sat there, breathing hard, barely holding himself up, and wincing with her less than gentle handling. 

“This’ll close up the outside, not the inside,” Red continued, slapping a giant glob of salve over the wound before redressing it with more of her torn cloak. 

“So, potion for internal, salve for external,” Alice summarized, looking to Red for confirmation.

“Yep. Hopefully he’ll survive the night, and we can get back for a healing potion.”

Alice didn’t want to voice her concern. She wasn't a doctor after all, but she was pretty certain that internal bleeding would kill someone within a day. The casual way Red said he’d hopefully survive the night made Alice acutely aware that Red knew something she didn’t.

“You don't seem concerned?” Alice tried, hesitantly watching the woman’s face for any flicker of change. Not that she would’ve been able to detect it anyway.

“We’re wolves, Alice. We don’t die because of a little stab wound.” Red’s voice was equivalent to an exaggerated eye roll, but Alice was still worried. 

It was a pretty big stab wound. He’d lost a lot of blood. His breathing was shallow, and he was already slipping into sleep. That couldn’t have been a good sign. 

“Besides, I got some of the salve inside him too. Should close up whatever opened. Now get some sleep. We leave before first light.”

CHAPTER 51

Red

PRESENT DAY

Half the night had passed, but Red stayed awake. Alice’s soft snores and Robin’s shallow breathing were the only sounds in the room. She couldn’t bring herself to sleep. Despite the air of confidence she’d portrayed for Alice, this wasn’t looking good. If anything happened, if Robin’s condition worsened, she had to be there for him. She just got him back and couldn’t lose him now. Not this soon.

This was all her fault. She knew that he'd been better off without her. Well, after Alice saved him from Ches. But then, would Ches have taken him in the first place, if not for her? Why did he take him at all, unless…?

“Robin,” Red’s harsh whisper broke through the silence of the room. Alice stirred in her bed beside them but didn’t wake. Red gave Robin a jabbing poke, prodding his arm until he responded.

“What?” he groaned. His speech was weak, and his eyes weren’t opening. 

“Why did you get taken?”

“What?”

“Why did Ches take you?” She patted his face until his eyelids fluttered open. His eyes rolled back and he closed them again but she wouldn’t let him go.

“Because I escaped…” He pushed the words out like it was painful, but that wasn’t what Red meant.

“The first time, Robin. How’d you end up there?”

“Don’t know… Made him angry… Maybe…”

“Robin!” Red pushed him harder now, his breathing weak and stuttering. Should she let him sleep, or should she keep him awake? She only knew how to make potions to fix things. She didn’t know what to do if those weren’t at her disposal, but Robin couldn’t die. He couldn’t.

She couldn’t lose another sibling to that horror. Ches was gone, and yet he was still punishing her. It was a mistake, not demanding more from the Jabberwock. Not demanding further protections for her family, instead just feeling lucky to have gotten the ones she got. She should’ve made it so Ches couldn’t touch any of them. A bloodline protection.

It was rare but not unheard of, at least for curses. She had to assume the Ancient Magicians could have used their magic for protections too. 

“Fuck.” Robin was fading. She could feel it. Dwelling on should-haves was not going to help him now. She had to do something more immediate.

Looking around the room, Red saw nothing that stood out as helpful. The beds, the wardrobe, a table and chair, towels… She pulled Robin's shirt up to expose the wound again.

It was bright red and burning around the salve. Her magic was too low to help now. She went to the bathroom for a towel and water, cleaning the wound and redressing it with what little salve she had remaining. As if that would do anything. Then she had an idea. Loathe as she was to leave him, if she transformed, she could make it to her cabin and back before the sun came up. She couldn’t carry him there, not with the state he was in.

Red looked over to Alice’s sleeping form. How she slept so soundly with Robin dying, Red couldn’t say.

“Robin!” Red whispered urgently, shaking him until he groaned again and she knew he was awake.

“Lemme sleep,” he slurred, trying to move his head out of her grasp and failing.

“Robin, I’m going to transform. I’m going to run home and get you a healing potion. You have to hang on until I get back. Can you promise me that? Promise you won’t leave me again?”

His eyes fluttered open and he squinted, looking as if he couldn’t see her.

“Robin. Promise me,” she ordered. Desperation filled her words as her voice cracked. She cleared her throat and waited for his response.

“Love you,” he mumbled. That was as good as she’d get. She couldn’t wait anymore.

Red rushed over to Alice and shook her awake. “Alice, you need to watch Robin. I’ll be back soon. Do not let him die.”

“What?” Alice’s voice was thick with sleep, confusion etched on her face as she pried her eyes open to look at Red.

“I’m going to get a potion. I’ll be back. Make sure he doesn’t die.”

Red didn’t wait for Alice to respond before she stripped off her clothes, removed her shoes, and set them outside the room. Her transformation was almost complete by the time she dragged herself outside.

Wind whipped through her fur as she flew through the forest, paws pounding the ground with each step, scaring small animals from their homes as she passed. She reached her cabin in record time, barely pausing to explain what happened to Snow and Aurora after her shuffling around had woken them. And then she was racing through the forest once more.

She didn’t know how much time she’d lost, but the sun hadn’t risen yet. She had a chance. He could still be alive. Red transformed back just outside the room. She’d set her clothes right past the door for an easy redressing and threw them on haphazardly before pushing the door open and stepping beyond with bated breath. 

Alice was sitting on the bed with Robin, his hand limp in hers and tears staining her cheeks.

Red was too late. 

She’d known it the moment she entered the room and could hear only one other heartbeat. The potion vial fell from her hand, clattering on the hard floor of the inn as she fell to her knees. A screaming cry wrenched itself from her throat, and she forced herself to shuffle over and face the second sibling she’d failed.

She felt his pulse, knowing the answer already.

“How long?” she croaked out, her voice thick with emotion. 

“I’m not sure,” Alice admitted quietly. “He didn’t make it much longer after you left. I’m sorry, Red. There was nothing…” Alice trailed off. Nothing she could say would make this better. 

Red knew Alice couldn’t have done anything. She knew it was selfish to leave him, to hope for any more time her potion could’ve bought her. It wouldn’t have saved him anyway. He was too far gone, but she hadn’t wanted to believe it.

Denial coursed through her veins, flowing freely while she tried to think of any other outcome than this. Could she still save him? She crawled back to where she’d dropped the potion, snatching it off the ground and prying his mouth open. 

He wasn’t cold. She could still save him. This could work. She poured the entire vial in his mouth, massaging down his throat, forcing the liquid to invigorate his body and breathe life into him once more. 

She counted her breaths. One. Two. Three. In, out, in, out, slow and steady. She felt his pulse again. There was still nothing. The potion had a lot to do. He would need more time. He could still make it. The magic and herbs were twisting their way through his veins and mending his broken body as she waited there.

This had to work.

Ches was dead. He was not allowed to take any more of her family.

Her breaths dragged on. Alice’s breaths were slow and steady. A choked sob came, ruining the quiet. Red was about to snap at Alice for making any sound. She had to be able to hear Robin’s heartbeat when it returned.

But it wasn’t Alice who’d made the noise. It was Red. It had been too long. Her brother was gone. It was her fault, and she couldn’t fix it.

Red didn’t know how long she stayed like that, clutching her brother's lifeless hand while silent tears streamed down her face. The sun had begun to filter through the windows, illuminating the already depressing scene. Alice hadn’t moved, hadn’t spoken since Red had last addressed her. 

“You can’t be here anymore.” Red’s voice was cracked and hollow. Alice looked up, her eyes bloodshot, and she sniffed, swiping at her cheeks with one hand and refusing to let go of Robin with the other. If Red had any capacity for emotions, it might have made her angry. Alice had known Robin for a day, what right did she have to mourn him so?

“What?” Alice’s voice sounded almost as raw as Red’s.

“The queen. She’ll be looking for you. The door will have returned. Now that Ches is dead, all his magic should have been undone. You need to go back.”

CHAPTER 52

Alice

PRESENT DAY

Nervous jitters filled Alice’s movements as she reached a shaky hand out for the familiar knob. She looked back at her new friends one last time before crossing, seeing them nodding encouragingly. A somber air surrounding them.

They didn’t want her here, not right now. There was family stuff to deal with. She remembered when her parents had died, all the legal things, the mourners. She didn’t know how it worked here, but she would feel like an unwelcome intruder if she was there when Red’s family arrived. There wasn't anything keeping her here—just the only real friends she'd ever had, and trauma.

She kept looking over her shoulder, hesitating on the doorknob.

“I’ll come back and visit,” Alice offered for what felt like the fifteenth time since they'd left the cabin.

“You’ll always have a room with us,” Aurora replied, giving her a small smile, as she had each time. Alice nodded and turned back, closing her eyes and taking a steadying breath before opening the door and stepping through.

The door shut behind her with a resounding thwack that echoed through the chamber. It took her a moment to adjust to the darkness surrounding her.

She turned, relieved to see the door had not disappeared. It was still there, sitting unassuming just as it had the first time she’d crossed over all those years ago, and then again the second time only days ago. And it would remain again for her to cross a third time.

The third time she opened the door would be without fear. It would be of her own volition and free will, and it would be solely for seeing her friends again. There was a small part of her that hadn’t wanted to leave, hadn’t wanted to come back to her sad life with no friends and no real passions.

But she could turn that around, make a name for herself. Go out and meet people. Ches was gone. He would always live on in the darkest crevices of her mind, but now she could truly start to heal. It would be a massive change, and it was terrifying to think about, but would be absolutely worth it. Her life would begin anew today.

Alice turned back to the opening in the tree, a minuscule amount of light brightening the hole now that her eyes had adjusted. She was stalling. She wasn’t quite sure why—nerves perhaps.

There was no telling how long she'd been gone, after all. In Underland’s time it had been weeks, but in London’s time had it only been days? Perhaps she hadn’t even missed her therapy appointment. Oh man, would Dianne have things to say about this adventure. Would she even believe it?

Alice shook her head. Not the time to get caught up in nerves. It was fine. Everything was fine. She just had to move, to leave the tree. Silly, really, standing inside a hole in a tree.

She laughed to herself, then she forced one foot in front of the other until she reached the opening. The moon shone down from high in the sky, sneaking peeks through the standard grey London clouds.

So, time had moved on in her absence after all.

A cool breeze drifted from the open field in front of her and she shivered, pulling her cloak tighter. She would never be able to repay the kindness Aurora had shown her by giving her these clothes. Guilt gnawed at her with that thought, but she shoved it away. She could still visit after all, and maybe she could bring some clothes of her own to share. Yes, that was what she’d do, eventually, when she went back to see them again.

When she stepped out of the tree, mist greeted her like an old friend. The horrors of Underland nights wouldn’t reach her here. Logically, she knew that, but that didn’t stop her from running the length of the yard to her house, slowing only when she was close enough to see a light on inside.

How odd. Alice was certain she hadn’t left a light on. It had been daytime when she’d left.

The light shone through the bay window from her dining room, illuminating the yard in front of her. She stopped walking when she spotted shadowy figures through the windows. They were moving.

The backyard of her estate had little in the way of hiding spots this close to the house. The trees stopped much further back, and her rose garden was too far to the side. She was standing in plain sight, but the shadows in her home hadn’t noticed her yet.

She was being robbed. That was the only conclusion she could come to. How long had she been gone that robbers had time to case her house and determine they were safe to break in?

But did robbers usually sit down at the table? And… was that food? Alice squinted, inching closer as quickly as her body would allow, which turned out to be quite slow. The shadows came more into focus as she approached.

Two adults and one child. The adults had their backs to the window, which would explain how her presence had yet to be detected. The child turned and looked directly at her.

Alice gasped, clapping a hand over her mouth as she stared back at her own face. Then, the child opened her mouth in a scream so piercing it reached Alice through the glass.

She remembered this night.

Young Alice, having just turned seven, just returned from Underland the first time, looking out her window to see her nightmare. Only it hadn’t been Ches out that window, had it? It had been herself.

Alice did not move for a long time, watching while her parents rushed to comfort the child. She knew they didn’t turn, didn't look out the window. They’d never understood how their child had woken up one night, covered in cuts, bruises, and old scars, terrified out of her mind. Never understood how the horrors continued to haunt her, even beyond their death.

She knew this night was the beginning of the night terrors and the “behavioral disorder.” No one had ever believed her. Now, she knew those fears had been real, warranted. She couldn’t be here any longer, couldn’t stand to watch what came next. Shaking her head, Alice backed away before turning altogether and running.

Without a conscious decision, her feet took her back to the tree, to the door and without hesitation this time, she threw it open. Only to be greeted by the sight of the forest beyond. Burning. A thick fog of magic and smoke shrouded the land before her, and the friends she'd said goodbye to only minutes before were nowhere to be seen.

Thank you!

What a doozy. This book was my baby, my debut, so thank you to everyone who read it (and especially those who loved it)

Book 2 is ongoing, if you want updates about that or other things I’m working on, follow me on instagram (@ejpepinowrites) or sign up for my newsletter!

Acknowledgments

Thank you to my loving wife who was instrumental in helping me set up my writing space, overcome blockers in my story, beta reading, and being my biggest support system.

To my mom who has been encouraging my writing ever since I was little and is more than happy to read anything I've ever written and provide honest feedback. Thank you to my dad and step mom who supported me from the sidelines, always asking for updates and encouraging me.

Thank you to my in-laws who cheered me on the whole way and got me a writing desk so I could have my own space to work! To my mother-in-law specifically for being lovely enough to beta read for me and provide great feedback!

Huge thank you to my closest friends and the wonderful support system they’ve provided throughout the production of this book and just life in general.

To my amazing beta readers, this book wouldn’t be what it is without y’all and all y’all’s input!

But the biggest thank you has to go to my cats and dogs who made sure my lap was never cold while spending long hours writing, you are cherished and loved in every way possible.

To my lovely little sapphic groups on instagram, you all have been such a huge help and inspiration in building my confidence and making me feel supported and involved in a wonderful community. You will all have my thanks and support forever.

And last but certainly not least, thank you to my editor who I desperately need because even though I swear I passed all my English classes, I still don't know how to use a comma. Or do the sentence structure thing.

About the Author

E. J. Pepino is a sapphic author of dark stories; mostly writing fantasy, horror, and thriller but with a dash of romantasy thrown in.

She lives in NC with her wife, 4 cats, 2 dogs, and a few reptiles. By day she is a scientist, by any other time of day/night she writes and reads. Hobbies include reading, hiking, photography, and spending time giving these needy animals attention.