Chapter 83
Chapter Eighty-Three
ALICE
The Queen of Hearts rises from her throne, the amulet swinging from her fingers like a trophy. Like the heart she just ripped from my chest.
My heart pounds against my ribs, but that other heartbeat—the one that's been beating alongside mine—hasn't stopped.
Even here, even in this room. It's deeper now, louder, echoing through me, filling my veins with something powerful.
Magic. It hums under my skin, calling me forward, demanding justice.
The guards move.
A dozen at least, maybe more. They surge toward us. No hesitation. No warning. Just the thunder of boots against stone and the cold certainty in their eyes.
I step closer to Hook.
He moves closer to me.
His sword lifts, sharp and ready. His grip steady, knuckles white around the hilt. A promise.
I wish I had one.
But I don't need him to protect me. I've beaten the Queen before. I can do it again. The memory of our last confrontation burns in my mind, fuelling my determination.
The guards rush us—not with swords. They aren't here to kill. They're here to subdue. To drag us down. To make us kneel before her, broken and defeated.
One grabs for my arm, fingers digging into my flesh, but I twist, shoving him off. Another reaches for my waist, and I slam my elbow into his ribs, sending him stumbling back. The impact jars through my bones.
Hook moves, his blade flashing as he cuts through them. Silver arcs in the chamber's dim light.
His movements are fast, brutal. Ruthless. No wasted motion, no hesitation.
A pirate who has spent his life in battle. A man who knows that mercy gets you killed.
A guard lunges at him—Hook side steps, their own momentum sending them sprawling across the hard floor. The scrape of armour against stone echoes off the walls.
Another comes from behind. Hook twists, hilt slamming up into their jaw—they drop. Blood spatters across polished boots.
They keep coming, relentless waves of red and black, but Hook fights his way back to me, cutting them down, sending them crashing to the stone. His breathing is controlled, but I can see the sweat beading on his brow, the slight tremble in his shoulders from the effort.
A guard lunges for me again—but Hook is already there. He grabs one of them, knocks him to his knees, and raises his blade. Cold determination in his eyes. The chamber holds its breath.
"Enough." The Queen's voice rings out, cutting through the chaos. "Or I'll end his pathetic life."
A guard has Thorn by the hair, yanking his head back, his throat exposed. The skin there is pale, vulnerable. Thorn's eyes meet mine, wide with fear but burning with defiance.
Hook stops. His whole body goes rigid.
"Oh, God."
The guards seize the moment, surging in, grabbing Hook from behind. His sword clatters to the ground. They force him to his knees. He grunts with the impact, jaw clenched tight against the pain.
More guards grab me, wrenching my arms back until my shoulders scream in protest. "No…"
"Good," the Queen purrs, stepping down the dais, her heels clicking through the room. Each step measured, victorious. "Now we can talk properly."
The magic pulses harder under my skin, responding to her presence. To the wrongness of her on that throne. The heartbeat inside me thunders, a war drum demanding action. But she's too distracted, too certain of her victory to notice the storm brewing inside me.
The guards have us both locked down—but I see it. Hook's shoulders tense. A barely perceptible shift.
I know that look. I've seen it before, right before everything went to hell.
He nods at me. Subtle. Quick. A question and a plan all at once.
I shake my head. Not yet. Too many guards. Too much at risk.
But he smirks at me. That godforsaken smirk that says he's already made up his mind. That says he's about to do something monumentally stupid and brave.
"Hook—" My voice breaks on his name, a warning and a prayer.
Too late. He throws his head back, skull cracking into the guard behind him. In the same motion, he twists, breaking free. The sound of bone meeting bone echoes through the room.
My guard tightens his grip, fingers digging into bruised flesh, but Hook is already moving. He slams into me, knocking us both sideways. For a moment, we're tangled together, my guard losing his balance, cursing as he stumbles.
Hook's mouth is at my ear, his breath hot against my skin. "Believe, Alice," he whispers.
The words barely have time to sink in before the guards are back on us, tearing him away from me. This time, they're rougher, forcing him down hard enough to crack the stone beneath his knees. The sound makes me flinch.
I lift my hands. I don't need the same restraint. Not when they have Hook like this.
One of the guards grabs his hair, yanking his head back, exposing his throat like they did Thorin. Another drives their fist into his gut. Hook grunts, the impact shuddering through him, but his eyes never leave mine. Then—a blade at his throat. Cold steel against warm skin.
"No. Stop," I say, my voice steady, though I don't feel it. Inside, I'm screaming.
The Queen lifts a hand, and the guard's blade stills, hovering a hair's breadth from Hook's jugular.
She moves closer, but she keeps her distance.
She isn't stupid. She knows what I can do.
"Quite the feat you've achieved," she murmurs, studying Hook.
"Getting the infamous Captain Hook to risk his life for you.
" Her eyes narrow, watching him like a predator sizing up wounded prey.
"Tell me, Captain—what could she possibly have promised you that's worth dying for? "
Hook's lip curls despite the blood smeared across it, red against pale skin. "Fuck you," he growls.
It's my sentiments exactly.
The Queen laughs, tilting her head. The sound is like glass breaking. "Fuck me?" she repeats, mocking. She means to kill him. I see it in her eyes. The cold calculation. The pleasure she'll take in watching his life drain away.
"Please," I say quickly, desperation clawing up my throat. "We don't want anything from you. Just his amulet. That's all we came here for."
She cocks a brow, intrigued. "His amulet?
" Then she laughs. She fingers the pendant, swinging it between her fingers.
"You still think this belongs to him? Oh, my dear Alice—there's so much you don't understand.
" She moves closer, and the magic inside me shudders, recoiling from her touch.
"You really just want this pathetic little thing?
" She lets the amulet dangle, twisting in the dim light. "Fine," she says.
She smiles. A predator's smile. All teeth.
"I'll give it to you."
She clasps it tight, her gaze locking onto mine. "But you give me something I want in return."
My stomach clenches. Ice spreads through my veins.
I don't trust her. I'd be a fool to trust her.
Hook struggles against the guards, muscles straining. "Alice, don't—"
"Silence him," the Queen snaps.
The guard strikes Hook across the face, splitting his lip open. Fresh blood trickles down his chin. His head snaps to the side, but he straightens again, defiant to the end.
"Stop." Magic surges through me, the air crackling around us. The torches flicker, shadows dancing across the walls.
The Queen's eyes gleam. "Oh. Touched a nerve, have I?" She turns, casting a glance toward the dais. "Thorn, bring it to me."
For a moment, Thorn doesn't move. Then, slowly, he pushes himself to his feet. His chains clink. His movements slow, painful. Each step a battle. It's almost unbearable to watch.
"Whatever this is," I start, but she shakes her head, silencing me with a look.
Thorn stumbles toward a glass case beside the throne. I hadn't noticed it before. Inside it, the crown—twisted metal, black thorns, deep purple gems gleaming. It pulses, beating with the same rhythm as my racing heart. Calling to me.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" The Queen watches as Thorn lifts the case, stepping toward us. I see it in his eyes. Something's wrong. The Queen smirks. "The crown repels anyone who isn't the rightful owner," she says. "It doesn't burn dear Thorn here, but it does make him... uncomfortable."
Thorn sets it down. His hands tremble, blood smeared across them. Raw, open wounds where the crown's thorns have pierced his skin.
He meets my gaze, just for a second.
A silent warning.
My heart pounds. The magic beneath my skin surges, reaching for the crown.
"I don't understand."
I look at the Queen, at the crown, at Hook— "What does this have to do with me?"
"Give it to me," the Queen says. "Concede to me. Bow before me and declare me your queen. I will give you the amulet."
"Don't listen to her," Hook grits out, his voice rough, strained. Blood bubbles at the corner of his mouth. The guard strikes him again, a brutal hit that makes him stumble. He barely catches himself, buckling, but he's still fighting. "Don't listen to her, Alice. She's—"
"Silence," the Queen snaps, her eyes flashing with fury. The word cracks like a whip.
The guard yanks Hook's head back, pressing the blade harder to his throat. A thin red line of blood appears, sharp and vivid against his skin.
"Stop. Don't." The words spill from me, unbidden, my heart slamming against my ribs. "You can have this. It isn't mine anyway." But even as I say it, something deep inside protests, a silent scream of denial.
The Queen's lips curl into a smile. Victory glints in her eyes. "Then bow to me."
She holds the amulet out, dangling it between her fingers. Light catches on the metal, making it shimmer with an otherworldly glow.
"Bow to me and vow your loyalty. Concede."
It would be so easy.
I could do it.
The crown in the case means nothing to me.
And the amulet means everything to Hook.