Chapter 29
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Darius
Footsteps approached outside. Muffled voices. My pulse spiked. Back so soon?
Alice. I was already moving. I rolled out of bed and snatched up the blanket, holding it up so she could dress. I didn’t give a damn about my own nakedness—but Grump would have my head if he walked in and saw his daughter like this.
“Oh no.” Alice’s voice was barely a whisper.
The cavern door ground open—then stopped. Frozen mid-swing.
I spun around. Alice stood with her palm outstretched, trembling violently. Her face had gone from flushed to pale in seconds, beads of sweat forming at her temples. The bracelet on her wrist glowed faintly, the medallion pulsing with heat.
“Alice—”
“Get dressed,” she gasped. “Hurry.”
I grabbed my pants and yanked them on, shooting a glance toward the cavern door before my eyes snapped back to Alice. She was shaking so hard her teeth chattered. The hand holding the magic aloft wavered, dipping slightly before she forced it back up.
She’d barely recovered from saving the harpy. This was costing her everything she had left.
“Let it go,” I said, pulling my shirt over my head. “I’m decent enough.”
“Not yet.” Her voice was strained, thin. “You need your boots. And I need my—” She swayed on her feet.
I crossed to her in two strides and wrapped an arm around her waist, steadying her. “Enough. Let it go.”
She released the magic with a shuddering exhale. Color drained from her face entirely.
The door finished opening.
“I hope Grump won’t be mad at me,” she whispered, sagging against my chest, “for freezing him and the others.”
I held her close, but frustration coiled tight in my gut. She'd burned through what little she had left—magic she might need to survive—just to spare her father a few seconds of awkwardness. “He’d better not be.”
I narrowed my eyes at the door, ready to do battle with Grump if he suspected. How could he not? Alice’s skin glowed from more than just magic. Her lips were swollen. Scratches from my shadow of a beard marked her neck and jaw.
We looked exactly like what we were—two people who’d just been tangled in each other. Good. Let Grump see. Let him know his daughter had been claimed, and I wasn't going to apologize for it.
But Grump didn’t walk in.
Rabbit did.
Alone.
Time stopped.
He looked nothing like the nervous but composed messenger who’d left hours ago. His face was haggard, drawn tight with something beyond exhaustion. His pale eyes were bloodshot—red-rimmed, as if he’d been crying or hadn’t slept in days. Maybe both.
He wrung his hands, the gesture no longer just a nervous habit but something desperate. Frantic.
“Rabbit. Where are the others?”
He flinched. His gaze darted to Alice, then back to me, and the pleading in his eyes made my stomach drop.
“I had no choice.” A bead of sweat rolled down his temple. “They have my family.”
The words hit me like a blade to the chest.
Betrayal. Rabbit had sold us out.
“What have you done?” I growled, shoving Alice behind me.
Rabbit hung his head, his shoulders sagging as if the weight of what he’d done was crushing him. “Please forgive me.”
Forgive him? I’d kill him. I’d rip his throat out with my bare hands.
Alice clasped my arm. Her fingers were trembling. “Darius?”
The fear in her voice shattered something inside me. She’d been through so much—fought so hard—and now this. Betrayed by someone we’d trusted.
No one was going to hurt her. Not while I still had breath in my body.
Rabbit was dead to me.
“Grab my hand.” I pulled her against my chest, wrapping my arm around her waist. My wings burst from my back, unfurling with a sharp snap that echoed through the cavern. This was do or die. I had to get her out of here. Now.
A cold wind swept through the entrance, carrying the scent of jasmine and something darker beneath—rot, decay, death dressed in perfume. The torches flickered and dimmed as if the flames themselves were afraid.
Then she swept into the cavern.
Queen Alanna.
My worst nightmare given form.
Her black hair flowed over her shoulders like a dark river, her pale skin luminous in the torchlight. A gold crown sat atop her head, delicate and cruel. And her eyes—those cold, merciless eyes—found Alice immediately.
A smile curved her crimson lips. “There you are.”
Fuck Fuck Fuck
Alice stepped in front of me before I could stop her. Her palm came up. Power flooded out of her. Too much, too fast.
“Alice, don’t—”
Alanna raised a black pocket watch, its surface swirling with dark magic, and spoke a single word.
“Sistere.”
The air rippled around us—a shockwave I could feel in my bones. Alice screamed, her body arching as if she’d been struck by lightning. I couldn’t reach her. Couldn’t stop it. The magic she’d been gathering snuffed out like a candle flame.
She collapsed.
I caught her before she hit the ground, my wings folding around us like a shield. Her eyes had rolled back. Her skin was ice cold.
No. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.
"Alice!" I shook her. "Alice, stay with me!"
Nothing.
No flutter of her lashes.
No whisper of breath.
The queen had taken her from me. After everything—after I'd sworn to protect her, after I'd claimed her as mine—I'd failed. I'd held her in my arms and let her slip through my fingers.
Mine. The word echoed through me, hollow and mocking now.
I cradled her against my chest and pressed my lips to hers—not a kiss, a prayer. A desperate, wordless plea.
Come back. Come back to me. I can't do this without you. I won't.
She didn’t respond.
Her lips were cold. Still. Like kissing marble.
And her skin—it was changing. Turning pale. Too pale. White as porcelain, as if she were becoming a doll. Something frozen. Something no longer alive.
Alanna laughed—a soft, delighted sound that made my blood boil. “Oh, Darius. Did you really think I’d let her use that power against me?”
I gritted my teeth, my arms tightening around Alice’s limp body. “What the hell did you do to her?”
“Put her into an endless sleep.” The queen walked over to me, her heels clicking against the stone. She dangled the pocket watch in front of my face, letting it sway. “This is the Unwatch, and I’m the only one that can wake her.”
I didn't move. Couldn't. She held Alice's life in her hand, and running meant leaving her in an endless sleep. The queen had won before the fight even started.
Alanna closed her fingers around it and tilted her head, her cold eyes gleaming with amusement.
“I don’t believe you.” The queen lied like she breathed. Every word out of her mouth was a manipulation wrapped in a threat.
She cast me a smile sharp as a blade. “Can you really afford to doubt me? It’s not just Alice’s life that hangs in the balance.”
Fuck. Steel and Flint.
My chest tightened. I looked down at Alice—so pale, so still. What if Alanna was telling the truth? What if only the Unwatch could bring her back?
Ari sauntered into the cavern like he owned it, his blond hair pulled into a man bun, that smug fucking smile on his face.
The bastard. I wanted to fucking rip his heart out—if he even had one.
He focused on Alice, his gaze crawling over her limp body in a way that made me want to gouge his eyes out. “I see the time-stealing witch is asleep. Told you the Unwatch would work.”
Fucking asshole.
He’d known. He’d known about Alice’s power, and he’d found a way to stop it.
I glared at him, my mind racing. The queen had the Unwatch. She was the only one who could wake Alice. So what the hell did this bastard want—and how could I use it to get us out of here?
“Ari told me about her little trick in the forest,” Alanna continued, and I turned away from the Dark Demon.
Her gaze never left mine. “Freezing time. Quite impressive for an untrained witch.” She leaned closer, close enough I could smell her perfume.
Sweet enough to choke on. “Imagine what she could do with proper guidance. My guidance.”
“Putting her to sleep won’t make me become your mate, Alanna.” I met her eyes, letting her see every ounce of hatred I had. “I’ve already claimed her.”
Alanna narrowed her eyes and hissed like a rattlesnake. “We’ll see how much you love her, Darius.” She turned her back. “Guards, seize him.”
Guards rushed into the cavern. Not fucking again. I could have fought. Could have unfurled my wings and torn through them like paper. But with Alice under a magic spell—with only Alanna able to wake her—I had no choice.
I let them come.
One of the guards reached for Alice.
I growled, low and dangerous. “Stay away from her.”
“I suggest you hand her over,” Ari said, that smug smile still plastered on his face. “Or the queen might never wake your little witch.”
I hung my head. That heartless bitch would keep Alice asleep forever just to watch me suffer. She’d smile while she did it.
Reluctantly, I loosened my grip. A guard grabbed Alice and flung her over his shoulder like a sack of grain. I’d fucking rip out his black heart for that.
Alice didn’t groan. Didn’t stir. Just hung there, limp and lifeless.
Something inside me cracked.
Guards seized my arms and yanked my wrists behind my back. Cold metal clamped down—binding bracelets. Pain slammed into my wrists as the magic took hold, blocking my supernatural abilities.
Once again, I was Alanna’s prisoner.
I couldn't stop seeing Joy—chained, bleeding, her back shredded by Alanna's whip. That monster had enjoyed every second. And now Alice was at her mercy. Helpless. Defenseless. Mine to protect, and I'd failed her.
Ari picked up my hat from the nearby table, turning it over in his hands. “The infamous hat.”
“That hat is just a hat without me,” I said as they dragged me toward the entrance. “It only answers to its master.”
“We know.” Ari’s smile widened. “But unless you want your precious witch to remain unconscious forever, you’ll do well to obey.”
The bastard had me. They all had me. And the worst part? I'd obey. I'd do whatever they asked, swallow every ounce of pride, because the alternative was Alice never waking up.
They hauled me past Rabbit. He stood frozen, his face ashen, his hands still wringing.
I spat at his feet. “Rot in hell, asshole.”
A tear rolled down his cheek. He turned away.
Forget forgiveness. Only vengeance.
And may god have mercy on Rabbit’s soul if I ever found him again.