Chapter 45
Chapter Forty-Five
Alice
The sound of horses galloping through the forest sent my heart pounding.
Let this work. Please.
Grump cut a lock of Darius’ hair with a dagger and handed it to me. I put it in my palm and pressed my hand against Darius’ chest, right over his heart. “I love you, Darius Acosta. Take me to your heart’s desire.” My voice trembled. “Per amorem, porta aperi.”
The medallion on my wrist flared hot. The air around us shimmered.
Darius nodded, his jaw tight. His heart pounded beneath my palm.
"Amore duce, via aperta est,” I whispered.
Wind roared around us, whipping my hair into my face. The trees groaned and swayed, branches cracking under the force of something ancient stirring to life.
“I see them!” Shade shouted. “They’re coming through the eastern ridge!”
My heart pounded. Through the trees, I caught glimpses of torchlight. The thunder of horse clomps. Alanna’s army, closing in.
Darius scooped me up, cradling me close to his chest. His arms were iron bands around me.
Grump grabbed my hand one last time. His eyes—my father’s eyes—glistened with unshed tears. “Go, my daughter. Find your happiness.”
“I’ll come back for you,” I whispered. “I promise.”
“I know you will.” He pressed a kiss to my forehead—rough, quick, full of everything we didn’t have time to say. Then he looked at Darius. “Protect her, Hatter.”
“With my life,” Darius said. “Always.”
And with that, Grump, Shade, Doc, and the others disappeared into the forest, swords drawn, ready to buy us the time we needed.
Darius unfurled his golden wings. They caught the light—magnificent, powerful—and with a single thrust, we launched into the sky.
I glanced over his shoulder. Ari flew behind us, Bunny clutched in his arms, her face buried against his chest. The two harpies soared alongside, talons carefully wrapped around the twins while Caterpillar and Bunny’s children clung to their backs.
Chester flickered in and out of visibility, his golden eyes the only constant.
We were really leaving.
“Alice, look.”
I followed Darius' gaze upward.
The pink clouds had parted like curtains drawn back from a window. And there, shimmering in the fading light, was a mirror—rippling, glowing, impossibly suspended in the sky.
The same mirror I had fallen through all those weeks ago.
The way home. Except it wasn't home anymore. It never had been. Darius was my home.
Below, an anguished cry rang out—a wail like a banshee. "Noooo! Darius, come back!"
I glanced down. Far below, Queen Alanna sat astride a white horse, clad in crimson armor that gleamed like fresh blood. Her army spread behind her like a dark stain on the forest floor.
She shook her fist at the sky, her face twisted with rage. "You belong to me! YOU BELONG TO ME!"
But we were already out of reach.
Darius didn't look back. His arms tightened around me.
"Hold on, Fate," he murmured against my hair. "We're almost there."
My world. New Orleans. The vampire mafia. Tinker Bell. The coven.
I wasn't sure I was ready to face them.
The mirror shimmered, rippling like the surface of a pond struck by a stone. Darius tightened his grip on me.
"Hold on to me," he whispered. "Don't let go."
"Never."
We crossed through.
My skin tingled. My hair stood on end. The world blurred—colors and light smearing together like wet paint. For a heartbeat, I felt weightless. Suspended between two worlds. Belonging to neither.
Then everything snapped back into focus.
I inhaled deeply, expecting the thick, humid air of Louisiana. The smell of the Mississippi. The distant sound of jazz floating through the French Quarter.
But the air was cold. Sharp. It stung my lungs.
I opened my eyes.
Darius' wings slowed. Below us, a castle emerged from the mist.
White brick walls. Turrets reaching toward the sky. Battlements and inner and outer walls—like something out of a fairy tale. Snow-capped peaks rose behind it, majestic and ancient.
It was breathtaking.
Darius' breath caught. His arms trembled around me.
"Darius?" I looked up at him. Tears streamed down his cheeks, catching the fading light. "What is it? Where are we?"
"Havenwood." His voice broke on the word. "My home."
Guards shouted from the wall. “Intruders!”
Darius ignored them as he descended slowly, as if afraid it might disappear. The others followed—Ari carrying Bunny, the harpies with their passengers.
We landed in a stone courtyard. Darius set me down but didn't let go of my hand. He stared at the castle like a man seeing a ghost.
"I haven't been here in years—not since the war against Cormac,” he whispered. "I thought I'd never see it again."
Ari dropped Bunny unceremoniously to her feet. "Wonderful. I should have known you'd bring us back here." His red eyes swept over the castle with contempt. "The last time I was here, I was killing Golden Demons."
He looked up at the sky, his wings twitching as if preparing to flee.
"You're not going anywhere." I held out my palm as my gold bracelet tingled on my wrist.
Ari froze mid-step.
I walked over to him slowly, letting him see my face. Letting him see I wasn't the broken girl in the dungeon anymore.
"Our deal is complete. I got you out of the Elder Dimension." I leaned closer. "The deal was never that you'd be free in our world."
His red eyes widened—the only part of him that could still move. Panic flickered there. Then rage.
Darius stepped up beside me and glared at Ari. "Welcome back to Havenwood, Ari. I'm sure my father would be thrilled to see you again."
Whoosh Whoosh
I glanced up to see the harpies had released the twins.
Flint then Steel landed next to Darius.
Steel rubbed his shoulders. “Damn sharp talons.”
Flint looked around. “Is this your home?”
“Was my home,” Darius said softly.
The harpies landed in the courtyard, their wings folding against their backs. Caterpillar slid off gracefully, a trail of blue smoke curling behind him. Chester simply appeared beside me, his golden eyes taking in the castle with curiosity.
“Curious… curious place.” Caterpillar exhaled a ring of smoke. “Old magic… lives here.”
Chester’s grin stretched wide. “Castles and secrets. Secrets and castles. Every stone has a story.”
Bunny gathered her small children close, the little ones staring wide-eyed at the towering walls.
A shadow passed over us, blocking out the fading sun.
I looked up.
My blood turned to ice.
A dragon descended from the sky—massive, ancient, terrifying. Its scales shimmered like molten copper, each one the size of a dinner plate. Wings wider than the castle courtyard stretched out, stirring the air into a whirlwind. Its eyes blazed like twin furnaces—amber and gold, ancient and knowing.
Claws the length of swords scraped against the stone as it landed. The ground shook beneath its weight. Steam curled from its nostrils, carrying the scent of smoke and sulfur.
My heart stopped. A dragon. An actual dragon.
Every instinct screamed at me to run.
Bunny screamed and shielded her children. The harpies screeched and moved in front of me, their talons raised, ready to fight despite the terror in their eyes. Flint and Steel drew their weapons, hands trembling. Caterpillar's smoke froze mid-curl. Even Chester's grin vanished completely.
I stumbled backward, my heart slamming against my ribs. "Darius—"
But Darius didn't move. Didn't flinch. Didn't reach for his sword.
He smiled, and his eyes glistened with unshed tears.
"Hello, Raven," he said softly, his voice cracking. "It's been too damn long. Remember me? It's Darius... I’m back.”
The dragon had a name? Raven? Oh shit. I knew who this was. Raven Erickson. She was a dragon shifter—rumored to be one of the most powerful creatures in our world.
Raven lowered her enormous head, smoke curling from between teeth the size of daggers. A rumble rolled through her chest—not a growl.
A purr.
A dark-haired man with golden wings landed next to the dragon. His features were striking—and identical to Darius'. Same jaw. Same cheekbones. Same proud stance.
Darius’ older brother?
The man's eyes swept over our ragged group, his expression guarded. "Armond, who are these people?" His gaze hardened when it landed on Ari. "And what the hell is Ari doing here?"
Darius stepped forward. "I'm not Armond."
The man froze.
"It's me, Lucien." Darius stepped forward, his hand on his chest. "It's Darius. I’m home."
Lucien's face went white. His wings trembled. "Darius? But... you've been gone for years. We thought you were—"
"Dead?" Darius let out a broken laugh. "Some days I wished I was."
Lucien crossed the distance and pulled Darius into a crushing embrace, his shoulders shaking.
"Brother," Lucien whispered. "My brother."
My heart ached for Darius. He'd been missing for years and was welcomed back with open arms. He had a family. A real family.
I glanced over at Caterpillar and Chester. They were watching the reunion, something soft flickering in their eyes.
The harpies huddled in the back, keeping a watchful eye on the dragon.
"Family..." Caterpillar exhaled a slow curl of smoke. "Found... lost... found again. The circle never ends."
Chester's golden eyes met mine. His grin returned—but gentler than usual. "Home isn't always a place, Alice. Sometimes it's the people who refuse to let you go."
I swallowed the lump in my throat. They were my family. The only family I'd ever truly had—except for Tinker Bell.
I glanced down at my stained tunic and leggings. Dirt. Blood. My hair was a tangled mess, probably matted from the escape.
Not exactly how I wanted to meet Darius' family.
My stomach twisted. What if I was rejected once again?
Darius was royalty. A prince of Havenwood. His brother embraced him like the prodigal son returned.
And me? I came from nothing in this world. Supposedly, I would have been royalty in the Elder Dimension—but now my father was an outlaw, not a king. A rebel hiding in the Forgotten Forest.
Which made me nothing.
Not a princess. Not a noble. Just a witch who didn't belong anywhere.
The familiar ache crept back into my chest. The same one I'd carried my whole life.
Unlovable. Rejected. Alone.