Chapter 26 #2
He chuckled at my reaction as he sliced into the cake.
“I just mean… how beautiful your eyes light up when you see pastries… it is enchanting.” He placed a generous slice on my plate and handed it to me.
“Like a small girl in a candy story.” Xavier leaned down and brushed his lips against my temple, his lips lingering there a heartbeat too long.
Then, with a mischievous grin, he took the oversized hat from head.
“Hey…!” I protested, laughing.
He perched the hat on his head, cocking it to one side like a crown. “What? It suits me. Besides, someone has to take the mantle now that our little Mad Hatter is distracted by cake.”
I couldn’t help the smile that went across my face as he winked at me.
“Well, then,” I said, lifting my fork with a mock formality.
“Take a bite now, my mesmerizing little Mad Hatter,” Xavier said, his tone shifting from amused to serious. “Before I eat it for you.”
“I know you wouldn’t dare,” I replied, taking a bite of the cake. The buttercream melted on my tongue, tasting like vanilla and raspberries.
As I savored the cake, I felt Damien’s gaze on me… piercing, intense. Why were they all affecting me so much?
It was always like he blocked everyone else out, his eyes solely focusing on me.
And I knew that when you’re able to bond with the man you’re mated with, you are able to sense his thoughts and emotions. Otherwise, I would have missed Xavier’s dirty thoughts about me in the costume.
But when my eyes turned to Malakai, a hush fell inside me.
He looked like he wasn’t so sure if he belonged here, his slender fingers holding his teacup, wings tucked closer together.
His white hair and his velvety skin shimmered like silver dust; his corset cinched his waist over a glimmering, iridescent blouse.
He looked like starlight bound in human form.
He was almost too divine to touch. These were the same thoughts going through my head when I first saw him, how otherworldly beautiful he was.
I’d give anything to know what he was thinking, to understand what he was feeling.
Trapped for so long, only to be flung into a little place of madness, pastries and costumes.
“I think your costume is Gwendolyn’s favorite.” Damien chuckled with an amused grin. My eyes darted to him, with the makeup resembling the grinning cat it came off as malicious.
“You have a thing for bunny ears?” Malakai asked with a smile.
“Maybe.” My cheeks reddened as I looked back at him, my fingers itching to touch his beautiful face, but I didn’t move.
“Do you want to taste the cake? It is lovely. You must be hungry…” I didn’t finish the sentence, it was neither my wish to make him think of that place again, nor did I want to remind myself of it.
His eyes were quiet, questioning. I stood up and set a slice of cake on a plate. With the cherry frosting and the green-reddish roses, it was the prettiest slice. I sat beside him again, my eyes focused on the cake, as I took a fork and scooped off a small piece.
“Only a little bit, Malakai,” I whispered softly, still sensing his hesitation. But then his lips parted, and I gently fed him. He chewed slowly, his beautiful eyes not leaving mine.
“It tastes sweet… almost like freedom,” he said, his eyes getting watery. I smiled, my fingers catching the tear running down his face.
“Then you need as much as possible.”
Damien poured him a fresh cup of tea, the petals still drifting lazily through the liquid.
“Drink, brother. You must be thirsty.” The way Damien said it, it was so selfless, so loving, it made something tighten in my chest. He wasn’t just offering tea; he was offering his care.
Damien wanted to look after his older brother just as Malakai had once looked after him in Aetrum…
back when the world had been harsher and love had been their only shelter from the cruelty of their father.
“This is your place too, Malakai,” I whispered.
His gaze drifted upward, almost disbelieving.
“Because the portal seems to be created through my dreams and wishes, and you have been a part of my dream for so long.” A faint smile grazed his face, and he let me keep feeding him the cake.
I caressed his angelic face, that I wanted nothing more than to layer in kisses.
But due to his captivity, and whatever had happened in there, I’d never do that without his allowance first.
Damien and Xavier had been silent, none of us really spoke. It was just this sort of intimacy which didn’t need words.
“And how will we leave this fever dream?” Xavier finally asked.
I knew it was an attempt to relive the tension around us, but the words settled in.
It was only temporary here. We needed to leave at some point, although I didn’t want to.
This place was my own Wonderland, and I was safe with them here. And I got cake, what more did I need?
It wasn’t usual to fall through a portal that was supposed to bring you back to Carnivalland and instead bring you into a madness glitter-party.
“What are you looking for?” Malakai suddenly asked, following his brother’s narrow gaze at the wall.
“I think there is a way out of here…” he replied.
We all followed Damien’s gaze. At first, I saw nothing, but then as I focused, I recognized the outline of a door. The outline was so soft that we hadn’t seen it before.
Xavier stood up, crouching beside it, his fingers trailing down the outline. “It is indeed a door.”
Damien nodded, silver bands pooling from his hands, weaving themselves into the shimmer of the outline. As if he was trying to carve the door out, etching the shape into clarity and then…
We were no longer in the tearoom.
Instead, we tumbled, quite literally, into Xavier’s wardrobe. I had landed on a red coat, while Malakai tangled himself between the black ruffle blouses.
“How can four people even fit in your closet? How many clothes do you have in here?” Damien grumbled, shoving aside a velvety jacket.
“Well, I need to look presentable,” Xavier muttered, shaking glitter from his hair.
As we stood and straightened ourselves, I noticed how our clothes had changed back to the ones we were wearing before. My vest was gone, the glitter and makeup too. It was almost like leaving the portal had taken all its traces with it.
“Are you okay?” Damien asked, bringing my hand to his lips, brushing a kiss across my knuckles.
I nodded and wrapped my arms around him in a soft embrace, letting my forehead rest against his.
“I’ll show Malakai his room,” he stated after our hug.
I turned to Malakai, giving him a soft smile, my eyes tracing the marks and streaks on his beautiful skin.
The version of him in the glittering costume from the portal still lingered in my mind, but now, seeing him so vulnerable again, it reminded me why we were originally there. Sadness went through me again.
And just when we’d thought we’d escaped it, a shadow falls, reminding us that the light and joy was never meant to last.