Page 14 of Cheshire’s Smile (The Crimes of Alice #3)

It wasn’t Kat’s face that greeted me. A pair of bright emerald, green eyes blinked back at me. Pale pink hair hung over his shoulder in a braid, his stripped cat ears twitched on his head. A sly grin tugged at his lips that resembled his mate’s so much that it was scary.

“What were you doing just now, Miss Liddell?” The knowing gleam in his eyes told me Chess knew exactly what I had been doing.

Before I could answer, Cheshire pushed his face into the frame. “Hello, son.”

Chess’s smirk twisted into a grimace. “Oh, Reaper. I... ugh... no... please... don’t tell me.”

I held in a laugh. At least, it was good to know that even fae flinched at the prospect of their parents being intimate. I had a feeling I was going to have fun using this against Chess in the future. Pay back for all the times, I’d walked in on him and Kat over the past year.

“I’m glad you called. Though I’d hoped for Kat.” I sighed, hoping the flush of my cheeks had calmed some. “Maybe you can help me.”

“So glad to be worthy of your time,” Chess snorted. “What do you need?”

I picked up the compact and turned it toward the monitor. “Do you know who this man is on the screen?”

Leaning forward so his face was pressed closed to the mirror, Chess squinted at the monitor.

“Isn’t that the man who had a big white wolf?

They stabbed him and then came back to life?

Such a convoluted show. I never could keep up with all the goings on in it.

And do not get me started on those twins who were fucking each other.

I mean, we’re fae and far more flexible with our bodies, but relatives are where I draw the line. ”

My finger tapped rapidly on the desk while I waited for him to finish his ranting. “Yes, yes. I know. What’s it called?”

Chess’s brows furrowed. “Uh... Sword Throne ? Something like that. I know there was a big throne of swords of some kind.”

“That doesn’t sound comfortable,” Cheshire commented from behind me. “How does one sit on a throne of swords without getting stabbed?”

I sighed and rubbed my temple. “The throne isn’t pointy, just parts of it are. And Sword Throne doesn’t sound right.”

“Why do you need to know?” Chess finally decided to ask.

“I’m trying to figure out the password for that silly dodo’s computer.”

Chess’s head tilted in that cat-like way he and his father shared. “But why?”

My jaw clenched. I would not smash the mirror. I would not start screaming like a mad woman. Sucking in a tight breath, I blew it out. Unfortunately, it did little to calm me, but at least I wasn’t about to have a meltdown.

“Look.” I turned the mirror to the closed doors. “The guards are gone. The doors are locked. We have no way to get anywhere, let alone the Shadow Realm.”

I turned the mirror back onto me. “We want into their computer so we can find out if they left a clue as to unlocking the spell on the Shadow Realm’s door.”

“Oh, that?” Chess scratched his ear. “You don’t need to get in their computer for that. You just say the magic word.”

I stared hard at the mirror. “And that would be?”

“Ummm... hold on.” Chess set the mirror down, giving us an unobstructed view of their bedroom.

Clothes were strewn all over the place. Piles of books covered the desk and floor. Their bed was unmade, half the pillows and blankets on the floor. How in the world two of the worst slobs were able to get along together was beyond me. I couldn’t handle all that mess cluttering up my space.

A few books flew across the screen while Chess muttered to himself. Finally, after what felt like forever, Chess exclaimed and rushed back to the screen, holding a small blue notepad. “Let me see. It’s in here somewhere.”

“What is that?” I tried to make out the small wording on the back of the notebook. Then I scowled. “Passwords? After all that lecturing about picking strong passwords so no one can guess them, Kat keeps her passwords in a notebook called ‘Passwords?’ Where anyone could find it?”

Chess gave a weak smile. “Well, after having to change her passwords so many times because she forgot them, this was the only way we could make sure they wouldn’t get lost again.”

I tried not to go on a tirade of how irresponsible Kat was, especially as the moderator between the fae and humans. How anyone trusted her to be in charge of anything was a miracle. That poor child in her belly was going to have a hard time in this world with such a scatter brain for a mother.

“Moving on.” I gestured halfheartedly. “Is there a password for the Shadow Realm door or not? And how does she even have the password?”

Chess lowered the notebook, his chin tipping up as he thought. “I’m not really sure. Probably because she helped Dorian set up the magic to lock the door.”

I choked on air. “Dorian? She helped Dorian set up the lock?”

It was hard to imagine Kat and Dorian doing anything together.

The man was her ex-fiancé, for Reaper’s sake.

One she had not only killed herself over, but then, as a reincarnation, she left him for the fae before me.

The fact that ether one of them could even be in the same room with each other was unimaginable.

“I know.” Chess’s eyes narrowed, then smiled as if it was nothing at all. “They are really putting things behind them. Though, I think it’s partly guilt on his part for his whole part with the shadows.”

Cheshire cleared his throat.

“Oh, right.” Chess’s eyes flicked back to the notebook, flipping through the pages. “Wi-Fi password. Bank PIN. Oh, look! It’s my birthday!”

I palmed my face. This woman. I just couldn’t with her.

“Um... security code. Ah hah!” Chess pointed at the page with a wide grin. “Here it is. Shadow Realm.” His lips dipped in a frown. “I can’t quite make out what this says. Open says me? That can’t be right. Maybe it’s a different language.”

He traced the words on the page. “You know, the humans have so many languages, its really fascinating. Kat has been helping me with this app on the phone so that you can learn all kinds of languages. She says that if I learn French, she would wave the white flag. I’m not sure what exactly she means.

Do you think it’s dirty? I sure hope so. ”

My patience finally snapped. “Cheshire S. Cat! If you don’t stop rambling, I’m going to hide all of your cheese puffs when I get home. The password is open sesame.”

“What?” Chess stared down at the paper and then back up to me. “How do you know?”

“Because,” I huffed, “it was the password from an old book. The most overused password anyone in the Human Realm would use on the first try. She really needs to be more creative.”

“Oh. Well, if you say so.” Chess shrugged, not at all bothered by my threat or explanation.

“You just have to go up to the door, put your hand on the chains, and say the password. Then voila. Wait, that’s French right?

I should go say it to Kat.” He moved to get up, then sank back down with a distressed sound. “Maybe later.”

“What is it?” My foot tapped on the floor. The need to unlock the door and be on my way was tugging at me viciously. Except I was a good friend, or at least was trying to be. I couldn’t just hang up on Chess without asking him what was the matter.

Cheshire pressed against my back, a low purr helping some of the erratic energy running through me.

“You know both her mothers are here, right?” Chess lowered his voice, no doubt trying not to be heard by whatever other fae were in the house.

“Well, we’d told Kat’s human parents about the pregnancy, but not the queen.

And, well, we had dinner earlier, and Kat’s mother, the human one, made a comment about all the things she was going to teach our child, which then started an argument about where our child would be raised—the human or fae world.

Kat has been trying to defuse the situation, but you know how her mothers are. ”

He pinched his clawed fingers together. “I’m this close from whisking Kat away to some remote island and let them deal with the fae refuges.”

“Kat shouldn’t be stressed out in her condition. It’s bad for her blood pressure. You need to remind her mothers that it’s your child and there’s plenty of time to decide where you’ll raise them. Remind them there won’t be a child if they cause Kat too much distress.”

I tried to keep a calm and level voice as I spoke but the mixture of my anxiety about Kat’s condition and getting to Shadow Realm didn’t help the matter. “And if that doesn’t work, then you just kick them all out.”

“Can I do that?” Chess sat up straight, a mischievous look in his eyes. “I can just kick them all out?”

“Yes, Chess.” I sighed. “You can.”

“Okay. I’m going to do it.” Chess stood and started walking. He paused and glanced back at the mirror. “Is that all you needed?”

“Yes, by—”

The mirror clipped off.

I shoved it back into my pocket and shifted in my seat. Now that I had a way to get into the Shadow Realm, my nerves were keeping me frozen to the spot.

“You can do this, pet.” Cheshire combed his fingers through my hair. “Let’s go get our boys.”