Page 18 of Cheshire’s Smile (The Crimes of Alice #3)

Our footsteps echoing through the open space of the palace was the only sound. No one else felt the need to fill the void of silence, and it wasn’t doing good things to my nerves.

Compared to the others fae palaces, the Shadow Realm’s palace was practically abandoned.

There were no servants, gaudy decorations, or unnecessary furniture.

The dark greyish blue of the walls combined with the dark tile on the floor made the space seem even more ominous than it felt.

If I didn’t know any better, I’d say no one lived here at all.

Dorian drew us through the throne room, where a single broken throne sat. Morgana paused beside me, her eyes lingering on that long-forgotten throne before shaking her head and continuing as if nothing had happened.

There was a story there. I knew it, but I didn’t know how to ask without being insensitive. Besides, I had my own problems to deal with. Morgana would let me know if there was something I could do for her.

We passed the throne room and then through a side door until we reached a set of rooms that were much different than the rest of the palace.

It had furniture and lights. Papers and maps were strewn across tables. Half eaten plates of food sat with discarded glass cups on a low table by an overstuffed couch.

Dorian gestured to the couch. “Wait here. I’ll get my father.”

“Wait.” I reached out a hand and then dropped it. I realized I couldn’t ask for Hatter and Cheshire without showing my hand to the twins but I had no other choice. “Where are they?”

Dorian’s expression grew somber. “Just... wait here. Alright?”

I nodded, chewing on my lower lip.

Carban and Coby milled around the room while Morgana threw herself gracefully down on the couch, a nonchalant aura to her person. It was a lie. I hadn’t known the female for very long, but even I could tell being here in the palace was putting her on edge.

Words weren’t the only lies we told.

“You’re here for Hatter and Cheshire, aren’t you?” Coby eventually asked, his words low, almost hesitant. He’d stopped poking around the room and took a seat at the table.

My fingers curled and uncurled at my sides. “I need them... for something. It’s none of your concern.”

“It is our concern,” Carban snapped. He stalked across the room until he was in arms reach of me. “We can’t let you screw them over any more than you already have.”

“I’m not going to screw them over.” Exasperation filled my words. “If you would just still your hatred long enough—”

“Pet?”

My heart skipped a beat. My whole body swung around, and I almost cried in relief at seeing Cheshire there unharmed and no worse for wear than before. My hands came up to my face. I could feel my mask crumbling, and I couldn’t let them see it.

Cheshire must have sensed something was off because the next moment, I was in his arms, I buried my face in his chest. A low purr rumbled through me as his claws combed through my hair. His voice was low and comforting in my ear.

“It’s alright, love. I’ve got you.”

I knew I was messing up the character that the twins wanted to see, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around Cheshire’s waist and held him tight. I let the tears I’d been fighting against since seeing the twins fall.

“Shhh,” Cheshire murmured, his arms holding me tightly to him as if he couldn’t bear to release me either. “Everything will be alright.”

We were in our own little world for a moment. A world where the sickness didn’t matter, two of the fae I loved didn’t despise me, and no one wanted anything from me other than to hold me.

It wasn’t a long-lived world.

“Cheshire.” Carban’s voice crept into our world before there was a choking sound, and I knew he had stepped into Cheshire’s aura. “Cheshire? No! You have the sickness.” The anguish in Carban’s voice almost made me lift my head away from Cheshire’s chest.

“What?” Coby joined in, closing in around us. His sharp inhale was the only sign he’d smelled the sickness on Cheshire. “How did this happen?”

Cheshire shifted in my embrace, no signs of letting me go yet. “I’m not sure. I arrived at Hatter’s place shortly after I left here, and I already had it. But don’t worry, friends. You’re not in any risk of losing me just yet. It hasn’t stuck quite the way it has on others.”

“Well, that’s a relief.” Coby blew out a long breath. Then there was an awkward silence that made me want to burrow further into Cheshire’s embrace.

I knew the question was coming. I knew what they were going to ask before they asked it, and yet it didn’t make the words any easier to handle.

“Why the fuck are you touching her?” Carban questioned before hands reached between Cheshire and me, trying to pry us apart. “Let him go.”

Cheshire’s grip tightened on me, a low warning growl making Carban drop his hands. “Don’t,” was the only word Cheshire said to the twins.

I finally turned my face. My cheek pressed against Cheshire’s chest as I chanced a look at Carban.

His chest heaved, and his brows furrowed. A confused and yet angry expression covered his features. Something else slid across his eyes, but it was gone before I could recognize it. Then his lips peeled back as he bared his teeth at me.

“Oh, I see. You’ve cast some kind of spell over him. Well, we won’t let you do this to him. Just because you’re fae now doesn’t mean you can—”

“Shut up.” Cheshire’s words were cold and hard, making Carban’s eyes widen. “Do not speak to her that way.”

“Cheshire?” Coby’s tone was a lot more wary and had lost any anger it had before. “What’s going on?”

“Yes,” Carban added on, a hiss to his words. “Why are you acting as if Alice hadn’t used us and then left us to rot this last year?”

Cheshire lifted away from me slightly, peering down into my eyes. I could see the question there. I shook my head.

“As entertaining as this melodrama is, I, for one, would like to know how we are going to keep from dying,” Morgana commented from her place on the couch, once again saving me from answering.

I reluctantly drew away from Cheshire. “We have to go to the Human Realm. It’s the only place that’s safe. At least until the sapling can reach maturity or—”

“Someone becomes High King,” a deep voice finished for me.

All eyes turned to the fae male who entered.

The Reaper, or Eugene as he was known, was an older version of Dorian, with a few harder qualities to his face than his son.

His eyes were almost black over blue, and his skin was so pale it was almost translucent to the viewer.

Unlike his son he wore a ratty black cowl over his body, leaving his feet bare on the floor.

I didn’t know how Eugene became the Reaper, no one did, and I wasn’t about to be the one to ask.

“Or Queen,” Morgana interjected with a sneer. “Don’t be such a misogynist.” She leaned her face on her hand, elbow on the couch arm. There was no love in her eyes for the fae who would one day reap her soul.

Eugene inclined his head, not bothered by the acid in her voice. “Yes. Or Queen. Unfortunately, someone cannot simply take the place,” he continued before anyone could volunteer. “It requires going through a great many trials. Trials that most normal fae would not be able to endure.”

His eyes settled on me for a long moment before they passed back to glance at the others. “However, that is not something we need to worry about just now. Alice? I believe I have someone that you wish to see.”

I swallowed thickly, licking my lips to wet them. “Yes, please tell me he’s here.”

A small sad smile lifted his lips. “Yes, Hatter is here. But I’m afraid, he may not be leaving the same way he came.”

My brows pinched together as my heart stuttered in my chest. “Wha—what do you mean?”

Cheshire wrapped his arms around me from behind, holding me close to his chest. I let myself be comforted by his presence for a moment before he lifted my head to meet his gaze.

“Alice, pet. I’m afraid Hatter has the sickness.”