Page 13 of Tweedles Reflection (The Crimes of Alice #4)

Thankfully, all five of us were standing before the reception desk in the Between. Though, with all the pathways but the Shadow Realm blocked, it wasn’t likely that they would get ahead of me this time.

Staring at the four of them waiting for me in the empty white of the Between, I palmed the key the queen had sent me. This should get us through any of the doors if the queen’s note was right. However, the door I needed was the UnSeelie Court.

“Are you ready for this?” I questioned, more for myself than for them. Even now, I wasn’t sure I wanted to go through with this.

Don’t go getting cold feet on me now, little Alice.

Ignoring the Shadow Man’s taunting words, I turned to the UnSeelie Court door.

No guards stood by to keep us out this time.

A wiggle of the knob told me it was good and locked.

With a slow breath out, I slipped the key into the lock and turned it.

Instead of opening the door, I turned back to the others.

“We should probably hold onto one another.” I held my hand out to them. “You know how the Underground loves to separate us.”

Without argument, Hatter slid his hand into mine, then Cheshire took his other. Coby took Cheshire’s free hand and then latched onto his brother’s. When we were all truly linked together, I opened the door and stepped through.

I blinked against the brightness until I was able to see around us.

My lips tugged down in a frown. Where I expected the stone walls of the labyrinth to lay before me, I found tall fruit trees of an array of colors lined up in long rows.

Wind whipped my hair, and the sky scorched, no sight of the sun or the moon and stars. Just a burned orange and red sky.

“Do you suppose the Underground knew we wanted to come here?” Coby asked, his arms crossed as he stared up at a tree.

“It’s likely as any other explanation,” Cheshire mused, his gaze scanning the Orchard. “It knows it’s dying, and the only way to heal it is for us to have a High King or Queen. Probably doesn’t want to waste the time for you to find your way back to the Tree of Life.”

While they wondered about how we had gotten to the Orchard so quickly, I was having a small panic attack.

The Underground hadn’t just brought us to the Orchard, but to the very spot that I had tricked Dorian and Lynne.

The very tree that I had locked lips with the UnSeelie prince and sent us all down this road to destruction.

“Alice?” Hatter placed a hand on my shoulder. “Breathe. You have to breathe, darling.”

My heart pounded in my chest as I shook my head. The world wavered before me. The leaves of the trees filtered in and out of my vision. My knees quaked, and I felt the world tip on its edge. Arms caught me before I hit the ground.

I vaguely heard voices. Arguing. Calling for me. Nothing cut through until a burning pain seared through my finger.

Stop feeling sorry for yourself and get up.

Suddenly, my vision cleared, and anger replaced my panic. Easy enough for them to say. It wasn’t up to them to save the whole Underground. No one expected anything from them.

Or you either. They expect you to fail. Why give them the satisfaction?

Before I could counter his words, hands cupped my face, drawing my gaze to the worried eyes of Hatter’s silver ones. “Stay with me, Alice darling. I’ve got you.”

I focused on them and not the anxiety in the pit of my stomach. I grounded myself in the warmth of Hatter’s arms around me. The sight of the trees above me. Four hearts beat in my ears. I inhaled their scents more familiar than my own.

Finally, I could look them in the eyes. “I’m well.”

“Ally?” Coby helped me stand with the others. “What happened?”

I brushed off my skirts with a shake of my head. “Just bad memories.”

Understanding crossed their features.

“Well,” I sighed, hands on my hips, “ee’re not getting anywhere standing around here. Let’s start these trials.”

I could almost pretend we were on a leisurely stroll through the Orchards with all four of my lovers at my sides. A perfectly lovely day in a beautiful place. It would have been perfect except...

Except for the quiet.

Never had I noticed how lively the Underground had been before now. Sounds of nature and creatures skittering around in the background were suddenly gone. Almost as if all of the Underground had evacuated. Even the bugs.

“This is creepy,” Carban muttered, his gaze darting to the trees around us.

Coby snorted. “If you’re complaining about the silence, then we’re all doomed.”

“Not doomed,” Cheshire commented. “Just on the precipice.”

It certainly felt that way. We were on the edge of one gasp of breath to another. With me being the only thing allowing the other one to come. A frightening thought indeed.

“The entrance to the Tree of Life is over here.” I gestured forward through the trees until the grey stone wall appeared before us. My eyes skimmed the entrance, having been cleared out and made presentable.

This place.

All of my problems had started here and here they would end or I would.

I twisted the ring around my finger once more, hoping it would give me the strength to pass these trials. To save everyone I loved and finally find a place that I belonged. But that might have been wishful thinking on my part.

Without preamble, I stepped through the entrance, the others close behind me.

I gasped.

The Tree of Life was nothing more than a husk of its former self. The bark blackened, the fruit rotted, petrified rocks littering the ground. A far cry from the glorious and intimidating tree that had turned me into fae.

With shaky steps, I moved across the remnants of the vines. With each step I took, the ground crackled and withered beneath my feet until I was standing before the base of the tree.

“Alice, dear,” Hatter called out to me from where he and the others stood. “Do be careful.”

I let out a dark chuckle. “Little late for that.”

Skittering past a large root, I knelt before the sprout of the tree.

“Oh, you poor dear.” I reached out to touch its withering leaves but pulled back before my hand made contact. “Let’s see if we can make this right.”

I dug into my pocket and pulled out all three blessings. My pulse raced at the sight of them and yet, I pushed through my gaze, searching for the notches I’d seen in my mind.

I didn’t have to look for them long. The blessings warmed in my hands, then trembled before shooting out of my hands all together.

Jumping to my feet, I followed the blessings around the back side of the Tree of Life, watching as they smashed into the sides of the tree in a perfect triangle, each tapered end pointed inward. Before I could ask what next, the ground rumbled beneath my feet.

“Alice!” several voices called out as I scrambled away from the tree and back to where my males stood.

I brushed their worrisome hands away, my eyes too focused on the tree before us. For a moment, I thought perhaps we had been too late. Then the buzzing started.

We lifted our heads toward the sounds coming from above us. Squinting at the scorched sky, it quickly darkened over as something came toward us and fast.

“Fucking faeries!” Cheshire shouted. “Run!”

The others darted toward the entrance, but my feet stayed planted on the ground. Was this a trial? Was I meant to face down the horde of faeries? If so, why would I run?

“What do I do?” I murmured more to the Shadow Man than myself.

“Alice!” Hatter shouted. “What are you doing?”

Best listen to your beaus this time, little human.

Scoffing at the lack of advice, I turned on my heel and darted toward the entrance. What good was the deal we made if he wasn’t going to give me anything proper to work with?

My hesitancy cost me, though. The faeries came swarming in around me, pulling at my hair, biting at my flesh. I swatted at them, tried to push them back with my magic, but they just kept coming. I could only do one thing.

Run.

My feet pounded on the ground, crunching whatever got in the way. I could barely see before me, using my arm to cover my face from attack. The others were just there in front of me, their heads turning back to keep an eye on me while they fought off their own swarms.

The walls of the entrance lasted longer than it should have and, when I ran out of the other side, we were no longer in the Orchard. The faeries seemed to disperse the moment I stepped out of the entrance and into... somewhere else.

Pink iridescent crystal trees appeared all around us. The leaves on the ground cracked like glass beneath our feet. A huffing sound filled my ears that didn’t come from me or the others.

“Where are we?” I asked between pants of breath. I tried to lean against the side of a tree. I hissed and jerked my hand back, blood seeping from tiny cuts all over my palm.

“Yeah, don’t touch the trees.” Coby came to my side, pulling my hand into his grasp. “This is the Crystal Forest. Prettier than the Tundrey Wood but just as deadly.” He pulled a piece of cloth out of nowhere and wrapped it around my hand with quick precision. “There you go. All good.”

The others stood around us, catching their breath or surveying the area. Cheshire stood before one of the trees and tilted his head this way and that as he studied it.

“Do you think they produce anything edible?”

“Didn’t we tell you to eat before you left?” Carban snapped, sitting on a shimmering emerald rock.

Cheshire waved him off. “I’m just curious. Why have a forest that can’t be used for food or wood?”

Coby sighed. “Has the Underground ever been plausible? Why does it do anything?”

“Where did the faeries go?” Carban interjected with a pointed look.

I stared down at my hand and then at them. “It doesn’t matter. None of it matters. Obviously the trials have started. The faeries were either a part of the trial or –”

“A way of getting you to where they wanted you to be,” Hatter finished for me with a grim expression. “I do not believe that huffing sound is anything good. Should we investigate?”

“Might as well.” I discreetly glanced down at my ring, hoping for the Shadow Man to give me some kind of direction. When his voice didn’t fill my head, I let out a growl of frustration.

“Ally?” Coby placed his hand on my arm. “You okay?”

Forcing a smile on my face, I patted his cheek. “Yes, just wonderful.”

“Uh... okay.”

Not waiting for the others, I stalked through the forest, wincing as each step sounded like I was stepping on glass. Cheshire saddled up beside me, not saying anything, just walking with me.

“What?” I said after a moment of silence.

Cheshire’s tail flicked out to brush my waist, his lips curved at the edges. “I didn’t say anything.”

Eyes narrowed, I stopped and turned to him. “You obviously have something on your mind. So out with it.”

Cheshire paused, turning those amused orbs in my direction. “I do believe it is you who has something on your mind, pet. Do you wish to share with the class?”

My brow crinkled at his words. “Where did you even hear that phrase?”

“That box in your house.” Cheshire took my hand and drew me close. “I’ve learned all sorts of new phrases and studied something called adult entertainment?”

“Of course, you did.” I rolled my eyes and pushed his chest. “No distractions. Especially not here.”

Cheshire held me closer, his nose tracing along my jawline. “Oh, but you’re the one who is distracted, kitten. Talking to yourself. Changing from hot to cold in a matter of seconds, as if you’ve been in Hatter’s tea.”

I tried my best to school my face but, based on Cheshire’s raised brow, I didn’t do a good job at it. Letting out a nervous laugh, I stroked my fingers through his hair.

“No, no tea. I haven’t been myself lately. It’s true. But I promise everything will be better once these trials are over.”

Tiptoeing around the truth had never been something I excelled at. Yet, I didn’t want the others to worry about me, and the only way to do that was to keep the Shadow Man a secret. That required some creative omissions.

Cheshire studied my face for a moment before leaning in and kissing me. His lips lingered on mine for a long moment before pulling back, his gaze serious. “Be careful you don’t find yourself in a hole you cannot get climb out of alone.”

Not knowing what to say, I kissed him, this time pushing all my emotions into the kiss until we were both panting from it.

“If you’re done over there, we have a problem,” Coby interrupted, hiding behind a large tree trunk.

We moved as quietly as we were able to on glass to crouch behind him. Peering around the tree, we took in the scene before us.

In a nest made of branches and leaves from the trees, an impossible task, sat the JubJub.

Their large wings were just as decrepit and nightmarish as the last time I’d seen it.

However, there were cuts and scrapes along their wings, covering what little black and white feathers they had in splotches of blood.

Their beady, bloodshot eyes were closed, their sharp beak buried in one of their wings as they slept. The huffing noise from before being the wheezing of the JubJub snoring.

“Well, this is a pleasant surprise,” I murmured, sarcasm dripping from each word. “Per chance this is part of the trial?”

Hatter pulled his hat off and dragged a hand through his hair before replacing it. “I would not think the Underground would push us to this if it were not.”

“What do you think the task—?” Before I could finish my question a loud crack filled the clearing. My head whipped around to find Carban half inside a bush, agony covering his face as the crystal branches stabbed and sliced his flesh.

Coby rushed to his brother’s side, grabbing at him with a scowl. “Way to draw attention to us, brother. Always knew you were a drama queen.”

Carban grunted some expletives that I missed beneath the ear-piercing screech that filled the air.

The JubJub was awake.