Within the Wonder

by A. K. Koonce

  “Does that bother you? Being used?” I ask quietly.

  He shakes his head slowly, his lips teasing over mine, those tragic blue eyes falling to a hooded state while he watches me intently.

  “I do my best work when I’m being used. By all means, use me.”

  The rules have changed in this realm from the last.

  And so has my previously uptight advisor apparently.

  I pause, staring up into his sea blue eyes, waiting for him to casually slip away from me or tell me to change out of this tight, see-through gown.

  But he never does.

  Use me.

  The thrill of his words spirals through my core. It’s those words that push me forward, the ring of those simple words circling my mind even as I tip my chin up to him.

  And he claims my mouth.

  Biting nails dig into my skin while soft lips kiss me slowly. He pulls back just long enough to stare deep into me, right into my soul as he flicks his tongue along mine, coming back to me to devour my mouth with the slowest, deepest kiss that tingles across every single part of my body.

  “I always wondered if the French were better kissers,” Alixx says conversationally, slicing right through the illusion of privacy I had for a short moment.

  A gasp pulls from my throat when I break the heated connection of our kiss. I blink up at Kais, and the lust in his gaze sinks me.

  But it isn’t distracting enough to let me miss an opportunity to cut Alixx down.

  “They are.” The flat tone of my voice isn’t rasping or wavering, and instead of finding hurt in the assassin’s eyes, I find him smirking.

  That fucking smile.

  Kais’s long fingers slip into mine, pulling me away from the annoyance building in my chest.

  “We have a festival to attend. Can’t be late,” my time-obsessed advisor says.

  Kais leads me out. Lighton follows quietly behind us.

  And I look back just before the door closes to find Alixx lingering in my room.

  Because he can’t go. No one can ever know he’s here. They must never see him.

  Even if all I see now as the door swings closed on him is pain in his eyes.

  It’s there just like I wanted.

  I just didn’t expect it to hurt me to hurt him.

  Eight

  Alixx

  It seems I’m not as good at being a shadow man as Lighton is. But I am a better assassin. That hour of dusk just like now when the sun collides with the horizon and all the beauty of the world drips down into the darkness, when night crawls in, slowly chasing out the last little hint of color, that hour was made for men like me.

  I linger in the shadows of Liddell’s enormous estate. It isn’t as large as Wanderlust’s castle, but it is a big enough property for the shadows to have eyes on not one but two Alices.

  “Grandpa John will be down soon,” the new girl says to Madison, earning her a nice scowl in the process.

  Grandpa.

  She’s losing. I know Kais doesn’t think this is important anymore for his people, but it is clearly important to Madison. He started this, he had better make sure he ends it without repercussion to Madison.

  Which is exactly why I’m lurking.

  Lurking without killing is so tedious. The hunt is different. Instead of aiming to kill for the thrill of the game, I’m fucking berry picking for information. It’s incredibly monotonous.

  “When he comes down, when all of them come down, stay by me. Don’t leave my sight.” Kais’s quiet words are spoken so closely to Madison’s ear that she shivers, his palm sliding down the length of her arm.

  That feeling, that nasty sinking jealousy comes to life inside me, but I shake it off and look away from them. I force my mind to clear and keep my attention pinned on her slender frame, the way those silk panties hug the curve of her body, the long, long legs, and her bright green eyes that are now peering right into mine.

  Simple hateful eye contact has never gotten my cock so hard in my life.

  Several people pass by, but she keeps her narrowed eyes on the darkness where I stand. She…senses something is off. Whether she knows it’s me or not, I’m not sure.

  I take a single step forward, my head dipping down until the moonlight glints across my eyes.

  Her lips part, and she nearly turns fully to me.

  Before catching herself.

  That’s right. Keep up the charade, Sweetheart.

  This foreplay is the most delicious act that she probably doesn’t even realize we’re engaging in.

  Madison’s affection is addicting. Her hate is just as alluring though.

  It’s odd that I want both. I want her affection. I’m just so fucked up I didn’t realize it until she was gone.

  It takes her several seconds to pull her gaze away from mine, to focus back off the drifting pool of endless water.

  This kingdom is more water than it is land. A mound of green grass interrupts the pure water, extending out like a plateau among the lapping waves. From here at the front of the estate, the dark outline of trees and mountains can be seen in the distance, and the hint of the forgotten kingdom is there in the shadows.

  There’s all this beauty tonight. And all I focus on is her: long throat extended, chin tipped up, eyes shining with cautious excitement.

  She’s beautiful.

  Something in my chest pivots painfully at that pure honest thought. It’s a shocking sentiment that I just can’t help but repeat over and over until that diving feeling in my heart warms and settles.

  She’s beautiful, and this deadly beautiful world is going to eat her up and leave her to rot.

  Will I really allow that to happen?

  Orbs of hazy white light above us flash bright magic before dimming down to a subtle hue that these bastards love so much.

  As the psychopath hiding in the shadows, I like the mood lighting as well.

  The faint magic drifting romantically above us, the full moon shining just beyond them, I can distinctly see the grassy paths that trail over the endless clear water. They’re like bridges arching over and over, one right after the other, leading up to a platform that oversees us all like a pretentious podium.

  And there stands…Hatter. Elder Liddell, as he likes to be called. He’s the reason for all of this.

  Love. Irrational, dangerous love is the reason for all of the lives who don’t belong in this whimsical land.

  The bored expression on my face matches my feelings completely.

  But it’s that glinting look of wonder in her gaze that keeps distracting my carelessness.

  Fucking woman.

  What happened to the good old days where I looked forward to a nice blood bath to get me excited?

  Feelings. They’re absolutely disgusting.

  “Good evening, friends.” The dragging way Hatter pronounces friends is an eerie crawl of syllables.

  My spine stiffens, my boots shifting, my body wanting to drift protectively closer to the pretty blonde while my coherent mind tells me not to move a fucking inch.

  The night does strange, strange things to these people. It’s something I can pick up simply by the way their speech changes. It’s like too much energy drives through them, demanding to never sleep, to always keep moving, to always find entertainment.

  And Madison, Madison is their newest entertainment.

  I force my attention to dissect the man looming above us. Even the way he’s dressed now compared to his normal clean-cut attire is different. His top hat is crooked, and the old silk shines among the small floating orbs around him. They make his dark eyes seem like depthless, demonic pools.

  Just as I remember him all that time ago.

  What so many people don’t realize is, this fuck is weak. He strides around with all this loyalty. Loyalty isn’t power though.

  And Johnathan Liddell, he’s powerless in a world built upon magic.

  Too many cruel deeds and too many hasty sacrifices snuffed his magic out. And it’d be so easy
to snuff him out too.

  I can’t help but be curious about how Hatter appeared when he met Madison. I can’t remember a time when he was sane. But that’s what the nightlife does to these people. Something in the air here, something toxic seeps into these people, and it’s one of the many reasons I’ve been blandly happy in Wanderlust instead of craving the poison of Wonderland.

  But people have a knack for forgetting the bad and idolizing the good.

  If Madison stays here, what will she become?

  “Y-Y-Y-You may have noticed our guests tonight.” A cutting, uncontrollable laugh shakes Hatter’s body, his head tipping up to bathe his pale skin in illuminating light.

  A slow glance slips over Madison’s reaction. Her brow lowers, her slender frame shifting just slightly closer to Kais.

  He better protect her. The selfish fuck.

  Murmurs tinged with hate rumble through the crowd. A small handful of the people here tonight are newcomers like myself. But the Elders, the Elders hate newcomers like myself.

  And that is a problem.

  “Do not f-f-f-fret, friends.” Another burst of rising laughter slices through Hatter’s words, and he seems to rock back and forth on his heels to control his own body before managing to continue, “They will not be staying.”

  My heart thunders as a pleased round of applause sings through the night. The group of Elders close around Madison and Kais. With every step closer they come, Kais guides Madison back, protecting her, but…also leading her right to the edge, stumbling when he realizes the only place left to go is down.

  Into that beautiful washing water.

  My body thrums to slice through that fucking crowd and protect her the way he should.

  “That is enough, my f-f-f-friends,” Hatter warns. His voice pulls the Elders away, giving Kais and Madison a few feet of safety but not any more than that.

  I pause to slip my attention over Madison once again.

  There’s a hateful glare in her gaze, but she’s good at lowering her long lashes and hiding that anger away.

  She’s a liar. Just like me.

  And I might love her for it.

  “I wanted an Alice,” Hatter says wistfully. “It seems fortune has brought me two. But we will not be keeping both. I am a man of m-mmmy word.” He straightens—attempts to straighten—a tattered black tie around his throat, and the sloppy appearance of his suit alone makes me anxious.

  At one time, he was the sharpest dressed man I’d ever met. He designed his own clothes as well as the clothes for every patron of Wonderland.

  Now he can’t even button his shirt right.

  “What will become of the extra Alice? How will we know which is the good one and which is the bad?” an Elder woman with frizzy white hair asks, looking up at Hatter as if he’s the most logical man in the entire realm.

  The idea of him being the only sound mind here is unsettling on its own.

  “I thought we’d do some games. Wouldn’t that be fun? A few Alice Games. An Alice Tournament.” Reckless excitement grows in his voice with every word he says until it threatens Madison with his tone alone, and she takes several quiet steps back.

  Toward me.

  My fingers twitch, itching to calm the nerves I can see despite how well she hides them away. Within the shadows, I lift my palm, teasing the line of light until my long fingers sneak out, stroking so slowly along the side of her hand. One drawn out touch is all I allow myself. The briefest moment of my skin whispering over hers in the most delicious torture I’ve ever brought upon myself.

  She shivers, her body leaning closer, her control snapping from that slight feel of my hand on her body.

  She trembles against me just like she did that night…

  “Mmm,” I hum out a sigh that spreads all through me.

  “A trial would be faster,” the female Elder shrieks, her arms shaking uncontrollably at her side, lifting with a violent flail she can’t seem to repress.

  We have got to get out of this fucking kingdom.

  “It has b-b-b-been too long since we’ve had a good trial,” Hatter muses with a twitching smile.

  An overwhelming sound of agreement scurries through the convulsing crowd. These people wouldn’t be able to stay still if they were shot dead where they stand.

  I linger on that thought as if it’s a real solution for us.

  Because if they put Madison Torrent, my Madison, on trial, they’ll know in an instant who is the good and who is the bad.

  Hell, I knew within the first three minutes of meeting her.

  What will they do to all of us once they have the one person they’ve been waiting for? What will they do to Madison?

  “A trial it is!” Hatter announces, his shoulders trembling with manic excitement.

  This psycho puts me to shame. Maybe I should step it up a bit. Add some dramatic flair.

  Yes, I think I should.

  My wings lift, expanding to their full size, moving with grace despite their sinister appearance. I rise above them all, eclipsing their orbs of light with the darkness of my shadow, and I let their hushed gasps sound through the night air for several seconds before touching down at Hatter’s side above them.

  My smile tilts, a charming appearance that sets them all even further on edge.

  There’s only room for one dramatic psychopath after all.

  It brings me irrational comfort to know I’m in the lead for Wonderland’s most hated man.

  Most feared.

  Except…in her eyes.

  My gaze softens when I look to her shining worried expression.

  But I have a part to play. And fuck, am I good at it.

  “If I recall,” I lift the hand with the inky scar running across my knuckles, and it seems Hatter has not forgotten me. Sweet of him to remember. “If I recall, I never received my own trial.” A bitter pout lines my lips, and that smile I just can’t hide takes over when Hatter steps back to the edge of his grassy platform, his dusty shoes nearly slipping over the edge.

  “Alixx,” he hisses through his teeth, his pupils so wide they nearly eliminate the color of his gaze entirely.

  What in all of Wonderland is wrong with the Elders? I’ve never been able to understand it. It’s like a darkness curses this land.

  “Mr. Liddell.” My chin lowers in the form of a piss poor bow.

  “I-I-I-It’s Elder Liddell,” he corrects in a sharp tone.

  Touchy, touchy.

  You don’t have to beg me to be a submissive, Elder Liddell.

  “Of course.” My smile doesn’t put him at ease. He runs his wide eyes across every inch of my careless stature.

  “You were banished from Wonderland, boy. Or have you f-f-f-forgotten?”

  My banishment and the banishment of all the newcomers isn’t something that’s going to slip my mind anytime during this endless lifetime.

  “That—that does sound familiar now that you mention it.” I nod to him, and the simple gesture enrages the man.

  He’s so easy to play.

  It’s almost boring.

  Until he’s not.

  “You assaulted Elder Konstance.”

  Whoa, whoa, fucking whoa.

  “Elder Konstance assaulted my cock. I politely declined. If we’re going to have a formal trial over a centuries old blow job, then I’d appreciate the honor of being treated like a common criminal. I would love my day in Wonderland court, Sir Liddell.”

  “It’s Elder Liddell.”

  So damn easy. No one makes a fuss like someone with an overlooked title.

  Like Captain Cock Corral over there.

  “And I couldn’t agree more with you. Elder Cho, please escort Mr. Stone to the nearest captive confinement.” The moment he says it, a man with slate black hair steps forward, but he stops in his tracks the moment I smirk at him. He gestures the way, not daring so much as to grasp my hands. Hatter’s words give us pause for a single second. “We w-w-w-will arrange a trial first thing in the morning.” His head ticks se
veral times before he adjusts his shredded tie as well as the down turned state of his lips. He looks out at the silent crowd with a newly placed smile. “A trial to be held in the morning and our Alice Games directly following, what a wonderful agenda.” He beams wide, and the people looking up at him mirror that unfiltered smile.

  All except for Madison.

  Fear is in her eyes.

  Fear for herself.

  Or for me.

  Or both.

  Nine

  Madison

  Those drifting lights still sway in the breeze from outside my window hours into the night. My arms wrap around my knees, and I pull them closer, leaning my head there while I watch every move those faint lights make. My bed is soft, but I can’t bring myself to lie down and really rest.

  “Liddell still trusts me,” Lighton finally whispers.

  He’s been standing across the room from me for nearly an hour now, but he’s just now broken the silence.

  Kais looks up at him, pulling his attention away from me to really listen to his friend.

  “Did he tell you anything about the games?” Brody leans into the wall at Cat’s side.

  His gaze slips to her. Her bright violet eyes never even meet his. She pushes off from the spot near the window, and even I can feel the cold chill she leaves behind for the man who’s following her every move with sadness in his features.

  The emotions in this room are enough to suffocate me.

  “Not yet. I’m hoping to get him alone early in the morning when he’s more rational. Moon Madness makes getting a word in with him impossible.” Lighton’s arms fold, his shirt pulling tight across his broad shoulders. “He likes to spend time on his boat first thing in the morning. I’ll find him then.”

  Lighton knows his schedule. He’s such a good little spy.

  Maybe he’ll be mine too.

  “Where are they keeping Alixx?” My narrowed eyes settle on him, and his eyebrows shadow his amber gaze, a hint of annoyance shining there.

  The muscles of his jaw become wired, tight, furious.

  But he’s really good at hiding it.

  He’s the Elsa of emotions. Conceal. Conceal. Conceal.

  “You actually give a shitting fly about that man?”