Page 77 of Escaping Wonderland

“What does thatmean? No. No, no, no, no!” He banged his fist on the pod. “Alice, wake up!”

Swinging his hand up to grasp his hair, he stepped back. This wasn’t real. Couldn’t be real. He couldn’t get this close to her only to fail, only to lose her anyway.

The king’s device!

He raised the device and reactivated the screen. A message appeared—Approve emergency awakening CA-17-49B? Vital signs critical.Shadow pressedYESbefore he’d even finished reading.

The pod beeped, and there was a loud hiss of releasing air as the lid jolted up a fraction of an inch. Shadow quickly snatched the gun off the top of the pod, stepped back, and watched with his breath caught in his throat. Unseen machinery rumbled before the lid, which was hinged near the wall, swung upward.

Alice was revealed to Shadow a little at a time—first her dainty toes and feet, then her ankles, shins, and knees, followed by the bits of her thighs that were visible below the hem of her gown, which was identical to Shadow’s. The fabric covering her pelvis and torso was run through with little bulges and bumps created by the wires and tubes beneath it. Slowly, those tubes and wires disconnected themselves, sliding out of her flesh and leaving no blood behind.

No blood…what if she’s not real? What if she’s a ghost here, like I was there?

Shadow shook his head, dropped the king’s device and the pistol onto the padded bed inside the pod, and grasped the pod wall to hold himself steady as a fresh wave of dizziness washed over him. The needles that had pulled themselves out of him hadn’t left any blood behind either. Only the one he’d torn out of himself had bled at all.

ThiswasAlice. He could sense it, couldsmellher—her honey and vanilla fragrance was even more pronounced here, was even morehers, and he forced in another deep breath through his nose just to draw in more of it.

His gaze settled on Alice’s face, which was sorrowfully beautiful in that moment—the pain in her expression would tear his heart to shreds if he stared too long, but he couldn’t look away from her.

The last of the visible lines disconnected from her.

Alice’s eyes snapped open. Her back arched sharply, and she clawed at the padding beneath her, mouth agape in a soundless cry. For several seconds, she remained in that position—every muscle tense, the cords of her neck standing out, and bluish veins visible beneath her pale skin. Then she sucked in a wheezing, agonized breath and collapsed onto the padding, chest rising and falling rapidly as she panted.

“Shadow,” she whispered.

CHAPTER 21

Alice lay still, too disoriented and scared to move. She’d just woken from a nightmare—but the nightmare had been so vivid, had felt so real, that she wasn’t entirely certain she was truly awake.

The immense pain that she’d felt in that nightmare lingered, but it was merely a phantom of itself; the oddly cool sensation flowing through her veins was chasing it away. Swallowing thickly, she struggled to ease her breathing and slowly ran her hand along her abdomen to where she’d been shot. There was no blood, no wound, no pain as she applied pressure.

I was dying.

She’dfeltit. She’d felt her heartbeat slowing, fading; she’d felt her lungs burning as she battled to draw in her final, desperate breaths; she’d felt ice creeping up her limbs toward her chest and had known it would steal whatever life remained in her when it reached her heart. And she’d stared at Shadow, who lay motionless beside her, his eyes empty and blank, throughout—she’d stared until he disappeared.

Over and over, Alice had repeated the words in her head.

This isn’t real. Shadow’s not gone, he’s awake. Shadow’s alive.

Before long, all she’d been able to do was whisper his name as she bled out.

There was movement in her peripheral vision; suddenly, Shadow was above her. Except…his face was thinner, sharper, and he was splattered with blood—a lot of blood. At least some of it appeared to be his own, trickling from a cut over his right eye and his swollen, split lower lip.

“Shadow, wh?—”

He slipped his arms beneath Alice and lifted her as he brought his mouth down on hers. His kiss was both familiar and foreign, reminiscent of the kisses they’d shared in the simulation while somehow being wholly new and unique. The sensation felt stronger, more powerful, more…real.

Theywere real.

We made it!

Joy surged within Alice, and she forced her heavy arms up to loop them around his neck. This was Shadow.HerShadow. The one who’d been there for her from the beginning, who’d helped her, believed in her, andlovedher even when he’d thought her mad. And he was here with her, in the real world, in the flesh.

He’d saved her.

Alice curled her fingers in his long, black and gray hair, parted her lips, and returned the kiss. She tasted his salty, metallic blood—along with something more undefinable, something entirelyhim.

“Alice,” Shadow rasped against her mouth before deepening the kiss and holding her tighter against him.

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