Page 66 of Escaping Wonderland

Though everything Alice had been through since being sent to Wonderland had been bizarre, crossing that dance floor was, perhaps, the most surreal experience of them all.

The press of bodies was thick, and the heat they put off made her skin tingle. She pushed forward regardless. The dancers offered little resistance, parting as easily as stalks of long grass, their arms, legs, hands, and bodies brushing over her as she moved. Many of the touches seemed deliberate—some even seemed intentionallysensual—but no one stopped her.

Sweat, alcohol, smoke, and sex scented the air, and though the music was thunderous, it was not loud enough to mask the sounds of the revelers’ panting breaths, tittering laughter, and heavy moans. Everyone who met Alice’s gaze had the same expression on their faces—lips parted as though in pleasure, brows softened, eyes blank and half-lidded.

She realized after only a few steps that this was more an orgy than a dance.

This would have beenme, had I eaten those cakes…

Alice broke through the crowd and raised her chin as she walked toward the guards standing at the velvet door. Four wide steps led up to the landing the guards were perched upon; theextra height off the floor made them appear even more massive than they already were. They didn’t move except for the slight turns of their heads as they watched her approach.

Once she was in front of them, one of the guards lifted his scaled snout toward the dance floor. “Party’s that way, human.”

“I would like to speak to Bokki and Grithis,” Alice said.

The guards exchanged a glance before the first returned his attention to her. “And who are you?”

Alice ran a finger beneath the cut on her cheek, smiling as though pleased by it. “I was one of the Hatter’s favorite dollies, and I heard this is the place to be now that he’s gone.”

Both guards raked their reptilian gazes over her; the image of Sithix’s unsettling eyes flashed through her mind, but she shoved it aside before terror could take hold of her again. These creatures were not boruks; they were not Sithix.

“Looking a little run down, dolly,” said the other guard.

She grinned and bent toward them, knees locked, allowing them a glimpse down her cleavage. “I enjoy being played with”—she winked—“roughly.”

The guards exchanged another glance, and their lips peeled back in sharp-toothed smirks as they chuckled.

“Bosses might have a place for you here, then,” said the second guard. “Go on through. Maybe we’ll see you again later.”

Though Alice didn’t see Shadow, she sensed him close by, and could almost feel rage radiating from him.

Alice climbed the steps onto the landing and smiled at the second guard, trailing the tip of her finger along his thickly muscled forearm. His scales were hard. Her mouth was dry, but she forced the words out smoothly, nonetheless. “Perhaps…both of you at once?”

“Hatter must’ve been starving you, dolly,” he grumbled. “Any time you like, we’ll show you what a good timereallylooks like.”

Please don’t stab them, Shadow. Not yet.

The first guard extended an arm to grasp the door handle; his forearm, as solid and powerful as his companion’s, brushed across Alice’s stomach as he did so. He turned the knob and pushed the door open. “They breed some of these humansnasty.”

What the hell is that supposed to mean?

It took everything inside her to keep smiling, to keep herself from recoiling from his touch and their leering eyes, to keep her disgust hidden.

A long hallway with dark walls and a plush red carpet awaited her beyond the doorway. Alice stepped forward, relief easing her tension. She’d made it.

The other guard’s hand was suddenly beneath her skirt. His thick fingers slipped between her legs.

It was only a combination of shock and willpower that kept Alice from jerking away from the repulsive touch and showing just how horrified and revolted she was in that moment, preventing her from hitting the guard as hard as she could; she needed to keep up the act a little longer, needed to be a dolly just until the door was closed behind her…

The guard rubbed his finger along Alice’s sex—which was still slick after the desire Shadow had stoked in her on a few minutes before. He withdrew his hand and raised it, slipping his finger into his mouth. He groaned. “Not nasty.Sweet.”

Oh, no.

Alice spun around just in time to see Shadow appear on the lowest step. His features were swallowed in darkness but for his gleaming eyes and enraged grin.Thiswas why he was called the Grinning Ghost.Thiswas what everyone else saw when they looked at him.

Before the guards could react, Shadow darted forward. Metal glinted in his hands a fraction of a second before his simultaneous attacks landed. Both guards were shoved backagainst the wall to either side of the door with abrupt grunts and wet, crunching sounds. Their bodies sagged, but neither fell.

Shadow had stabbed them in their throats with such force that both guards were pinned to the wall.

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