Page 45 of Cheshire's Smile
“Wait, Aly,” Coby started, trying to reach for me.
I flinched.
He dropped his hand. “Aly, you don’t have to do this. We can find another way.”
“Yes, pet.” Cheshire stroked a hand down my back. “It doesn’t have to be you. I would gladly bind my life to Mercury. He already has my heart.” He smiled lovingly at Hatter. “It wouldn’t be a burden to give it to him magically.”
“You can’t.” I shook my head. “You have the sickness too. Who knows what would happen if you bound yourself to someone else who was already sick?” I grasped Cheshire’s face with my hands. “Let me do this. Let me do something right for a change. This happened because of me. I want to save you. Let me do it.”
“Alice darling,” Hatter’s hand pulled at my arm, “I love with you with all that I am, you know this. But do not feel obligated to do this for me. I am an old man,” he let out a small chuckle, “I have lived a long life. Perhaps it is just my time.”
“No, it’s not.” I grabbed his hand in mine, placing a kiss against his palm. “We didn’t get enough time. There will never be enough time. And I won’t let the sickness take what time we have away from us. I won’t.”
“But...” Hatter began his eyes sliding to the others in the room, “... this may make things uneven between them.”
I frowned. “What do you mean?”
“He means, you might love him more than us,” Carban explained from his place on the other side of the bed. “You will literally be sharing your magic, your heart, your love. It may... influence you to only want him over anyone else.”
My mouth twisted to the side. “That’s not how love works. No matter how bound I am to Hatter it won’t make me love anyone else less. We will feel each other’s feelings but that doesn’t make it our own. Believe me,” I paused, letting my mind catch up with me.
“I’ve been around Kat and Chess and they might feel what the other is feeling and want to be near each other all the time but that doesn’t keep them from fighting or doing what needs tobe done. In fact, Kat has complained to me on several occasions that knowing her mate’s every feeling was a bit more of an annoyance than endearing.”
Hatter made a pained sound that I think was supposed to be a laugh. “I will try my best not to annoy you with my emotions, Alice darling.”
I snorted. “Like you could.” Then I turned to Cheshire. “Are you alright with this? I know how you feel about him. So it’s not just up to me.”
Cheshire cupped my chin with his hand. “Pet, I’m just upset I can’t do it for you. You already have so much on your shoulders, I can’t...”
I placed my hand on his lips. “None of you would ever be a burden to me.”
Carban and Coby sucked in a sharp breath.
Not acknowledging how I’d just laid my feelings out on the table, I turned to Eugene. “Very well, let’s begin.”
Chapter 21
My body twisted toward Hatter. My heart racing with what I had to do. The idea of sharing my feelings with someone else. Of letting them see the darkest part of me scared the daylights out of me. But I would do it.
For him.
“Wait,” Coby grabbed my hand before I could reach for Hatter. “Do you even know what you’re doing?”
I glanced down at his hand on mine, taking a moment to savor his skin touching mine. I brushed Coby’s hand off, giving him a reassuring smile. “I was there when Kat did this with Chess. I’ve seen it done. I can do this.” In theory. I didn’t say that part out loud. No reason to make them any more nervous than they already were.
Leaning over Hatter, I placed my hand on the side of his face. His skin felt waxy and cool to the touch. I smoothed my fingers over his face, pushing his hair away from his eyes. “Just relax. It shouldn’t hurt.”
Hatter’s eyes warmed. “Just tell me what you need.”
“Open your mouth.”
Hatter’s lips parted wide. A bemused gleam in his eyes. I brought my face close to his as if I was leaning in for a kiss. Except I stopped a few inches away from his mouth, opening mine as well.
“What are you—”
Ignoring them, I focused on Hatter. I drew my magic up inside of me, bringing it up to my mouth instead of through my hands. Blue eyes locked with silver as I pushed my magic out of me and into him. Shimmery blue mist floated from inside me. As if he had inhaled, the magic sucked into Hatter.
The sensation was strange. Not unlike the sucking feeling of the shadows feeding on me, except I was giving my magic freely to Hatter. I could feel myself weakening as Hatter’s pallor warmed, the bruises beneath his eyes practically disappearing in front of me eyes.
