Page 2 of Edge of Wonder

“He’ll be ready,” Vivian mumbled in return.

“You didn’t tell Sebastian what we were planning, did you?”

“You know how he is. It’s better this way. We’ll make up a story for the time being.” Vivian made a silencing motion with her chin, ending Tessa’s questions.

I pretended not to notice, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t concerned. There was one part of our plan that remained a little murky, and if you asked me, it was the most important part.

Dying was easy. It was the resurrection that had me worried.

My fingers shook as I reached for the silver chain around my neck. It held a small clock pendant engraved with my name. A clock was given to every royal player at birth. The devices were used to activate a player’s game in the gauntlet and were magically intertwined with their life force.

Unfortunately, they were also how the queen knew where to find us. She’d paired with a powerful witch able to manipulate the enchantment inside the timepieces. So even if we took them off and scattered them to the ends of the earth, it would do no good. Tessa had shielded me with magic as best she could, but it wasn’t enough. The only way to end the queen’s hunt was to separate my life force from the pendant. And to do that, I had to be dead.

Tessa eyed the pendant between my fingers. “Our plan will only get us so far. Once you wake up, your clock will sync again, and she’ll know what we’ve done.”

“It will give Alice a head start. It’s more than the others had,” Vivian said.

“It’ll be enough. I know what I have to do.” Even though I portrayed confidence, tears gathered in my eyes. Vivian rounded the table and pulled me into a tight hug. When she leaned back, it was to clasp my face in her hands.

“You’re so brave,” she whispered. “I promise everything will be all right.”

“I know. I believe you.” I squeezed her as tightly as my arms would allow and tried to hold back the tears. I did believe her. Mostly. Our plan was the last resort in a slew of bad outcomes, but it wasn’t foolproof. Things could go wrong.

I might never wake up.

I cleared my throat and disentangled from Vivian’s embrace. Leaning over the table, I couldn’t resist checking my reflection in her mirror. The potion Tessa prepared had an interesting side effect. While my soul slept, my body would continue to age. I couldn't imagine what reflection might wait for me in five years. I’d be eighteen, no longer an awkward girl with string-bean arms and wild hair.

The bottle beckoned from its perch on the table, and I finally reached for it. A tiny slip of paper hung from a string near the cork. I read the inscription out loud.

“Drink me.”

Tessa shrugged. “You’d think these things would be self-explanatory, but you’d be surprised. I’ve had to warn people that a bubbling cauldron is hot, and lately, everyone demands a list of ingredients for their potions.” Her brow wrinkled. “You try selling a tonic with bat juice as one of the main ingredients. It’s very difficult.”

I pulled the cork from the bottle and frowned, taking a tentative sniff.

“Don’t worry, there's almost no bat juice in that one.”

Vivian heaved a sigh at Tessa’s ramblings while I took a last look around the cottage. It was the only home I'd ever known, and I smiled wistfully at the cluttered worktables. Even the air that was always tinged with the scent of grease made me reluctant to go.

“See you soon,” Vivian whispered.

“Don’t forget about me,” I said, tipping the bottle to my lips until I tasted cherries. The fruity liquid coated my throat, and to Tessa’s credit, it was delicious. As the potion flowed through my body, my heart sped up, and my breath quickened. Lights flashed in front of my eyes in colorful bursts, like neon fireflies fluttering around my head.

The bottle slipped from my fingers and rolled under the table. I sank to the floor, my eyes drifting shut. The pounding in my chest slowed to a sluggish beat and my lips moved on a final whisper, “Promise me you won’t be late.”

Chapter 2

Sebastian

Ten years later…

“You’re late!” Andrew Granger slammed his fist against the table, making his bowl of beef stew rattle.

Leaning back in my chair, I sipped deeply from a mug of ale. My prolonged silence made Andrew fidget and the whiskers under his nose twitched in irritation.

I shrugged. “Time makes no difference to the dead.”

“Well, it makes a difference to me, and I’m the one paying. You were supposed to arrive three weeks ago. I had to delay my plans. I won’t step one foot in that cottage until he’s gone.”

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