Page 35 of Edge of Wonder

The girl nodded.

“Who are you?” I asked, grateful to have even a watery illusion for an ally versus being on my own.

She opened her mouth to answer, but no sound came out. The girl continued speaking, making animated gestures with her hands, but none of it made sense.

“I’m sorry. I can’t hear you.”

The sprite huffed and crossed her arms over her chest. So this is what it felt like to be on the other side of a communication divide. I was used to not being seen or heard, and I knew how frustrating it could be.

“Do you know who I am?” I asked her reflection.

She nodded again and urgently pointed downstream. The rain had let up, and the water flowing over the edge of the leaf became a trickle. Soon, she was gone completely, and so was my watery path.

I blew out a breath. All right. Her directions were good enough for me. I just had to find a town, find my guide, and enter the challenge before the mercenaries tracked me down. Tessa and I had gone over the plan earlier this morning. I knew what I had to do, and even though it seemed daunting, I had allies. This was my home, and many of its citizens had been waiting years for a new queen. And I’d waited years to feel like I belonged somewhere. I needed this as much as the people—and maybe even the plants—needed me.

“Thank you,” I whispered, reaching up to touch the leaf hanging over my head. The plant bent and nudged me gently down the path.

With the rain ended, the air grew sultry, and a thick steam rose from the forest floor. I removed my cloak and folded it over my arm. My throat was parched, and I longed for a cool drink, but I kept walking for what seemed like an hour. Finally, the forest thinned, and up ahead, I discovered a long stone barrier. It ran as far as I could see and was easily over twenty feet tall.

As I approached, I found circular windows with iron bars carved into the stone, and I peered inside at a beautifully landscaped garden.

Sunlight poured over lush green topiary animals bordering beds of colorful lilies, and purple and blue mushrooms sprouted beneath leafy arches. Manicured gravel paths wove around granite pillars, leading to varied staircases, and a series of red-painted doors that were set into a parallel wall. I counted at least ten, but there seemed to be others that were much smaller as if designed for mice rather than people.

How was I supposed to get inside? The wall was too smooth to climb, and the barred windows were sturdy. I walked a short length of the barrier, hoping to find grooves or a door, but there weren’t any.

Maybe I could climb the hanging vines attached to the wall? They were thick enough, and I tested their strength to see if they’d hold. Confident that I could reach the top without one of them snapping, I wrapped my hand around a vine. But before I tried to climb, a low-pitched metal grinding sounded beneath the dense covering. I pushed away a swathe of stiff vegetation to reveal a portcullis. The latticed gate lifted, allowing me entrance to the tranquil garden.

I stepped through the barrier, my boots crunching over the gravel path. Behind me, the portcullis shuddered to a close, leaving me sealed inside the fragrant oasis. Butterflies fluttered from flower to flower, and birds chirped from nests hidden inside the arched shrubbery.

In the center of the garden, surrounded by a collection of potted ferns, was a shallow bubbling fountain. I trailed my finger through the cool water, then removed my boots. Dipping my toes into the pool, I sighed with pleasure and sank to the stone ledge, relaxing for the first time since falling through the portal.

My mind drifted as the sunlight beat down on my face, and I wondered if Sebastian was already on the road to his next job. He had probably dusted his hands when the portal closed and thanked his lucky stars that Tessa hadn’t been around to witness him push me through.

Was he toasting to my disposal right now? Lifting his glass into the air and joking about the desperately naive girl who’d kissed him, thinking it could somehow change his mind into coming with her? Well, the joke was on me.

Sebastian was gone. And so were any delusions I had about romance. He was right. Romantic relationships led to nothing but disappointment, betrayal, and ultimately loathing. No wonder he’d encountered so many murders.

Except…I groaned and hung my head in my hands. I had really wanted to believe in the fairy tale. Though, I guess there was still part of the tale left to tell. Not every story was a romantic one. Some were about overcoming obstacles, and fear, and standing tall in the face of evil.

I straightened my shoulders and lifted my feet out of the pool. There wouldn’t be too much daylight left, and as beautiful as it was, I couldn’t stay in the garden forever. Just as I couldn’t wallow in my mortifying emotional rejection. Sebastian was just a man in a mirror, and I had more important things to worry about. Like which door led out of this place.

After tucking my feet back into my boots, I started with the first staircase. It was the lowest one, leading to a door about five feet off the ground. The door was locked, and there was no keyhole, suggesting the handle could only be unlocked from the other side. The next door I tried was half the size, requiring me to duck through it, if it had opened.

It did not.

The third opened, but it was only about a foot wide and likewise as tall. I tried to wriggle my way through but got stuck and had to inch my way back out. I peeked through the opening. In the distance was a large town with buildings as far as I could see. Being this close to such a vast population was a tease, but at least I was headed in the right direction.

The next five doors were also locked, and my legs ached as I trampled up and down the staircases in order to reach them. I was losing hope and only had two more to choose from. One was secured with a thick, padlocked chain for which I had no key, and the other was at least twelve feet in the air, with no staircase in front of it.

Overhead, the sun had vanished behind gray clouds, hinting at more rain. I sat back down on the fountain ledge and tried to figure out my next course of action. Maybe I was supposed to search for a key? But that could take hours and it would be dark soon.

I leaned over the water, wishing for the dark-haired sprite to reappear and give me a clue. But either I’d imagined the whole thing or she wasn’t around to grant my wish.

While I was busy looking at my reflection, a slithering sound snagged my attention. I looked up, and it stopped. To my left, something slithered again, and I whirled, facing one of the garden beds. Had the flowers moved? A patch of lilies loomed closer, their petals fixed as if they were ready to pounce. My fingers curled, digging into my palms. I took a cautious step back, bumping against the edge of the fountain.

You’re losing your mind, Alice…But was I? The butterflies were gone, and the birds were silent. All I heard was the ripple of water and something else… something that rustled stealthily over the gravel path. I was about to investigate the sound when I spotted a gray object nearly buried in the flower bed.

Bending, I brushed away the soil to reveal a skull with two sunken eye sockets. My hand recoiled and nausea churned my stomach. There were others concealed beneath the dense leaves like morbid garden statues. A low buzzing sounded in my head. Why were there skulls buried in the ground? The question kept me paralyzed until the buzzing in my head was overshadowed by the ominous rustling noise.

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