Page 64 of Edge of Wonder

My hand fisted over my mouth as I tried to contain a frustrated scream. “Are you saying we’re trapped inside a giant teacup?”

“Yes.” His palm smacked against the door.

I looked up at a glass ceiling. Small holes were drilled into the surface to let in air. Sunlight poured into the cup, but there didn’t appear to be a way out. Even if we tried using the chair to break the glass, we couldn’t climb out. It was too high, and the walls were smooth with a slight curve.

“This can’t be happening.” I sank to the floor, dropping my forehead into my hands. We were trapped with a murderer lurking outside. He didn’t even have to do anything. Hatter could toy with us the way he’d toyed with the mouse in the teacup and just leave us here to die of thirst. Of course, the way he enjoyed wielding his blade, I doubted we’d be that lucky.

Sebastian circled the perimeter of the cup, still looking for a solution. After a few minutes, he cursed and sat down next to me. He reached for my wrists, brushing his thumb next to the broken skin.

“Did Hatter do this to you?”

“No. I tried to cut through my bindings with a piece of porcelain. I didn’t do a great job. I cut more skin than rope. But it doesn’t matter. We’re going to die inside a teacup.” I scoffed. “And that might be the most ridiculous thing I ever said.”

“Yeah, it’s an interesting way to go. Can you imagine your tombstone? Here lies Alice Montgomery. It wasn’t the vines that killed her, it was the tea.”

I elbowed him in the ribs and groaned. “How can you make a joke right now? You should be furious. This is all my fault.”

“It’s not your fault.”

“Yes, it is! You didn’t want to be here. And I get it now! It makes perfect sense why you wanted nothing to do with me. I can’t even blame you for bolting the first chance you got. You should have kept running when you found out who I was. All I do is drag you from one disaster to the next. And for what? What do you get out of all of this? Nothing!”

“Alice, stop.”

“No.” I pushed to my feet and paced the floor. Tears stung the corners of my eyes, and I viciously wiped them away. “I wish you never brought me back.”

Sebastian stepped into my path, forcing me to stop pacing. His eyes flashed with anger. And I deserved it. Welcomed it. He could scream and rail at the damage I’d done to his life, and I’d take it and ask for more. Sebastian gripped my shoulders, leaning down until he was in my face.

I grit my teeth. “Go ahead, tell me the truth. You wish you’d never laid eyes on me.”

“You’re right, Alice. You have done nothing but uproot my life since I met you. And I ran from that. Maybe it makes me a bad person, but I don’t have regrets about leaving because it made me who I am. But you need to know, the thing I’m most proud of is bringing you back. I would do it again and again. Even if this is it. If it ends here. Because you’re wrong about me not getting anything from this.”

He paused. His eyes took on a faraway look, and the barest hint of a smile curved his lips. When his gaze met mine again, it was searching…soulful. “I get to see this amazing woman go from complete isolation to finding her way in this crowded world. Watch her stand up against those that would harm her and win. I get to stand next to her while hundreds of people fall at her feet in awe. And it’s the most incredible thing I’ve ever seen. And believe me, I’ve seen a lot. So stop thinking you know how I feel or what I should have done. Because you have no idea.”

All the anger that was twisted up inside of me had drained away while he spoke. My mouth opened, then closed in stunned silence. Every single moment in my life paled in comparison to hearing him say those words. Words I never knew how much I needed to hear.

So much of my existence had been wrapped up in this belief in destiny. I drank poison for it. I fought to be queen for it. And I had assumed it meant Sebastian was destined to be mine. When I discovered that wasn’t the case, I couldn’t understand it. Who was I beyond the girl in the mirror?

But fate was just events beyond our control. That was it. It didn’t dictate our emotions or how we saw the people around us. Only we could do that. And I knew right then.Right then.That I loved this man. Not because I was supposed to or because fate dictated, but because of the way he moved fearlessly through life. His strength. His heart. And for the way he saw me when I couldn’t see myself. No matter what happened next. If I lived or died. If he walked away, it wouldn’t change anything.

His eyebrow arched at my silence. He chuckled, oblivious to where my thoughts had gone. The man had no idea he’d just wrecked me.

“What’s this? No sarcastic quips? You’re not going to argue with me or tell me to save my charms for someone else? I’m mildly disappointed. How about you tell me one of your riddles instead? If we’re going to die, might as well distract ourselves beforehand.”

Wait…

“What did you say?”

He frowned. “I knew it. I bare my soul and you’re not paying attention.”

“No, not about that. You mentioned riddles. Hatter said something to me earlier, and it didn’t make sense, but I think it does now. Sebastian, when I entered the courtyard, there were six teacups.”

“Okay…”

“And Hatter said only his riddle will set us free. Six cups, six players. I think this is the second challenge. Shire wouldn’t tell me anything about it, except that I would know it when I saw it. Meaning, when I was already in it.” My gaze dropped to the floor. It was the only part of the cup that wasn’t completely bare and painted off-white.

“Do you see that?” I pointed to the tiles. They were square and each contained black and white markings, but none of them matched up. Only one tile on the end had no markings at all. I pressed my hand into the corner of the tile and it wobbled. “I think this one’s loose.”

I removed it from the floor, creating a square gap in the mixed-up pattern. “It’s a slide puzzle,” I murmured as I bent to move one of the patterned squares to the left. “See? You slide the pieces to reform the picture. And in Hatter’s riddle, he said, you may try to hide, but in the end, you’ll slide.”

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