Page 80 of Jack of Diamonds

“Byyou,” Callister growled. “We know you smashed it to keep its power from your sister.”

“What?” Jack asked in disbelief.

“Go on, Chess,” Ransom urged. “Show them what the stone showed you.”

Chess reached out and caressed the stone with a delicate finger, generating little red and pink sparks between his skin and the stone. Then, a hologram flickered to life up in the air around us.

“It’s the stone’s memory from when it was shattered,” Chess explained.

“This is absurd! I insist that all of you stop this spectacle at once!” Amari demanded, her pious composure wavering.

Nobody moved.

“Jacque, as your queen I command you to put a stop to this!” she screeched. Jack looked at her, narrowed his eyes, then ignored her to watch the hologram tell its story.

We all stared, entranced by the scene unfolding over our heads as the memory flickered to life, casting an eerie red glow over the courtyard. As the hologram played out before us, it became painfully clear that Amari, the White Queen we all believed to be innocent and kind and compassionate, was not at all who she seemed.

We saw Amari and Roxanne as early teens, and watched Roxanne’s natural magic abilities outshine those of her younger sister’s. Amari grew more and more jealous of Roxanne, who was older, and always destined to be the rightful ruler of Wonderland.

In an attempt to become more powerful, Amari stole the Heart of Wonderland from the place it was born from—a hidden spring that flowed with the purest magic in the land. But when Amari’s magic suddenly eclipsed her sister’s, Roxanne quickly discovered the reason why. She confronted Amari while she was using the Heart, and demanded that it be given to her, since she was the rightful Queen of Wonderlandandthe more powerful magic user between them.

In a fit of rage, Amari smashed the stone and threw the pieces out her bedroom window, where they fell into a river and were carried away by the current. Roxanne ran to find them, vowing to reunite every last fragment of the Heart of Wonderland, not knowing that Amari had hidden the largest piece up her sleeve, keeping that magic for herself.

A heavy silence hung in the air as the hologram faded into the ether. The red light in the courtyard shifted back to the cool icy blue. I stood in the midst of my friends, realizing everything Amari had confided to me had been a twisted version of the truth. Jack, Ransom, Chess, Hatter, Callister, and Winston were all staring at her with a mix of anger, betrayal, and shock.

“Amari, how could you?” Winston asked, his voice shaking with a mix of anger and disbelief. “All this time, we thought Roxanne was the villain, but it wasyouwho shattered the Heart of Wonderland.”

Amari’s eyes flashed with defiance as she squared her shoulders, every inch the regal queen. “I did what I had to do,” she said coldly. “You havenoidea what kind of darkness lurks within Roxanne. The power of the Heart would have only fueled her evil desires. I had to protect Wonderland from her.”

“By destroying the very thing that held our world together?” Callister asked, a sardonic smile playing on his lips. “This is why we can’t have nice things. Too many humans in Wonderland thinking they know what’s best.”

“Every decision I made was for the good of Wonderland,” Amari insisted, desperation creeping into her tone. “I couldn’t risk Roxanne getting her hands on the Heart.”

“Even at the cost of countless lives—including my brother?” Callister asked, his eyes narrowed in disgust. “We could’ve been helping you restore the Heart of Wonderland and return it to its rightful place, but instead you chose to lie to us! You’ve doomed us all, Amari!”

“Enough!” Jack shouted, clenching his jaw in frustration. “Fighting amongst ourselves isn’t going to fix anything. Regardless of what’s happened in the past, we still have a common enemy. We need to work together if we’re going to stop Roxanne.”

“I’m not working with her,” Callister snarled. “She’s had centuries to do the right thing, and instead she’s done nothing but feed us her lies.”

“I made a mistake,” Amari pleaded. “I was young and foolish and I made a mistake. All I want is to repair the Heart of Wonderland and make it whole again.”

“And?” Callister pressed. “What were your plans after it was made whole again?”

Amari didn’t offer an explanation, but Ransom had one.

“You were going to keep it for yourself, even though that level of magic was never meant to be used by humans. That’s why you’ve kept it a secret all these years. You knew that Roxanne has spent centuries collecting the broken pieces, gaining more power and growing more corrupt every time she found another piece of the Heart. Meanwhile, your magic has become weaker.”

He closed the heart-shaped box and slipped it into his pocket. “That’s probably why you keep summoning more and more Alices...to use their innocence, their imaginations, their magic...because you’veneverhad the strength to defeat your sister, have you?”

Amari’s mouth was a tight, flat line. She didn’t say a single word.

When Chess finally spoke up again, his voice was shaking.

“You willingly put little girls in harm’s way to do your fighting for you? You hide behind the White Knight because you can’t be bothered to risk your own life?”

“Amari...is this true?” Jack asked her, his voice heavy with disbelief.

They were just four little words, but somehow, some way, I justknewwhat Jack was feeling deep in his heart.

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