Page 101 of Knot My Wonderland

A shadow moved near the door, darker than the others.

"You're awake," came the King of Spades' voice, barely above a whisper. He stood at the threshold, his form partially dissolved into the shadows that clung to the doorframe. "I didn't want to disturb them, but we need to speak."

I nodded carefully, extracting myself from between Chi and Heart with painstaking slowness. The bonds helped me move without fully waking them—silver patterns muffling sound while golden threads maintained their sense of security even as I slipped away. Both stirred slightly but remained asleep, their subconscious minds registering my presence through our connections.

The King stepped back as I approached, his shadows flowing like liquid night around his form. "The investigation has revealed complications," he said quietly, leading me into the crystalline corridor where we could speak without disturbing my sleeping anchors.

"What kind of complications?" I asked, though the silver and gold patterns beneath my skin were already stirring with unease.

"Martha isn't the spy," he said directly, his dark eyes meeting mine. "She's been under my protection for three years—shadow magic shielding her from the Red Queen's blood magic.”

I stared at him, processing the implications of his words. "Your protection? You've had Martha under shadow magic this entire time without telling Heart?"

The King's shadows coiled tighter around him, betraying his discomfort with the admission. "The Red Queen attempted to turn Martha three years ago. I intervened, placed my mark on her consciousness to prevent blood magic from taking hold. Heart would have seen it as manipulation rather than protection."

"Because it was manipulation," I said sharply, feeling the silver and gold patterns beneath my skin flare with indignation. "You made a decision about someone's life without their knowledge or consent."

"I made a decision that kept one of Heart's most trusted allies from becoming his greatest enemy," the King corrected, his voice carrying centuries of calculated pragmatism. "Martha would have been turned, positioned to destroy the resistance from within. Instead, she remains free.” He paused allowing his words to hit. "Would you have preferred I let the Red Queen claim her mind?" the King replied, his voice carrying centuries of cold pragmatism.

I sighed, he is right I wouldn’t want that, “No. You are right she is free to make her own choices. If she had been taken…” I dreaded the thought of how Heart would feel and how many lives could have been lost.

The King's shadows rippled with what might have been relief at my understanding. "The blood magic signature Varik detected around Martha is actually my protective ward—shadow magic and blood magic create interference patterns when they interact."

"So Martha is safe, but there are still two other compromised individuals in the Sanctuary," I said, the silver and gold patterns beneath my skin pulsing with concern. Through both bonds, I felt Chi and Heart's peaceful sleep continuing, their subconscious minds still registering my nearby presence.

"Two, actually," the King corrected, his dark eyes growing more serious. "Varik's initial reading was conservative. My shadows have identified at least three distinct sources of blood magic corruption, possibly more."

I felt a chill run through me despite the Sanctuary's warm crystalline atmosphere. "Two people feeding information to the Red Queen. No wonder she's been able to anticipate moves so quickly.”

The King sighed, his shadows forming brief, unsettling shapes before dissolving. "One of them has been in place far longer than the others—a sleeper agent positioned years ago, perhaps even before your arrival in Wonderland."

My stomach dropped. "Someone Heart has trusted for years could be..."

"Feeding his mother strategic information about resistance operations, safe houses, planned raids." The King's voice carried the weight of bitter experience. "The Red Queen plays a patient game when it suits her purposes."

I wrapped my arms around myself, feeling suddenly vulnerable despite the bonds that connected me to Chi and Heart. "How do we identify them without alerting them to our suspicions?"

"Carefully," the King replied, his shadows flowing closer but not quite touching me. "Varik is constructing a detection device that should reveal blood magic corruption on direct contact. We'll need to test everyone with access to sensitive information.”

I nodded, “Thank you, Your Majesty.”

The King of Spades laughed, “I think you have the right to call me Seth.”

I blinked and my surprise must have shown on my face, because Seth's shadows flickered with what might have been amusement.

"What?" he asked, his voice carrying an unfamiliar note of warmth. "Did you think 'King of Spades' was my given name?"

"I... hadn't really thought about it," I admitted, studying his face with new curiosity. The silver patterns beneath my skin stirred with interest, reaching toward his shadows with tentative recognition. "Seth," I repeated, tasting the name on my tongue.

His shadows reacted instantly, coiling closer as if drawn by the sound of his name on my lips. For a moment, the ancient calculation in his dark eyes gave way to something more vulnerable, more human.

"It's been centuries since anyone used my name with such... directness," he said quietly. "Most who know it avoid it deliberately—names hold power in Wonderland.”

"And what power does knowing your name give me?" I asked, watching as his shadows danced closer to the silver patterns beneath my skin without quite making contact.

Seth's dark eyes met mine with an intensity that made my breath catch. "More than you might expect," he said softly. "Names create connections, Alice. They bridge the gap between formal titles and... something more intimate."

The silver patterns beneath my skin pulsed with growing warmth as his shadows circled closer. I found myself drawn to the vulnerability I glimpsed beneath his usual mask of calculated control. This wasn't the manipulative monarch everyone warned me about—this was someone who'd been alone for so long he'd almost forgotten how to be anything else.

---