Page 24 of Knot My Wonderland

"The Hatter sent me to check on you," he added, his form solidifying as he stretched languorously. "Though I would have come anyway. Your magic was... pulsing. Like a heartbeat. I could feel it all the way from the garden."

"My magic?" I repeated, the words strange on my tongue—both foreign and somehow right, like a word I'd always known but never spoken aloud.

"Indeed." Chi tilted his head, those teal eyes studying me with unnerving intensity. "It's settling beneath your skin now, finding its home in your bones." He slipped from the window seat with fluid grace, moving toward me with that predatory elegance that reminded me he wasn't entirely human. "How do you feel?"

I considered the question, taking stock of the changes in my body. "Different," I finally said. "Like everything is... more. Colors are brighter. Sounds are clearer. I can smell the rain and—" I paused, inhaling deeply, "—spices from downstairs, and something like lightning in the air."

Chi smiled, pleased. "Your senses are adapting to Wonderland. Good. Very good indeed.”

"The process is happening faster than usual," Chi continued, pacing in a slow circle around my nest, his steps silent despite the creaking floorboards. "Most Dreamers take days,even weeks, to develop such sensitivity. You've managed it overnight."

I watched him warily, not entirely comfortable with his proximity to my nest. Something primal in me—something distinctly Omega—felt protective of this space.

"Is that good or bad?" I asked, sliding my legs over the edge of the bed, relieved to find I was still wearing the clothes the Hatter had given me.

Chi's smile was enigmatic. "That depends on who you ask. For you? It means greater power, sooner. For those who might wish to control you? A complication."

He gestured toward a small table near the door where a tray had appeared—I hadn't noticed it earlier. Steam rose from a silver teapot, and beside it sat a plate of what looked like pastries dusted with something that sparkled like crushed gemstones.

"The Hatter sent breakfast," Chi said, moving toward the tray with that liquid grace. "He's been in his workshop all night, working on... well, he'll tell you himself."

I rose cautiously, testing my balance. My body felt different—lighter somehow, as if gravity had loosened its hold on me. When I took a step, the floor seemed to meet my foot with a strange responsiveness, like it was welcoming my weight.

"The house likes you," Chi observed, pouring tea into a delicate cup that, once again, didn't match the saucer beneath it. "It's adjusting itself to your presence."

I glanced around, noticing for the first time how the room seemed different from when I'd fallen asleep. The ceiling had raised slightly to create a softer curve overhead. The windows had shifted to catch more of the morning light, and the alcoves in the walls had deepened, as if making more space for my belongings—though I had none to fill them yet.

"How is that possible?" I asked, accepting the teacup Chi offered. The liquid inside shimmered with colors that shouldn't exist—deeper than violet, brighter than gold.

"Everything in Wonderland is alive in its own way," Chi replied, selecting one of the sparkling pastries and offering it to me. "Somethings more than others. The Hatter's house has stood for centuries, absorbing the magic of those who dwell within it. It learns, adapts."

I took a cautious bite of the pastry. Flavor exploded across my tongue—sweet and tart and something else, something that tasted like the color silver if it had a taste. A tingling sensation spread from my tongue down my throat and into my chest, like I'd swallowed starlight.

"What is this?" I managed to ask between bites, unable to stop myself from devouring the rest of it.

Chi watched me with evident amusement. "Dreamberry tart. The fruit only grows in the highest reaches of the Tulgey Wood, where the boundaries between dreams and reality are particularly thin." He selected another pastry for himself, his sharp teeth flashing as he took a delicate bite. "The dust is crushed moonglow crystal. Helps stabilize the magic in your system."

I finished the tart, licking the last of the sparkling dust from my fingers without thinking. The tingling sensation intensified, spreading through my limbs until my whole body hummed with it.

"Oh," I gasped, as the world around me shifted, colors intensifying until they almost hurt to look at. Every surface seemed to breathe with its own rhythm—the walls pulsing gently, the floorboards rippling like water. I could see the currents of magic now, silvery threads woven through the air like a living tapestry.

"What's happening?" I whispered, my own voice sounding strange in my ears—deeper, more resonant.

Chi watched me with keen interest, those teal eyes tracking every minute change in my expression. "The moonglow is enhancing your perception. Temporary, but useful for training." He set down his own half-eaten pastry and moved closer, studying me. "What do you see?"

"Everything," I breathed, turning slowly to take in the room. "The magic—it's everywhere. Like threads connecting everything. And the house..." I placed my hand on the wall, feeling it pulse gently against my palm. "The house is... breathing."

Chi nodded, his form shimmering slightly at the edges as he moved through the magical currents I could now perceive. "Yes. Now you're seeing Wonderland as it truly is—alive, connected, conscious in its own way."

I turned my attention to Chi himself and barely suppressed a gasp. His human form was merely a suggestion—a convenient shape wrapped around something far more complex. The magic flowed through him differently than it did the house or the furniture. In him, it spiraled and coiled like a living thing, concentrating in his eyes, his smile, the tips of his fingers.

"You're... not solid," I said, tilting my head as I studied the way reality bent around him. Chi's laugh was a cascade of musical notes that left ripples in the magical currents.

"More solid than I used to be," Chi replied, spreading his hands so I could see how the magic flowed through them. "Less solid than I might become. We all exist somewhere on that spectrum in Wonderland."

I turned my attention to my own hands and nearly dropped my teacup. Silver light pulsed beneath my skin, following the paths of my veins but also creating new patterns—intricate swirls and curves that seemed to respond to my thoughts. WhenI flexed my fingers, the patterns shifted, growing brighter or dimmer with my movements.

"Is this... normal?" I asked, holding my hands up to the light.

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