Page 10 of Cheshire's Smile
“Of course not, kitten.” His hand cupped the back of my neck, tightening just so that a small moan released from my throat. “It was an accident.”
“And yet,” my lips traced his full ones, “they hate me.” I dropped back onto my feet, pulling away from the almost kiss. “Why do they hate me? Do they blame me for their punishment? I didn’t know. I didn’t remember them until a few minutes ago.”
Cheshire pulled me back to him, keeping me from going off on a tangent.
“Shhh. Shhh. I know. I know.” He rubbed up and down my arms. “You didn’t remember me either. I may be more forgiving than most, but the moment I found out you didn’t remember me, I knew there was more to the story. You didn’t abandon us. You didn’t know.”
“Is that it?” I cocked my head to the side. “They think I abandoned them?”
His brows loosened, and he glanced off to the side, a forlorn expression on his face. “You have to understand, love. We didn’t know what happened. One moment, we were happy. We finally had you in our arms, and then the next, we are waking up to you missing. We searched everywhere for you and, when we finally found you, the prince’s guards were hauling you away.”
“But—”
“Yes, I know.” Cheshire’s eyes dropped back to me. “You did it to stay with us, but they don’t know that. They think you got what you wanted and then left us to clean up the mess.”
“That’s not what happened.” My lips pursed together, brows scrunched.
“I know that now, but they still think you were released and never came for them. How does that look to you?”
A fist clenched around my heart. “Like I didn’t want them anymore.”
“Exactly.”
“But that’s not true.” I stomped my foot and scowled. “I just remembered them. How can they hold that against me?”
Everything was getting all turned around. I expected the whole of the Underground to be against me after what I did. I never in a million years thought I would have to convince the males that had a hold on my heart to believe me.
It wasn’t like I didn’t understand. If I’d been in their shoes, watching me being taken away by guards and then being punished themselves? I would be confused, hurt, furious.
I didn’t blame them for hating me. Even I hated me a little bit for what I did.
Their hatred made things a lot more complicated.
Not only did I have to find Hatter and find a way to save the Underground, but I had to convince two fae who had been with me from the very beginning to stand by me again. Even if they hated me. Even if they never wanted to see me again.
I wouldn’t let them continue to suffer for the crimes I committed.
“Alice?” Cheshire cupped my chin. “What are you thinking?”
I placed my hand on top of his with a sad smile. “I think we need to go to the Shadow Realm and save our gentlemen.”
Chapter 5
Needing to go to the Shadow Realm was all good and well, but getting there was a whole other story.
Cheshire and I walked out of the palace without being stopped once. My heels clacked on the cobblestone. The sound was louder than ever without other bodies to break it up.
“I can give the queen credit for one thing,” I mused, peering around the empty street. “She knows how to clear out her court in a timely fashion. I don’t think there is one person left in all the Seelie Realm.”
Cheshire hummed next to me, his gaze shifting across the empty town. “It is kind of eerie, isn’t it?”
“Yes, it is.” A chill went down my spine. Even with no one around, I felt as if someone was watching me. “Let’s make our exit and get to the Between. This place is giving me the heebie jeebies.”
We turned down another street. The portal back to the Between was much easier to reach in the Seelie Realm than the UnSeelie Realm. Part of me wondered if it was Mab’s doing or Tatiana’s? Did they think that the Seelie were so much better behaved than the UnSeelie that they didn’t need to be kept in the Underground?
From my experience with the snooty Seelie, they were worse than any UnSeelie I’d ever met. The Seelie would lie and manipulate while pretending to be your best friend. Kat was the only exception I’d come across, but that might be because she wasn’t fully fae.
The UnSeelie might be more... passionate. But at least they’d tell you to your face that they wanted to eat you. I’d rather know the monsters under my bed than have monsters pretending to be my friend.
