Page 26 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
I kept my shadows flowing between us, protecting Heart and Chi as they regained their strength. Varik's smoke continued to fill the chamber, creating pockets of obscurity that disoriented the Queen's defenders.
"I did everything possible to save her," I replied, memories of those dark days flooding back. "We all did. But some things lie beyondevenour power to change."
"Lies!" The Queen's scream shattered several crystalline columns. "You wanted her dead! All of you did! She would have been stronger than all of you combined!"
Heart pulled himself to his feet, golden patterns blazing beneath his skin as his strength returned. "Mother, stop this madness. Rosalind is gone. Alice isn't her replacement."
"She could be," the Queen whispered, her rage momentarily giving way to something more desperate, more human. "With the pattern fully transferred, I could reshape her. Make her perfect. Make her my Rose again."
Chi's form solidified completely, silver patterns rippling as he positioned himself beside Heart. "That's not love. That's possession.”
The Queen's attention snapped to them, her momentary vulnerability vanishing beneath renewed fury. "What would you know of love? You're nothing but a failed dreamer.”
Chi's eyes blazed with fire at her words, his tail lashing as centuries of suppressed fury finally found voice. "A failed dreamer? At least I dream of futures, not resurrections of the dead."
The Queen raised her hand, crimson energy crackling between her fingers, but I moved faster. My shadows surged between them, intercepting the blast meant for Chi. The corrupted magic seared through my essence, leaving wounds that would take days to heal properly.
"Enough," I commanded, my voice carrying the authority of the Void Court. "This ends now."
But the Queen's attention had shifted, her ruby eyes narrowing as she sensed something through her magical surveillance network. Her perfect lips curved into a smile that made my shadows recoil.
"Oh, but it's just beginning," she purred, her rage transforming into something far more dangerous—cold calculation. "My dear Seth, did you really think I wouldn't have contingencies for this exact scenario?"
Her hands swept outward, and the crystalline walls of the throne room shimmered, revealing what had been hidden—dozens of blood golems surrounding us, their cores pulsing with trapped souls. Card soldiers poured from hidden passages, theirweapons gleaming with enchantments designed specifically to counter our abilities.
"I've studied you all for centuries," the Queen continued, her perfect composure returning as she sensed advantage. "The impulsive Heart, the protective Cheshire, the calculating Spade King. So predictable in your patterns."
I exchanged a quick glance with Heart and Chi, communicating without words. We were surrounded, outnumbered, and the Queen's power in her own domain was nearly absolute. But Alice was safe—that was what mattered most.
"Varik," Heart called, his golden patterns blazing beneath his skin as he assessed our increasingly dire situation. "Now would be an excellent time for your final surprise."
The Hatter's laughter echoed from somewhere within the opalescent smoke, a sound of genuine delight that made the Queen's perfect features twist with suspicion.
"With pleasure, Your Highness!" Varik's voice resonated from multiple directions simultaneously, confusing the card soldiers who spun in disorientation. "Might I suggest everyone friendly take a very deep breath?"
I recognized the warning instantly, my shadows coiling protectively around Heart and Chi as we all inhaled deeply. The Queen's ruby eyes widened with realization a moment too late.
"Stop him!" she commanded, but her words were drowned out by the distinctive sound of Varik's reality-splitter activating.
The device—a chaotic fusion of crystalline matrices and temporal gears—released its payload with a sound like reality tearing at the seams. A wave of pure dissolution swept through the throne room, causing every magical construct within its radius to simply... stop existing. The blood golems collapsed into component dust, their trapped souls finally released in streams of silver light that spiraled upward through the crystallineceiling. Card soldiers crumpled like discarded paper, their enchanted weapons clattering uselessly to the floor.
The Queen staggered, her perfect composure cracking as the wave of dissolution passed through her magical defenses. For a moment, she looked exactly like what she was—an ancient being whose power had just been temporarily severed from its source.
"Impossible," she whispered, staring at her hands where crimson energy no longer danced between her fingers. "That device shouldn't exist."
"Ah, but it does exist!" Varik's voice bubbled with manic glee as he emerged from the dissipating smoke, his coat tails fluttering behind him. "One of my finest creations, actually. Took me three centuries and approximately fourteen nervous breakdowns to perfect the temporal matrices."
The Queen's ruby eyes blazed with fury as she felt her connection to the blood magic network severed, if only temporarily. "You mad fool! Do you have any idea what you've done? The magical backlash could?—"
"Could create a lovely window of opportunity for our escape, yes," Varik interrupted cheerfully, pulling a pocket watch from his vest. "Approximately four minutes and thirty-seven seconds before your power fully regenerates.” I watched his delight in taunting the Red Queen, then turned to us, a manic smile still on his face. “I do suggest we use them wisely."
My shadows flowed beneath us, preparing for rapid extraction. "Everyone hold tight," I commanded, feeling the Void Court stirring with approval at our success. "This extraction will be less gentle than the last."
The Queen screamed her rage as my shadows enveloped our group, but her voice faded as we dissolved into the spaces between realities. The last thing I saw was her perfect face contorted with promise of vengeance, her ruby eyes burningwith the cold fire of someone who had just lost everything she'd worked centuries to achieve.
We materialized at the sanctuary point in a tangle of limbs and shadow wisps the sudden transition leaving everyone disoriented except Varik, who somehow managed to land on his feet with his coat perfectly arranged.
"Dramatic exits are so much more satisfying when they actually work," he declared, consulting his pocket watch with evident satisfaction making a small snort of amusement leave me.
