Page 20 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
I felt a chill race through me as understanding dawned. "You're going to let her think she's won. Make the rescue attempt look desperate and emotional while Seth extracts Alice."
"Precisely." Heart's ruby eyes blazed with cold calculation that would have impressed the King of Spades himself. "My mother expects the son she remembers—impulsive, driven by passion over strategy. She won't look for subtlety beneath the chaos."
Martha's scarred face twisted into something that might have been approval. "Risky. If the infiltration fails, you'll be walking into a death trap with no backup plan."
"The infiltration won't fail," Heart said with quiet certainty. "Seth has too much invested in Alice's survival to allow that." His gaze flicked to me, something unspoken passing between us. "Besides, Chi and I have faced worse odds."
I nodded, though I couldn't quite suppress the flicker of doubt that made my form momentarily transparent. Through our silver bond, I felt Alice's consciousness slip further away, as if she were sinking into deep water. The sensation sent a surge of protective fury through me, making the silver patterns beneath my skin blaze with renewed determination.
"She's getting weaker," I said, my voice tight with urgency. "Whatever the Queen is doing to her is accelerating."
Heart's expression darkened, his hand pressing harder against his chest where the golden bond pulsed erratically. "Then we move now. Signal the others."
Martha nodded, lifting a crystalline whistle to her lips. The sound it made was barely audible to human ears, but I felt it vibrate through multiple realities simultaneously—a call to action that couldn't be intercepted by the Queen's magical surveillance.
All around us, shadows stirred as our fighters emerged from their hiding places. Each face set with grim determination, weapons gleaming in the crimson-tinted light filtering through the twisted canopy. They moved with practiced precision,arranging themselves in the formation we'd drilled countless times.
"Remember," Heart addressed them, his voice carrying the authority of centuries despite his wounded state. "This isn't about winning—it's about creating maximum chaos. Every moment we keep the Queen's forces occupied gives the Spade King more time to reach Alice."
I phased partially into shadow, extending my awareness through the corrupted mists toward the palace. Through our weakening bond, I felt Alice's consciousness flicker—a brief surge of clarity amidst growing confusion. She was fighting the Queen's influence, clinging to herself despite whatever they were doing to her.
"She feels us," I said quietly to Heart. "She knows we're coming."
Heart's expression softened for just a moment, vulnerability breaking through his battle-ready facade. "Good. That connection might be the only thing keeping her anchored right now." He turned to the assembled fighters, his voice hardening once more. "On my signal, we breach the outer perimeter. Remember—make it look desperate, emotional, even reckless. The Queen needs to believe this is nothing more than a lover's foolish rescue attempt."
I watched as Martha distributed crystalline vials among the fighters—Varik's special concoction designed to disrupt blood magic temporarily. The liquid inside glowed with opalescent light, a countermeasure against the Queen's corrupted enchantments.
"The golems can't be killed conventionally," Varik reminded them, adjusting his chaotic collection of devices. "Target the crystalline cores in their chests. Shatter those, and they'll collapse back into component parts."
Heart raised his hand, ruby eyes scanning the twisted landscape ahead. Through the crimson mist, I could see the outline of the palace—a structure that seemed to pulse with malevolent life, its obsidian spires reaching toward a sky that bled perpetual twilight.
"Now," Heart commanded. The assault began with Martha's arrow finding the throat of the first card soldier, his scream of alarm echoing through the gardens before cutting off abruptly. Our fighters poured from the shadows like a tide of vengeance, weapons flashing as they engaged the outer perimeter guards.
I phased between realities, appearing behind a blood golem just as it turned toward the commotion. The construct towered above me, its form cobbled together from bone and crystallized blood, faces of the Queen's victims frozen in perpetual agony within its translucent chest. I materialized fully, driving my silver-tipped dagger into the pulsing core at its center. The creature shuddered, a sound like breaking glass emanating from within as the core fractured.
Heart moved with deadly precision despite his injury, golden light blazing from his blades as he cut through card soldiers with ruthless efficiency. Each movement was calculated to appear desperate—a lover fighting against impossible odds to reach his beloved—while actually creating the perfect distraction for Seth's infiltration team.
"The inner gate!" Martha shouted, losing three arrows in rapid succession. Each found its mark in the eyes of card soldiers, their bodies collapsing into piles of parchment and ink.
I phased through the first wave of defenders, my form shifting between solid and ethereal as crimson-tipped spears passed harmlessly through me. The blood golems were another matter entirely—their corrupted magic interfered with my reality manipulation, forcing me to remain corporeal when engaging them directly.
A massive magic wave lurched toward Heart, its crystalline core pulsing with trapped souls. I materialized behind it, driving both daggers into the junction where its spine met its skull. The creature's roar shattered nearby windows as it collapsed, but three more emerged from the rose maze to take its place.
"They're coming faster than we can drop them," I called to Heart, dodging a swipe from claws made of sharpened bone.
"Good," he replied, his golden blades carving through two card soldiers simultaneously. "The more attention we draw, the better." Despite his words, I could see the strain in his movements, the wound in his chest limiting his usual fluid grace. The golden patterns beneath his skin pulsed erratically, responding to both his pain and the faint connection to Alice that still flickered like a distant flame.
Through our weakened bond, I felt Alice's consciousness surge with sudden clarity—she could sense the battle, could feel Heart's determination through their connection despite the Queen's interference. Her awareness radiated both hope and terror; hope that rescue was possible, terror that we were walking into a trap she couldn't warn us about.
"She knows something we don't," I told Heart as I materialized beside him, my daggers dripping with the crystallized blood of fallen golems. "I can feel her trying to push a warning through the bond."
Heart dispatched another card soldier, his movements growing more labored as the battle wore on. "The Queen has prepared specifically for us," he said grimly.
"We expected that," I replied, phasing through a blood golem's attack and rematerializing to drive my dagger into its core. "But Alice's fear is... specific. Targeted."
Heart ducked beneath a card soldier's spear, his movements precise despite the wound in his chest. "The Queen's using her as bait. She wants me to reach Alice, not prevent it."
A chill ran through me as I understood the implication. "The pattern transfer—she needs both of us present."
