Page 29 of Knot My Wonderland: Part Two
I flexed my fingers, watching as pure silver and gold light danced beneath my skin, unmarred by any trace of crimson. "Free," I whispered, the word carrying more weight than I'd expected. "Like I can breathe again."
Through the new bond, I felt their combined consciousness—a river of time flowing in both directions, carrying whispers of what had been and what might yet come. It was overwhelming but not painful, like standing at the edge of an infinite ocean and feeling the waves lap at my feet.
Then a wave of exhaustion hit me, “But so tired.”
"That's normal," Vee said, his arm sliding around my waist as my legs threatened to give out completely. "Temporal bonding requires enormous energy expenditure. Your body needs time to adjust to existing partially outside linear time."
Dee moved to my other side, his support steady and warm. "The exhaustion will pass within a few hours. For now, you should rest while the bond stabilizes."
Through our new connection, I could feel their concern—not just for my physical state, but for the way reality seemed to flicker around me. My vision kept shifting between present moments and glimpses of potential futures: Heart and Chi escaping the Queen's trap with the help of Varik and Seth. Then it flickered to another scene with people I didn’t recognize, before flickering through many other scenarios before slowing down a few seconds later.
"Is that normal too?" I asked, blinking as another vision overlayed my current sight—myself standing in a garden I'd never seen, older and more confident, teaching someone to use magic.
"Completely normal," Dee assured me, though I caught a flicker of something deeper through our bond—fascination mixed with slight concern. "Your consciousness is adjusting to temporal perception. The visions will stabilize as you learn to filter them."
"Most people see fragments for weeks after bonding with time manipulators," Vee added, guiding me toward a flat section of cave wall where I could rest. "But you're processing them remarkably quickly."
I leaned against the cool stone, grateful for its solidity as another vision flickered past—Seth emerging from shadows with an expression of grim satisfaction. The sight filled me with relief, though I wasn't sure if I was seeing the present or a potential future.
"They're safe," I said with sudden certainty, the knowledge flowing through the temporal connection. "Heart, Chi, Seth—they all escaped and went back to the Sanctuary.”
"They did," Vee confirmed, sharing a glance with his brother. "You're seeing true-time, a rare gift in Wonderland."
I closed my eyes, letting my head rest against Vee as exhaustion pulled at me like an undertow. The new bondhummed with energy, threads of opalescent light weaving through my consciousness. Unlike the golden warmth of Heart's connection or the silvery clarity of Chi's, this bond felt like standing in the eye of a temporal storm—calm at the center while realities whirled around me.
"How long until we join them?" I asked, fighting to keep my eyes open.
"Soon," Dee promised, his fingers coming to push hair out of my face as I leaned more against his brother. "We need to wait for the temporal wake to settle. The Queen will be scanning for disturbances."
Through the new connection, I caught fragments of their calculations—mathematical equations that described probability cascades and temporal resonance patterns beyond my understanding. But beneath the complexity, I felt their genuine care for my safety, their determination to protect me from further harm.
"Rest now," Vee murmured, his voice carrying harmonic undertones that seemed to slow time around us. "We'll watch over you."
I let myself sink into the exhaustion, trusting them completely as consciousness faded. The last thing I felt was the steady pulse of our new bond—three hearts beating in temporal synchronization, creating ripples through reality itself.
Chapter
Twelve
VEE
Ishifted and picked up Alice so she was in my arms, cradling her against my chest as she surrendered to the exhaustion of temporal bonding. Her head lolled against my shoulder, silver and gold patterns pulsing beneath her skin in perfect harmony with the opalescent energy that now connected us.
"She's remarkably resilient," I murmured to my brother, feeling Alice's consciousness drift into dreamless sleep through our new bond. "Most would be catatonic after what she's endured."
Dee nodded, adjusting his temporal devices as he monitored the surrounding space-time for disturbances. "The pattern has chosen well." His silver eyes met mine, centuries of shared understanding passing between us. "She's experiencing true-time visions already. That's unprecedented."
I felt a surge of protective instinct as Alice nestled closer in her sleep, her subconscious seeking comfort through our newly formed bond. Through the connection, I could sense her mind processing the trauma of the Red Queen's captivity evenin unconsciousness—memories being recontextualized, wounds beginning to heal.
"The temporal rewriting was more thorough than I expected," I said quietly, adjusting my hold to keep her comfortable. "The Queen's corruption is completely gone, not just suppressed."
Dee's fingers danced across his temporal monitors, silver eyes narrowing at the readings. "The pattern itself helped. It recognized the Queen's influence as foreign and used our connection to purge it entirely." He paused, a rare expression of wonder crossing his features. "I've never seen it respond so... intelligently before."
"Because it's becoming part of her rather than just a power she carries," I replied, a flicker of awe going through me. Through our bond, I could sense the pattern integrating with Alice's consciousness at a level far deeper than we'd anticipated.
"We should move soon," Dee said, his devices picking up distant temporal disturbances. "The Queen's rage is creating ripples across multiple realities. She'll find ways to track us if we remain stationary too long."
I nodded, carefully adjusting Alice in my arms. Through our connection, I felt her consciousness flutter briefly toward awareness before settling back into healing sleep. The bond between us pulsed with newborn energy, already stronger than temporal connections we'd formed over centuries with others.
