Unhinged: 2 (33 page)

“What about the nightmare?” I ask, looking up.

Morpheus shakes his head. “Your own subconscious manifested that tidbit, with a little help from the hallucinogens we put in your sedatives.”

“Why?” I growl.

“I had to make you believe Red was putting your boyfriend in
jeopardy so you’d return with me to save Wonderland. The only way I can ever get your attention is by placing your mortal toy in danger. It was working brilliantly, until once again the human muddled things up.”

“You jerk!” My muscles coil and I scramble up to lunge at him. I expect him to fold a wing between us to block me. Instead, he steps forward, wings high and open. He holds out his arms—daring me to tackle him—egging me on. Ivory catches me around the waist and hauls me down beside her once more.

I struggle to get out of her embrace. She holds me with a force that’s surprising for someone as delicate as an ice sculpture.

“You came swooping in here today, pretending to be the hero,” I seethe to Morpheus. “When all along it was your fault Jeb was in that state to begin with. And now he’s in real danger.”

“It was only to be a few paintings on glass,” Morpheus answers, his voice far too calm. “The juice was supposed to make him more focused until he finished. I never anticipated he’d become crazed, or that you would find your way here and he would put his hands on you …” There’s a slight shift in his features—something menacing. “I never imagined, if Ivory left him for a few hours, that he would go off on a tangent and paint your memories—the very ones he lost. He’s trapped in a hell crafted by his very own hands.” Morpheus’s gaze narrows. “But no. It’s more at your hands, is it not? You’ve had a year to tell him everything. Had he known, he wouldn’t have been such an easy target for me, and perhaps he wouldn’t be in danger from Sister Two now.”

I break free of Ivory’s hold but can’t move off the bed. Morpheus is right. Jeb’s vulnerability is my fault.

“How do you do that?” I ask. “How do you always turn everything
around on everyone else? Manipulate even those who know better than to believe you?”

Morpheus shrugs. “That’s my power. My magic.
Persuasion
.”

“No. Your power is poison.” My pride raises its head again. “Just so you know, there’s something you’ll never persuade me to do.”

He studies me, smug. “What’s that?”

“Love you.”

Morpheus’s jewels turn pale blue, the color of anguish, and I revel in the knowledge that I cut him.

“Never say never,” he murmurs.

I match his stare, eyes stinging as if venom seeps through my irises.

He looks away first, steps over to the ladder, and dives, graceful black wings spread wide. He lands lightly in the middle of the floor. He waves to his moths, reuniting his hat, then kneels to hoist Jeb onto his shoulder around his left wing.

I leap to my feet and scramble back to the railing. “Put him down!” I screech.

“He’s not safe here,” Morpheus answers, gathering Jeb’s shirt and boots with his free hand. “We must find a mirror and get him to the train. You wish to try to haul him out to the car yourself?”

I swallow a rebuttal. As arrogant as he is, he’s right: I need his help to find the train.

“The keys,” he presses.

Frowning, I chuck them toward him. Chessie zooms up and catches them in midair.

Ivory stands—all lace and elegance. She moves behind me, her wings low like a feather cape.

Morpheus looks over my shoulder at her. “Go back through the
rabbit hole and protect your castle. Warn Sister One that her twin has crossed over to the human realm. She’ll need to keep a close watch on the dark side of the cemetery. Alyssa and I will follow soon. We’ve little time to waste.”

“Right,” I say. “Now that you’ve managed to lure one of the creepiest and most venomous netherlings into a world of helpless humans, we don’t have much time, do we?”

Morpheus resituates Jeb on his shoulder. “We’re not at a complete disadvantage, Alyssa. Sister Two has a weakness, as we all do. She has a blind spot. Once she’s cornered her prey, she notices nothing else around her. So, since there are two of us, we can work as a team to defeat her and send her back to Wonderland.”

“Right,” I answer. “And then you’ll be the big hero again. For cleaning up a mess that you caused to begin with.”

Morpheus doesn’t answer. He strides out the door. Chessie looks up at us once, then follows.

“Perhaps you were a little harsh with him,” Ivory says.

Hands clenched at my sides, I face her. “Jeb is the target of a black-widow woman big enough to eat a horse, and now he’s catatonic and can’t even defend himself. Not to mention all the humans who almost went up in flames today, all because of Morpheus’s stupid plan.”

“He never expected Sister Two to become involved. And he had nothing to do with the events at your school. The bugs caught wind of Queen Red’s alliance with the flower fae. They feared she would lead her army into your world after she destroyed all of Wonderland, where they would feed on insects and humans alike. They released the wraiths in an effort to protect their home from Wonderland invaders.”

“Technicalities,” I answer. Her calm rationalizations are only making me angrier. “Doesn’t it ever bother you? How he always gets by on those? He couldn’t use his magic because of the glamour, so he had you and Hattington and the nurse do all his dirty work. Which meant that each time he told me he wasn’t doing those things, he was able to lie to my face—guilt free, in true Wonderland form.”

“He wasn’t guilt free. He has been in torment. It was not his original plan to use your mortal knight.”

“Right. I’m sure it was to sacrifice his own life for all of Wonderland, because he’s an old-school martyr like that.”

She frowns, her pale pink lips shimmering like flower petals in the sunlight. “That
was
his plan.”

I want to laugh, but the sincerity within her frosted eyes stops me. One thing I’ve learned about Ivory, she’s always honest when confronted. “All right. Convince me.”

“A week before Morpheus started visiting your dreams again, he came to my castle and told me of Red’s ultimatum. He asked me to use my crown-magic to look into your future, to assure that if he did as she asked and gave himself up to Red, she would be satiated and you and Wonderland would be safe forever. What I saw … it changed everything for him.”

She holds out her palm, and a bubble appears. It’s the size of a softball, only luminous and clear. “Vow to me you’ll never tell anyone what I’m about to show you.”

I stand mute, staring at the bubble as a blurry image begins to form inside.

“
Vow
it,” Ivory presses.

I make the pledge. Two life-magic vows in one day. I’m becoming a pro at netherling negotiations without even trying.

Still holding the bubble, she bends down beside my mosaics and scrapes off a small residue of gray powder left from Chessie’s sparkle cloud of earlier. She swipes it over the crystallized bubble, which animates a scene that’s startlingly familiar. Not only can I see it, but I can hear, smell, feel, and taste it.

I’m crowned and seated on a throne at the head of a table, hosting a feast with mallet in hand, prepared to strike the main course dead. The scent of clover wine, moonbeam cookies, and baked fruit wafts from sparkling platters and crystal glasses.

Gathered around are a mishmash of creatures, some clothed, others naked, all more bestial than humanoid. They are my subjects, and my heart brims with affection for them—for their weirdness, for their madness, for their loyalty.

We talk and tease and bargain with the main dish. Maniacal laughter echoes in the marble halls, sweet to my ears.

There’s movement at the banquet hall’s entrance. A child with my eyes tumbles in—all wings and blue hair and giggling innocence. Holding his hand is Morpheus, wearing a ruby crown.

The Red King.
My king.

The bubble bursts and takes the vision with it, leaving nothing but the sound of my gasp and wisps of gray smoke behind.

“You see,” Ivory says, “once Morpheus knew that one day you would belong to him and he to you, that you would share a child, he was no longer willing to die to save Wonderland. But he’s insecure about your feelings for him. He feared you would refuse to help. So he made a new plan, however flawed it was.”

I’m reminded of that first day in the bathroom at school, the
words Morpheus said:
“One does what one has to do, to protect what they love.”
I knew there was an underlying meaning; I just had no idea how soul-deep it went.

I’m having trouble breathing. “A son,” I say, recalling every detail of the child’s perfect face.

Ivory’s smile is blinding. “A most unique creature. The first child to be born to two netherlings who’ve shared a child
hood
. Wonderland is founded on chaos, madness, and magic. For so long, innocence and imagination have had no place there. As a result, we haven’t had children, at least by your world’s definition. And because of this, we’ve lost the ability to dream. But Morpheus experienced those things via you, each time you played together in
your
dreams. Through your child, Wonderland will thrive with new magic and strength. Our offspring will become true children once more; they will learn to dream again. And all will be right with our world.”

“No,” I murmur. I put my theoretical son out of my mind. I’m not ready to make that sacrifice. All I can think of is Jeb, my family and friends, and my future in the human realm. “That can’t be right. I chose to stay here.” I look down at the spot where Jeb was earlier and feel so empty.

Ivory catches my hands and clasps them. “You can still have a future with your mortal knight. You can marry him. Have a family and children, here.”

My head spins. None of this makes any sense. “How?”

“Just as you have two sides to yourself, you have two potential futures. One day, the mortals you love will grow old and die. You, also, will age outwardly, and will have to go through the illusion of death. But your crown grants you an eternity in Wonderland. You’ll be restored to the age you were when it was first placed upon your
head. Your second future, your immortal netherling reign over the Red kingdom, will begin. And as you saw, Morpheus will play a very pivotal role.”

I feel like someone sucker-punched me. “I can’t be with someone I don’t trust. Who doesn’t trust me, either.”

She places a hand on my shoulder. “You will learn to understand one another, to read one another. Morpheus is rarely honest with his words. His actions are where the truth lies. There may be many, many years between now and the vision you viewed. Something will change the way you see him. Perhaps a bevy of small things along the way, or possibly another grand gesture you never thought him capable of. Whatever it is, it will alter your relationship forever.” Ivory steps back. “Alyssa, you’ve been given a chance at two lives and two loves. That is nothing short of a miracle. Cherish the gift for what it is. I shall see you soon, in Wonderland.”

Her wings arc above her head, high and beautiful. She folds them over herself, and then, in a poof of white light and sparkling powder, becomes a swan and soars gracefully out the door.

I clench my jaw, emotions reeling. My heart breaks to think of outliving Jeb and all the people I love: Mom, Dad, Jenara, and Jeb's and my children. It’s a mind trip I couldn’t grasp even on the best day. And today’s been the worst one ever.

Then, beyond the sadness that overshadows my future, there’s the terrible confusion of my present.

How can I truly be with Jeb, knowing that one day I’ll marry Morpheus? How can I give Morpheus the day I vowed to him and be true to Jeb, knowing what Morpheus knows?

I sit hard on the mattress. Morpheus bargained for those twenty-four hours because he doesn’t
want
me to have my mortal life. He
doesn’t want to wait, or to share me with any other guy. He plans to start our future immediately.

I clasp the heart locket at my neck, struggling to separate its chain from the ruby-tipped key. I won’t let him take my time with Jeb away. I refuse.

There’s a rustle in the doorway. I stand and glance down to see Morpheus at the threshold.

“We should go,” he says.

“No,” I snap, too overwhelmed to say anything else. I want to hate him for all his lies, but Ivory’s vision keeps imprinting our child on my mind’s eye. Morpheus had motivations. They were pure—regardless of the lies and deceit it took to justify them. There is nothing black-and-white about him. He’s a chaotic portrait made of every shade of gray.

With a flourish of dark wings he appears beside me in the loft. “What do you mean, no? We haven’t time for nonsense, Alyssa.”

“Release me of my vow,” I say, forcing myself to meet his gaze. “We both know I’ll never have feelings for you. So why even play this game? There’s nothing between us.” If I can say it to his face, maybe it will be true.

He leans in so his wings cast us both in shade, and his jewels flash a blinding red. “I’ll prove you wrong. The moment this war is over, when I have you to myself for twenty-four hours. You’ll never again question what we have between us.”

“No. Deal’s off.”

“Fine. Break your vow. Lose your powers. Then you’ll have no one to blame but yourself when Sister Two takes Jebediah into her web.”

My nightmare flashes through my head: Jeb wrapped up, a corpse.

I growl and barrel into Morpheus. He catches me and backs me to the wall where the webs are thickest. He winds me like a top until my arms are pinned to my body by a sticky blanket. I struggle, but Sister Two’s web is as strong as twine.

Morpheus bends his knees so we’re at eye level. “Why do you insist on binding your heart within these chains? For once, just be still and
listen
. Listen to the nether-call.”

Before I can even ask what he means, he skims his licorice-scented lips across my forehead—just shy of touching—his warm breath dragging across my left eye patch, then down a cheek, toward my mouth. The corner of my mouth tickles as he passes over it; then his breath stops to hover across my chin.