The Mad King (The Dark Kings #1)(28)
To know that I’d once known such great love and that I’d lost it forever... It was a sorrow I could scarcely describe. The pain sliced me like a knife, so that even taking a breath was no luxury at all.
Waking up in the mornings alone and always wondering why it was that Hades had denied her and me the chance to ever meet. Wondering why it was that I’d only learned of her true existence once it was far too late to do anything about it.
I hated the capricious gods. Hated the world. My life. My existence.
And with that hate came a slowly devolving quagmire of madness that consumed my mind. I found myself turning back into the man I’d been in that other life.
Life made no sense. Reality made no sense. Only the abstract, the foolish, and the ironic seemed to bring a smile to my face.
The paradox was that a storm brewed inside my soul, but outside, Wonderland was beautiful and normal and rational, even though nothing about this situation was rational or made even the slightest bit of sense.
Each night I could only sleep after conjuring up a small cake. It wasn’t much in the way of magic, but it made me feel stupidly closer to her. The cakes always tasted abysmal, and I found myself wishing I could either grow tall or short or maybe even just disappear altogether, but it was just cake. Rotten and unfulfilling and empty.
Danika was curled up on my left side with my arm draped over her shoulder as I sat stiff as a board upon my couch. We reached out to each other for comfort and support neither one of us truly had to give.
Both of us shed silent tears as we watched the remnants of a life that were now nothing more than pictures on a screen. The hurt shouldn’t be this consuming, this painful... I’d never really known this Alice.
But we’d traded souls when we’d traded the Stones of Veritas. A cool, lovely cocoon of warmth flowed like a gentle current through my veins, reminding me all over again that none of this was our imagination, that this strange and alternate life had once been our reality, because nestled inside me was a delicate string of Alice’s soul.
Which meant if she was in me, I was still in her. If I suffered, how much more did she right now?
The vision bubbles shifted, revealing to me a crying Alice. The undulating scrollwork of the black makeup she wore beneath her eyes dripped tears as she held our daughter and looked up at me to make the sun witch’s curse go away.
I swallowed hard as agony pierced every square inch of me.
And then there was a burst of dark energy that caused both Danika and me to practically jump off the couch and whirl as one to face the ominous visage of a Greek god.
I’d never personally seen Hades before. But I could well imagine that this towering pillar of black death could be none other than he.
The man was close to seven feet in height, with long black hair that trailed to midway down his bare chest and a face that seemed both gaunt and fleshed out. And every so often, when the light would strike his features a certain way, I could swear I saw a mask of glinting bone beneath. His eyes glowed with flame, and in his hand he gripped a silver-handled sword that practically gleamed blue in the dim lighting of my cottage.
Hard eyes turned first toward Danika, giving her a quick but thorough once-over before turning back to me. His gaze was sharp, intelligent, and focused.
And the madness that’d teased at me for the past month suddenly seemed to vanish like a thick fog over dark waters. Clarity of thought and mind returned to me with just the promise of finally getting to see my Alice again. Hope bloomed like a blade, piercing through my heart and leaving me feeling breathless.
“You are the male they refer to as Hatter.”
The words weren’t phrased as a question, so I didn’t treat it as one. Instead, I clenched my fists and took a step forward.
“Take me to her. Take me to Alice,” I barked, knowing Hades could likely end my pathetic existence if he had a wish to, but not giving a right damn at the moment.
He nodded thoughtfully, as if coming to some sort of conclusion. His words were deep and sonorous as he said, “I will take you to her. But first, I must warn you of what you are walking into.”
“I don’t care. I just need to see her. I just need to be with her.”
He lifted a peaked brow, snorting forcefully as though irritated or annoyed, but I didn’t care. Nothing mattered now except her. The rapid beat of my heart was a jarring, almost painful thing inside my chest. Impatience clawed at me. I’d all but given up on ever getting to see her, but I was so close now I could taste it. Any sacrifice would be worth the cost.
Taking a deep breath, I forced myself to speak with a calm I did not feel. “Even death could not keep me from her. If I must die to go to—”
Hades lifted a hand, stalling my words immediately. I had no choice but to react to the strength of the power emanating from him and promptly snapped my mouth shut.
“Death is almost certainly what you will reap for your troubles. But I would be no man of honor if I didn’t at least warn you. You live. She does not. She exists in a world no mortal may enter. Only gods, like myself, and those already dead do not suffer death’s sting. But not one such as you. Every day you walk among my people, you will lose a little more strength, weakening to the point you eventually collapse. It is a slow and very painful way to die. Your only chance at returning to your world is if she chooses to follow you out of there. But know this, Mad Hatter, if she does not follow you out in three days’ time, not only will you perish, but you will simply cease to be. There will be no afterlife for you. Now ask yourself, is that a sacrifice you’re truly willing to make?”