Fantastical (Fantasyland #3)(61)

“I’ll just –” Algernon began, my head snapped to him and I dropped my hand.

“Please, don’t go, you must have some cake,” I whispered, his eyes shot to Tor but he didn’t move.

I looked back at Tor.

“You need to make your wish,” I told him. “Then blow out your candles.”

“Sweets –” he started, my eyes closed and that tear in my heart didn’t split, it didn’t gently rip deeper.

It slashed through my heart, rending it in two.

I opened my eyes, locked them on Tor’s beautiful, blue, playing, deceitful ones and I felt mine fill with tears.

“Make your wish,” I whispered.

“Cora –”

A tear spilled over and slid down my cheek.

“Make your wish, honey.”

I watched his eyes follow the trail of my single tear then they came to mine then he came at me.

I whirled, picked up my skirts and ran.

“Cora!” he yelled as I dashed out the door and down the hall. “Cora! Gods damn it, stop!”

He was right behind me.

Shit!

It sucked that he was so tall and his legs were so freaking long.

The staircase was in sight, the winding one that skirted the circular wall of the mammoth circular hall that led to the front doors. A hall floored in gleaming black marble veined with silver and blue. A hall that could house at least a hundred bodies whirling around in a waltz.

A fairytale hall in a black, hideous fairytale.

I didn’t make it to the staircase though. I was caught by the arm and pulled around.

“Take your hand off me!” I shrieked.

“Cora, calm down,” Tor ordered gently.

I stilled and tipped my face to look at him, “Fuck you! Fuck calm! I’m going to find a wizard right now! And don’t you f**king stop me!”

“Cora, gods, calm the f**k down!” he yelled back and it pissed me off that he’d picked up some of my language from my world that he didn’t even believe f**king existed that I wanted to go back to and I didn’t want him to have any part of.

“Take your hand off me!” I screamed again, trying to pull away but failed when he let me go and his arms locked around me.

“Listen to me,” he commanded.

“No! No way! You’re not a jerk. You’re a dick! You’re a player! I f**king hate you! Which really sucks because about ten minutes ago, I f**king loved you more than anything in this, and my, whole, f**king worlds!”

His body went solid and I took advantage, wresting out of his arms, I turned instantly and started running.

“Cora!” he shouted as I made it to the top of the staircase and I looked back over my shoulder.

“Don’t come near me!” I yelled, starting to race down the steps.

“Cora! Gods! Mind the –!”

That’s when it happened.

I tripped.

Stupid, stupid, stupid me, running in an emotional state down a flight of stairs.

And down I went, crashing, bumping and whirling down a silver and blue veined set of winding, black marble, fairytale castle stairs.

I landed at the bottom feeling pain in every inch of my body but most especially my head which slammed, rather violently, against a number of steps on the way down.

Fucking great.

I felt Tor crouch at my side and carefully and tenderly (the ass**le), he lifted my torso in his arms, cradling my head in the crook.

“Sweets,” he whispered, I opened my eyes and I looked into his f**king unbelievably beautiful eyes and that was when my vision started to fade.

“I loved you,” I whispered.

“Cora,” he whispered back.

“I know you don’t believe me, you’ll never believe me but it’s true. I loved you.”

“Stop speaking,” he murmured.

The black started to permeate, take over. It was coming fast. I was losing it.

“In this world,” I kept whispering, “you were the only thing I had but you were the only thing I needed.”

“Gods,” he muttered, the word sounding dragged out of some deep part of him.

And that was all I heard before everything faded to black.

Chapter Seventeen

Until You

I felt weak light hit my eyes, I opened them and I saw my light green pillowcase.

I blinked but when my eyes came back open, there it was. My light green pillowcase.

My pillowcase. From my bed. In my world.

I shot up to sitting and nearly blacked out, my head was so woozy. I lifted a hand to my head and closed my eyes tight until the feeling went away. Then I kept them closed thinking, well, guess all I had to do to get myself back to my world was give myself a head injury… good to know.

Then I slowly opened them and looked around.

Then my mouth dropped open.

My room looked like a hurricane had rushed through it. There were clothes and shoes and accessories everywhere. I spied some glossy bags, squinted, leaned forward and my heart slid into my throat.

Okay, well, there it was. The Cora of Tor’s world had come here, she hadn’t cleaned in two months and apparently she somehow managed to shop at exclusive department stores.

I flopped back to the pillows, whispering, “Shit.”

Then I felt the mattress under me. I’d always liked my mattress. It was firm and comfortable.