Page 76 of Trapped By Clocks and Hearts

I wasn’t under any illusions that this wasn’t a trap, but if Allie was in danger, I had to save her.

Stepping carefully down the stone steps into the crypts underneath the castle, the dank and musty air chilled my skin.

I felt it already.

Extraordinary power was seeping from the room at the far end of the hall. Rushing straight on, I plowed through the doors.

When my eyes adjusted to the darkness of the crypt, it wasn’t a crypt at all.

The grand and imposing courtroom had towering ceilings and candle-lit chandeliers which cast a warm glow over the space. Empty wooden benches lining the chambers complemented the sparse, austere decor. At the front, a raised platform held a throne-like, richly upholstered chair before a table whereupon a gavel rested. It was where the Queen would usually sit for official court proceedings.

Dressed in vivid, resplendent red once again, however, the Queen had elected to stand beside the podium where a large cage contained Allie. Allie was dressed in her own clothes once again.

I couldn’t help the relief flooding my chest. Seeing Allie alive, seeing that decidedly annoyed crease of indignation across her forehead as she gripped the black, metal bars.

Not startled at all about my arrival, the Queen’s smile widened as she met my gaze. One of her eyebrows rose in reprimand, her drawl tinged with amusement. “You’re late. I expected you to find us much earlier.”

Chapter 22 - Heartfire

Arise of anger surging in my chest, I waved my arm to fire a spell, almost on instinct.

The Queen easily deflected my spell. She cackled. “Ah, Rabb. Always so aggressive.”

I shot her a glare that could cut as I moved to stand in a defensive pose, ready to fire again. “Let Allie go.”

“Keep firing and see what happens to your precious Allie,” the Queen proposed with a catch in her tone. “Honestly, Rabb, as you can plainly see, I have not harmed a single hair on her head.”

Still wary, I glanced over at Allie. My chest already ached with remorse. This was all my fault. “Allie, are you…?”

Allie waved quickly. “I’m fine, Rabb. She doesn’t want me. She wants—” Her lips pressed shut as the Queen cast another spell.

The Queen grinned. “Now, now, let’s not ruin the suspense.”

Allie clutched at her mouth in protest but it seemed the Queen was not going to let her speak.

My jaw clenched again. I slid my molten gaze over to meet the Queen’s still-amused eyes. “You,” I growled low. “You already killed my family and took everything away from me. Tell me why I shouldn’t break your neck right now.”

Smirking, the Queen shifted on her feet to square off with me. “What a happy coincidence that your memories have returned,” she remarked. “But perhaps I shouldn’t have been so careless with that spell.”

My mouth twitched. “What spell?”

Her expression took on a hazy wistfulness. “When I remembered your father, what I said acted like a spell to unblock your memories.”

I stepped back to give her a wide berth as she moved across the room. “Who are you? Why did you kill my family? What do you have to do with my father?”

The Queen contained her chortle in her throat. “Your father? Your illustrious father didn’t realize I was the only one who could make him happy. For god’s sake, I was the only one with any capacity for amusement at court. And to leave me for that boring woman,” she ranted on. “I mean, one might’ve thought he should have at least tried to fail up.”

I blinked. “Boring woman?”

“Your mother, you Tweedle Dumb,” the Queen rasped in exasperation.

Another ache stung my chest. My mother… Faint memories of crooning lullabies and warm embraces threatened to constrict my breathing. My mother…

“Everyone thought they were so happy. They thought they had the right to be so happy when I was so miserable.” Her face crumpled up in disdain before the glint in her eyes turned sly once again. “It really was quite amusing to watch them die together.”

It couldn’t be. My heart pounded in my chest. How… “How does nobody else know this?” I demanded. “How has nobody told me what happened before?”

The Queen smirked. “Perhaps you can already tell I was always quite skilled with fixing memories. Once I had gotten rid of the entire royal family, I made everyone on Wünder forget all about them. All about you.” She pointed a sharp-nailed finger straight at me before her grin widened. “And the best revenge of all was being able to toy with his beloved son. I thought cursing you to be a rabbit was particularly brilliant, but I confess I found it more amusing to turn you into a heartless assassin who feels no love.” Her eyes glowed. “Only I deserve love. And now everyone on Wünder loves only me.”