Page 28 of Maddie
“You’re falling for that wanker, aren’t you?” Ferris smirked.
“If by some Wonderland miracle we get the cure, then Noah’s taking it and going back home.” So there was nothing to fall for anyway, even though the feel of his fingertips on her face still lingered on her skin.
Ferris lightly shook her. “Whatever, Maddie.”
She took a deep breath, her tone serious. “Watch over Alice and if something happens to me, then don’t give up on Mouse, all right?”
“I’m not giving up on her oryou.”
Maddie circled her arms around him and rested her head against his shoulder. “Werewolves and Imogen, no big deal. Now, let’s have some fucking bloody tea before I head out into true monster territory.”
Chapter Twelve
Noah
Noah scooped Alice off the settee and tucked her into bed before mixing her a cup of powdered blood. “You have to hang on. Maddie and I are going to get something that will cure you,” he told her as she shivered beneath the covers. At least, he hoped they would succeed. There was a chance the werewolves would kill them both, but he couldn’t let Alice doubt. “All you need to do is survive long enough for us to get back.”
“What cure?” she asked through clacking teeth.
Ferris grumbled from the other room, and Maddie’s cajoling reply was muffled by the door. Noah knew this was dangerous and that Ferris didn’t like it, but too fucking bad. Alice was dying and he wasn’t going to let her be stuck in Wonderland forever if she did live. He glanced at his sister’s frail form. An ache built in his chest and he rubbed at it. Failure wasn’t an option. Not when the stakes were this high.
He sat on the edge of the mattress by his sister and tried to hand her the cup. The mixture of powdered blood smelled stale and did nothing to entice him, but it was all he had for her at the moment. “Drink this.”
“No,” she whispered. “It makes me feel worse.”
“You need to keep your strength up,” he insisted.
Alice grabbed his free hand and squeezed it, a gleam of true fear in her eyes. “I don’t want to die.”
“I know.” He set the cup down as Maddie and Ferris continued their hushed conversation. “We’ll get the cure, I promise.”
Alice clung to him and rolled onto her side, burying herself farther under the covers. Noah rubbed small circles on her back and waited for Maddie to fetch him when she was ready to go. He had nothing to pack nor prepare. All he had were the clothes on his back. For everything else, he relied on Maddie.
After a few minutes Alice’s breathing evened with sleep, and he stayed a long while by her side. He didn’t know how much time had passed when Maddie cracked the door open. “Ready?” she whispered.
“Yes.” Noah kissed Alice on her forehead and stood. He spared her a final look, offered up a prayer that she would survive until they returned, and slunk away to join Maddie.
Ferris’s eyes tore into him as he followed Maddie across the living room. He couldn’t blame him for being annoyed. If it weren’t for Noah and his sister, Maddie wouldn’t be risking her life to get a cure. She and Ferris would be on their way to saving Mouse instead. It seemed almost too easy to convince Maddie to put Alice above her own sister, but shehadattempted to trade one for the other. Whether or not it was guilt that got Maddie to agree to finding the cure, he was grateful.
“Stay safe, Ferris.” Maddie grabbed a backpack from just inside the front door and handed it to Noah, then slipped one on herself. “We should be back before the end of the week. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.”
Ferris pulled her into a hug. “You better come back or your sister will never forgive me.”
At least, if theydidn’tsucceed, Mouse had someone left to save her. Alice only had him. He envied their sense of security. Ferris wouldn’t keep fighting for Alice and, honestly, there was no alternative. The cure was her only chance. It wasn’t as if their parents would come to bail them out of trouble, and no one in Wonderland owed him any loyalty. He swallowed hard, forcing down the swelling sense of dread.
“Thank you,” Noah told Ferris. “For looking out for Alice.”
“Mouse wouldn’t absolve me if I abandoned her,” he grumbled.
Noah wondered why the opinion of Mouse mattered so much to him. To Maddie, it was obvious—they were siblings and very close. Ferris and Maddie were nothing more than friends. He’d been around enough people to know when they were interested in each other.
Maddie tugged on the hem of Noah’s shirt and led him out the door. His gaze fell immediately to the back of Maddie’s black boots. The weight of his worry and guilt refused to let his gaze travel higher. Was it the right thing to risk Maddie’s life for Alice’s? Not that he truly had a choice. He would never let his sister die if he could help it, but perhaps if she gave him directions he could—no.There was no way he would survive this without help. He wasn’tthatnaïve.
After what felt like ages, long after the cobbled streets turned to dirt paths, Maddie slowed. “He was right.”
“What?” Noah jerked his head up and found they were no longer in Scarlet, but in an empty field with tendrils of blue smoke floating overhead. He sucked in a breath as he studied the glimmering wisps.
“Ferris. He said Mouse wouldn’t forgive him if he abandoned Alice and he was right. My sister has the kindest heart.”
