26. Ailsa

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

AILSA

I don’t touch the food or drink on the new tray. Tabitha brought it down shortly after Doctor Tav left. But I refuse to eat it. I don’t trust the contents.

Hell, I don’t trust anything here.

The door to my room is locked. I know this because I tried to open it about thirty minutes ago.

Normally, that would be fine—I’ve slipped out of the basement window dozens of times.

Only now, that window doesn’t budge.

Because it’s not the same window .

I made that discovery shortly after finding the door locked, and I’ve been trying to figure out what it means. Obviously, I’m not really home. But why go through all the charades of pretending I’m here? Why tell me the ceremony never happened, only for the Imposter King—or who I’m about ninety-five percent sure is the Imposter King—to call me an Omega?

None of this makes any sense.

Is Baroness Clarice actually Heart? Or is Heart just masquerading as Baroness Clarice?

I pace the room, my mind racing.

Where are Catum, Krolic, and Craze? Was Craze hurt somehow? Did he lose me in the portal?

I stalk over to the wardrobe to finger the blue-and-white ceremonial dress. It feels like the one I wore the other day. And the shoes are that same too-small size.

My teeth grind together.

Is this all an elaborate ruse to make me feel insane? Because it’s working. I?—

The lock clicks upstairs, causing the hairs along my nape to stand on end.

But the sense of anticipation dies when I see it’s just Tabitha.

She quietly slips into the room, closing the door behind her, and creeps down the stairs like she’s a silent little cat. “You didn’t touch your food.”

I look at her and arch a brow. “Are you here to force me to eat?” It comes out a little harsh, which isn’t my intention. But I’m really over all of this nonsense.

At least the rasp in my voice has disappeared.

Strange, because I didn’t drink anything at all. Yet I actually feel somewhat normal again. Even my stomach has stopped rolling.

Tabitha stares at me. “I think you should at least try the tea.”

I blink at her. “Earlier you?—”

“It’s really good tea,” she stresses, cutting me off. “Trust me.”

My brow furrows. An hour ago, she told me not to drink the tea. Now she wants me to try it?

I walk over there, determined to grab the teacup and either chuck it at the wall or dump the contents down the drain in the bathroom. But when I lift the medium-sized ceramic cup, I spy a piece of paper folded neatly beneath it.

Or I assume it’s a paper, anyway. It’s small, the missive having been folded several times to more or less hide beneath the tea.

I set the drink to the side and grab the note.

When I look up at Tabitha, she has a finger in front of her lips.

Frowning, I unfold the letter and arch a brow at the four words. There are ears everywhere .

I snort. No shit , I want to say back. But since I can’t, I let my eyes convey that message for me.

Tabitha grabs the tray. “Well, since you don’t want to eat anything, I’ll just take this back upstairs.” She takes a step, then trips over her own two feet, sending the contents all over the floor. With a loud gasp, she says, “You pushed me.”

Both of my eyebrows fly up. “I did not.”

“Yes, you did!” she accuses, sounding furious. “Now I have to go get cleaning supplies to fix your mess. What the hell is wrong with you, Ailsa? Why are you so fucking ungrateful?”

With that glorious speech, she stomps off and up the stairs, leaving me gaping at her departing form. “Everyone is insane here.” That’s… that’s all I’ve got.

I take the note she left me, shred it, and throw it into the bathroom bin.

“How utterly helpful,” I mutter.

“You have no idea,” a silky voice says, making me yelp and turn around just as the bathroom door closes.

The shower starts a second later as a male forms just beside the tub. I run for the door, but he’s faster, grabbing me by the wrist and yanking me back to him.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Ailsa Marvel.” His bruising grip on my wrist says otherwise. “But I need to deliver a message.”

I take in his vibrant pink hair and matching eyelashes and immediately frown. “You look like Tabitha.”

“Well, relatives often look alike,” he drawls. “But I’m not here to discuss familial resemblances, darling pet. I need to know how much you’ve learned about the ritual.”

I stare at him. “The mating ritual?”

“No, the graduation one.”

My frown deepens. “What?”

“Of course I mean the mating ritual, darling girl,” he snaps, his mercurial mood swing making me want to step back. But his hand is still clamped down on my wrist. “Tell me what you know.”

“That it’s a hunt?—”

“No, tell me what you know about how it begins,” he interjects, his lack of patience starting to piss me off.

“Look, I don’t know who you?—”

“Darling,” he interrupts, a subtle purr underlining that word. “I’m destined to love you and worship you, but right now, I need you to focus. You’re the new player on the board, the unknown queen. You have the power to fix all of this, but you need to listen to me.”

“Says the man who keeps asking questions,” I retort.

He makes a noise in the back of his throat that almost sounds like a strangled laugh. Yet his catlike eyes radiate annoyance. “You have no idea how the ritual begins.”

I arch a brow, choosing silence over confirmation. He’s the one who said I need to listen , after all.

“Of course you don’t know how it begins.” He sounds annoyed. “I warned them, Ailsa. I warned them not to take you above ground, yet did they listen? No. Fucking Alphas.”

He finally releases me and takes a step toward the door to press his ear to the wood. After a second, he nods and returns to the tub.

This small bathroom suddenly feels even tinier with the two of us sequestered inside it.

“Right, we don’t have much time.” He glances at the door, then back at me. “The palace has eyes and ears all over the grounds. Remember that, my queen. Use it. If you declare your desire for a hunt, the ritual must be offered. But you have to truly want it. Shout for it. Beg . And find the Story of Alice. It’s written in the walls. Her words… are everywhere. ”

Those last two words are a whisper on the wind as the male disappears before my eyes.

The door flies open a second later, causing me to yelp and jump back toward the running shower.

Baroness Clarice stands there, eyes narrowed as she scans the room. “I heard voices.”

I swallow. “I… I was talking to myself. A-about the tray.” It’s an asinine thing to say, but if I’ve learned anything from my time in Monsterland, it’s that insanity is currency. “I didn’t push Tabitha.”

The baroness rolls her eyes. “I couldn’t give two shits about your food and beverage, Ailsa. Now clean yourself up. We have a ceremony to attend.”

“A ceremony?” I repeat.

“Yes,” she hisses. “The one you missed on your birthday. Remember? So take a shower and get dressed. I’ll be waiting for you upstairs.”

The door slams before I can say anything else.

Why is she pretending like I haven’t gone through the ceremony yet?

Does she want me to take the elixir again? I wonder. The more potent one? To force my heat?

But if that’s the case, why would the Imposter King call me an Omega? Why tip me off that he already knows who and what I am?

I run my fingers through my hair and turn to stare in the mirror. “What the hell am I supposed to do?” I demand, the steam from the shower fogging the glass.

I’m about to reach forward to wipe it clean when a single word appears. Run .

My gaze widens. “I…” I swallow, my voice dropping to a whisper. “I should run?”

Run disappears, only for Yes to take its place.

I jump back into the wall, my hand to my chest.

“This can’t be happening.” I’ve officially lost my fucking mind.

Another word appears.

Go.

I shiver, my head beginning to sway back and forth as the glass fogs once more.

To the, follows, causing me to gape at the mirror.

Courtyard is the final word.

“And do what?” I ask the strange figment.

Beg for, the invisible being writes. The ritual .

“Are you the pink-haired man?” I ask warily. “You’re still here?”

No .

“Then who are you?” I demand, still whispering.

Alice .

I stare. “That’s the name the pink-haired guy gave.” Which makes me instantly suspicious.

I’m.

An.

Omega.

The sequence of letters leaves me breathless.

“You’re an invisible Omega?” I whisper. “How…?”

Free us is all the figment writes back. Then two lines appear under those words, punctuating them.

“By demanding the ritual,” I say.

Yes .

“You want me to be hunted by the Alphas.”

Yes .

“What if…?” I can’t finish the question. There are too many unknowns. What if the wrong Alpha takes me? What if they force me to breed? What if my mate-circle doesn’t reach me in time?

The figment is already drawing again.

Don’t.

Submit.

Until.

The.

Right.

Circle.

Finds.

You.

That sounds ominous.

Yet I understand, thanks to my Alphas explaining some of the process.

Only, I’m not sure how to demand the ritual. “Do I just… beg to be mated?” I ask, swallowing thickly.

Yes.

In the.

Courtyard.

“And that’s how the hunt begins?”

No , the figment returns. Growls.

“Growls?” I repeat. “Alpha… growls?”

Yes .

I’m not sure what that means exactly, but I suspect I’m going to find out. Assuming any of this works. And that I haven’t completely lost my mind.

But it’s Monsterland.

Embrace the madness, I think. Experience the mayhem.

I huff a laugh. “I’ve gone absolutely mad.”

Good , the figment replies. You’re ready.

I gape at the mirror. “Okay…”

I shake my head and step into the shower.

I’ll clean up, don the dress, and pretend to be the obedient little Omega Baroness Clarice expects me to be.

Then I’ll run the moment I find the courtyard. If I see it, anyway.

After that… I’ll beg .