{A Fantasy Romance retelling of Alice in Wonderland}
In order to survive, a pirate and a thief must clear their names by traveling into a magical dream world together.
Adah Prideaux, seamstress by day, petty thief by night, finds herself in a world...
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Over the next few hours, Ezra tried to clear his mind as best he could. Talking with members of the Gilded Army, lunching with Florence to discuss her thoughts on the battles to come, pouring over maps, sharping his sword until it could slice through mud. Yet, thoughts of Adah's soft breath on his face and the feel of her body wouldn't leave him alone.
He had to get this woman off his mind.
Their relationship was nothing but a farce put on for the people of this land, and right now, he had more important things to focus on. Like defeating a land army assault and positioning Adah so she could slay a dragon.
Ezra tossed the whetstone he'd been using to sharpen his rapier in the sand and headed back up the beach.
Only then would their fake love affair be over and they could go home. Life would return to normal. Or as normal as it has ever been. Florence had explained that with the dragon's heart, Arielle could be freed from her prison, and the island of Belint would have the Goddess of War's protection from the Trenali invaders. Ezra could return to his crew on the Dragon's Bane, and Florence could go on to rule the kingdom.
As for Adah? Well, she could run away with Reynald to Ste. Marle for all he cared. He kicked black beach sand in frustration. The thought of Adah leaving Belint with Reynald made him want to stab something until his arm gave out.
He was angry about everything and didn't quite understand why.
So, as it was, when he entered Florence's tent, Ezra was irritated to find a very unexpected visitor staring into the center pit fire. Even with his back turned, Ezra would've known that tall, wiry frame and ridiculous bowler hat anywhere.
"You," Ezra growled out.
Mercado Commesa, the infamous Dream Healer of Belint, didn't so much as turn around. He just stood beside the pit fire, hands clasped behind his back.
"Nice of you to show up."
The golden rings on Mercado's fingers glinted in the low light, and Ezra spied copious amounts of rose gold glitter dusting the shoulders of his black tailcoat.
"It is nice, isn't it?" Mercado said in his curious voice. "Now, join me by the flames."
There was a moment of hesitation before Ezra muttered a silent curse then stormed toward the fire. One hand clutching the hilt of his sword.
"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you where you stand."
Mercado's attention shifted from the fire to Ezra. His strange gray eyes studying him with mild curiosity.
"Say something," Ezra demanded.
Big gray eyes narrowed. "You look different," the dream healer announced.
A nerve in Ezra's eye twitched. He leaned in closer and dropped his voice to a dangerous rasp.
"You shove me through a dream portal with no instructions on how to survive or what to expect, only to return days later announcing that I look different?"
