{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...
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EVER since she was a child, Adah Prideaux had dreamed the same, terrible dream. One that chased away sleep on the best of nights, and on the worst, made her believe she'd be trapped inside the terror forever.
Perhaps this was the reason she found herself working for Belint's infamous Dream Healer.
Mercado's Dream Shop stood out amongst the colorful spray of fortune telling tents and street performers as the Magic District's premiere supplier of entertainment, and his shows drew tourists to the island in hordes.
"One glass of my magical elixir will lull you into a sleep so deep, you'll feel like you're floating on a cloud! Just like our friend here." The Dream Healer gestured to a man sleeping on a tufted chair beside him.
In a few moments, the snoring man on Mercado's balcony would awake and claim he'd been to a magical dream world where he discovered the source of true happiness. Mercado would take a bow, tipping his bowler hat to the crowd and directing onlookers to his novelty shop.
He never failed to give the people what they wanted—a glimpse of hope in a world that threatened to steal every ounce of happiness.
The tourists were too busy staring at the balcony to notice his network of thieves hard at work.
One more coin purse, Adah told herself, then she'd be on her way. She needed to find a dumb brute with more gold dragons than sense.
Adah pulled an old pocket watch from her satchel and clicked it open. Half-past the first dinner bell. If she didn't hurry, she was going to be so late. Adah traced her thumb over the engraving on the watch's face, thinking of Reynald.
His note was tucked safely inside her satchel. The one she had reread an embarrassing number of times after receiving it this morning.
"On the count of three now, friends!" Mercado shouted from his balcony, flourishing a gold half cape.
"1, 2, 3!" the crowd chanted, and the man's eyes flicked open.
Pushing off the wall, Adah made her way across towards the crowd, searching for her next mark, when a hard knock to the shoulder caused her to lose her footing on the cobblestone walkway and nearly fall onto a couple playing a game of Lover's Luck with a fortune teller.
A hulking man, with hair as pale as moonlight, reached out and snatched her hand before she could stumble into the card table.
"My apologies, miss."
"Hallows," Adah cursed, finding her balance. He was as tall as a plow horse and just as broad. She had to tilt her chin up to meet his eye.
And when she did... sweet mother of the lake, she wished she hadn't. One was the clear green of sea glass, the other a woody hazel. The subtle difference in colors was mesmerizing.
