Jack wrinkles his nose as if the sight of the fruit disgusts him. Hook looks away, appearing equally nauseated. I slowly walk by their cells, each click of my boots as daunting as the next. But behind their disgust they try to hide their watering mouths—Hook especially since it’s been months since he’s seen a decent meal.
“What? Were you expecting a gourmet dinner?” I ask, feigning surprise in their reactions. “You ought to be grateful. If you saw what the chef had planned for you, you’d be begging me for a bite.”
Hook props an arm up on the bars and rests his forehead against it. “Let me guess: It’s poisonous, right?”
“You have some nerve,” Jack says, fury evident in his clenched jaw.
“Suit yourself,” I say, shrugging. Closing my eyes, I bite into the fruit dramatically and chew with pleasure. As expected, when I open my eyes both boys are watching me intensely.
“So, what is it you want from us, Katt?” Hook says, his single functioning eye fixated on the piece of fruit in my hand.
“From you, sweetheart, I don’t need a single thing,” I say.
I step toward Jack’s cell, take another intentional bite of the piece of fruit, and watch Jack swallow hard.
“But you—you might be of some use,” I say. “Open his cage and restrain him.” I gesture to the Haploraffen outside Jack’s cell. It does as I ask. Jack tries to resist, but the winged creature is too strong.
Entering the cell, I hold out the apple.
Jack’s eyes grow wide as he struggles in the Haploraffen’s hold.
“Tsk, tsk,” I chide. “You know that fighting will only make it worse for you. Be a good little Lost Kid and sit still. I mean … former Lost Kid.” Jack scowls, rage seething in his gaze.
Smiling slyly, I tilt my head. “Aww, have I hurt your precious feelings?”
Running my clawed finger up his neck, I give his chin a slight push, exposing the scarred skull and crossbones burned just behind his ear: the mark of the Marauders. “Seems to me that a boy who’s pledged his allegiance to so many has very little room to be offended.”
“Everything I’ve done has only been to set things right. To do what my father would’ve done. I joined the Marauders to keep an eye on my lying stepbrother,” he says, glaring at Hook. “I became a Lost Kid only to assist the survivors of the Bloodred Queen’s destruction on England.”
“And what about handing over the Lost Kids to your brother?” I say.
His jaw twitches. “All Hook wanted was Gwen. I stayed true to my father’s legacy. Save as many as possible. So I sacrificed one for security of the rest. It never was supposed to end in Everland like it did,” he says.
Amused, I laugh at his sense of gallantry. “Sacrifice one for the greater good of the whole. How noble of you.”
“Oh, boo-hoo,” Hook says, contempt evident in his tone. “You’re a buffoon to have believed I’d let any of them go. I needed Gwen. She was the one girl who held the secret to the cure, and those Lost Kids were the bait I needed to bring her to me.”
“Yeah, and how did that turn out for you?” Jack asks, gesturing toward Hook’s artificial limb, but I see the quick flash of guilt that crosses his face.
“Enough!” I shout. “Jack, you and I are about to become really close friends. In fact, I’d say we are as close as … family.”
“We are not family, nor will we ever be,” Jack says, his voice seething. “I demand to see my stepmother.”
Leaning into him, I grin and consider his striking eyes. “Be careful, Jack,” I whisper close to his ear. “You have no idea who you’re dealing with.”
His blood is royalty, his skull and crossbones scar is pirate, and his orphaned heart is that of a Lost Kid. Seems only fitting I leave my own mark on him. My claws slice through the soft flesh of his cheek like a sharp knife in bread pudding. Blood stains my fingertips and drips down my hand.
Jack howls for a moment before turning his furious gaze my way.
“So, tell me, Jack, what secrets do you know?” I ask.
He peers at me with confusion.
“What was it you said? Oh, yes, I remember. Something about hidden passages and secret doors,” I remind him.
Hook grips the bars. His metal prosthetic hand clatters loudly. “Don’t tell her anything, Jack! Nothing at all. She’s as heartless as the Bloodred Queen,” he says.
Jack’s gaze darts toward his brother. “Secrets? I don’t know what you’re talking about,” he says, returning his gaze to me.
My spiked fingernails sink deeper into his flesh. Again, he screams until I release the pressure.
“I grew up in that castle. There are secrets no one else knows. Hidden corridors. I know every passage, hall, secret doorway in that castle. If you ever want to take down the Bloodred Queen, you need me,” I say, mimicking his earlier conversation in the forest. “I want to know about these secret passageways.”
“Don’t do it,” Hook warns him.
“Why should I tell you anything?” Jack asks.
Shrewdly, I circle him. “I’m your next queen.” I give him a slight shove, but in the clutches of the Haploraffen, he barely wavers. Stepping through the steel-barred doorway, I stop between his and Hook’s cells.
A Haploraffen offers me a handkerchief. Pacing, I wipe the blood from my hands, careful to clean beneath each claw. “Here’s the deal, Jack: We both want the same thing. Neither of us is particularly fond of the Bloodred Queen. I mean, look what she’s done to my country. Turned it into ash with absolutely no remorse. There’s nothing left of my home because of her.
“You, on the other hand, are the rightful king of Germany, and she’s snatched your crown. That must sting just a little, doesn’t it?” I say.
Hook groans. “I don’t like where this is going. Jack, don’t listen to her.”
Laughing, I scrape my claws across Hook’s cell bars, sending a shriek throughout the prison. Hook clamps his hands over his ears. Jack growls, unable to cover his own.
“Let’s see, Hook: How many times have you either threatened or attempted to kill your younger brother?” I say. Tapping each finger, I feign counting out his transgressions before throwing my hands up in the air.
“Well, it doesn’t really matter, does it?” I turn to Jack. “Clearly, he doesn’t have your best interests in mind. He never has, has he? Last I heard, he shoved a poison apple into your mouth. He wanted you dead, Jack. Why? Because he knew his mother was on the brink of dying, and he wanted the crown. With you out of the way, he’d be next to take the throne.”
“That’s not true,” Hook says, desperation lacing his voice. “I was trying to save you!”
“Save me?” Jack asks incredulously. “You tried to kill me! You poisoned me and left me for dead. If it wasn’t for Duchess Alyssa or Maddox, I’d be a maggot’s feast right now.”
Hook shakes his head. “It’s not what you think. Do you know what my mother’s plans were for you? After we returned with the apple, she intended to send you to the gallows. She knew how deadly the Labyrinth was and by sending us both, she doubled her odds for one of us making it back with that apple. But ultimately, her intention for you was to see your head roll.”
“And so rather than share the praise and glory of retrieving this elusive fruit, he tried to murder you so the Bloodred Queen would reward him,” I point out.
“Reward me?” Hook says. “How is three months in a prison cell a reward?”
Gullible, I think as my eyes fall on Jack.
“Here’s what I propose, Jack,” I say, strutting toward him. “We both want the Bloodred Queen dead. I want back what was mine, but there is nothing left for me to rule in England. Your stepmother has made sure of that. So that leaves this lovely castle and all who fall under its authority.”
“So, what’s stopping you from taking it by force?” Hook mutters. “Seems like you’ve managed at least to get into my mother’s good graces to be here to begin with.”
“And there’s where the problem lies,
” I say. “While I could hypothetically murder the Bloodred Queen myself and claim the throne as my own, I’m not so sure the people of Germany would take kindly to a young British girl commandeering the monarchy.”
“That’s the first thing you’ve said that makes any sense,” Jack says hostilely.
“Picture this,” I say, ignoring his jab. “The one blood-related kin to King Osbourne, his only son, finally pulls up his big boy trousers and demands the throne. Think about it. After losing their beloved king and years of living under the tyranny of the Bloodred Queen, the rightful heir to the crown demands … no, he fights to take his authority back in memory of the good King Osbourne.”
“Trust me, Princess, I plan to do that regardless,” Jack says.
“That’s going to be a bit tough for you while you’re rotting away in a cell,” I say.
“Who’s to say we don’t have a secret escape from these cells?” Hook asks.
“Because you would’ve already fled,” I say, rolling my eyes.
Jack eyes me, mistrust evident in his glare. “And how do you fit in on all this? As you’ve already pointed out, no one will allow you to take the crown.”
“It’s simple, really,” I say. “The only way to any crown for me, especially into German royalty, is through marriage.”
Hook bursts into laughter. “You want Jack to marry you? That’s the most absurd idea I’ve ever heard.”
Turning his gaze to the ground, Jack says nothing. He is thoughtful and unmoved by either my proposal or Hook’s amusement in it.
Incredulous, Hook huffs. “You’ve got to be kidding me. You’re not seriously considering her offer?”
Finally, after another few quiet moments, Jack returns his attention to me. “If I do, you’ll release the other captives from Evergreen unharmed.”
I press a hand against my chest. “It’s not up to me whether they can be released. Only the ruling monarch can make that choice. Right now, that’s the Bloodred Queen. But that could change.”
I know my next words will gut him through and through, so I take my time. My fingers graze the gold circlet around my head. Drawing a breath, I rein in the power of the crown. It buzzes quietly, but its heat circles my brow. “Kommandt,” I call out. Within moments, the head of the Haploraffen appears at the corridor’s entrance.
“You called, mistress?” Kommandt says with a bow, its voice and movements both mechanical.
“Have you sent your troops to the Emerald Isle to locate Osbourne?” I ask.
Jack’s face pales.
“Indeed. They are on the hunt for him as we speak,” Kommandt says.
“Very good. You know what to do when you find the good King Osbourne?” I ask.
“Yes. Kill him on first sight,” Kommandt says. The leader of the Haploraffen turns.
“No!” Jack struggles in the grip of the Haploraffen soldier.
I hold up a hand and Kommandt stops, waiting for my next instructions.
“How do you know my father’s alive?” Jack asks.
“Let’s just say I overheard some chatter among the leader of Evergreen, a fallen prince, and a few of his former pals. Something about how King Osbourne still lives somewhere on the Emerald Isle. Oh, and I might have heard plans of some takeover of Lohr, but I suppose I spoiled those. Oops!” I say. “My mistake.”
Jack shifts from one foot to the other. “What are your plans for my father and the Lost Kids?” he asks.
“That will depend on your choices,” I say, sidling up to him as close as I can. Peering into his dark eyes, I say as sweet as syrup, “Marry me.”
“And if I don’t agree?” Jack asks.
I turn on the heels of my boots, careful with my reply. “Then everyone you love will burn at the stake, including your father.”
“Ha, she’s about as conniving as you are,” Hook says sarcastically. “You’re practically perfect for each other.”
“Let me get this right,” Jack says, attempting to move, but the Haploraffen grips him tighter. “Will you just get your filthy paws off me?”
The soldier looks to me for my approval.
“Release him,” I say.
Freed, Jack wipes the blood spilling from both his cheeks, where I’ve left wounds that won’t heal without some damage to his lovely face. He may be handsome, but after I’m done with him, the people of this land will view me as a mourning bride as they watch me weep over his cold corpse.
“To be clear, you will spare the life of my father and the Lost Kids. In exchange, I will …” He swallows hard, his eyes never leaving mine. “I will take you as my bride and queen of Germany.”
“Jack, you’re making a deal with the devil,” Hook says, concern evident in his tone. “You know if Katt could kill an entire village of people, you’re eventually going to end up on her list along with anyone else who gets in her way.”
“Shut up!” Jack spits, storming toward Hook’s prison cell. “You just shut your murderous, lying mouth! I’ve had enough of your brotherly advice.”
Hook is taken aback when Jack reaches for him, but he steps out of his grasp in time. His single eye grows wide. “Jack, you do know this isn’t right, regardless of what I or anyone else has done to you. Pledging your loyalty to this girl will only gain you real estate in a graveyard. Nothing else!”
“I don’t take advice from you anymore!” Jack shouts. “I make my own decisions. Not you. Not your mother. Not the leader of the Lost Kids. No one!”
Hook is speechless, his mouth gaping open.
“I did what the Bloodred Queen asked by joining you in the fight for London,” Jack says, beads of sweat brewing on his brow. “I fought for the Lost Kids. I battled the Labyrinth every single day with one eye on the poison apple and one eye on you because I knew you’d stab me in the back the first second I took my attention off you. And even though I saved you more than once in that infernal maze, you left me for dead!”
Hook shakes his head. “Jack, I’m telling you, it is not what you think. I swear I was trying to save you.”
“Save me? How many ways did you plan to see me die? Poison? Suffocation with that blasted apple shoved in my throat? By fire? Or what about when the walls burned down, huh? I’d already fought that Bandersnatch once. Did you plan to leave my body there to be a midday snack?” Jack’s knuckles bulge as he balls his fists.
“No. I … I hoped the apple would do the same to you as it did to your father,” Hook says weakly. “I hoped that you’d go into a deep sleep and eventually someone would find you, which is exactly what happened. My plan worked!”
“You had no idea that Duchess Alyssa would find me,” he says.
“If the Zwergs we fought were within the Labyrinth, surely other people were there. It was risky but—” Hook is cut off.
“Risky?” Jack guffaws. “Risky? What if no one ever came? What about that?”
“But they did!” Hook says. “I saw people in the garden as I escaped.”
“As you left me for dead!” Jack says, clenching Hook’s bars. “And my father, you knew he was still alive? You knew the apple didn’t kill him?”
Hook bites his lip. Letting out a sigh, he sits on the ground, pulls his knees up to his chest, and wraps his arms around them.
“The day my mother ordered the execution of your father—” Again, Hook is cut short.
“You mean the murder of my father,” Jack growls.
Hook hesitates before he nods. “The murder of your father. We were playing hide-and-seek, you and me. You were the seeker. I found an empty trunk inside the apothecarists’ lab.” Hook’s single eye shimmers. “My mother came in with the apothecarists, ordering that your father be killed, but subtly. She didn’t want anyone to suspect that she was behind his death.”
“Go on,” Jack says, through clenched teeth.
Sighing, Hook continues. “Once my mother left, the woman was distraught over the task my mother placed on her. Instead, she concocted a poisonous tea. One that would mimic death and p
ut its victim in a deep sleep. In highly concentrated forms it can kill; however, a small dose knocks its victims unconscious, slows their breathing until it’s unnoticeable, diminishes their heart rate.” Hook pauses. “She saved your father, ensuring the king could come back one day.”
“You knew all this, and you never told me?” Jack asks, disgusted. “We were best friends. Brothers! How could you keep this from me?”
“If I told you, you’d have insisted on getting your father back,” Hook says matter-of-factly.
“Of course I would!” Jack bursts out. “Who wouldn’t rescue not only their father but the king of Germany?”
“You couldn’t know. If you did, we’d both be dead,” Hooks says.
Silence hangs heavy in the air. Jack pushes hard on the cell bars before spinning and pacing the prison hall. Finally, he stops.
“You’ve betrayed me too many times. You are no brother of mine,” Jack says before turning to me. “You have a deal under one condition: You find a way, any way, to bring my father back here alive, and you release the Lost Kids.”
This was much easier than I anticipated. Too easy.
I saunter up to Jack and place a hand on his bloodied cheek. “Of course. They’ll all be there for our royal wedding. I couldn’t marry my future husband without his father and friends in attendance. Upon exchanging vows with me, you will be reunited with them.”
“Reunited, yes, but unharmed?” he asks again.
I give Kommandt a quick nod.
“My troops will bring him back unharmed,” the machine says, before it turns and retreats through the dungeon hallway.
Jack peers into my eyes. His expression is hollow, reserved. “We have a deal.”
“You’re making a mistake,” Hook pleads.
Ignoring his stepbrother’s appeals, Jack holds his hand out as if to shake mine in a customary agreement.
Instead, I take his hand and pull him to me, pressing my mouth against his, knowing that his lips will soon enough be as cold and lifeless as the brewing winter months.
Jack pulls back, appearing disgusted by my affections.