The Wonderland mayor had to die. That much was clear.
I released the arrow, holding my breath. The second it hit the target, I released it. Two inches from the left.
Dammit.
The sun nearly touched the horizon. I was losing light. Reaching behind me, I decided I could afford another round. I might have to strike in the dark and I needed to practice.
Except…I had no arrows in my sack.
I heaved a sigh — more dramatic than I would have if anyone was around me — and trudged over to the target.
“You almost had that one.”
I jumped, my shoulders shooting to my ears, and I misstepped on my way over to the thick tree trunk.
I thought I was alone. What was he doing here?
I cleared my throat, trying not to stare. Robin Hood had a bit of a reputation, ever since he and his group broke through the NeverGlass that divided Wonderland and the neighboring Fae kingdom. Technically, he had help from the Fae heir, Rumpelstiltskin, but ever since the Imp had revealed the truth about the Mad Mage, his relationship to the former mayor, the Red Queen, and their secret child, Alice, he hadn’t been seen in Wonderland or in the Never Realm.
And he was the Fae heir.
Granted, everyone knew he and Alice had developed some kind of relationship — and she hadn’t been seen around much either — but the fact that Rumpelstiltskin had rejected his inheritance in favor of consorting with her…
It was unheard of.
And Robin?
He was Public Enemy Number 1. Thanks to the removal of the Red Queen and implementing Pan as mayor, everything had changed. And Pan wanted revenge for doing something everyone thought was impossible — breaking the barrier that separated the realms.
“You seem surprised to see me,” he pointed out, swaggering up to me.
I turned my attention to the arrow and wrapped my fingers around the thin wood. I couldn’t stare — wouldn’t. He was my friend. That was it. Just my friend.
Plus, he was a dangerous distraction, one I couldn’t afford to indulge. I had to find my two brothers. They had disappeared over a year ago, and even though everyone had written them off as hopeless, as gone, as probably dead, I clung onto the hope that they were out there…especially since the bodies had never been found.
“I thought you’d be in Wonderland, stealing from the Charmings or otherwise being a nuisance,” I said, yanking the arrow out of the trunk. But I yanked too hard and stumbled back.
I closed my eyes, trying to calm down the erratic beating of my heart, hoping the dusk was prevalent enough to mark the blush crawling onto my face.
“Oh, I was taking a walk around town,” he said. “Maryanne has that job for the city, remember? She has direct access to Pan, and I met up with her to get a lay of the land.”
Pressing my lips together, I whirled around and forced a smile. I ignored the way my chest tightened at the mention of Maryanne because it wasn’t fair of me to feel this way when she was the nicest person I had ever met. When I found Robin and his group, Maryanne was the person who took me in. She was my age, and yet, she felt like a maternal figure to me. I trusted her in a way I couldn’t trust even my own parents.
“Oh,” I said with a nod. I pulled out another arrow and stuck it in my pack. “Did all go well?”
“As well as it could,” he said. “I’m hearing some interesting rumors. Picked it up from some employees sneaking a cigarette.”
“What sort of rumors?” I asked. I took another arrow and then another.
“Apparently, Pan is looking for a bride,” Robin said. I didn’t have to look at him in order to know he had a cheeky grin on his face, the one that caused caramel to drip down my stomach and to fill it with a warmth that reached to the top of my head all the way to the tips of my toes. “And there’s going to be a lottery.”
I furrowed my brows, turning from the target to try to read his careless demeanor. “What are you talking about?” I asked. “Why would the Fae prince do a lottery for a bride?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “Perhaps to endear the citizens of Wonderland to him? He is the Imp’s younger brother, after all. And the magic-touched and the Fae have never gotten along.”
“How could he possibly think anyone would want him?” I asked. I couldn’t stop the bitterness from leaking into my tone.
“I hear the man is decent looking,” Robin said, “incredibly wealthy, and he’s a prince. Those things seem to attract women —“
“Desperate women,” I muttered. This time when I grabbed an arrow, it snapped in my hands.
“Women nonetheless.”
Hands touched my shoulders, and I jumped again. The woodsy cinnamon scent Robin carried so naturally invaded my senses, and for a brief moment, I closed my eyes and breathed him in. The warmth from his hands shot straight to my gut, and I willed everything in my body to freeze, to remain perfectly still, because the last thing I wanted was to break this moment.
“Draw your arrow,” he commanded in a gentle, husky voice. There was no way he did that on purpose, no way he knew what his voice did to me. He didn’t think about me like that. “You know, not everyone is like you. They don’t have a vendetta against the prince the same way you do.”
I clenched my teeth, pulling an arrow and nocking it to the string.
“Pull back just so.”
I did, and he tapped the bottom of my elbow.
“Lift up a little more…” He turned to look at me, and I realized just how close he was. “But think about the opportunity winning the lottery would get us, hmm? She wanted to put her name in it in hopes it won’t lead to a body count.” He rolled his eyes good-naturedly.
“Wait,” I said, turning my face towards him.
He grabbed my elbow. “Ah!” He clicked his tongue against the back of his teeth. “Focus.”
I loosed another breath and tilted my head. My eyes narrowed at the target. Slowly, I inhaled. I didn’t just want to fill my lungs, but my entire chest all the way to my stomach. It helped slow my heartbeat and focus on what I was doing.
“When you’re ready…” His voice was exceptionally low. “Release.”
So, I did. I wouldn’t have even looked at my target if I knew Robin was right next to me. I trusted every word that came out of his mouth, and I knew that wasn’t exactly the smartest thing to do, but I couldn’t help it.
Thwack.
I practically jump. The arrow hit the target exactly.
“See? You’re a natural. Don’t doubt yourself.”
He clapped my shoulder the same way he did to Little John or Alexander or Viggo or anyone else in his group. Like I was one of them. One of the guys. I didn’t think I had ever seen him clap Maryanne on the shoulder that way. Every time I saw the two of them interact, Robin was careful not to touch her. And when he did, it was always with complete reverence, like he was stepping into a church, and he wanted to worship her.
Which meant I was invisible to him in that way.
Great.
“You’re right,” I said, forcing another smile. I moved to collect that arrow; at least it gave me something to do, and would take me away from him. It was always much harder than I expected to be around him, which was stupid, considering I was around him a lot.
“What about you?” he asked.
I frowned at the target before pulling it out. “What about me?”
“Would you put your name in the lottery?” he asked, leaning against the bench that made up the camp he set up. Little John crafted it after a bad storm and a tree in the Blood Forest toppled over.
“M-me?” Smooth, Wendy. I cleared my throat. “Absolutely not.”
“Why not?” It annoyed me that his eyes had that mischievous sparkle that always melted my heart. Anytime he asked me something with that look in his eyes, I couldn’t refuse. “You’re a girl. Decent looking.”
I threw a wood chip at him after picking it off the ground.
It didn’t hit him. It didn’t even come close.
“You could be one of the hens pecking at Pan for his attention,” he said. “Why not try it?”
I glared at him. He knew why. I bristled, trying to contain my frustration. I didn’t want to have to explain that I hated Pan because I thought he was responsible for my brothers’ disappearance and there was no way I could fake simpering over him, not even for Robin.
“It might get you that information you’re looking for,” he pointed out.
I slung the arrow in my pouch before sliding my arm through the bow like it was the strap of a purse. I turned to look at Robin, ready to rip into him for even assuming I could fake being enamored with the Fae Prince.
But then, the full weight of his words sink in.
“Huh?” He wiggled his eyebrows, which I ignored because it was deliriously charming and I didn’t want to get distracted with him being that charming. “You know I’m right. Come on, just think of it. It’s been three years since Michael and James. You know it has to do with the Fae dust, and you know Pan is somehow responsible for it, not Hook.”
Robin slowly approached me, hands in the air. It was like he assumed I was looking for an excuse to go off on him and he was attempting to show me it wasn’t necessary. I dropped the edges I had brought to life, but it did little for the rest of my body. Muscles were still taut, even as a cool breeze tickled the back of my neck. I doubted the wind was trying to soothe me. If anything, it was trying to remind me it was March, and with March came spring. Most people considered the new year as a time to start over but for me, it had always been spring.
“Maybe I could try to talk to Hook,” I said. “See what he says —“
“We’ve already been over this.” Robin patted my shoulder, and I almost slapped his hand away for how condescending he was being. “You’ve written him nine letters, all of which went unanswered. What makes you think he’s going to change his mind now?”
“Besides the fact that there’s a new mayor?” I asked. “Even if he didn't do anything, he knows something. The police arrested him for a reason.”
“Oh, come on, Wendy,” Robin said. “After everything you’ve witnessed in this town, including the release of Beast, who everyone thought murdered Anna Skaarsgard, you really think that everything is the way they say it is? The Red Queen was mayor, the same Red Queen who took away our magic to protect us. But from what? All it did was leave us with no means to protect ourselves. And it turned out, she was more corrupt than anyone here. And we still haven’t gotten our magic back, and we probably won’t. Want to know why? Because Pan is just as corrupt, if not more so.”
“Then why put my name in the lottery in the first place?” I asked. I leaned back against the bench, the wood pushing into my back.
Robin huffed a breath and stomped over to me. “You’re not trying to marry the guy, Wendy,” he said as though this was obvious. “In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if this was an excuse to get more of his kind over here. But if you could get in, you could kill him.”
I froze.
“Me?”
That was ridiculous.
I wasn’t a killer. There was no way I could do something like that. I didn’t know how. And even if I did, could I?
“You,” Robin said. He leaned towards me, and my eyes inadvertently dropped to his lips. I knew he wasn’t going to kiss me. I was okay with that. But I still couldn’t help but wonder what it would feel like if he did. “You might be the only chance of getting rid of him. And if he’s gone, their entire monarchy is dismantled.”
I shook my head. “The Imp —“
“Wants nothing to do with it now that he has Alice,” he quickly pointed out. “And the sister has been lost for a while now. No one knows where she is. And in Wonderland, there’s no such thing as inheriting the mayoral race. One has to be elected.”
I made a face. “Pan forcibly removed the Red Queen and took over,” I said. “No one has any choice but to accept him. That wasn’t an election.” I held up a finger. “Technically speaking, he’s set a precedent. If someone does the same thing to him, it should be allowed.”
“And why can’t that person be you?” Robin asked.
I glanced away, squeezing my arm to my side to add pressure to my bow without damaging it. “Don’t kid, Robin,” I said. “I know what I’m good at and what I’m not. I’ve never killed anyone before. I’m not sure if I could.”
“Even if he deserved it?” He arched a brow.
I looked away, towards the trees. I watched them sway in the breeze. A chill crept down my spine, though I wasn’t sure if that was the weather or something else. “I don’t know,” I repeated.
“What if he was responsible for your brothers?” he pushed.
“I said, I don’t know.” I didn’t mean to snap. I didn’t like talking about my brothers, even to Robin.
Robin took a step back. I must have given him the impression that I needed space when the truth was, I needed him to pull me, to hug me, to tell me everything would be all right.
That’s not his responsibility.
I knew that too, but I wanted it nonetheless. My parents believed that we wouldn’t find my brothers at all. It was why they had divorced and I decided to move out on my own. And they didn’t even try to stop me. I didn’t understand how they were so accepting of the fact that they could lose all of their children in just a matter of weeks. But maybe that was how they chose to cope. Maybe I was just a reminder of the two that were lost to them.
“Just think about it,” Robin said, his voice raspy but gentle. “You don’t have to make any decisions right now. Just…just don’t reject the idea outright either.”
I wished he understood that I wasn’t going to change my mind on this. But I couldn’t seem to open my mouth and tell him no myself. I would let him believe it, but all the while, I knew I would never be able to kill Pan, let alone pretend to be in love with him.