The confusion in her gaze was more than obvious, but her touch was gentle, almost tender. “But we’re not there anymore, and we’re both fine. So whatever that was, it’s over now.”
He wasn’t so sure of that. “It’s bothersome that I feel like I should have figured this out by now. Nothing makes sense, and yet for some reason I keep feeling like the answer is literally in here.” He tapped his head. “I just can’t seem to recognize it.”
“Do you think it’s Chrysalis?” she asked and when he frowned, she rushed on to say, “the attacks, all those sinkholes all around, Pillar, the drink… doesn’t it all seem somehow—”
“Connected?” he supplied for her and nodded. “Yes. But who is Chrysalis really? Besides being the daughter of the Hatter and Alice, what can she do? Does she really have this kind of power? I was led to believe when I took this assignment that she was mindless, incapable of reason, just a mindless killer.”
“No one really knows what she is, but I don’t believe she’s mindless.” She shrugged. “I’ve seen her. We’ve all seen her, here and there, like a phantom in the night. The moonlight seems to be when she’s most active, strongest.”
“How long have you seen her?”
By Danika’s reckoning, Chrysalis had only just escaped, but something about the way Lissa worded that made him sense otherwise.
“For years she’s roamed these forests.”
His lips turned down. “You mentioned that earlier, but it still doesn’t make sense to me. She’s been locked away in Hatter’s gardens. She escaped only just a few nights past.”
“No.” She shook her head vehemently. “I’m telling you she’s been misting through these woods since she was but a little girl.”
“But surely Danika would know that?” His voice grew thick with annoyance.
She jerked as if slapped. “It is the truth.”
Pinching the bridge of his nose, he muttered, “I’m sorry, I’m just irritated. Something about all of this feels wrong. And now I’ve lost the only weapon Danika gave me to contain her. I am not sure whether to continue searching for her or to turn back. I’m frustrated with myself mainly. But not with you and I’m sorry if I’m making you feel that way.”
Suddenly fidgety, Lissa nibbled on a corner of her lip and glanced down between them.
“What’s the matter?” He tipped her chin up.
“I wasn’t sure whether to tell you this or not, but if it could help, then…” she sighed, “I’ve noticed something strange these past few days. Something that at first felt very random and not of much importance, until I saw it again, just today.”
“What?”
She shook her head. “A scrap of blue fabric.” Snorting, she rolled her eyes. “I know that might not sound like much, but she’s always wearing that same blue dress and the color was very similar. I didn’t think much of it when I first saw it because she’s not the only one to wear dresses, but the scraps almost seem to be placed in a way that I should notice it.”
“When was the first time you saw it?” His voice grew thick with curiosity, because this could definitely be a link.
“The morning you woke up surrounded by sink holes.” She looked at him pointedly. “At first I thought nothing of the little fluttery threads, but then I saw it again and again. And just before I passed out, I saw something that could maybe be another scrap, just there in those trees.” She pointed beyond his shoulder.
He turned to look.
“No, it’s not there anymore. I already know. It’s the first thing I looked for when I awoke.”
Eyes narrowing, Aeric turned back to her. “Are you sure?”
“Not a hundred percent, but I’m pretty positive.” She nibbled on the corner of her lip looking flustered and unsure.
“What are you saying, Lissa? Is she following us? Can you smell her?”
“Smell her?” she chuckled softly, “I told you, I’m not really a cat. I have excellent night vision, but I can’t smell any better than you, I’d imagine. But it’s possible that she is. Do you think it’s a coincidence that I saw threads on the morning of the sinkholes? Call me superstitious, but each time I see one, something terrible seems to happen immediately afterward.”
“But if it is Chrysalis, why would she be leaving such an obvious clue that she’s tracking us?”
“I think she wants to scare us off. Show us that she knows exactly where we’re at.” Lissa clung tighter to him. “Do you think something is going to happen tonight?” she whispered.
“With what’s been happening so far, I could believe it. Are you feeling okay to walk?”
“Yes, why?”
“Maybe now that you’re awake, we should leave. If those scraps of clothing do herald some form of disaster, I’ve no desire to hang around and see.”
“But if it does, and those belong to Chrysalis, than isn’t our best chance at capturing her by waiting here?”