Page 13 of 3013: Wonderland
Raek blinked. “I’m sorry, what?”
Juliet giggled again, then she explained what had happened as they started walking.
“That is…unexpected.” Raek chuckled. “Whatever happens between them, it’s going to be highly entertaining to watch.Sorry, I got delayed. There was an issue in the casino that needed to be handled.”
She smiled. “Don’t worry. We’ve just been enjoying our walk.”
“I’m glad. I put your bags in your private residence at the sanctuary so they are safe.”
Her smile dimmed a little. “Private residence?”
“It’s actually Charm’s private residence,” Fenris hurried to explain. “It’s a tower with four bedrooms, and since she is the only one living there, she thought you and Melody could stay with her. Are you okay with that?”
“Yes, of course. Thank you.”
The thought of being alone had obviously bothered her, but since she was trying not to show it, Fenris didn’t mention it. “Raek and I live in the next tower over so we are close by.”
“We set Wonderland up differently than the sanctuaries back on Earth,” Raek told her. “Since we have a casino, a club, and several bars on the property, we wanted to make sure the residences were safely sectioned off from the rest of the sanctuary. There are some suites inside the main structure, but those are mostly for staff members who aren’t as concerned about security issues.”
“That makes sense. I can’t wait to see it. Did you base Wonderland on the old story? That used to be my favorite book.”
“We know,” Fenris said softly. “You’ll be safe there. We swear it.”
Her lower lip wobbled a little. “I know we have a lot to talk about, but for today can we just…be? It’s been ages since I’ve been able to take a walk out in the open like this and just enjoy myself.”
“Anything you want, baby girl.” When her eyes shimmered with tears again, Raek cleared his throat. “Tonight we have alittle celebration planned in honor of your arrival. I’m making a feast, which includes several different desserts.”
She smiled brightly. “Sounds wonderful. Do you need help? You know I’m a terrible cook, but I can help with the prep work or cleaning dishes.”
Raek chuckled. “The desserts are finished, and most of the prep is already done. I just have to cook the hot dishes before we’re ready to eat.”
“Magnus, Nico, and Razar will be joining us for dinner with their mate, Brielle. Oh, and guess who else is here? Zenix Li, the head of security here on Evo, is mated to Ayla D’Nye,” Fenris said, mentioning her favorite singer.
“No way!” she gasped. “Ayla D’Nye lives here now?”
Fenris nodded. “She does, and she’s set up a residency here. Some of the other famous people who have come here for the beta testing have been complete assholes, but not Ayla. She’s actually pretty normal, which is weird considering she’s a megastar.”
“I can’t believe I’m going to be having dinner with Ayla D’Nye.”
Fenris laughed at the awe in her voice.
As they reached the path that led directly to the sanctuary, he started to feel a little nervous. They had created Wonderland for Juliet. Even though they’d thought they had lost her, every detail had been done with her in mind. He desperately wanted her to love it as much as they did.
The sanctuary was located on a wide peninsula near Evo’s main resort. The massive resort was a majestic palace made of a silvery stone found on the planetoid that reflected the light and colors around it, which came from the blue tones of the sky and sea. The palace looked elegant, which matched the luxurious accommodations that were found inside the structure.
Wonderland was something completely different.
There were two rows of huge trees with black bark and bold blue leaves lining the wide pathway that led to the sanctuary’s front entrance. While they had wanted the shadowed path to feel slightly creepy and mysterious, they had planted flowers around each tree trunk to add a touch of whimsy.
As they continued down the path, Fenris kept his gaze on Juliet’s face. He saw exactly what he’d been hoping to see in her expression when she finally got her first glimpse of the sanctuary beyond the canopy of trees. It positively thrilled him when she stopped dead in her tracks and reached out to grab hold of their hands.
Wonderland was an enormous castle made of white stone with several towering turrets. The turrets had been built at different heights to break up the uniformity of the structure and each rooftop was a different vibrant color. Instead of clear glass windows, they used illustrations made out of stained-glass to fill each cutout.
The wide balconies had railings that had been made to look like shimmering vines, but real vines covered with exotic flowers had started to grow on the exterior walls of the structure.
Surrounding the main castle were dozens of smaller towers shaped like huge, colorful mushrooms. Those towers were actually the private residences Fenris had told Juliet about. While most of the towers had four bedrooms, some were smaller and only had one or two. Most of the staff members lived inside the private residences, but some had opted to live inside the main castle on the higher floors.
“It’s so beautiful,” Juliet breathed out. “It’s so much more than I imagined.”