Chapter Four

 

 

“This is not the meeting,” Jaxon said with a sideways smile. “Hatter serves as a decoy.”

“A decoy?” I asked.

“Should the Queen of Hearts send soldiers into Tulgey Wood, they will encounter the Hatter and his frozen tea time. Most don't bother with George.”

“He can try the patience,” Warren said affectionately. “Try and try again, Hatter never gives up.”

“Which patients?” Hatter narrowed his eyes on Warren. “Are you here for a check-up?”

“We need a doctor!” Dormouse exclaimed.

“I am a doctor,” Hatter said airily.

“What's up, Doc?” Hare asked.

I burst into laughter, and the men stared at me in surprise.

“It's a human thing,” I waved off their curiosity. “Where is the real meeting, King Jaxon?”

“In Hatter's house.” Jaxon stood and gallantly helped me out of my seat. “Or beneath it, rather. If you will allow me, Your Majesty?” He held out his arm to me, and I took it. “This way.”

“We'll meet you inside, Your Majesty,” Nick said. “We're going to scout the area, just in case the Queen's men are lurking about.”

“All right,” I agreed.

King Jaxon led me to the tiny cottage behind Hatter's chair, and Hatter watched us go longingly. Right; he was stuck at tea forever. How sad to never be able to enter your own home.

“Take point,” Jaxon said to the soldiers that followed us in.

The men nodded and hurried up a small staircase. Jaxon led me further into the house, and then into the kitchen. He went up to a tall, slim cupboard and opened the door. It had a broom hanging on a peg, but that was all. King Jaxon pushed against the back wall of the cupboard, and it moved inward, revealing a set of stairs. He went in first, then offered me a hand. I climbed in after him, and he shut the cupboard door, then the false panel.

“Sneaky,” I said. “I like it.”

“Oh, we've learned to be very sneaky indeed,” he purred.

There was only one lantern, halfway down the stairs, burning a low flame, and the stairwell was narrow, putting us in close quarters. Jaxon's stare roamed my face, but then he held his arm up between us, and I laid my palm on it. He smiled as he led me downstairs, but it looked a little self-conscious.

The stairs curved and then let us out into a rectangular room full of soldiers. They were already armed with assorted weapons, their stares set on the stairwell and our approaching footsteps, but when they saw King Jaxon, they relaxed and bowed. Jaxon nodded to them and led me through the room, to a door on the other side. I noted the insignias on the chests of the soldiers: playing card outlines with red diamonds and black clubs.

We entered a sitting room. Two cozy chairs were placed before a small fire, and behind the empty seats, two men sat at a table with the remnants of a meal between them. They looked up at our entrance.

One was more beautiful than handsome, with heavy-lidded bedroom eyes in the deepest shade of green, and sensual lips. His hair was dirty blond and disheveled in a sexy way, as if he'd just gotten out of bed... and he hadn't been there alone. He wasn't as large or as muscular as Jaxon, but there was an air of authority about him that screamed “king,” and he looked like he could fight for his crown if he had to.

The other man looked harder, but only because he was more aggressively masculine than his companion. Shoulder-length, dark-brown hair was pulled back from his face and tied with leather at the nape of his neck. The firelight turned the strands of his hair auburn, but I wasn't sure if that was truly its color. His eyes, though, those were definitely dark, nearly black, but there was a kindness in them that, when paired with the rest of his competent looks, made me want to trust him immediately.

Both men stood.

“Queen Alice,” Jaxon said, “these are Their Majesties, King Draven of Diamonds”–he indicated the blond first and then waved to the brunette–“and King Bevan of Clubs. Men, here is our long lost queen.”

“Queen Alice,” King Draven snatched my hand and kissed it lingeringly. “It's an honor and a pleasure to meet you at last. We've all waited a very long time for you.”

“Lay off her, Draven,” King Bevan growled as he came around the table to shake my hand. “I am most relieved to have you with us, Your Majesty. We have been waiting, some of us more patiently than others, for this day to arrive.”

“Twenty-two years, if I'm not mistaken,” I said.

The men blinked at me.

“Queen Alice,” Draven said, “we have been in hiding for over forty years.”

“Forty?” I looked them over. “You all look as young as I am.”

“Time lives in Wonderland,” King Bevan explained. “Because of this, he has more power here, and as an incentive for the rest of us to allow him to wield his power, he stops the residents of Wonderland from aging, once we reach an acceptable maturity.”

“But, my uncle,” I whispered.

“Duke Theodore sacrificed a lot to see you safe, Your Majesty,” King Jaxon said softly. “And he will be remembered for it.”

“He died for me?” I asked as tears filled my eyes. “I just buried him today, and you're telling me that he died instead of bringing me back here.”

“He wanted you to be as prepared as possible.” Bevan gave me a sympathetic look. “If he didn't try to return with you sooner, he must not have felt that you were ready.”

“Which brings to mind the question of if you are, in fact, ready.” Draven frowned. “What sort of magic do you possess, Queen Alice?”

“She hasn't come into her power yet,” Jaxon answered for me.

“You haven't what?” The King of Diamonds shouted.

“Calm yourself,” Jaxon snapped. “She has been in the human world. She probably needs some time to connect with Wonderland.”

“You'll be fine.” The King of Clubs smiled supportively. “Your mother was one of the strongest women I've ever met; there isn't a mome rath's chance in the sea that you were born without the Wilds in you.”

“We should take her to see the Caterpillar,” Draven said.

“That hookah smoking hypocrite,” Jaxon growled.

The other two men just stared at Jaxon.

“Fine,” King Jaxon huffed. “But we need to take her further into the Underland then.”

“The Underland?” I asked.

“It's a hidden community beneath Wonderland, where we've been regrouping our forces and hiding the refugees.”

“Refugees?”

“The Queen of Hearts didn't just betray the other kingdoms when she took Wonderland,” Jaxon explained. “She betrayed her own magic, turning love into a weapon. Spaders are meant to be the warriors of Wonderland.”

“And the Order of the Cheshire,” Nick said as he came into the room. “We are warriors as well.”

“My apologies,” Jaxon nodded to Nick. “The Order of the Cheshire is in a class of its own.”

I lifted a brow at Nick as he nodded to Jaxon.

“We were the protectors of the Royal Wilds,” Nick said proudly. “Shapeshifters and soldiers. But I am the last of the Cheshires.”

“What?” I whispered.

“The rest of my order died in defense of our king.” Nick held his chin high, but his eyes glistened. “I was charged by His Majesty to see you and the Duke to safety, or I too would be dead.”

“Thank you for saving my life, Nick,” I said softly.

He blinked in shock, then gave me a brilliant smile. “It was the greatest honor of my life, Your Majesty. And I hope to continue to guard you, now that you have returned to us.”

“I can think of no one I'd rather have guarding my back,” I said immediately.

Nick, the last Cheshire Cat of the House of Wilds, beamed at me.

“Now, what were you about to say, King Jaxon?” I looked to the King of Spades. “About the Spades being the warriors?”

“My House handled any military matter in Wonderland,” Jaxon said. “The House of Diamonds looked after our wealth, the House of Clubs healed our sick and crafted our potions, and the House of Hearts was meant to bring love into our world. Queen Rina turned the magic into something it wasn't meant to be, and that has poisoned it and her. She has gone even madder than poor George, and she inflicts her insanity upon the people of Wonderland.”

“Thus, the refugees.” Bevan waved his hands out. “We dug a network of tunnels and hidden homes beneath the earth, like this one. The tunnels have never been discovered, and Underland is the only place in all of Wonderland that is safe from the Queen of Hearts.”

“Sounds good.” I sighed. “Honestly, I just want a place to lay my head down for a few hours.”

“I'm sure that we can help you with that,” King Draven smiled wickedly.

“Shut up, Draven,” the other kings said in unison.