“Do not forget our treaty, Queen of Hearts. Should you break your promises, raid our lands, or kill my people, I will burn this palace to the ground along with all those in it. Respect the boundaries bestowed by the treaty, and I promise to do the same. I expect that you will visit Hu-Yuhar in a year’s time to celebrate our happy arrangement. The tribe will be glad to see you.”
Dinah could feel her vision tunneling as pain ricocheted up her arm, but she kept her face without emotion.
“As I will be to see them.” She pushed Mundoo away roughly and raised her hand to dismiss him.
“I wish you safe travels to Hu-Yuhar. Wonderland Palace is grateful for your help in placing me on the throne.”
“You had better keep it,” Mundoo warned. “Do not trust anyone here. You are a good ruler, Dinah, and the queen this land deserves. Don’t let it be taken away from you. And don’t become your father. If that happens . . .” He shook his head and backed away, pulling a single feather from his headdress.
“Remember that day when our words blended together in sweat. Remember the cranes that bore witness. Remember our peace and our people. We are of the same land, brothers and sisters.” He placed the feather in his hand and stretched out his open palm. “Good-bye, Queen of Hearts.”
Dinah took the feather from his hand and turned away from him, letting him see the back that wouldn’t be broken. “I’ll arrange a tea shipment as soon as things settle here.”
She walked him to the very edge of the palace gates, Ki-ershan following behind them. Mundoo gave Dinah’s hand a squeeze as he departed through the broken gates. A whooping cheer rose up from the Yurkei, chilling the blood of every Wonderlander. Dinah turned and climbed the stairs to the turret that overlooked the northern end of the castle. The remaining Yurkei army had their horses already mounted. Dinah raised her hand and her chin to say good-bye, and at Mundoo’s nod, the Yurkei warriors held up their hands in the shape of a crane in return. She felt grateful tears welling in her eyes as she looked down at the people she had grown to love.
Mundoo mounted Keres, his flank striped blue for victory, his flaxen mane adorned with feathers. The chief of the Yurkei tribe gave a slight kick and Keres, massive even from where Dinah was standing, reared up on his hind legs. Mundoo lifted his sword in a gesture of both gratitude and warning to Dinah. With that, Keres turned and began to sprint west, to the Twisted Wood, back toward the hills and the winged stone guardians of Hu-Yuhar. The Yurkei army followed, and soon they were nothing more than a swiftly moving plume of dust, the very vision of speed.
Wonderland proper filled with the sound of thunder as the floor planks beneath Dinah’s feet vibrated. Dozens of Cards peered through the twisted and deformed iron gates, watching the vanishing Yurkei with awe and relief. A few tiny children chased after the Yurkei, running behind the last of their army with makeshift wooden horses held high in the air. Dinah smiled. The adults of Wonderland might never lose their prejudices against the Yurkei, but the next generation would see them as wondrous and mysterious men, especially since roughly twenty Yurkei remained behind in Wonderland to maintain diplomatic relations.
Cheshire suddenly materialized beside her, and they watched silently as the Yurkei disappeared over the horizon. Once they were gone, he cleared his throat. “Your Majesty. If I may have your ear for a moment . . .”
Dinah frowned. “Cheshire, you always are in my ear.”
He gave a soft chuckle, tinged with malice. “You possess such a quick wit, just like your mother.”
“Thank you for the compliment. What is your concern? Do we not have council tonight?”
“We do, but there are some things that require your immediate attention.”
Strange, Dinah thought—she felt oddly uneasy with the Yurkei gone. To the people of Wonderland, their presence was an occupation, a dark threat outside their gates. To Dinah, they had been a reassurance, a protector. She sighed and turned to Cheshire. “Walk with me. I hear the groundskeepers are beginning repairs on the Croquet Lawn. Shall we go see?”
Cheshire bowed. “Nothing would please me more.”
They carefully descended the steep wooden stairs of the turret and began making their way through the outlying business districts.
“Now, tell me what requires my attention most.”
“First, Your Majesty, do you still plan on marrying Wardley in a few months’ time? Though we have given him his due titles, I am still not sure that he is the correct choice to sit on the throne beside you.”
“And why not?”
“He is not of royal blood, for one. His family is of noble birth, but there are much more deserving lords and ladies who have a wealth of sons, all longing to marry the seductive black-eyed queen.”
Dinah stayed silent, her hands sweaty underneath her plum-colored gown.
“Gambling on one of these young men, who would add handsomely to the treasury, might be worth your consideration.”
Dinah grumbled under her breath. Cheshire continued.
“There is also the question of heirs. Should you marry Wardley, would it be a marriage that would produce sons and daughters to take the throne after you? Forgive me for speaking frankly, but if you choose Wardley for your king, am I correct in assuming that it would be a marriage of”— he paused—“friendship?”
Dinah stopped walking as shame overtook her, and her face burned with embarrassment. She whirled on Cheshire. “You step outside your bounds, sir. Wardley will be my king. This was decided in our treaty with the Yurkei. We would not do well to change our plans. Mundoo likes Wardley. He trusts him. And so do I. He must be king.” And he will grow to love me as I desire. He has to.
Cheshire remained silent as they walked, finally arriving at the bright green lawn. Dozens of Cards labored in the waning light, fixing the landscape, polishing the statues, and removing the broken remnants of war. Dinah was proud to see progress made so quickly. Soon, the palace would shine again.
“Please continue with the next order of business, Cheshire.”
He stared at her for a moment before his sly face twisted up in a smile, the newly grown beard on his chin making his face even more catlike than before. “Your Majesty, there is the question of what we should do with the king’s body and head. Shall he be buried in your family tomb inside the palace? Or should we just burn him and throw out the remains with the filth from the day’s chamber pots?” He gave a low chuckle, unnerving Dinah.
They stopped walking to let a few peacocks and flamingos strut past. Dinah recognized Vittiore’s white peacock, Gryphon.
“Do we have his Heartsword?”
“Yes.”
Dinah closed her eyes for a moment. “Build a small stone mount inside of the castle to hold the Heartsword. Have a smith engrave his name upon the sword. His ashes can be sealed inside the stone, but make the stone no higher than waist level. No one will look up to him.”
Cheshire pulled a small scrap of paper from his pocket and scribbled upon it. “I will see to that this evening. As for the monument for your brother . . .”
Dinah turned to face him. “Charles should be in the gardens just outside his window. He should be able to see the stars from where he rests. Hire our best stoneworker to create something that Charles would love. I would like no penny spared for where he is laid, is that understood?”
Dinah blinked back a few tears and continued walking. Cheshire laid a hand on her shoulder. “Do you miss him?”
Dinah swallowed the longing in her throat. “I grieve him now even more than I did the day after his murder.”
“Why?”
“Because I was running for my life, surviving. I didn’t have time to grieve. But now that I am in this palace again, without him, it feels so empty, the wound so fresh. Without Charles, I am lost here.”
She didn’t mention to Cheshire that every night she had taken to wandering through the castle, with Ki-ershan following silently behind, and that she always ended up in the same place—Charles’s empt
y room, staring up at the window that sent him into that dead, still night.
She dropped her voice to a whisper. “I miss him so much.”
Cheshire smiled at her. “It will pass. Your brother was a damaged creature, and perhaps it is better for your rule to be untethered by such needy madness. He was not fit for rule, nor fit to share the blood of the queen.”
Dinah stared up at him, aghast. “My father or not, you may never speak such things again! Charles was my brother, and his death will haunt me until the day I die.” Her eyes cloudy, she stared unwaveringly at the setting sun. “The King of Hearts murdered him to frame me, and the guilt suffocates me from dawn until dusk. Do not presume that my life is easier without him.”
A flush rose on Cheshire’s cheeks as he bowed low before Dinah. “Dinah, my queen, I didn’t mean to offend, I only meant—”
“I know what you meant. Please, let’s just continue on. I am eager to see the process of rebuilding my palace and army.”
They walked and talked together, father and daughter. As the sun dipped in the sky, Dinah could hardly imagine darkness returning.
But come it did, from a most familiar place.
Thirteen
Days later, Dinah awoke in the middle of the night, convinced there was someone in her room. She sat up with a gasp, her hands moving to find the dagger underneath her pillow. She pushed herself up from the bed, her heart pounding wildly. She looked around her dark chambers frantically, the dagger poised to fling. There was no one in the room. Dinah clutched her chest, willing her heart to stop galloping. She was safe. There was no one here. She had been dreaming—something dark and twisted, something she barely remembered.
Dinah’s breathing returned to normal as she watched Ki-ershan’s shadow pacing just outside the door. If Ki-ershan wasn’t leaping into action, then she knew there was no one in the room. Whatever had awakened her so suddenly was gone. Harris’s loud snores echoed through the room, the low barrier between their chambers hardly enough to hold back the sound.
Dinah fell back into her bed with a long exhale of relief, gently tucking the dagger under her pillow. She closed her eyes and attempted to will unconsciousness back, but it wouldn’t come. Sleep did not come easily to her, not even in this same bed, a bed that she had fantasized about when sleeping on the floor of the Twisted Wood. Now it was too soft, too filled with pillows and furs and feather blankets. It was suffocating in its loving embrace.
Dinah lay awake for another hour before she silently crept out of bed and washed her face in the silver basin near her swan-shaped tub. Reaching over the basin, she pulled on a black dressing gown. The inside swath that ran down the center of the garment was sewn with dozens of white and black squares, made to look like a chessboard. Her short hair was tangled and messy, and for a moment Dinah regretted cutting off her long, lovely black braid. She ruffled her hair in the mirror and jumped when she saw two glowing blue eyes reflected behind her.
“Ki-ershan! You scared me.”
He was almost invisible in the darkness. “You are awake, so I must be. Will we be walking the palace again tonight?”
Dinah nodded. “I think so. I’m sorry. You should try to get some sleep.”
He laughed. “I will do no such thing.”
Dinah smiled. “I knew you would say that. I feel bad denying you sleep. Something woke me; I’m not sure what it was.” Her voice faltered. The longer she was awake, the more she was convinced that it wasn’t some thing that had woken her, but rather a feeling, a gnawing, mournful feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was the same feeling she’d had in the nights before she had awakened with a stranger’s hand over her mouth. A secret was passing through the palace.
Ki-ershan checked the hallway first, strapping his sword across his back, then followed dutifully behind Dinah as she made her way through the dark corridors and hidden passages of Wonderland Palace. As they paced the sleeping palace, a growing sense of anxiety flooded Dinah’s senses. Her bare feet slapped against the stone floor, faster and faster. It occurred to her that she was looking for something.
They had wandered for an hour when she decided to take a small detour.
Many of the Royal Apartments had secret exits and entrances, and the king’s treasure—now her treasure, she mused—was scattered throughout the palace, hidden away in these secret rooms to keep it safe. It seemed like a good place to start. She tried door after door. Ki-ershan hurried along beside her, his muscles tensed, waiting for someone to leap out from these cobweb-covered corners.
They ducked under a table in the servants’ kitchen and pushed open a tiny door, something Dinah had done several times as a child. After crawling through it, they stepped out into a long hallway, forgotten for the last ten years. Dinah passed several beat-up doors, each carved with a symbol of the Cards. These were the rooms where her father had met his mistresses. There was nothing of worth here. She passed the door marked with a Spade symbol, the Club, another door with a small heart carved around the keyhole, the Diamond carving. . . . These unassuming entrances were purposely designed to be forgettable. They were not the sort of doors that drew notice, as they were hidden dozens of twists and turns away from the day-to-day activity of the palace. The darkness that gnawed at her chest pressed hard against her.
Dinah walked past the doors and continued down the hallway. This was silly, she told herself. It was time to return to bed. She had turned to go when she heard something. A breath. A sigh. She spun around.
Without warning, there was a strange whiff of air as something ethereal, clothed in white, fluttered out of the darkness toward Dinah’s face. Dinah silently leaped back, ducking her head as talons brushed the tips of her hair. Her face was gently bathed in long white feathers. The giant bird flapped to a stop and turned with a loud squawk.
The bird that had scared her so was Vittiore’s white peacock, Gryphon. In fact, Dinah rarely saw Vittiore without Gryphon these days. When she walked, she cradled him so lovingly, as if he were her child. It hurt Dinah’s heart to see it. The queen turned back to the wooden doors. She walked to the smallest one, carved with a rough heart.
Ki-ershan shook his head as he reached out and rested his fingers on Dinah’s wrist.
“We should return to your chambers.”
Dinah’s eyes went wide with rage. The white peacock watched her silently, his head cocked to the side.
She looked at her bodyguard before quietly turning the door handle. It wasn’t locked and they entered without a sound. The room smelled of heat—of skin and sweat and wanton perfume—and the scents mixed together assaulted her nostrils. There was only one small window in the entire room. Linens and clothing were strewn about the room, which was dimly lit by a dozen low candles and the stars outside. The flames flickered and leaped as Dinah inched silently toward the bed. When she reached it, she stood perfectly still, letting the black rage consume her from within.
Wardley and Vittiore lay face to face, their eyes closed in deepest slumber. Wardley’s hair was pressed up against his forehead, the curls that Dinah loved damp and messy across his brow. His nose was inches from Vittiore’s, his hand clasped lovingly over her cheek, as if he had fallen asleep caressing her face with his thumb. His chest, scarred and bruised like Dinah’s, was bare and shining in the flickering light. One of Vittiore’s arms was wrapped around his waist, the other pressed against his chest, her hand splayed over his heart. Her long white leg rested easily on his hip. She slept in the thinnest of gowns, the sheer blue fabric barely concealing her very naked body. Her tiny peach breasts heaved and fell with each deep breath. Wardley’s other arm was wrapped beneath her, cradling her against him, their hips and legs entwined. The bed was bare except for their sweaty forms, all the linens stripped away by their lovemaking and crumpled up at the side of the bed.
Dinah stared down at their faces, so close that they breathed with one breath. The look on their faces was something she had never seen, not ever in all her years. Perfect happiness. Over
whelming sacredness, blissful contentment, ecstasy, and hope all blended in the faces of these two people, so deeply at peace that they did not stir as Dinah hovered over them. She had never known that happiness, and now she never would.
The rage she had kept at bay for so long, that seductive fury, ripped its way out of her heart. It rose up from her chest, an anger as unstoppable as a tidal wave. Her fingers pulsed with it, the roots of her hair quivered with passion. Dinah’s body began to shake, and then her vision tunneled. The candles and the walls faded away, and there was only her—the queen!—and the sleeping lovers, clinging to each other as if it was the end of the world. It was the end of her world.
Dinah moved faster than she ever had, with a strength that came from somewhere else pulsing through her muscles. Dinah grabbed a handful of Vittiore’s thick golden hair and flung her out of bed. Vittiore weighed barely more than a feather. She bounced off a dresser before she really understood what was happening. Dinah leaned over her, her devastated ebony eyes full of rage, her mouth twisted in a violent smile. Vittiore wiped her eyes, confused, and then began crying, her hand held out in front of her.
“Oh Dinah, please! I’m sorry! Please, Your Majesty, let me explain! You don’t understand!”
“I do understand,” said Dinah calmly. She grabbed Vittiore’s hair once again and began dragging her toward the door. Wardley, now wide awake, leaped from the bed.
“Dinah! Stop! What are you doing? Don’t touch her!”
Dinah glanced at Wardley with dead eyes before picking up his sword where it lay forgotten beside the bed. She turned it over in the light, watching the flickering candles reflecting across the clean blade.
“Restrain him.”
Ki-ershan stared back at her, utterly confused.
“I said, restrain him,” she ordered, her voice flat and emotionless.
“No!” Wardley leaped across the room as Ki-ershan stared at Dinah. The Knave of Hearts twisted around and grabbed Ki-ershan’s sword from his back. He lunged for Dinah. The fool, thought Dinah with a smile. Ki-ershan pounced on Wardley, whose hysterical voice bounced off the walls.
War of the Cards Page 13
