And boy oh boy, what a glorious backside it was. Two tight balls of muscle flexed one after the other as he walked toward the hearth.
Realizing I was staring like a hard-core creeper, I blinked and shook my head.Get ahold of yourself, girl!
I squared my shoulders, and followed Henri to the threadbare armchairs. He offered me the one that looked more cushiony, and I accepted, sliding into it gracefully.
“How are you finding Wonderland Island so far?”
My eyes widened a touch. Small talk? Was this really happening? I’d waited years to talk to my family. I didn’t have time for this crap.
“Well, to be honest—”
“Don’t tell him about the Oyster House!” Dee whisper-screamed in my ear. “Please! They’ll never trust me with a job like this again.”
I wanted to retort that they hadn’t trusted her with this job to begin with, but seeing as I might need the pixies’ expertise to get out of Faerie, I didn’t want to burn that bridge.
“It’s interesting,” I said, “but to be honest, I’d like to get on with this and meet my family.”
Henri’s face tightened. “Humor me. Did you run into anyone on your journey?”
My lips pressed together, annoyed at his insistence that we delay my reunion.
“I arrived in a strange tower and took a walk through the woods. On the way, I came across a beat-up old house with an abandoned tea party. That—”
Dum groaned, and I paused, noticing that she wasn’t the only one who had reacted to my mention of the tea party. Hatter’s face fell, and he lifted a hand to his heart, as if I’d wounded him.
“But other than that,” I continued, not sure what to do about his display of emotion. “It was uneventful.”
“Perfect. That was what we’d hoped. I apologize that Herald was not as good of a guide as we would have liked. He can become frantic at times . . . Particularly if he’s short on it.”
“Where was he going in such a hurry, anyway?” I asked, unable to help myself.
Henri chuckled. “Herald is part of the rebellion, but he works inside the castle, too. He’s the Red Queen’s crier. Seeing as she’s having a croquet match today, he needed to be present.”
“So why send him to get me?”
“I thought it was smart because he’s the most versatile of us, since he’s able to shift into anything. But now I see how wrong I was. Dee and Dum, you two did great.” Henri gave them a brilliant smile.
Dee and Dum let out matching high-pitched, flirty laughs. “Oh it was nothing, Hatter!” Dee said, and I swore that her voice was deeper, more sultry, than before. “Happy to help.” Her wings fluttered a little in my ears.
Henri beamed brighter, oblivious to the effect he was having on their tiny pixie hearts. “Thank you. Now, Alice, let’s get down to the reason we invited you here.”
Hatter twisted toward a side table and picked up a small book. He flipped through a few pages before stopping and turning the book to face me.
What was this, story time? No freaking way. My patience, which admittedly wasn’t the strongest to begin with, had worn thin. I was done with the niceties and chit-chat.
“Where are my parents?”
Hatter’s green gaze locked with mine, nearly mesmerizing me as he shifted in his seat.
“Well?” I asked, not about to be thrown off track by a hot guy. “If they sent for me, why aren’t they here? They’re rebels, right?”
Henri cleared his throat. “I didn’t want to have to tell you this without a backstory, but I can see you don’t wish to hear that.”
He closed the book and leaned forward so that his elbows rested on his knees and his tented hands pressed to his lips.
The room fell totally silent, and a distinct sense of unease trickled through it, making me clench my jaw.
“The truth is, your parents died years ago.” He spoke the words quickly, like he was ripping off a bandaid.
