Roars from the beast and yelps from Henri flew up behind me. Knowing I needed to hurry before another tree attacked, I wriggled out of my cloak and gripped it tight, hoping the book wouldn’t fall out of the pocket. I stretched out my wings, and without a second’s hesitation, I lifted into the sky.
And through an invisible wall.
Above, the pixies let out astonished gasps. They’d felt it too, the shift. We’d dashed through a ward of sorts. An enchantment to protect someone in these woods. And as the beast ran into the ward like a dog barreling into a sliding glass door, it seemed he wasn’t allowed within the protection.
I let out a relieved breath as the creature growled and swiped at the barrier but could go no further.
Above the monster, Henri was still pummeling him with rocks. He hadn’t even noticed that we’d stopped running.
“Henri! Fly toward me,” I screamed, not about to risk the beast leaping up and injuring Hatter when he was mere inches from safety.
Henri’s head snapped up. Confusion flashed across his beautiful features when he saw us standing still.
“There’s a ward,” I explained. “Fly over here!”
Thank the gods the fae hunk listened without question and flew past the barrier. He joined us as the monster continued to snarl and rage just out of reach.
“That was lucky,” Henri said, looking anything but lucky with the gash in his shoulder and disheveled appearance. “I wonder who put that up?”
“I bet we’ll find them right up there.” Dee pointed further down the path.
We turned as one and, right away, I knew she was right. Not only was something glowing up ahead, but something deep inside me acknowledged the glow. It had to be aether.
“Guys,” I said. “I think we’ve found the caterpillar’s lair.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Henri asked. “Let’s go talk to him.”
Chapter 16
The caterpillar was as advertised: massive, with blue skin and horizontal yellow stripes ringing his round body. He sat atop a large, white-capped mushroom, his antennae standing at attention like a watchful dog’s ears.
And he was smoking a hookah.
“Ummm, hi,” I said, because the creature was glaring down at me with large, black eyes.
Despite his obvious annoyance, he continued to make rings with the smoke. Astonishingly enough, they exited his mouth in all different colors.
Wonderland was so strange.
“Who are you?” the caterpillar asked.
“Me?”
“Yes.”
I threw my shoulders back. “Alice. Alice Queenly. I’m—”
“No. Truly, whoareyou?”
“Uhhh, I just told you. Alice.”
Was this a fucking joke? We’d risked insanity walking through these woods, and this guy was going to ask me the same question again and again?
Henri, ever the calm one, stepped forward to stand next to me. “Princess Alice White of the Wonderland Court begs an audience with you, sir.”
I cocked my head. Alice White? Huh, I’d have to ask him about that later.
“The princess . . . Is it?” The caterpillar’s bushy blue eyebrows pulled together. “She doesn’t look like much of a princess to me. Especially not of the White line.”
