Theo mutters a curse under his breath. “That’s not an answer.”
“It’s not meant to be,” the caterpillar replies, blowing out a ring of shimmering smoke.
A low chuckle drifts through the mist, curling around my ears like silk. “Oh, how I love watching lost little creatures squirm.”
I spin around, heart pounding. There’s nothing but the swirling fog. Then, a wide crescent grin flickers into existence, floating in midair, sharp and gleaming. A second later, glowing violet eyes blink into view above it, watching me with lazy amusement.
“Chess.” The caterpillar sighs, exhaling more smoke. “Must you always be so dramatic?”
The cat stretches luxuriously as the rest of his body slinks into visibility, his striped tail curling, claws flexing against the branch he lounges on. My capons, that are on loan to Charming, dart off into the trees at the sight of the cat. They won’t go far, I’m sure of it. However, I make a shooing motion to Sir Sweeps-A-Lot to go keep an eye on them. Miraculously, he understands me and darts off.
“But of course. I wouldn’t be me otherwise,” the cat continues as his gaze flicks to me, and his grin widens. “Now, what’s this? A new pretty mouse, scurrying in circles?”
“Only I call her that,” Theo snarls.
I cross my arms. “I’m not a mouse.”
Chess’s tail flicks. “Mm. I suppose not. But you are lost. And that,” he purrs, his body already fading again, “is far more delicious.” His voice lingers, even after he’s gone.
“We should go,” Nash mutters, eyes scanning the trees.
“Yes,” the caterpillar agrees. “But the question is… which way? You wish to pass through Wonderland,” he murmurs, exhaling a ring of shimmering smoke. “But the way forward is not simply walked—it must be won.”
The mist swirls, thick and endless. Around us, the shadows shift. And for the first time, a prickle of unease slides down my spine, because I have the sinking feeling that in Wonderland, the way forward might not exist at all.
The caterpillar takes a long, deliberate puff from his pipe, watching us with an expression that’s equal parts boredom and amusement.
Hart crosses his arms. “Let me guess. A test?”
The caterpillar smirks. “A riddle.”
Nash groans. “Fantastic.”
The mist thickens around us, curling higher, closing in. The caterpillar’s gaze sharpens. “Answer correctly, and you may move forward.” He leans in, voice dropping to a low, knowing whisper. “Fail, and you will never leave Wonderland.”
The fog tightens, cold and cloying, and the trees lean closer, listening.
I swallow hard. No pressure.
Chapter
Seventeen
“Do you have a name?” Nash demands.
“Or should we call you creepy caterpillar?” Malachi muses.
A butterfly flutters close to my face and perches on the end of my nose, making my eyes cross. Little biter better not injure my nose, because it’s still smarting from the gnashing it received from the flower.
“Absolem,” the caterpillar tells us. What a strange name. I try it out, finding my tongue heavy in my mouth and struggling to form the unfamiliar word. Maybe later.
Charming coughs and wafts his hand in front of his face. “Can you stop smoking that pipe? It’s ruining my hair.”
I side-eye him, noting he’s put my sister down.Quitter.Also, I doubt anything could even ruffle his hair, let alone ruin it. He must use something to make it stick that way. Frogspawn perhaps? A shudder rolls over my shoulders. Creepy stuff.
Absolem leans forward and exhales thick purple smoke rings, each one forming symbols that vanish before we can decipher them. “It’s a hookah, not a mere pipe.”
Theo steps in front of me and gazes at the butterfly slowly opening and closing its pretty pink and gold wings. “Is that thing bothering you, pretty mouse?”
