Genie counts again. “The Queen of Hearts.”
The horses all shudder, as do we. Not a fan. Do not recommend. Life is bound to get weird when Wonderland spills into The Hallows.
“She’s converted the courtyard into a croquet field and keeps sentencing people to beheading for stepping on the grass. She and the witch have declared themselves archenemies.”
Hart blinks. “Has she actually beheaded anyone?”
“No, but morale is low. And finally… The Pied Piper.”
Everyone goes quiet for a beat.
“Where is he?” Nash asks.
Genie points toward the distant castle. “Roaming the Hallows at night.”
“Doing what?” I ask.
“Recruiting.”
Theo frowns. “Recruiting whom?”
“Rats. Children. Librarians. It’s a mixed bag. Apparently anyone will suffice.”
“That’s unsettling,” I mutter.
Genie claps his hands together. “Those are the current eight Idols occupying the castle.”
“Beast, Evil Queen, Hook, Wolf, Rumpelstiltskin, Witch, Queen of Hearts, and Piper,” Nash summarizes.
“Correct.”
Malachi rubs his temples. “That’s not a castle; that’s a nightmare carnival.”
“Exactly,” Genie exclaims.
The horses keep moving as the Hallows grows closer, its towers rising like jagged teeth against the sky.
I stare at the distant spires. “So how are we supposed to reach the Living Library without being eaten, cursed, beheaded, recruited, drowned, exploded, or forced to compliment someone’s cheekbones?”
Theo presses his chin to my shoulder. “We enter through the old servant tunnels beneath the kitchens.”
Genie nods. “That could work.”
Malachi leans forward in his saddle. “The tunnels lead under the great hall and emerge behind the east staircase.”
Good to know, because I have no idea where any of that is.
Nash continues. “From there, we cross the corridor behind the portrait gallery.”
There’s a gallery? How boring.
“We’ll have to avoid the courtyard, since that’s where the Queen of Hearts is playing murder croquet,” Theo adds.
I agree—murder is best avoided.
“Then we slip into the archive wing,” Hart finishes.
The what? I swear they’re making this up.
