“That’s right,” the queen said, nodding her head. “And it’s all because ofyou. Which is why I decided to treat you withmyfavorite dinner tonight. Go ahead and eat!”
I looked at March, who still hadn’t met my eyes. His jaw clenched hard enough that I heard his teeth pop, but he still grabbed the spoon and drank the soup.
Everyone else did the same, too, because the queen waslooking at them. Looking at all of us, one after the other, to make sure we were eating.
I picked up the spoon and moved it around in the bowl until her eyes moved past me.
“As we can see, the duration of the game really isn’t the main thing,” she continued as she ate. “I was so ecstatic to learn of your success.Oh.” She put the spoon down, brought her hands to her chest and smiled like she was in awe as she batted her lashes. “I wish my sister could be here, too, to celebrate you, little tickers. You most certainly deserved it.”
“Where is the Red Queen?” I asked, and only after I heard the words leaving my mouth did I realize I’d spoken.
I hadn’t meant to. Time’s Teeth, I hadn’t meant to say anything at all.
“Busy, of course, dearest Ora. She’s busy at our palace. Lots and lots of work to be done by queens,” the White Queen said, and it sounded like a load of bullshit.
This time, though, I did catch the words before they left my mouth in a rush.
“Did you see…everything?” Levana then asked.
“I certainly did,” she answered. “I sawallof it. Everything.”
“Even the part where we were asking for help?” Anika asked—and in a moment, the memory of her slamming her hands against the floor and screaming at the ceiling came back to me. Shehadbeen heard—but they just hadn’t cared about helping us.
“Oh, yes!” The queen laughed, the sound of it short and sharp—like a knife stab. “That was so funny, dearest Anika. So, so funny!”
“It wasn’t meant to be funny,” she said. “We thought we were going to die.”
“Well, thatisthe Turning Trials,” was the queen’s answer, and then the doors opened again, and the waiters came backwith their trays full—to remove our soups and put in front of us larger plates full of meats and mushrooms and grilled vegetables.
The smell was heavenly, and I had no choice but to eat. My hands were shaking and my stomach was growling too loudly. I didn’t have much strength left.
“What Her Excellency means to say is that each game has its own level of difficulty, and you know that the higher the number of the trial, the more difficult it is to win,” Calren said, only we knew exactly how he normally spoke, and this wasn’t it. He sounded like he was forcing the words out of him with all his might.
“Precisely,” said the White Queen.
“But the archives, all the interviews with the former Hands—” Anika started.
“All of that is meant for the public, little ticker. Therealstory is only for the Hands who get accepted to play these games.”
Accepted,she said.
I looked at Silas across the table, and it actually shocked me to see how hard he was holding his silverware, clenching his jaw, lowering his head almost all the way to the table. He’d told me once that the only test that they cared about when accepting applicants and choosing the next Hands was the first test—thebloodtest.
Which they used to test magic, not diseases or anything else.
“For me personally, the Thirteenth Hour trial was my favorite so far,” the queen continued as the last of the waiters left the room again and closed the doors behind them. “Your performance was outstanding—especially that last time the First Hour rang.” Laughter. “Wonderful. Simplywonderful.”
“Well, I wouldn’t call itperformance,”I said—again, onlyrealizing I’d spoken after I heard my own voice out there in the world.
“Yes. It was sheer terror,” Mimi added.
“Exactly! It wasauthentic, and that’s why it was so impressive,” the queen said. “Now, eat, everyone! Enjoy my favorite meal. Try it, try it!”
We all turned to our plates, and the queen began to speak with Calren in hushed voices, the smile never leaving her face even as she ate. We all forced ourselves to chew and swallow because we did need the food, and we said nothing for a long time.
The food could have been delicious but its taste was lost on me. I ate just enough so my stomach stopped singing, and I was ready to run, get back to my room, or go out there in the mechanical garden, maybe see if they’d taken off the protection layers around the junkyard.
Time’s Teeth, I’d giveanythingright now to be back to one of those first nights. To bemeagain.
