Blood of Wonderland (Queen of Hearts Saga #2)(16)
“He had been found slumped over in the stables. Wardley’s story was that he had slipped away from the Heart Cards when they were entering the castle to try to stop yeh, making his way to the stables. The next thing he knew, there was a bloody gaping hole in his arm and a huge lump on his head.”
Dinah said a silent prayer of thanks that Wardley was so smart, so clever. Even in the Black Towers he had been astute and quick on his feet.
“The king wanted his head nonetheless, but was convinced otherwise by his council—Cheshire most likely, crafty snake that he is. The execution of such a handsome young Card, one who was so well liked and potentially the next Knave of Hearts, would surely be frowned upon by the court and the kingdom. In the end, it was a political move.” The Spade shook his head with a cavernous laugh. “Of course, his reputation for being one of the most-skilled fighters in the Cards has since disappeared, and now he is known for being bested by the princess. He is called ‘Wardley the Weak,’ though always behind his back, as a wise man would not say it when he holds a sword in his hand. He still bears the Card clasp, but he mostly works on rebuilding the stables yeh so recklessly tore down.”
Dinah tried to manage her breathing, but the sob she had been holding in broke forth from her lips, and she buried her face in her hands. Wardley, once the brightest star in Wonderland, the future Knave of Hearts, would be mocked for the rest of his life, all because he had saved hers. Her body shook with sobs before the Spade, who looked alarmed at her sudden rush of emotion.
Dinah was embarrassed. “I’m sorry. It was my fault. . . . Wardley . . . he saved me. He put me on Morte and unlocked the stable gates. He gave me his sword and told me to stab him. I would have lain down and waited for the king if it wasn’t for him.” She wiped her nose on the corner of her sleeve.
The Spade’s lips turned up in a half smile. “You’d surely be dead if you’d have done that. I doubt your father has room for two girls on the throne.”
Dinah jerked her head up. “Vittiore?”
“You must have fathomed that she would take yer place.”
Yes, Dinah had imagined it, but it was always a waking nightmare, her worst fear come true. Vittiore, walking up the aisle of the Great Hall as her court bowed before her. Vittiore, her long golden curls pressed down as the beautiful twisting crown that Charles had made was lowered onto her head. In her mind, she saw Vittiore, sitting in the Heart throne next to her father, ruling Wonderland when she was nothing better than a piece of rotten fruit from the mountain villages. Dinah let out a blunt, angry cry and kicked the rotting log below her into the fire. My father has taken everything.
“That whore will never truly be the queen. She is a pawn in my father’s game, a tool that he used to push me out. She knew that my brother would be murdered and did nothing.”
Dinah saw the flicker of a smile pass over the Spade’s dark features. “Indeed. But she is beloved by the people. They are grateful that she survived the Rebel Queen’s rampage. The talk among the common people is that you tried to murder sweet Vittiore but couldn’t get into her room.”
“That is a lie,” whispered Dinah intensely. “I was never anywhere near her room that night. I only went to Charles’s room, where I saw my brother . . .” Her voice collapsed, a mix of anger and grief. “I saw his broken body lying on a slab of stone. His eyes looked at nothing.”
The Spade was silent, and for a few minutes there was only the crackle of nightfire.
Finally, the Spade spoke. “There’s nothing to be done now. ’Tis still the early days of these changes. Vittiore is queen and sits beside your father. There is unrest in Wonderland because the king used the increase in the number of Cards and weapons to justify raising taxes. Many people in the kingdom are starving as he reinforces the Cards. When we left, turrets were being built around the perimeter of the iron walls.”
Dinah wiped her tears away and worked at keeping her voice steady. “The Iron Gates? Did we break them?” She vaguely remembered the sides of the gates clipping Morte’s shoulder before they were thrust open. The Spade laughed.
“Well, the king doesn’t feel that the Iron Gates were enough to keep his traitorous daughter in, so he is strengthening them to make sure they keep her and everyone else out.”
Dinah gave a wry laugh. “To keep me out? What an idea. I have no intention of ever going back there. I’ll be killed the moment I appear in Wonderland proper! I will never see the palace again.” Or Harris. Or the beautiful stained-glass heart that sits outside my mother’s room, the one that shades the world in red.
The Spade took a last inhale of his pipe before dumping its contents into the fire. “Perhaps. But I think the king fears more than just the return of the princess.”
“The Yurkei?”
“This is the end of your answers for tonight.”
“There is nothing more to tell me of Wardley?”
“No. His shoulder’s still healing. He spends his days in the stables, wiping the dung off his face that is thrown at him by orphans.”
But he is alive, thought Dinah. His heart beats.
She had begun to ask of his family when the Spade turned slightly, his ears pointed at the sky. “Be silent!” he whispered. Dinah froze in place. Without making a sound, the Spade ran over to his pack and withdrew a bow and arrow. Her heart thudded in her ears, and she looked at the dark wood around them as a shiver of dread made its way up her spine. She took in the moss-covered rocks and the thin white trees that ringed their nightfire. There are worse places to be laid to rest, she thought. At least I’m here under the stars.