Blood of Wonderland (Queen of Hearts Saga #2)(27)
“Did you enjoy your climb, Princess?” Warily, Dinah opened her eyes and pushed herself into a sitting position. She tried to force her heaving breaths down into her ribs, to appear more in control. Mundoo stood before her, looking resplendent in a full headdress made of blue feathers, wearing nothing more than a feathered loincloth and some sort of wooden sandal that laced up the ankle and calf. The white painted stripes she had seen on him before were gone, now replaced with elaborately illustrated white drawings and symbols that coated his skin. He sat calmly on a huge throne of carved golden birds that, much to her surprise, was not unlike the Heart thrones in the Great Hall. In fact, the more she looked at it, the more she realized it was the twin of the thrones in Wonderland Palace. Carved by the same maker at the same time, no doubt.
Stand up, Dinah told herself. You look weak. She forced herself shakily to her feet and raised her head. Mundoo stood and motioned to his guards. “Lu-feryir.” The guards turned and walked toward several open flaps around the bean-shaped tent and out into the open air. Dinah gasped before realizing her foolishness when she saw that the ropes suspending the pod high above the earth were also slim walkways leading into tunnels, carved out from the breasts of the stone birds.
“Would you like some water? The ladder climb can be . . . strenuous for those who aren’t used to it.” Dinah waved his water away. She didn’t want anything from him except for mercy, though her throat longed for liquid.
“The ladder climb was to make me look weak.” She raised her chin. “Your Majesty.”
Mundoo gave a small laugh. “You know, you don’t remind me of your father, not much. Your pride and your blatant lack of self-control, perhaps. But otherwise . . .” He peered into her dark eyes. “I do not see the man in you who has killed so many of my own.”
Dinah lowered her eyes. “My father, the king, murdered my brother in cold blood so that he would not have to share the crown. I have no love for my father and the fact that you see none of him in me is the greatest compliment I’ve ever been paid.”
Mundoo smiled and lifted his hand to Dinah’s cheek. She forced herself to stay steady as his tan, weathered hand caressed her jawline. “And what of Wonderland Palace? Do you have loyalty to them? To the Cards?”
Dinah considered her answer carefully. I am a mouse in an eagle’s nest, she thought, and one wrong move will deliver me straight into his mouth. “I have no loyalty to Wonderland while it remains under the rule of the man who murdered my brother.”
Mundoo’s bright blue eyes sparkled. “Well answered. I see you are adept at the language of ruling and politics. I should not be surprised.” Mundoo stepped back from her and began pacing around his throne. “You must know the history of my people and Wonderland. Our legends say that the Yurkei arrived here hundreds of years ago, flown here on the backs of great birds. We lived in peace with the land, and made this place—Hu-Yuhar, the hidden city—our home. We had no need for war, for weapons, other than to hunt. And then one day, strangers came, borne by a boat from a distant land, from the ‘Other Worlds’ as you call them. These men established Wonderland Palace and proceeded to push us back into the mountains. Your ancestors declared war on us, and we have been battling the line of Hearts ever since.
“And for what? We long for nothing more than to live on our lands and have peace. It’s true—when a Wonderland village comes too close to our lands, we will burn it to the ground, because we must fight for each inch of grass. This is a vast country, and yet the palace feels it must own every inch of it, from the Western Sea to the edge of the Yurkei Mountains. As you are probably well aware, I have spies in Wonderland Palace, and I hear whispers that your father is laying the groundwork to start his great war. He longs to push us into the sea, the place from where his ancestors came. He seeks to find and destroy Hu-Yuhar.”
Mundoo gave a sigh and rested his hand upon the throne as he gazed at her. Dinah could see lines of worry etched across his strong face. “And so we come to you, you who rode so boldly into my territory astride the black devil. What do I do with an exiled princess? Most of the people down there would have you publicly executed.” Dinah stood still as Mundoo raised a few flaps on the side of the tent. Then he wrapped his hand around her neck and pushed her face toward the light. “Look down, Dinah. You may have been exiled from Wonderland and the king himself may wish you dead, but that matters little to a fatherless child or a woman whose bed will never be warm again.”
Dinah kept quiet as she looked down at the throngs of people below, Mundoo’s hand against the back of her head. Nothing he said was untrue.
“Executing you, your Spade, and your steed would be the easiest course of action. But I think that we can find a better use for you. How much do you know of your kingdom as it currently stands?”
“I know that the city is restless because of raised taxes. I know that my father is growing ever more paranoid and that he is amassing the Cards in great numbers; for what purpose, I am unsure. I know that he has placed Vittiore, his puppet, on the throne next to him, and that he rules with an ever harder iron fist. He is preparing for something, but it is of little concern to me. I am no longer a member of the royal family. I am now simply a girl who has no home.”
Mundoo smiled. “If only I could believe that. I hear your sister is very beautiful, with hair like the sun.”