23. Cheshire

CHAPTER 23

CHESHIRE

I t feels strange now that we're missing a few of our group, but we'd been walking in circles for what felt like weeks. Wonderland was right here the entire time, but whatever magic Aniya possesses was preventing us from reaching it, all because of her. The poor kid is going to have a hell of a time growing up and there's not a damn thing any of us can do to help her with it. She's powerful, and she's not even at her full potential yet, barely a teenager. I can't imagine what she'll become once she's grown up. I watched Alice decay. Aniya has yet to, but that doesn't mean that one horrific experience can't send her in the wrong direction. She's surrounded by love, but sometimes, love festers. I just hope she has enough love to keep her feet on the ground.

"You think they're gonna be okay?" Cal asks, glancing behind us as if she could see the group of four in the distance. We'd left them hours ago.

"Aniya isn't alone," I point out. "She has Pan, Tiger, and March with her."

"But she's just a girl," she murmurs, worrying her lip.

"A powerful one," I remind her. "Wonderland says she can't come home right now, and there's nothing we can do about that. We don't have the answers. All we know is we need to get home and figure out what's going on there. We can help Aniya once we fix this problem."

Atlas is up with Tink, both of them sticking close. Atlas seems to be the only one capable of stopping Tink if her bloodlust kicks in, but since we'd split ways with Aniya, she hasn't fallen into another yet. Part of me wonders if the issue has been Aniya all along, but I don't want to place the blame on her or voice my theory. We each have growing powers, and they're difficult to control. I may not be fighting the powers of the wind, or the bloodlust in my heart, but Cal and I are not immune.

As if in answer, a rustling from the trees drags my attention toward it. Cal tenses beside me, but she doesn't look. She doesn't have to. We both know what follows us.

The great grey beast's eyes meet mine as we walk. It's red eyes glow in the near darkness that comes with getting closer to Hatter's home. It blows a puff of steam from its nose, and I hear the sounds of hooves beating the ground, letting me know that the others are also impatient.

No. We don't have to fight bloodlust like Tink. We don't have to fight the wind or the sea. We don't have to convince ourselves that our powers aren't growing out of control.

We're just being stalked by the Wild Hunt.

And we aren't the only ones being stalked. In front of us, Rumple glances over his shoulder, expression worried as he pulls his star, Eva, in closer. We all wonder how long the Hunt will be content to wait for us to finish our adventures before they take matters into their own hands. While Cal and I know no stories of it, Rumple knows plenty, and the Hunt isn't a force to be fought. It's something you accept and embrace. There's no other option. Had I known that before we rode off. . .

The trees open up in front of us and Hatter's cabin appears. . . as well as something entirely new.

"Is that. . ." I start, staring at the great wall of water in front of us. It splits down the meadow, cutting Hatter's clearing in half, swallowing it with water. As if some invisible wall keeps it that way, it remains there. At the top, the waves even crash against the invisible barrier. "It's not going to come crashing down on us, is it?" I ask. I hate water. I have no desire to float in a sea of it.

"Looks stable," Wendy says, eying it longingly.

In front of us, Clara appears, Zaven on her hip. He's grown so much in the brief time we've been away, and my eyes widen at the magic swirling in his eyes.

"Thank Wonder, you're home," Clara says, coming up to hug everyone. When she gets close to me, the magic fluctuating around Zaven zaps me. "Sorry, Chesh. It's new. We haven't figured it out yet."

"It's fine," I reassure her before pointing to the wall. "Redecorating?"

Clara sighs and I see the exhaustion in her eyes. I straighten. She wipes it away so quickly, I almost miss it, but everything has clearly been wearing on her.

"It's the Deep Seas," she says. "I'm just glad it's settled over there. We weren't able to use half the house at some point because of it."

"Half the house?" Wendy gasps. "It moved?"

"Constantly," Clara sighs. "It's locked in place now, thank Wonder. Come inside. Hatter is. . . well, I'll just show you. We've been. . . struggling."

Everyone follows her inside, but I hold Cal back, both of us standing in the clearing. Together, we turn and take in the tree line where dozens of red eyes peer out at us. The leader steps out and meets our gazes head on, as if to say, "your time is coming."

"What are we going to do about that?" I ask, watching them closely.

Cal shrugs. "Ignore them for now? What else can we do? Wonderland needs us."

"How long do you think they'll wait?" I look down at Cal, at her angular face, and take in the beauty there. We've experienced so much together. After we saved Wonderland, we lived human lives for a bit before we were called home. We've never gotten to make our own choices, neither one of us, and that's a fucking shame. The Hunt now tries to make our choice, and my desire to tell them to fuck off is strong, but I know this is one we won't be able to ignore long.

Part of me wants to fight the call, wants to shun this responsibility.

Another part of me wonders would it be so bad if we just climbed onto our mounts. . . and flew away?

"As long as we need them to," she answers and then winces. "Hopefully."

But every day, the call gets stronger. How long can we resist? How long can we remain strong?

When will they grow angry and force us to accept?

I hope it's long enough to help. I hope they understand just how badly Wonderland needs our help. But looking into their eyes, I'm not so sure they do.

I'm not sure at all. . .