‘Because you have no other choice.’
‘No. Because I love Jest. I chose him. Who are you to judge me, to doubt me? Who are you to think you have any dominion over our lives?’
His grin turned wry. ‘Dear girl, I’m the man with the answer to the riddle.’
She let out another outraged scream and leaped for him, but again Jest wrapped his arms around her and held her back. She found herself engulfed in his arms, feeling the loud thud of his heartbeat against her back.
‘Fine,’ she snapped, planting her feet on the ground and forcing herself to take long, steady breaths. ‘We’ll figure out this stupid riddle. Jest and I.’
‘You might recall that I did guide you through the maze. A little appreciation might be warranted.’
She wriggled out of Jest’s hold. ‘You’ve done nothing but lead us in circles.’
She tore off Hatta’s fine coat and threw it at his feet.
Hatta scowled. ‘You’re welcome for that too.’
Snorting, Cath peered back up the spiral staircase. There was a wooden trapdoor covering the top, blocking out any sign of the golden world above.
Another door. All doors.
‘You didn’t have to solve this puzzle when you came here?’ she asked Jest.
He shook his head. ‘We met the Sisters and travelled the maze, and at the end of it – or, the beginning, whichever it may be – was a Looking Glass, like the one in Hatta’s shop. We went through it and were here in the Crossroads, in Hearts. There was no riddle, and no warning about doors.’
‘Sometimes they make it easy, when they want you to succeed.’ Hatta sighed. ‘And sometimes they don’t want you to leave. The Sisters are not selfless creatures.’
Cath clenched her jaw and scanned the room again.
Raven had taken up a spot on the round table at the room’s centre, like a regal display piece. The table was made of solid glass – even the legs, so it seemed as if the bird were standing on air.
Beside him was a crystal bottle and a silver hand mirror. Cath hadn’t noticed either of them before.
She stepped forward and picked up the bottle. Tied to its neck was a paper tag scrawled with large letters.
DRINK ME
‘What about this one?’ Jest asked. He was on his knees, peering into a long black tunnel made of dirt. ‘It looks like a mole tunnel. That doesn’t count as a door, does it?’
‘I’m not sure,’ said Cath, holding up the bottle to show him, ‘but I suspect the answer has something to do with this.’
Hatta said nothing.
Cath knew that, no matter how Hatta felt about her, he cared a great deal for Jest. She hoped that if they were on the brink of making a bad decision, he would stop them.
For now, though, she did her best to pretend he wasn’t there.
She uncorked the bottle and sniffed it. ‘It isn’t treacle,’ she said, sniffing again. There were hints of cherry and custard, pineapple and turkey, toffee and hot buttered toast. ‘Shrinking elixir. I’m sure of it.’
Jest came to her side and read the tag. ‘I’ve heard of it,’ he said, ‘though we don’t have any in Chess.’
She chewed on her lower lip. If they drank the elixir in the bottle and it turned them small – what then? How would that help?
Her eye caught on the hand mirror and she gasped. ‘That’s it!’
She picked up the mirror and held it up to her face. She looked, and looked deeply. A grin stretched across her lips. For in the glass, beyond her reflection, she saw a patchwork of rolling yellow hills and emerald forests and snowy purple mountains. Chess.
‘The Looking Glass! It’s only small on our side.’
Jest wrapped his arm around her waist, beaming. ‘But the elixir will make us small so we can pass through.’
Raven cocked his head. Hatta remained silent, even when Cath and Jest glanced at him for approval. He lifted an eyebrow – a silent challenge.
Jest deflated, just slightly. ‘Honestly, Hatta. Why are you acting this way? We’re fulfilling the job we were sent to do, even if it is in a different manner than we expected. And there’s no reason for us to stay here, anyway.’
Hatta’s frown deepened and Cath could tell that wasn’t what he wanted to hear. But then his face softened into something that resembled a smile, albeit a sad one. ‘I wish for you all the joy this darkened world can employ,’ he said, quoting the Raven. His gaze shifted to Catherine. ‘That, and I expect to be repaid for my assistance in scones and tarts every time I come to visit.’
She sagged, surprised at how quickly he could deflect her anger. ‘I hope you’ll visit us often.’
He grunted. No commitment. ‘I am always coming and going somewhere, love. That’s the only way I’ll stay ahead of Time, after all.’ He lifted his chin towards the table. ‘Go ahead, then. Somewhere there is a white crown waiting for its queen.’
Cath and Jest faced each other, holding the bottle between them. His eyes were glowing. Her nerves were vibrating.
They’d made it.
The Looking Glass. Chess. A future, together.
‘Don’t drink it all now,’ Hatta reminded them as Cath lifted the bottle to her lips. ‘Raven and I will be following shortly after. Our fates were little better than yours, if you recall.’
Murderer, martyr, monarch, mad.
Cath nodded and had just tipped the bottle against her lips when she heard a scream.
She froze and lowered the bottle.
Hatta grimaced, but he looked like he’d been expecting this. The scream, Cath was certain, had come from the door behind him – an ominous wrought-iron gate. Heavy fog was creeping through the bars, entwining around Hatta’s feet.