“Then; it's definitely then,” Hare helped.
“No, you simpleton, it's now,” the mouse argued.
“Do you know what they're talking about?” I asked Nick as I eased away from the table.
“It's the curse,” Nick said soberly. “Hatter once tried to sing for the Queen of Hearts, and she accused him of murdering time.”
“She sentenced him to death,” Warren said as he joined us.
“Off with his head!” Hatter shouted.
“But Hatter escaped,” Nick added. “He's almost cat-like in his ability to slip away.”
“He escaped?” I lifted a brow, pointedly looking at the man who was currently trying to fit an entire slice of cake into his mouth.
“He may be insane, but it's a mad genius,” Nick said. “It's why we chose to include him in our alliance.”
“All right,” I gave in. “But what is the 'then and now' all about?”
“Time got angry that Hatter was not punished for his murder,” Warren explained.
“Excuse me?” I blinked at the serious men.
“Well, to be fair, Hatter was convicted,” Nick said.
“Of murdering time,” I added.
“Yes, Father Time,” Warren said.
“Time is a person?” I asked.
“He is a being,” Nick clarified. “But that's neither here nor there.”
“How can it not be here or there?” Hatter asked. “If it can be anywhere, it must be in one of those two places.”
“Just so,” Nick agreed and then returned to his explanation. “Time was angry that Hatter escaped, and when he confronted Hatter about it, Hatter, being Hatter, made a few jokes and recited some poetry.”
“Oh,” I murmured.
“How Doth the Little Crocodile,” Warren said.
“How doth he what?” I asked.
“No, that was the name of the poem Hatter recited.”
“I prefer Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Bat,” Hare said.
“Or The Mouse's Tale,” Dormouse added.
“Yes, both are lovely.” Warren grimaced. “But Father Time does not like poetry.”
“Time halted himself in respect to the Hatter and his favorite companions, cursing them to forever live in the hour of 6 PM.”
“Tea time,” Warren said grimly.
“Forever stuck having tea,” I said. “I would grow tired of cake.”
“Cake? I love cake!” Hatter said, splattering cake crumbs everywhere. “You can never have too much cake or tea. Though I do enjoy little sandwiches now and then.”
“What is it; now or then?” Hare asked.
“Dear me! I don't know!” Hatter declared. “I think it's forever now, but it could be forever then. How long is forever?”
“Sometimes, just a second,” Hare said.
“A second! Yes, I'll second that second,” Hatter cried as his eyes started to get larger–crazier.
“George,” a deep voice came from behind me, “easy now, old friend. You are both now and then. All the seconds are yours.”
I turned to see a hooded man walk into the clearing. He had a warrior's build, and a sword buckled to his hips that cemented my initial impression. His hands were thick and calloused, but a gold signet ring adorned one of them. He walked quietly, and so did the men who accompanied him. I barely noticed that they were there until they surrounded us.
“Relax,” Nick said as I tensed. “It's the King of Spades; he's on our side.”
The King of Spades laid a hand on Hatter's shoulder. Hatter–George–went still and stared up into the shadows of the hood. His eyes softened, and he calmed.
“Thank you, Jaxon,” Hatter whispered.
“Of course,” Jaxon, the King of Spades, turned to face me as he pushed back his hood.
I swallowed convulsively and prayed that I wouldn't make a fool of myself, despite it being my family crest. King Jaxon was the most gorgeous man I'd ever laid eyes on. And that includes in movies. No celebrity could hold a candle to this Card King. He had features that looked as if a love goddess had personally sculpted them to be the most perfect example of mankind. His lips were lush but not too soft, his nose was regal but not too slim, and his brow was noble but not too high. And in the middle of all of that was a pair of eyes bluer than the Pacific on a hot day.
I felt a little dizzy. Was I going to faint? Oh, please don't let me faint. That would just be the cherry on top of my sundae of insanity.
“Queen Alice?” His voice was like honey over hot stones; sweet and steamy.
“Yes,” I squeaked, and then cleared my throat. “Yeah, that's me, I guess.”
“You guess?” His brows lifted. “You should never guess about something so important.”
“I just found out about all this today, Spade,” I growled. “Give me a fucking break.”
I nearly smacked my hand over my mouth. I had a tendency of being a bitch to attractive men. Maybe it was bitter grapes over knowing that I could never have them. Whatever it was, it was subconscious, and I had no control over it.
“Did you just call me 'Spade?'” His lips twitched.
“Yep. You want me to call you Jax instead?” I asked. “I don't know the etiquette between monarchs, and frankly, J-Spade, I don't give a damn. I've been shrunk, fell through a hole, assaulted by flowers, and forced to tromp through the woods in high heels today–my patience is wearing thin.”
King Jaxon burst out laughing, and the soldiers standing around us, dressed all in black and very menacing in appearance, stared at their king in shock. I stared at him in open longing. Laughter made him ten times hotter. Ugh, I was going to get really mean, I just knew it.
“Charming,” King Jaxon whispered. “Just like your mother.”
My face fell. I had very few memories of my mother, and they were all hazy. First Hatter had said that I resembled her, and now this guy made another reference. On top of his untouchable hotness, it
