13
Alice took Stella to a quiet corner of Hyde Park so she could tend to her sore head and settle her nerves after being struck by the Queen’s carriage. They were late reaching their next task – it was approaching dusk – but that didn’t seem to matter. Pesta was too busy dishing out orders to notice Stella emerge from a cloud of fog. She must have sensed Alice’s eerie presence, though, because she glanced over her shoulder.
‘Oh, you’re here,’ she said, with her usual lack of interest. ‘I suppose we could use some extra help. You can patrol the back to make sure no one escapes.’
Stella bristled. She had seen Pesta’s type before: a bully used to getting their way. On any other night, she would have ignored her. Gone with the flow. But Oberon had made it clear she had to prove herself, and
