“You call your parents by their first names?” he asked, stunned.

“Not to their faces. Obviously.”

“Obviously.” Alex laughed.

Always ready, Stella had another retort locked and ready to go, but decided to … not. When she let the friend secret purposefully slip, Luna’s bright eyes found her. The compassion in them was matched only by her curiosity.

Stella had decided to leave just enough of a trail to entice her. Luna wouldn’t be able to resist a good mystery—and person puzzles seemed to be her specialty. A few more cryptic remarks and she suspected she’d have her.

Harlow could keep her Warden and Siren secrets. A little more information and the tiniest of pushes, then the moon would be the one to follow Stella.

A few more minutes of walking later, they reached the long table with high-backed chairs in the middle of the green field. It had been set up to look like a disaster—overflowing teapots, cups stacked into towers threatening to topple over, an assortment of jams and jellies in odd-shaped containers, and mice. Actual mice safely running around inside a winding tube system attached to the tabletop.

Jewel, however, had toned herself down, opting to wear a cute summer dress that looked like someone had thrown blue, yellow, and green watercolors at it.

“Welcome, welcome,” Jewel said. “Please remember that there will be no discussion of challenges during family meals.”

“Not your family.”

“Shut up, Francis.”

“Where’s Ethan?” he asked instead of doing as he was told. “I thought he was going to be here.”

“Since when am I my brother’s keeper?” Jewel rested a wooden flamingo mallet over her shoulder. “Anyone up for a game of Wonderland Croquet?”

“I am!” Luna shouted before anyone else had a chance. Stella watched her run to Jewel, grabbing the other mallet. “Oh, um. I don’t know how to play?”

“I’ll teach you,” Jewel said, wrapping an arm loosely around Luna’s shoulders. “Come along, Ace.”

Oh, ho, ho, ho. Stella’s plan to ensnare Luna was absolutely going to work. She didn’t bother hiding her confident grin as she sat at the table. A customized playing card printed on pearlescent paper had been placed on every seat. Every member of the GWX squad got one with a fantastically drawn portrait of themselves as the face of the card. The back had their name written diagonally across the length of the rectangle, striking through an image of the Van Hanen wyvern crest. The words KEEP ME were printed at the bottom in small blocky letters.

“Do you guys think these are presents?” Harlow, the Ten of Hearts, asked, beaming at her card. “If it’s like last time, there’s probably gonna be another challenge to unlock what they mean.”

“Odds are good,” Francis said. Jewel had given him the King of Hearts card to match Nicole’s Queen.