Professor Dovey pursed her lips. “Proceed.”
Tedros scanned the crew: Rhian watching him intently; Sophie fixed on Rhian and nuzzling his arm; Hort, Nicola, Hester, Anadil, Beatrix, Reena, Kiko, Willam, and Bogden. (The rest of the students they’d left at a clinic in Nottingham, so they could recuperate from their injuries sustained at the Four Point.)
“Where’s Agatha?” he heard Kiko whisper to Sophie.
“Taking care of Dot in her room,” Sophie whispered back. “Dot’s too afraid to show her face.”
“She should be,” Hort grumbled.
“First of all, this is not Dot’s fault,” Tedros admonished the group. “The boy named Kei of Foxwood arrived in Sherwood Forest just a few days ago, hounding Robin for a chance to join his Merry Men. Robin ignored Kei at first, but when Kei expressed an interest in the Sheriff’s daughter, Robin saw a chance to make Dot happy. He told Kei to take Dot on a date she’d remember and then maybe he’d consider him for his men. Little did he know Kei was in league with the Snake the whole time. So please. What happened last night was an accident. Be kind to Dot.”
“Challenging,” groused Hester.
“Impossible, honestly,” Anadil mumbled, rats grumbling too.
“As soon as we land in Camelot, we’ll divide into two teams to fight the Snake,” Tedros forged on. “One team will be with me and Agatha at Camelot Castle. The other team will be with Rhian and Sophie in Camelot City.”
“I told you he wouldn’t let me in the castle,” Sophie murmured to Rhian.
Tedros ignored her. “My team will be responsible for securing the royal grounds. You will work with Agatha and me to fortify the towers, protect Excalibur, and lay traps for the Snake’s army. Rhian’s team will be responsible for helping my mother and our Ever and Never allies to recruit an army to fight the Snake’s. Professor Dovey has been in touch with Guinevere—” Tedros’ face changed. He looked up at the Dean in her bubble. “And she’s, um, aware of everything that happened last night?”
Professor Dovey paused. “Yes, she is.”
Tedros swallowed, lost in thought.
The Good Dean quickly took over. “Ever since the Four Point, Guinevere has led Camelot’s allies in building a unified army of Good and Evil. Recruitment is currently taking place in Maker’s Market, the main thoroughfare of Camelot City. Rhian’s team will join this effort and conduct loyalty tests to ensure none of the Snake’s allies make it into our ranks, like Kei of Foxwood did. . . .”
Kei’s name snapped Tedros out of his daze. He glanced at the Dean, thankful she’d stepped in, his stomach still queasy at the thought of his mother learning that Lance was dead. Yet as he studied Dovey closer, the Dean looked haggard, as if she hadn’t been sleeping.
“. . . Those working on Rhian’s team must be cautious, for the Snake’s minions may have already seeped into Camelot City,” the Good Dean was saying, stifling a cough. “But before the king assigns you to your teams, I have a few questions for our new knight.” Her eyes locked on Rhian.
“At your service, Professor Dovey,” said the copper-haired boy, immediately rising to his feet.
“What kingdom are you from, Rhian?” she asked.
“Foxwood.”
“Your parents’ names?”
“Levya and Rosamund. My father is deceased.”
“Siblings?”
“Two younger brothers. Stad and Gilderoy.”
“Address?”
“62 Stropshire Lane in Foxwood.”
“Thank you,” said Professor Dovey, scribbling this all down, before looking up at him. “You see, I’m afraid there is no record of a Rhian in our files for prospective students to either the School for Good or the School for Evil.”
“Perhaps I did not qualify to be a prospective student, then?” said Rhian.
“All children in the Woods and Woods Beyond between the ages of twelve and fifteen qualify to be prospective students and thus have a file at the school,” Professor Dovey clipped.
“Then it must be an oversight, surely,” said Rhian, scratching his stubble. “I will be seventeen next month. I would have been in Tedros’ class.”
“If it is an oversight, then why is your name on my Quest Map?” the Good Dean pressed. “Why is your name recognized by the Storian?”
“Because the Storian made a mistake by not including him in our class and now is atoning for it,” Sophie snapped, standing up next to her knight.
“I understand your reservations, Professor Dovey. I would have the same ones,” said Rhian, his attention still on the Dean. “I’ve come to serve Camelot. To protect its king. I cannot speak to the mysteries of the Storian or the admissions process at your school. But if you have doubts about my loyalty, then I will return to Foxwood at once.”
“No one has doubts about your loyalty,” said Tedros, glaring at Dovey.
“Doubts about your loyalty? No,” said the Dean. “In reporting this fairy tale as it unfolds, the Storian has showed me what kind of knight you are, Rhian. You’ve saved Tedros’ life. You’ve saved all of my students’ lives, along with numerous kingdoms under threat, from Foxwood to Mahadeva to Nottingham. Your loyalty to Tedros, to his friends, and to Good is unquestioned. What I question is why this loyalty has not come to my attention before now. But perhaps that is something that only the Storian and our previous School Master have the answers to and, unfortunately, neither is capable of giving them. One last question, however.” She peered into Rhian’s eyes. “About your intentions towards Sophie—”
“Oh, for God’s sake, Clarissa!” Sophie scorched.
“Let me answer,” Rhian said firmly. “Go on, Professor.”
Professor Dovey gave him a keen once-over. “Do you find it strange for a knight of Good to take a Dean of Evil as his lady?”
“No more strange than a princess of Good like Agatha to have a Dean of Evil like Sophie as her best friend. Or a Dean of Good like you to have had a Dean of Evil like Lady Lesso as your best friend,” Rhian answered. “Good and Evil are no longer as irreconcilable in our world as they once were. Something we have to give Sophie quite a bit of credit for. But to be perfectly honest, I wouldn’t have wanted the Sophie that came to your school her first year. That Sophie was Evil in the most self-serving way. There was little to attract someone like me, who wants to do Good in this world. But I don’t see that Sophie anymore. Her soul may still skew toward Evil, but now her Evil serves the greater Good. It’s what I most admire about her. She can change people’s minds. She knows how to lead. I think we can all agree on that, Professor. Even more, I think we can all say that she deserves to find real love. Wouldn’t you?”
Sophie’s eyes had turned to stars.
The Dean of Good smiled warmly. “I look forward to meeting you in person, Sir Rhian,” she said, before looking at the king. “Tedros, I leave it to you to divide the teams.”
As Rhian and Sophie sat, Hort leaned over to Nicola: “Watch, Tedros won’t pick me for his team because he thinks I’m a loser.”
“Well, at least we’ll be together, then, ’cause he doesn’t even know my name,” said Nicola.
“On my team, it’s Agatha, Hort, Nicola, Kiko, Bogden, and Willam,” said Tedros. “On Rhian’s team, it’s Sophie, Hester, Anadil, Dot, Beatrix, and Reena.”
Hort and Nicola blinked, surprised.
“Any questions?” Tedros asked.
“Why are all the boys on your team?” said Reena.
“Because Rhian is all the man a team needs,” Sophie vamped.
“Next question,” said Tedros, staring Sophie down.
“How big is the Snake’s army?” said Beatrix.
“We don’t know,” said Tedros. “But judging from the chaos he caused across the Woods and his ability to pay for loyalty, we can expect a sizable force.”
“Can Merlin help us like he did against Rafal and his zombies?” asked Kiko.
“Merlin is missing,” said Professor Dovey gravely. “All I can hope right now is
that he is still alive.”
Tedros tensed, sensing the genuine fear in the Dean’s face—
“You say we have to build an army, but do the people even want to fight for Tedros?” Beatrix asked, raising her hand. “From the news we read, it doesn’t seem like you have much support from other kingdoms after you left them to deal with the Snake on their own. Or from the people of Camelot, for that matter. Rhian might have saved half the Woods singlehandedly . . . but are those people going to rally behind you?”
Tedros went bright red. “Um, look . . .”
“Tedros is the king,” Rhian lashed, spinning to Beatrix. “The king of the Woods’ greatest kingdom. And it is our duty to show the people of Camelot and beyond what loyalty to the king looks like. Anyone unable to fulfill that duty is welcome to jump off the boat right now.”
Beatrix shirked under his hot blue-green eyes. “Sheesh. Just asking,” she muttered.
Tedros gave Rhian a grateful nod. “Any other questions?”
No one spoke.
“Meeting dismissed,” said Tedros. “Get yourselves something to eat or go down for a nap, because as soon as we land, our work begins.”
He looked up at the Dean, who was already starting to fade. “When can you make it to Camelot, Professor?”
“As soon as I can,” the Dean said vaguely.
Her bubble vanished while the crew leapt to their feet and headed towards the galley. Tedros saw Nicola walking with Rhian. “Sophie was asking whether you have any psycho ex-girlfriends from school she should worry about,” said Nicola.
“Mmm, given I went to a school for boys, psycho ex-girlfriends aren’t a problem,” Rhian laughed. “Anything else she’s concerned about?”
“Just that you’re too Good to be true. Surely there’s something wrong with you.”
“I bite my nails, snore if I eat too close to bedtime, have a birthmark on my bum, and can be a bit temperamental.”
“Real dealbreakers,” said Nicola, smirking.
Tedros made a face. Last he’d heard, Sophie and Nicola were barely friends. And now Sophie was sending her to check up on Rhian?
“Teddy?”
Tedros turned to see Sophie next to him.
“I didn’t mean to suggest you aren’t as good or as manly as Rhian,” she said. “I was just being stupid—”
“I know, Sophie.”
She touched his shoulder. “Will you be okay?”
The way she left her hand there, Tedros knew this had nothing to do with what she’d said about Rhian and everything to do with his having to face his mother soon.
“I have to be,” he said.
“I know you and I have had our . . . issues. But I’m here for you,” said Sophie, quiet and heartfelt. “Please know I mean that.”
Their eyes met and for a moment, Tedros forgot everything that had happened between them.
He cleared his throat. “I better go check on Agatha,” he said, heading towards the galley.
Tedros paused. “Sophie?”
He turned to her.
“Rhian’s my knight. He saved our quests. He saved Ever and Never kingdoms from the Snake. You don’t have to hunt for flaws or dig up dirt on him,” he said.
Sophie stared at him quizzically. “Um, I know that,” she said. “Since when do you give me love advice?”
Tedros smiled. “Since I started believing in perfect endings.”
Then he hustled inside, leaving Sophie wide-eyed behind him.
By the time Tedros took a bath and had his turn at the enchanted pot—he asked it for meatloaf and broccoli and it’d given him pancakes instead—the Igraine was starting its descent towards Camelot.
Hair wet, mouth full, he knocked on Dot’s door.
Agatha peeked out. “I’ll meet you on deck in a minute,” she whispered.
“Starboard deck, where we can be alone,” said Tedros.
Agatha nodded and closed the door.
Tedros could hear Dot’s muffled wails: “It’s not just that I let the Snake loose or that everyone thinks I’m horrible or that if anything happens to Tedros it’ll be my fault. . . . The worst part is I’ll never kiss a boy agaiiiinnn!”
“Yes, you will,” said Agatha’s voice. “You’ll get over this—”
“That’s not what I mean. I mean what other boy will ever kiss me? Kei was my first kiss! And he only kissed me because he wanted to get my keeyyysss. . . .”
“Dot, love is more than finding a boy to kiss.”
“You only say that ’cause you get to kiss Tedros all day longgggg!”
“And we still have our problems, like everyone else,” said Agatha patiently. “But if it’ll make you feel better, you’re welcome to kiss Tedros as much as you like.”
Tedros sighed.
As he waited in the starboard corridor, elbows on a railing, he watched the sky turn gray, dark clouds spiraling around the ship. Tedros tried to steel himself, preparing for the war ahead, but he could feel a current of nausea underneath his forced calm. Everything about the Snake terrified him. His ruthlessness. His coldness. The way he’d slashed Lance without mercy.
But it was more than that.
Rafal was Evil, but Evil in a way that Tedros understood. Rafal wanted Sophie. Rafal wanted a love so Evil it would destroy Good forever.
But what did this Snake want? To rule Camelot? Why?
Is that what he was really after? Or was the Snake after something more?
What scared Tedros the most was that he still didn’t know the answer.
The ship broke through a wall of clouds, giving him his first view of Camelot City. The king’s eyes bulged. Massive lines of people streamed through Maker’s Market. It looked like some kind of holiday parade, with men, women, children, and mogrifs packing every street. But as Tedros tracked the lines, he saw where they led: the gates of Camelot Park, where huge signs flashed “ARMY RECRUITMENT: EVERS” and “ARMY RECRUITMENT: NEVERS.” The moment the crowd caught sight of the Igraine above, they let out a roaring cheer as the ship zipped past the city and out over the Savage Sea, curving back around towards Camelot Castle and the royal docks.
“Further proof that no one should ever listen to Beatrix,” said a comforting voice.
Agatha nestled up to him. “Because from what I just saw, the people are certainly on your side.”
“In times of crisis, the Woods needs a leader,” said Tedros. “Maybe they finally realized that no matter how many mistakes I make, I will always be there to protect them and fight for them and put my life on the line for them, just like my father.”
“Or they’re afraid the Snake’s going to kill them and you’re their only hope,” smiled Agatha.
“That too,” said Tedros.
“Though according to the Snake, he’s actually the Lion. And you’re the Snake,” said Agatha.
“What?”
“When he captured us in Jaunt Jolie, he had a Storian of his own—a fake Storian—that tells the fairy tales from his point of view. And in his version of the story, he’s the Lion and rightful king and you’re the usurping Snake. He claims all of this will only end when everything we think is true is proven ‘untrue.’”
Tedros thought about this. “So when Lies become Truth and Truth becomes Lies.”
“Which is impossible, because the Woods knows this Snake now. They will never confuse him for a Lion,” said Agatha. “He’s the villain of this story. And you’re their hero. That’s why they’re cheering for you.”
“And it’s why I cannot let them down,” said Tedros.
He held her tightly as the castle came into view, a light rain starting to fall.
“Dot doing okay?” he asked. “Or do I need to kiss her back to her senses?”
“I was hoping you’d overhear that. She’ll be fine. By the time I left, she was turning her tears to chocolate and eating them.”
“Gross.”
The ship floated down in front of the castle. Tedros spotted Excalibur in the Blue Tower balcony,
now guarded by five men and also sealed off in a huge, thick glass lockbox. Clearly his mother was taking no chances.
The moment the Igraine hit the water, surfing to the docks, the crew bounded to their positions, led by Rhian, lashing the ship to the pier as Hort dropped anchor.
From the railing, Tedros and Agatha watched the knight gather his group on the east dock.
“My team, follow me,” said Rhian, leading Hester, Anadil, Beatrix, and Reena away in the rain, with Dot scurrying and sniffling behind.
“Our turn,” said Tedros, taking Agatha’s hand, about to summon his team—
The king froze, squinting over the railing. Agatha followed his eyes.
There was a woman at the end of the west dock.
She wore all white, her hair the same ghostly color, wet from the rain.
“The Lady of the Lake?” Agatha breathed as she and Tedros moved closer—
Only now they could see the woman’s face.
Tedros squeezed Agatha’s hand. “Take our group and go,” he ordered.
“Let me come with—”
Tedros kissed her gently. “Go. I’ll see you inside.”
Agatha nodded. She gathered Hort, Nicola, Kiko, Willam, and Bogden and herded them down the east dock and into the castle.
Tedros came off the ship alone and faced the woman in white.
A key made of glass dangled from a chain around her neck.
“The Snake will have to kill me to get this key,” said Guinevere. “He won’t touch Excalibur as long as I’m alive.”
“I’m sorry, Mother,” Tedros rasped, trying to quell his emotion.
“My hair changed color the moment I heard the news,” said Guinevere. “And yet, I haven’t been able to cry.”
“He loved you so much,” said her son, his voice breaking. “In a way Dad never could. You were everything to Lance. He said it to me as he . . . as he . . .”
Guinevere pulled him into her arms. “He loved you too, Tedros. Like his own son. Even if he wasn’t always sure how to show it.”
“Why did he kill Lance? Why not me?” Tedros breathed, rain falling on his face.
“Remember what Merlin said,” his mother whispered. “He wants to break you. To take away everything you love so you’ll be too weak to fight back. But you have to fight back, Tedros. You have to stay strong. Both of us do.”