The tan, amber-skinned boy gazed down at his shoes for a moment. Then he looked up, his copper hair shining in the lamplight, his sharp-boned face radiant and calm.
“What is a king?” he said. “To some a figurehead. To some a throne in a castle far above the kingdom where the work is actually done. To many a stuffed shirt or a man of privilege who expects you to fight for him without knowing of your struggles, your toils, and your pain. But not to me. To me, a king is a lighthouse. A guide who can cast his glow across his kingdom and bring every last one of us out of the shadows. A beacon who we can look up to when the world seems lost. A bridge who can unite us when our differences seem too stark to reconcile. Tonight, we need a king who is all of those things. A king who can look each of you in the eye and make you feel that you won’t just fight for him or his kingdom, but you’ll fight for our way of life. Because tonight, we join forces to take on a Snake: not just because he’s attacked our families and our kingdoms, not just because he’s sabotaged the rules and order of our world, not just because he’s too scared to show his face . . . but because he dared us to come together, Good and Evil, and bring forth a hero. A hero that will stand up to him and destroy him like the coward that he is. A hero that will plunge into battle and make sure he has the last blow. That sordid, slippery little Snake looked us in the eyes and dared us to sire a king. And tonight, that king will have his vengeance.”
Rhian held up his fist. “To King Tedros!”
“To King Tedros!” the crowd roared, weapons raised, before erupting in warmongering cheers and chants.
Tedros stared at Rhian dumbly from the shadows.
Agatha looked at Sophie with the same expression.
Sophie smiled, her cheeks glowing. “Now that, my darling, was a speech.”
An hour before midnight, Tedros’ team and Rhian’s team reunited in the Blue Tower Dining Room over a simple buffet of grilled chicken, cabbage salad, wild rice, and chocolate ice cream. All of them were in chainmail armor that Kiko had scavenged and cleaned and they carried the weapons from the Armory that Hort had repaired.
From the dining room windows, they could see the torches of Camelot’s new army in the distance, lighting up the night sky, as the thousand-plus soldiers barricaded the broken drawbridge within the outer gates.
Tedros took his place at the front of the dining room, the metal of his armor gleaming under a chandelier, Lancelot’s old sword on his belt.
Everyone stopped eating to listen to the king.
“Professor Dovey will arrive soon to place a magical barrier over Camelot’s outer gates. Which means the only way the Snake can get in is if his army gets past ours. Given our size and strength, that will not happen,” he said, trying hard to sound regal after the events in the Hall. “Here’s your assignments. Hort, Beatrix, Reena, Kiko: you’ll be on guard with the soldiers in front of the drawbridge. Hester, Anadil, Dot: you’ll patrol the rope bridge to make sure nothing gets across. Willam and Bogden: you’ll man the barrels of hot oil atop the towers. Rhian and Sophie: you’ll be the first line of defense in front of the castle doors. Agatha and myself will protect Excalibur. Everyone know where they’re supposed to be? Finish eating, then get to your posts.”
The room set into motion.
Sophie piddled half of a chicken breast and a bit of cabbage onto her plate. She hesitated, then added a teaspoon of ice cream.
“Ice cream? You must think we’re going to die,” said Tedros, sliding next to her with three hunks of chicken and a mound of rice on his plate.
“You and I might die, but Sophie won’t,” Rhian piped in, having finished eating. “No way will I let anything happen to my girl. Even if she does send her little friends to check up on me.”
“What?” Sophie asked, confused.
“Don’t play coy. I know you have Nicola sussing out my ex-girlfriends,” said Rhian.
Mystified, Sophie looked at Tedros.
“Don’t look at me. I heard Nicola too,” said the king.
Sophie remembered what Tedros had said to her back on the ship: “You don’t have to hunt for flaws or dig up dirt on him. . . .”
“Well, if there are any demented ex-girlfriends, Nicola certainly hasn’t mentioned them to me,” Sophie puffed, hanging on Rhian’s arm. “So you better come clean before I become a knight’s lady.”
“A knight’s lady,” Rhian mused, fingering ice cream off her plate into his mouth. “Such a downgrade from Evil’s queen.”
“Then you better find a way to make me feel like a queen,” said Sophie archly.
“Oh, I have some ideas,” Rhian said, dotting ice cream on her nose.
“You’re good at talking, aren’t you?” Sophie said.
“Don’t I know it,” Tedros said flatly. “Made me look like the opening act in front of my army.”
“On the contrary, I’d say he honored you and everything you’re fighting for,” said Agatha, joining them, a mountain of ice cream on her plate.
“I know,” said Tedros, forcing a smile. “It’s why I assigned him to guard the castle doors. If the Snake manages to get onto the grounds, I know Rhian will stop him. As long as I get to kill the Snake myself like Rhian promised.”
“You have my word,” said Rhian firmly.
The two boys kept talking, while Agatha pulled Sophie aside.
“What’s wrong with Dot?” Agatha asked.
Sophie spotted Dot alone in the corner, separate from Hester and Anadil, sulkily turning her chocolate ice cream to extra-extra chocolate.
“Thinks Hester and Ani let a pirate through during loyalty tests, which is ridiculous, given those two are suspicious of everything,” said Sophie. “But after what happened with her dad and Kei, I think Dot’s just looking for a way to feel useful.”
Agatha sighed. “Let me talk to her.”
As her friend left, Sophie could hear Tedros and Rhian—
“Where’s your mother?” said Rhian.
“Waiting for Dovey at the outer gates,” said Tedros. “Leaders of the other kingdoms are out there with her. They want to fight alongside their soldiers. I still think you and I should do the same instead of manning the castle.”
“And if the Snake gets past the soldiers, then what?” said Rhian.
“No way his army gets past ours. They’re paid mercenaries. Our soldiers fight for a cause,” said Tedros.
“Regardless, you and I need to protect the castle and Excalibur. We’re Camelot’s last stand,” said Rhian.
Tedros looked at him. Then he glanced away. “It’s strange when a king trusts his knight’s judgment more than his own,” he said.
“You don’t mean that,” said Rhian.
Tedros didn’t answer. He moved food around on his plate. “By the way . . . what house were you in at that Foxwood school?”
“Arbed House,” said Rhian. “Why do you ask?”
“Figured if Sophie is digging up dirt on you, I should too,” said Tedros, grinning.