All at once, the gallery of bodies behind Rhian surged into motion—
Agatha saw Guinevere grab Tedros, wresting him towards the archway. Dovey snatched Sophie by the wrist, pulling her after them, while Merlin herded the other students— But now a fleet of twenty armored guards marched through the arch, blocking their entry to the castle.
Merlin waved his arm, about to fire a spell, but a guard clubbed him hard over the head with his fists, knocking the wizard to the ground. The other guards captured Guinevere, Dovey, and all the others, leaving only Tedros and Sophie untouched.
“Those loyal to the previous reign cannot be trusted. They’ve done enough harm to Camelot and will do no more,” said King Rhian. “Take them to the dungeons!”
Tedros yelled, lunging for his friends, but a guard caught him, as the armored men towed Merlin’s unconscious body and the others into the castle.
“As for you, Tedros of Camelot,” Rhian said, leering at him. “You may have grown up with our father, but I am his son in deeds and in action. I am more his son than you will ever be. Look at you. You ruled your kingdom as an illegal king, uncrowned, untrusted, unwanted. When Camelot wanted a True king, you offered a Lie. When the Woods asked for help, you turned your back. When the Four Point was attacked, you stayed at home. When the Snake had to die, you left it to me. You’ve let your castle rot, your people starve, and the Woods suffer. You are a fraud. A failure. An impostor wearing my crown. If I am the real Lion, then you are the real Snake.”
“Rhian—” Tedros gasped from his guard’s grip. “What are you doing—”
“What you could never do,” Rhian said, his blue-green eyes tearing into him. “Being a king.”
He turned to the crowd. “I hereby declare Tedros of Camelot an enemy of the kingdom and sentence him to death. Take him to the dungeons to await his execution,” he thundered, as the guard tried to pull Tedros into the castle. “And find his so-called queen too!”
The crowd roared its approval, drowning out Camelot’s dissenters, as Tedros struggled against his guard— “DEATH TO TEDROS!” shouted one.
“GLORY TO RHIAN!” shouted another.
“GLORY TO THE WOODS!”
Two more guards emerged from the archway. Through one of the guard’s helmets, Agatha could see familiar red tattoos around the eyes. They lashed Tedros’ body in green metal chains.
All the while, Sophie couldn’t move, her body shaking, her skin ghost-pale.
Finally Rhian set his eyes on her.
Sophie whirled towards the archway, but Rhian was on her, wrenching her close to him as he swiveled towards the crowd and raised Sophie’s fist in his.
“Today, Camelot begins a new era of Truth over Lies, with a new king and a new princess, soon to be your queen,” Rhian said, holding Sophie so tight her knuckles turned white. “All of you are invited to the royal wedding to take place one week from today!”
Run, Sophie! Agatha thought. Run, now!
But now she saw Sophie looking down at her, terror in her face, her body pivoting slightly so Agatha could see something.
The sword.
Rhian had its tip right against Sophie’s spine.
Either she played the part of his princess or he’d split her open.
Someone grabbed Agatha’s arm—
“She’s here!” a toothless man croaked. “I found her! I found Tedros’ queen!”
By the time anyone heard him, Agatha was already running.
She ripped through the gauntlet of bodies towards the castle gates, Dovey’s bag slamming against her. She glanced back, spotting a dozen guards starting to plow through the crowd. Agatha ran and ran, over the broken drawbridge, down the carriage roads, now far out of the sight of the guards. But still she ran, until she was down the hill, catching her breath just long enough to look up at the sunlit castle, where guards took Tedros away as Rhian placed Camelot’s crown upon his own head, Sophie still tight against him. And as a cloud passed over the sun, sending the scene into shadows, the last thing Agatha saw was a new king cast in a golden glow and the old one dragged into the dark by his twisted green chains . . .
The Snake become the Lion and the Lion become the Snake.