Tedros saw the whole table turn to him.
“When you were in peril at school, Clarissa and I did our best to intervene,” said Merlin. “We knew what we were up against with the School Master. But this time Clarissa and I are of little help. This is no ordinary villain. Not if he made the Lady of the Lake betray you and drained her powers. The Snake could surely waltz into Camelot and try his hand at Excalibur any moment he chooses. But he hasn’t. Why? Because he wants to make you look weak first. He wants the people of the Woods to see they’re behind the wrong king. Only then will he come for Excalibur—when they no longer have a Lion to believe in. And as that Lion, you must stop him. So now, my dear king, you must tell us what to do.”
Tedros swallowed, every muscle in his body rigid.
He’d been king for more than six months. But this was the first time he felt like one.
“I’ll lead an army against him,” he said finally. “An army of Good and Evil, like my father would. The Snake won’t stand a chance.”
“Thank you, my king. Then that is what we will do,” said Merlin, turning to the others. “But we must build this army quickly.”
“Merlin, we have no soldiers, no knights, and no funds,” said Tedros, feeling powerless again. “We don’t even know the Snake’s plan—”
“I said Clarissa and I would be of ‘little help.’ Not ‘no help,’” said the wizard. “Look closer at this map.”
Tedros leaned in, as did his mother and Lancelot.
“Or rather: look bigger,” the wizard said.
He swished his hand and the floating Quest Map extended at both ends, showing more and more three-dimensional kingdoms far beyond the scope of the students’ quests—kingdoms Tedros had never heard of: Dannamorah, Sing-Sing, Hisa Hassan, Shangri-La . . . The map kept stretching across the length of the dining room until it jammed against the walls and started curling in, reaching around Tedros like a python. . . .
“The Woods are endless. That we know, since fools like me keep trying to find the end of them,” said the wizard, stopping the map’s advance before it mummified the young king. “And yet, the Deans of the School for Good and Evil only assign students’ quests in the kingdoms nearest to the school. A perfect little orbit . . .” He swept his hand, lighting up the fourth years in a fluorescent circle around the twin castles. “Why? To keep students at close distance, should there be a need to dispatch a rescue team.”
He erased the glow along with all the figurines and names. “Now let’s look at the terror attacks in the Woods. Terror that is supposedly random and assaulting kingdoms without warning. But is it so random? Look at where the attacks have happened—”
Merlin pointed a finger and instantly dozens of kingdoms on the map were plagued by shadows of magical terror: a raging fire in Glass Mountain; looting werewolves in Bloodbrook; clouds of bees in Gillikin; yogurt mudslides in Altazarra. . . .
“If the terror were random, then one would expect it to appear everywhere. Even in kingdoms at the farthest ends of the Woods. But as you can see . . .” He nodded towards the extended regions of the map, blissfully clear of attacks. “They seem to have been miraculously spared. Instead, all the terror is concentrated right here at the center of the map. And if we’re even more precise . . .” He waved his hand, lighting up the afflicted kingdoms with fluorescent glow—
“They’re all in a perfect orbit right around Camelot. Just as your classmates’ quests are all circled around the School for Good and Evil.”
Tedros stared at the illuminated sphere circling his kingdom. “Um, okay. I know I’m supposed to know what this means, but I wasn’t as good a student as Agatha—”
“It means the unrest in the Woods is as carefully planned as the quest assignments are,” Professor Dovey cut in, sounding as teacherly as when she’d taught his Good Deeds class. “The Snake doesn’t want the entire Woods in upheaval. He only wants the kingdoms closest to Camelot to suffer and he’s paying his minions to target these kingdoms specifically.”
“But why the kingdoms around Camelot instead of Camelot?” Lancelot asked. “And why these small-time attacks? Fires? Looting? Bees? Why not just come for Tedros?”
“Oh, he’s coming for Tedros. And soon. That is a certainty,” said Merlin.
“Let him come for me,” Tedros retorted, fists clenched. “I’ll kill him—”
“And that is precisely the Snake’s plan. To bait you into a fight you are not ready for,” said Merlin sternly. “You have no army yet. The people of Camelot doubt your place and fitness as king. The kingdoms around Camelot are plagued by chaos and fear, their rulers desperately calling on Camelot to save them as it has always done before. Only this time, Camelot’s king has done nothing to help them. And yet . . . you still think you’re ready to fight?”
“I’m King Arthur’s son—” Tedros defended.
“A king is only as strong as his kingdom. A king is only as strong as his allies. A king is only as strong as his army. You are not strong, Tedros, and the Snake knows it,” said Merlin, bearing down. “You are as weak now as your father was in the last year of his reign. And his weakness led not only to his death, but to the fall of the kingdom into enemy hands.”
Tedros went quiet.
“The Snake is well aware of your father’s history,” said the wizard. “He will not give you the time to build an army or get stronger. Soon he’ll reveal himself to the Woods as the mastermind behind all these attacks and dare you to battle him on a grand stage. And it’s quite clear what this stage will be.”
Tedros paled. “The Four Point,” he said, meeting the wizard’s eyes. “Where Dad was wounded.”
“It’s surely why he tricked the Lady of the Lake into kissing him. So the Four Point would no longer be protected,” said the wizard. He pointed towards a tiny territory on the map not far from Camelot, where two Ever kingdoms and two Never kingdoms met: Jaunt Jolie, Kingdom Kyrgios, Ravenbow, and Bloodbrook. “The Four Point isn’t just a symbol of King Arthur’s reign. It is the only reason there is lasting peace between Good and Evil—a truce point that reminds kingdoms Camelot will fight to protect the balance. The people of the Woods are terrified right now. If the Snake murders you on the same spot your father suffered a fatal blow, it means he is not just more powerful than King Arthur, but more powerful than his legacy. With that kind of power, I assure you, no one will stop him from walking into Camelot and taking your crown. Regardless of what becomes of Excalibur.”
“Which is why I should ride out there right now,” Tedros returned, rising from his seat—
“No, it’s why you shouldn’t ride out there at all,” said Merlin. “Did you hear anything I just said? The Four Point will be a trap. And to fight the Snake there is to fall right into it.”