Dovey turned the crystal ball back on herself. “I had the fairies copy the boy’s image and without giving details, I asked all the teachers and students of both schools if they recognized him. No one has ever seen this boy before. Not a single person. Which, given his accomplishments and skills last night, seems rather impossible. There is something familiar in his face, though . . . something I can’t quite put my finger on—”
She coughed hard, clutching her chest, upending the ball. As it resettled, Agatha noticed the black ridges under Dovey’s eyes had grown deeper, her face seemingly older overnight.
“Professor, I know you want us to retrieve the rest of the quest teams,” said Agatha, “but you don’t sound well—”
“We can come back to school and help you,” Sophie agreed, suddenly alert. “That’s my quest as Dean—”
“No, your quest is to follow my orders. Besides, I’m fine, though my crystal ball is running out of time for today, so pay attention,” Dovey insisted, her voice still shaky. “After what’s happened with Millicent and Chaddick, I don’t want any more students hurt. Find the remaining quest teams immediately, bring them onto the Igraine, and return them to the School for Good and Evil, where they’ll be safe. Also, I’ve spoken to Guinevere. More of the Snake’s attacks have been foiled by the Lion in Mahadeva and Foxwood. With the Lion on his tail, the Snake will surely storm Camelot and try to take it by force. If Camelot falls to the Snake, so will all the kingdoms of the Woods. Guinevere is working with Good and Evil leaders to quickly build an army to defend Camelot from the Snake and his mercenaries. Tedros, meanwhile, is riding out with Lancelot to meet the Lion tonight and find out who he is. If this Lion is indeed a loyal ally, he will be a crucial asset in fighting the Snake when he and his army assault the castle.”
“Tedros is riding into the Woods?” Agatha asked, bolting straighter.
“The Lion is meeting him?” Sophie asked, perking up.
“Where?” the two girls overlapped, then glanced at each other, frowning.
“Sherwood Forest,” said Professor Dovey. “It’s the only safe space near Camelot where the Snake can’t get to Tedros—”
“Mmm, not so safe anymore,” said a voice.
Agatha, Sophie, and Dovey raised their heads.
Dot held up soggy parchment, stamped with the Sheriff of Nottingham’s seal. “Since Agatha hasn’t been using her courier crow, I sent Daddy a note after the Four Point telling him I was safe. He’s sent back a letter saying those eely, snaky things were spotted around Nottingham last night. They haven’t attacked anyone or done anything bad, but they’re slipping in and out of people’s houses as if they’re searching for someone. If the Snake’s in Nottingham, that’s next to Sherwood Forest, where Tedros and the Lion are meeting.”
Sophie blinked at her. “You eavesdropped on everything we were saying?”
“Eavesdropped? You were yelling,” said Beatrix, looking up.
“About the Lion,” said Anadil.
“And the kiss,” said Nicola.
“And how you don’t know his name,” said Hort, stonefaced.
“Sophie kisses Rafal, Sophie kisses Tedros, now Sophie kisses Lion with No Name,” said Kiko. “My mother said kiss too many boys and you turn into a snail.”
“Preach,” said Hester.
Sophie pursed her lips.
Dovey suddenly looked worried. “Scims in Nottingham? Girls, there were over a dozen Good and Evil leaders at the Camelot summit. All of them know Tedros and Lancelot are riding to meet the Lion in Sherwood Forest tonight. One of them could be a spy for the Snake. If so, the Snake might try to attack Tedros in Nottingham before he loses him in the Forest!” Dovey cast open her Quest Map, inspecting it. “Looks like Tedros is already close to the Nottingham border. A message won’t reach him in time. And Merlin hasn’t answered any of my letters so I don’t even know where he is. If Tedros is ambushed, it’ll fall on Lancelot alone to protect him!” She swiveled to the girls. “But your crew has the advantage of numbers. It’s our only option. You must find him before he meets the Lion and warn him he may have been betrayed—”
“We’ll set our course to Nottingham at once,” said Agatha nervously.
“We can’t let him be attacked!” Dovey pressed.
“We’ll save the Lion like he saved us—” Sophie breathed.
“She means Tedros, you idiot!” Agatha shot back.
“Right. Of course,” said Sophie tightly.
“Get to Nottingham, girls! Quickly!” said Dovey, the image of her face starting to fade. “Keep Tedros safe and bring him to Camelot. You must not fail! My crystal ball resets at midnight, so I’ll—”
She vanished midsentence like a ghost.
“Really, that crystal ball is a menace,” said Sophie.
Agatha whirled towards her. “We need to talk—”
Sophie was already standing. “We’ll do a nice catch-up over tea and those vile chocolate cookies you love,” she said, hustling away. “But you need to set the ship’s course and Kiko is desperate to speak to me, so it’ll have to be another time. . . .”
Tedros riding into the Woods . . . Tedros meeting the Lion . . . the Snake looking for him . . .
Agatha’s heart hammered as she hurried onto the deck and gripped the captain’s wheel. She had to get to Tedros before the Snake did— “Fly to Nottingham!” Agatha commanded.
The ship rocked backwards, knocking her off her feet.
She heard screams from the galley as the Igraine pulled out of the sea, the ivory sails catching the wind, and launched straight upwards, like a balloon cut from its string, soaring up, up, up, until it leveled off, surrounded by puffy sunlit clouds. The Igraine pivoted west, as if setting its course, and zoomed into the horizon with smooth, comfortable speed.
Agatha lumbered off the floor, hearing groans and shouts inside the ship.
“You could have warned us!” someone hollered.
“Good job, Captain!” heckled someone else.
Agatha ignored them, watching the Igraine plow out of the cloud tunnel and into open sky. She should go and check on her crew—that was the Good thing to do—but her nerves were frayed, her body exhausted, and all she could think about was finding her prince.
A sense of déjà vu swept over her. Because last night she was sure she’d found her prince. When that masked Lion freed her, she’d felt so relieved and protected, back in her true love’s arms. But it wasn’t her true love and instead she’d watched the boy she thought was hers . . . kiss Sophie.
The shock of the Lion pulling off his mask and not being Tedros had left her reeling. Yet instead of being thankful to this so-called Lion or comforted that he’d saved them when Tedros hadn’t, Agatha wanted nothing to do with him. Why? Why wasn’t she happy that Sophie had found a new romance and their team a new ally? Why was her blood boiling as if this boy were a villain instead of a friend?
Was it because Sophie was back to her old princessey self, mooning over boys she barely knew? No . . . that wasn’t it. Sophie hadn’t sought out this Lion like she’d once sought out a prince. This boy had dropped into their story and kissed her out of the blue.
Maybe that’s what was irritating her: that some boy would kiss her best friend as his reward for a Good deed. No . . . that wasn’t it either. Most Everboys claimed to do Good for Good’s sake, but in the end, let’s face it: it was usually to get a girl.
No, deep down, Agatha knew what was really bothering her.