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.