“We are good in war, aren’t we?” said Tedros.
“I’ll ask Sophie if she can do a war-themed wedding, then,” said Agatha dryly.
They split in opposite directions, with Tedros heading down a hall, searching for the remainder of his team— He tripped over Willam and Bogden, who were dealing tarot cards on the carpet.
“You can’t be serious,” Tedros said, scowling.
“We’re saving your kingdom. See, look,” Bogden peeped, holding up a Five of Wands. “Be wary of gifts.”
“If I’d known I’d get stuck with two astrology-obsessed monkeys, I would have put you on Rhian’s team!”
“Tarot cards aren’t astrology,” said Willam.
“Where’s Nicola?” Tedros asked, tempted to give both of them a beating.
“She said she saw stars and was following them into the bathroom,” said Bogden.
“Is this more astrology crap?” Tedros barked.
“No, she literally found stars in the hallway and was following them into the bathroom next to Lady Gremlaine’s old room,” said Willam, his eyes still on the cards. “Hmm. Definitely be wary of gifts.”
Tedros had no clue what Willam was talking about, but he couldn’t deal with these two nitwits anymore, nor did he want a random first year hovering around his father’s old guest room.
He hastened through the second floor towards the bathroom—
Tedros stopped short.
A white star glowed on the carpet in front of him.
Merlin’s white star.
Tedros lifted his eyes.
More stars lined the hallway, leading up to the closed bathroom door.
Tedros knocked on it. “Nicola?”
No answer.
He turned the knob. “Nicola, you in here?”
The bathroom was empty, the opposing doors to Lady Gremlaine’s room and the guest room both shut.
But the trail of stars continued, tracking right to the edge of the guest room door.
Tedros pulled it open, revealing the dim, airless chamber.
Nicola wasn’t inside.
More lit stars dotted the carpet like breadcrumbs, pointing to the bed in the corner.
He followed them until he was standing over the mattress, where a single star lay on top of its sheets, blinking with white light.
Tedros waited for something to happen.
The star kept flashing at him.
Instinctively, the young king found himself climbing into the stiff bed and sliding under the stale beige sheets. Except the sheets felt oddly thicker than they looked, layered underneath with a heavy blanket that felt soft against Tedros’ skin, made of some kind of wool or . . .
Velvet.
Tedros’ heart jumped.
He yanked the blanket over his head, seeing the glint of silver-sewn stars in the darkness.
The next thing he knew he was falling.
As he crawled across the cloud, he saw Merlin seated next to Nicola at its edge, framed against the purple sky, the wizard and first year sharing a chocolate-chunk cookie. Nicola had Merlin’s hat in her hand and was petting it like a dog, the hat purring softly under her palm.
“Yes, don’t worry, Professor Dovey knows I’m alive,” the wizard was telling her. “Or she will soon, at least. I’ve sent her a note ordering her to remain at school and let Tedros handle affairs at Camelot. After what happened to Lancelot, I don’t want Clarissa to put herself in harm’s way. Especially when she isn’t at her best.”
“Is she ill?” Tedros asked.
Merlin turned and saw the young king. “No, she’s not ill,” said the wizard. “Nicola and I were having a nice chat. She happened to come across the trail I left for you, and being a clever little Reader, she found her way to me first.” Merlin saw Tedros’ blank expression. “I’m assuming you two know each other?”
“Yeah,” said Nicola. “Not really,” said Tedros at the same time.
“I see,” said Merlin.
“Can we talk alone?” Tedros pressed the wizard.
“Don’t mind me. I’m just on your team,” said Nicola, standing up.
“Sorry if I don’t have time for pleasantries. I’m trying to keep all of us alive,” Tedros retorted.
“So am I, but whatever,” the first year mumbled. “Everyone else is different in real life than they are in books, but you’re pretty much spot-on.” She returned the hat to the wizard. “I’ll see you soon, Merlin—”
“How am I in books?” said Tedros, frowning.
Nicola threw him a glance. “High-handed and overemotional.”
Merlin’s hat whistled.
“Thanks in advance for that favor, Merlin,” Nicola said.
Cookie in hand, she cannonballed over the edge of the cloud and vanished into the purple night.
Tedros settled next to Merlin, shoving the hat away.
“She wanted a favor?” Tedros asked sourly.
“Suggested I check on a student’s records from school,” said the wizard.
“Rhian’s? Dovey already checked on Rhian—”
“No. Not his. Nicola really is a sharp young girl. I can see why the Storian included her in your—”
“Lancelot is dead, Merlin,” Tedros cut in, cheeks reddening. “The Snake is coming. War is coming. And you’re sitting here on a cloud, entertaining irrelevant favors from first years. Where have you been!”
“The answer to that question is always the same, my boy. I’ve been trying to help you. And when I leave at the close of this conversation, an exit to which you will no doubt take great offense, I hope you’ll remember that.”
“You’re leaving? Now?”
“Whatever you think I should be doing, Tedros, please believe me when I say that whatever I am doing will prove far more beneficial to your future.”
“Which is what, exactly!”
“I cannot tell you,” said Merlin.
Tedros let out a roar, which resounded through the Celestium, then faded to silence.
“I will not live forever, Tedros. There is still a bounty on my head. Nor am I immortal or extending my life with leprechaun blood, regardless of what those peons at the Royal Rot write,” said Merlin. “My work with your father remains unfinished. I must carry it through with you until I am dead or the work is done.”
“When will the work be done?” Tedros asked.
“On the day I look to you for wisdom instead of you looking to me,” said Merlin.
“Better invest in leprechaun blood, then,” said Tedros.
“I am well aware we are running out of time,” said Merlin. “You and me both. The Snake is coming for you. And I’m afraid I have little to offer in the way of help.”
“‘Little.’ Not ‘nothing,’” said Tedros hopefully.
“Indeed. On the way here, I stopped in Avalon to see the Lady of the Lake.”
Tedros straightened. “Did she really give up her powers for the Snake? Did she really . . . kiss him?”
“She wouldn’t see me, which makes me think she did,” Merlin replied. “She sent me a note through her waters, however, which said that if I promised to never return to her castle, I could ask her one and only one question and she would answer it honestly. Since she was quite clear about not seeing me, I accepted her offer.”
“What did you ask her?”