“I am the eldest son of King Arthur, raised in secret and returned to claim my throne,” Rhian declared, his voice as sharp as a whip. “I am the true heir to the throne of Camelot. I am the one true king come to restore this kingdom to glory.” He raised Excalibur to the people like a grail. “I am your Lion!”
For a moment, the Evers and Nevers of the Woods were quiet as a tomb, their stares shifting from Tedros to Rhian, caught between two kings.
Citizens of Camelot broke the silence first, reacting first with murmurs and boos. They grew louder, as they rallied to the defense of Arthur’s son, a son they’d known since he was a child—
But then it came.
A unified roar from the masses around them.
Masses that outnumbered them, from kingdoms Good and Evil that Tedros had once ignored.
This was the ending they’d been waiting for. This was the Storian’s justice. A king for all kingdoms. A fairy tale finally complete.
“RHIAN THE KING! RHIAN THE KING!” they bellowed, madly waving their Lion masks and signs.
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.
About the Author
Photo by David J. Martin
SOMAN CHAINANI’s first three novels in the School for Good and Evil series each debuted on the New York Times bestseller list. The series has sold over 1.5 million copies, been translated into more than twenty languages across six continents, and will soon be a major motion picture from Universal Pictures.
A graduate of Harvard University and Columbia University’s MFA Film Program, Soman has made films that have played all over the world, and his writing awards include honors from Big Bear Lake, the CAPE Foundation, and the Sun Valley Writers’ Fellowship.
When he’s not telling stories, Soman is a die-hard tennis player who never lost a first-round match for ten years . . . until he started writing The School for Good and Evil. Now he loses all the time.
You can visit Soman at
www.somanchainani.net.
www.schoolforgoodandevil.com
Discover great authors, exclusive offers, and more at hc.com.
Credits
Cover art © 2017 by Iacopo Bruno
Copyright
THE SCHOOL FOR GOOD AND EVIL #4: QUESTS FOR GLORY. Text copyright © 2017 by Soman Chainani. Illustration here by Michael Blank. Illustrations copyright © 2017 by Iacopo Bruno. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
www.harpercollinschildrens.com
* * *
Library of Congress Control Number: 2017942896
ISBN 978-0-06-265847-0 (trade bdg.) — ISBN 978-0-06-266768-7 (int.)
ISBN 978-0-06-267752-5 (special edition) — ISBN 978-0-06-268176-8 (special edition)
ISBN 978-0-06-274163-9 (special edition) — ISBN 978-0-06-274811-9 (special edition)
EPub Edition © August 2017 ISBN 9780062658494
* * *
17 18 19 20 21 CG/LSCH 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
FIRST EDITION
About the Publisher
Australia
HarperCollins Publishers Australia Pty. Ltd.
Level 13, 201 Elizabeth Street
Sydney, NSW 2000, Australia
www.harpercollins.com.au
Canada
HarperCollins Canada
2 Bloor Street East - 20th Floor
Toronto, ON M4W 1
A8, Canada
www.harpercollins.ca
New Zealand
HarperCollins Publishers
New Zealand
Unit D1, 63 Apollo Drive
Rosedale 0632
Auckland, New Zealand
www.harpercollins.co.nz
United Kingdom
HarperCollins Publishers Ltd.
1 London Bridge Street
London SE1 9GF, UK
www.harpercollins.co.uk
United States
HarperCollins Publishers Inc.
195 Broadway
New York, NY 10007
www.harpercollins.com
Quests for Glory Page 43