One True Queen (School for Good and Evil Book 2)

Chapter 21

Earlier that evening, the pirates Beeba and Aran brought Sophie down from the Map Room for dinner. Y/n, Rhian, and Japeth were already halfway through their first course.

"It needs to be harsh. A warning," she heard Japeth saying in the refurbished Gold Tower dining room. "Lionsmane's first tale should instill fear."

"Lionsmane should give people hope," said Rhian's voice. "People like you and me who grew up without any."

"Mother is dead because she believed in hope," said his brother.

"And yet, Mother's death is the reason both of us are in this room," said Rhian.

"You idiots," Y/n's voice snapped. "We won't be instilling any hope or fear any time soon if we keep bickering about this."

As she neared the door, all Sophie heard was silence. Then—

"Supporters of Tedros are protesting tonight in Camelot Park," said Japeth. "We should ride in and kill them all. That should be Lionsmane's first tale."

"Killing protestors will lead to more protests," said Rhian. "That's not the story I want to tell."

"You weren't afraid of bloodshed when it got you the throne," said Japeth snidely.

"I'm king. I'll write the tales," said Rhian.

"It's my pen," Japeth retorted.

"It's your scim," Y/n barked. Then, a sigh. "Look, I know it isn't easy. Serving as our liege. But there can only be one king and one queen, Japeth. I know why you've helped us. I know what you want. What all of us want. But to get it, we need the Woods on our side. We need to be good rulers."

Japeth snorted. "Every good ruler ends up dead."

"You have to trust us," Rhian pressed. "The same way we trust you."

"Y/n doesn't trust me," Japeth accused. "She doesn't trust either of us. We were just pawns in her game to win the throne."

"If that's true, why haven't I killed you both yet?" Y/n said.

Silence.

"If this is going to work, the three of us need to work together," Y/n went on. "Camelot won't side with a divided monarchy."

"You speak of a divided monarchy, and yet you keep Sophie here, when you know she's loyal to Tedros. Suppose you start listening to her instead of me?" Japeth said.

Rhian snorted. "As likely as me growing horns. Speaking of Sophie." He laid down his fork on his plate of rare, freckled deer meat and looked up coldly from the decadent table, his crown reflecting his blue-and-gold suit.

"I heard guards pounding on the Map Room door, Sophie. If you can't make it to dinner on time, then your friends in the dungeon won't get dinner at all—" He stopped.

Sophie stood beneath the new Lion-head chandelier, wearing the dress they'd left for her. Only she'd slashed the prim white frock in half, ruffled the bottom into three layers (short, shorter, shortest), hiked them high over her knees, and lined the seams of the dress with wet, globby beads, each filled with different colored ink. Crystal raindrops dangled from her ears; silver shadow burnished her eyelids; her lips were coated sparkly red; and she'd crowned her hair with origami stars, made from the parchment she'd ripped out of the wedding books. All in all, instead of the chastened girl the king might have expected after their encounter in the Map Room, Sophie had emerged looking both like a birthday cake and a girl jumping out of one.

The pirates with Sophie looked just as stunned as the king.

"Leave us," Rhian ordered them.

The moment they did, Japeth launched to his feet, his pale cheeks searing red. "That was our mother's dress."