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

Chapter 31

Hort tried to ignore the posters, but it was impossible when there was one pinned to every single orange tree lining the Rue du Palais.

"WANTED: All Current Students and Teachers of The School for Good and Evil. REWARD: 60 Gold Pieces for Each Soul, Dead or Alive. BY ORDER OF King Dutra of Foxwood."

Kids their age in prim Foxwood School uniforms loitered by the trees, just out of school, guzzling glass bottles of orange soda and sharing gummy chews and sugar sticks.

"How we supposed to tell one of those School of Good and Evil stiffs from a sorry sop on the street?" asked a red-haired boy, inspecting the poster.

"They got that glowing finger," said a girl, reapplying lipstick in a pocket mirror. "The one they use for spells."

"For sixty gold smacks, I'll make my own finger glow and turn myself in," a dark-skinned boy said, eyeing Hort as he passed.

Hort picked up his pace. The boy was right. For sixty gold pieces, Hort would turn in his own mother. (If he knew who his mother was. Anytime he'd asked his dad, he'd got a grumble or a slap.) Hort glanced at his Beatrix, walking with him, expecting her to be just as alarmed by the high price on their heads.

"The boys in this kingdom are all so handsome," Beatrix marveled at the well-dressed crowd on the Rue du Palais, Foxwood's tree-lined thoroughfare of shops, inns, and pubs, leading up to the king's palace. There seemed to be a uniform here, even for non-students: women wore solid dresses in a spectrum of colors, while men wore tailored suits in the same unpatterned shades. The sum effect made Hort feel like he was at a paint shop, trying to pick the perfect hue. Beatrix ogled two passing boys, muscles barely contained by their suits. "Seriously, every single one looks like a prince."

"You can have 'em," Hort grumbled, picking at his new blue pants. "Foxwood is known for good-looking blokes, who are boring, brownnosing, and can't think for themselves. Just take Kei and Chaddick. Both from Foxwood, both pretty-faced sidekicks, working for twits. Beatrix, there's a lot of people here. Maybe we should wait until dark—"

"Tedros is not a twit and Chaddick is dead. Have some respect," Beatrix chided, walking faster in her new beige dress. "And we can't wait until dark because we need to get inside the Foxwood School for Boys and look for Rhian's files. Rhian told Tedros he was a student there."

"But Merlin tried already and couldn't find any files for Rhian," Hort pointed out, itching at his hair. "I say we poison the Foxwood king instead. Robin said he was the first coward to burn his ring, plus if we kill him, no one can pay the sixty gold pieces for our heads."

"We are not killing a king who has nothing to do with our mission," Beatrix retorted. "Reaper told us to find out about Rhian and his brother's past. And Rhian told Tedros he was a student in Arbed House. We have to at least check it out."

"I thought Rhian went to the Foxwood School for Boys."

"Arbed House is in the Foxwood School for Boys. It's a dormitory," Beatrix said impatiently. "Didn't Tedros explain all this to you?"

"Tedros and I had a conversation once," said Hort. "I spent the whole time hoping he might drop dead."

Beatrix side-eyed him. "Arbed House is where parents in Foxwood hide their children who they fear are Evil. So Evil they're afraid the School Master might kidnap them. No parent here wants a famous villain as a child. So Dean Brunhilde magically conceals these wayward children from the School Master so he never knows they exist. The Dean doesn't tell her Arbed kids they're Evil, though. Does her best to turn their souls Good." Beatrix paused. "Clearly she failed with Rhian."