A Crystal of Time (The School for Good and Evil The Camelot Years #2) - Soman Chainani Page 0,173

she said to the camel. And I know your wish is to return home. To your two daughters. To the rest of your herd.

The camel stalled in surprise, then faced forward, withstanding more blows from Ajubaju’s stick.

I am a soldier of Shazabah, the animal spoke coldly, moving faster. I do as ordered.

No one is a soldier first, said Agatha. You are a mother first. A sister. A daughter. A friend.

You’ll say anything to be free, the camel scoffed.

We can both be free if you help me, Agatha replied.

I’m a gift for King Rhian, said the camel. If I reject my duty and return to Shazabah, I’ll be killed.

King Rhian’s reign will soon be at an end, Agatha replied. The sultan will be relieved you never made it to Camelot. Hide in the Woods until that time comes. Then you will be reunited with your family.

The camel marched ahead silently.

Why should I trust you? it said.

For the same reason I trust you, Agatha answered. Because I have to.

The camel glanced back at her. Then it faced forward.

What they say about you is true, Agatha of Woods Beyond.

Who’s “they”? Agatha asked.

The camel didn’t answer.

Sharply, it began to turn.

Get ready, the camel said.

Then it was running, back into the graveyard, towards the densest patch of tombs.

“What’s happening!” Ajubaju blurted, beating the camel—

Agatha spun to her friends. “Take cover!”

Tedros, Hort, Nicola, and Guinevere gaped at her.

“Now!” Agatha cried—

At full sprint, the camel threw itself against a tomb’s obelisk, shattering Agatha’s birdcage and spraying her to the dirt in a hail of wood. The camel bashed Tedros’ cage against a headstone, then Hort’s cage against another, freeing the prisoners. Shell-shocked, Ajubaju seized the camel’s throat, trying to strangle it—

The camel reared like a horse, bucking the beaver off and pinning him to the ground with its hoof. Gobs of fire spewed from the camel’s mouth, burning an outline in the dirt around the beaver’s body. The ground imploded. With a scream, Ajubaju plunged into the hole, disappearing into darkness.

The camel shook out its fur, as if it had hardly broken a sweat, before surveying the stunned prisoners strewn across graves. It found the one it was looking for. Gently, it nosed Agatha out of her cage’s wreckage and pressed its warm, scratchy cheek to hers.

Thank you, princess.

The camel bowed to Tedros and her friends . . . then pranced into the forest.

Flat on her back, hugging Dovey’s bag, Agatha stared into the sky, stars winking down at her. None of her friends moved. It was so quiet Agatha could hear the embers crackling around Ajubaju’s new grave.

“What just happened?” Hort rasped, shaking wood out of his pants.

Tedros pulled Agatha up. “Whatever happened, I’m pretty sure I know who was responsible.”

Agatha blushed, holding tight to her prince’s hand.

Then her face changed.

“Someone’s here,” she breathed.

Tedros and the others tracked her eyes down the slope.

On Necro Ridge, shadows were coming out of a carriage.

Agatha recognized the carriage at once.

It was the same one that had taken away her best friend.

FIVE SHADOWS TIPTOED between graves until they got close enough to see. They hunched behind a tomb crowned with a wreath of flowers. Agatha peeked out first.

Two pirates in Camelot armor were digging up the Snake’s grave. Kei watched over these pirates, his arms crossed, the captain’s face a cold mask. Soon, they’d dug enough for Agatha to confirm what she’d already known: the grave was empty.

Kei opened the carriage and the pirates reached inside, Agatha expecting them to bring out the king.

Instead, the pirates brought out something else.

A body.

Quickly, they lowered the corpse into the Snake’s grave and began refilling it.

“Who is it?” Nicola asked. “Who are they burying?”

“I can’t see,” said Hort, leaning further over the tomb—

He knocked into the wreath and it spun away, smacking into an adjacent headstone.

Kei swiveled in their direction—

Hort plastered to the ground.

“He saw me,” the weasel croaked. “Definitely saw me.”

“They’re coming for us, then,” said Guinevere.

“Light your glows,” Agatha ordered.

They waited behind the tomb, fingertips lit, prepared to defend themselves. . . .

Minutes passed.

No one came.

Slowly Agatha peered out.

The Snake’s grave was filled in. Down the ridge, the pirates were climbing back into their carriage.

Agatha crawled out from behind the tomb. . . .

Tedros squeezed her hand. “Wait for me.”

The prince followed her into the moonlight—

Both of them froze.

Kei was watching them.

He stood on the Snake’s grave, his face half-lit by the torches, his eyes pinned on the prince and princess.

Panicked, Agatha shielded Tedros, her fingerglow aimed at the captain.

But Kei