A Crystal of Time (The School for Good and Evil The Camelot Years #2) - Soman Chainani Page 0,117

said Reaper, before turning to Sophie and the prince. “Both of you will be submerged with her and ready to enter.”

Agatha was already climbing into the steam bath, the sweet-scented water flooding under her dress, warming the sore spots on her skin. Sweat beaded her temples, the bath feeling hotter by the second. She immersed her head and soaked her face and hair, her foot sliding along the stone floor until it touched the crystal.

A bomb of water detonated near her, tan muscles peeking through liquid clouds. Agatha resurfaced and through the mist, she saw Tedros, eyes closed and gritting his teeth as the heat burned at wounds on his bare chest. His breeches ballooned with water, his legs stretching out and grazing Agatha’s thigh. He opened his eyes and caught her watching. He flicked foamy water at her. Agatha splashed him back hard. Tedros grabbed her puckishly and pulled her to his chest, her body smushed against his bubbling breeches. He whipped his hair back and held her tighter, dripping sweat onto his princess as steam walled them in.

Slowly the steam broke apart and they saw Sophie gaping at them.

“I have to get in with them?” she said.

“You took a steam bath with Hort,” said Tedros.

“That was espionage,” Sophie defended.

“And this is to save the world,” Agatha retorted. “Get in.”

Muttering to herself, Sophie hiked up her ruffly dress and dipped her toe into the edge of the tub. . . .

She pulled back. “You know, I can’t swim and I’m feeling a bit feverish. Might be jaundice or diphtheria. All that oversalted food at the castle. And now that I think about it, this is Aggie and Teddy’s mission. They should be the ones to find out why Rhian pulled the sword instead of Teddy. I hardly know Rhian at all—”

“You’re still wearing his ring,” said Agatha dryly.

Sophie glanced down at the diamond on her finger. “I’m perfectly capable of divorcing fine jewelry from its symbolism.”

“Rhian picked you to be his wife,” Reaper pointed out. “He chose you to stand by his side, even though he has a brother far more loyal to him than you’ll ever be. So why would Rhian take a queen at all? A queen he certainly doesn’t love? He chose you for a reason. You are as much a part of this story as Tedros and Agatha and we need to find out why. Though if you insist you serve no purpose, I’m happy to leave you to the gnomes and see what they do with a friend of King Arthur’s son.”

“I liked it better when you didn’t talk,” Sophie growled, shoving into the tub, her white dress pooling with orange blossoms. She drew into a corner, away from Agatha and her prince, still cozied together on the opposite side. “What now?”

From the edge of the tub, Reaper clawed down Agatha’s shoulder and clasped onto her dress. “On the count of three, we’ll all go under. Agatha will trigger the crystal. The portal will open for a split second. Touch the crystal in that moment and you’ll be transported inside. This is important. You must touch the crystal. If you don’t, you’ll be shut out from the portal and so disoriented you will likely drown.”

“Meanwhile, Beatrix gets to patrol a tree,” Sophie murmured.

Reaper’s shriveled body clung tighter to Agatha’s collar, the cat trying not to let his tail touch the water until it had to. “On your count, Agatha.”

Agatha pulled away from Tedros and slid across the stone rim of the tub until the crystal was under her toes again. Gone was her sense of being overwhelmed, replaced by trust in where her story had led her. If this was Dovey’s and Merlin’s unfinished quest, then she would do everything to finish it.

She looked at her prince, then her best friend. “Ready?”

“Anything that gets me to the truth,” Tedros steeled.

“Anything that gets me to a new dress,” said Sophie.

Agatha took a deep breath. “3 . . . 2 . . . 1 . . .”

She plunged into the tub with Reaper, the twin splashes of Sophie and Tedros blooming underneath. Agatha thrust her head downwards, tangling in her friends’ limbs as she flattened her body against the stone floor so she was level with the orb. She gazed through the cracked glass into the center of the ball, the silence of the water stilling her mind.

The crack split open like a doorway and blinding blue light burst through like a tsunami, slamming Agatha against