A Crystal of Time (The School for Good and Evil The Camelot Years #2) - Soman Chainani Page 0,155

Sophie’s stomach. If Rhian was on his feet again, he was dangerous. But if he was feeling well enough to roam around, he was also able to fight . . . and if he could fight . . .

She touched the crystal in her pocket, squeezing its sharp edges between her fingers. Rhian kills Japeth. I kill Rhian. That’s what the crystal promised. Which meant first, she had to turn the two brothers against each other. But how? She’d have to make Rhian trust her . . . which meant she’d need time alone with him, away from his brother . . . But suppose Japeth had gotten back with the ring already?

In her window’s reflection, she noticed Kei yawn.

The statue lives.

Studying his reflection, Sophie considered his sensuous lips, his high cheekbones and structured jaw. Until now, she’d never thought of Kei as human, let alone as a boy. She suddenly remembered the ogling look he’d given her that first night at dinner, practically drooling with lust. . . .

So he was a boy, after all.

Well, then. A witch could do her work.

She turned to him, pulling her dress tighter. “Kei, darling. I heard Rhian mention something about ‘taking you back.’ What did he mean?”

Kei didn’t look at her.

“You answer to me, you know,” Sophie pointed out.

“I answer to the king,” Kei corrected.

“Who you apparently crawled back to like a dog,” Sophie snipped.

The captain stared forward.

“Certainly treats you like one,” she added.

Kei swiveled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. He took me back even though I was a traitor. Even though I’d gone and worked for him.”

Sophie blinked. “Tedros, you mean?”

Kei ignored her.

Sophie moved closer. “How do you think I feel? Being friends with Tedros but knowing in my heart that Rhian is the better king. How do you think I feel betraying Agatha so I can do what I think is right?” she said, shifting in her white dress, just happening to show more of her leg. “Playing both sides isn’t easy.”

Kei tried hard not to look. “Maybe you’re still playing both sides.”

“I’m on Rhian’s side, just like you,” Sophie vowed, cozying in, her lavender scent drifting towards him. “But Tedros and Agatha won’t give up. This is war now, between a real king and a false one. We need to work together, Kei. To protect our king. But you’ve known him longer.” Her hand brushed his. “Which means I can only protect him if I understand him like you do.” She caressed her throat, delicately biting at her lip. . . .

“Look, what do you want to know?” Kei blurted, pink spots on his cheeks.

“How did you meet Rhian?” Sophie questioned.

“We were friends at school. Best friends.”

“And then you helped him become king,” said Sophie, all business now. “When did he tell you he was Arthur’s son?”

“Rhian told everyone when we were at school,” Kei said, still piqued. “No one believed him. Not even his own brother. But I did. Even when Japeth and the others mocked me, I defended him. Not just because I loved Rhian like a brother or because I loved Camelot and fantasized about my best friend being its king. But because I hated the idea of Tedros as king. All of us in Arbed House did. We knew your fairy tale and we knew Tedros was unfit to lead a horse, let alone a kingdom. But then the Ever Guard trials started . . .”

“And you chose to be in Tedros’ guard,” said Sophie.

“As much as I’d loved Rhian, I’d despised his brother. I wanted to be away from Japeth,” Kei admitted. “Plus, there was the lure of serving Arthur’s kingdom, which I’d dreamed about since I was a boy. . . . So I gave Tedros a chance.”

“No shame in that,” said Sophie.

“Yes there is, when you betray your best friend and when the king you chose turns out to be more of a coward than you thought. All Tedros had to do was stand up and fight Japeth’s attacks. Rhian never would have become the Lion.”

“You knew Rhian’s brother was behind the attacks?” Sophie asked.

“I tried to tell Tedros when he was king,” said Kei ruefully. “The one time he and I spoke. He needed to ride out and fight the Snake . . . to kill him like Arthur would have . . . to be a leader. He would have become the Lion instead. He would have stayed king. Even with Excalibur trapped in that stone. The people