A Crystal of Time (The School for Good and Evil The Camelot Years #2) - Soman Chainani Page 0,158

behind, in his moment of shock and mourning, and cut it short with a single blow. She’d feel no remorse. The killing would come easy.

“You’re smiling,” said Rhian. “What are you thinking about?”

“You,” Sophie replied.

She lifted onto her toes and kissed him, sugary wetness coating her tongue and mixing with the cool mint of his mouth. For the briefest of moments, she thought of Rafal. Their lips parted, sticky and sweet. Rhian looked dazed, like she’d stabbed him, before he glanced away and padded forward, trying to steady his limp.

“I knew you would come back. I knew it. Even when Japeth told me I was a fool. I knew that we were meant to be together. King and queen.”

“Ah. The boy who said that he’d never love me. That love made people into foggy-eyed fools,” Sophie hazed, fully in control now. Her emerald eyes glimmered with mischief. “Suddenly, he isn’t seeing so clearly.”

“No, that’s not it.” Rhian rubbed at his close-shorn skull. “It’s just . . . You could have stayed with your friends. But you were loyal to me instead. When you didn’t need to be. And loyalty is something I haven’t had much of in my life.”

“You have the loyalty of your men and the rulers around you,” Sophie pointed out. “You have Kei’s loyalty. And your brother’s.”

“All of them want something from me, my brother included,” the king said, glancing at her. “Maybe you want something too.”

Sophie twinged with guilt and almost laughed. Guilt for a monster!

“Oh? What do you think I want?” she asked, playing with fire.

Rhian stopped on the path. He studied her carefully. “I think you want to make a difference in these Woods. That’s why you were unhappy as Dean. You said it yourself when we had dinner: you want a bigger life. It’s why you were drawn to me when we met.” He brushed aside a stray lock of her hair. “Think about it this way. The Pen put Tedros on the throne and he couldn’t keep these Woods safe. If the Pen can no longer be trusted to protect the Woods, then it’s up to a Man to take its place. Not just any Man. A King. The One True King. That’s why you came back to me. Your friends will think it’s because you’re Evil, of course. That you want to be a queen for the sake of a crown. But we both know the truth. It’s not enough to be queen for you. You want to be a good queen. And you can only do that with me.”

Sophie frowned, thrown by his earnestness. She kept walking. “I would be a good queen. That is true. But where’s the proof you would be a good king? You don’t believe in the Pen and yet the Pen keeps the balance between Good and Evil. That’s why the Storian has lasted all these years. If a king had the Storian’s power, he would destroy that balance. You would destroy that balance. You would wipe out all those who rebel against you. You would rule with Evil in a way the Pen never would.”

“Quite the opposite, in fact,” said the king, trying to keep up with her. “I would use the power of the Pen to do Good. To bring down that worthless school and reward ordinary people doing right in these Woods. Just like Lionsmane’s messages tried to do, before you hijacked them.”

“Oh please. Those messages were filled with lies—” Sophie argued.

“In the service of Good. To raise people up,” said Rhian. “But Lionsmane’s messages are just the beginning. A Good king protects his people. A Good king protects the Woods. What better way to protect the Woods than to wipe out Evil completely.”

“Impossible,” Sophie pooh-poohed, facing him. “Evil has always existed. You could never wipe it out.”

“I can and I will.” Rhian stared at her, his eyes glazed and hot. “Everything I’ve done in my life has been to get me here. I didn’t get into your lofty school. I wasn’t kidnapped from reality and dropped into a magic castle like you and your self-righteous friends. While you basked in the privileges of your school, bright, young ‘lords’ of the Woods, I was with real people. In the real Woods. And here’s what I learned. The Storian isn’t the keeper of balance. It isn’t a peacemaker at all. The Storian thrives on the war between the two sides. On pitting Good and Evil against the other and letting that war drag