A Crystal of Time (The School for Good and Evil The Camelot Years #2) - Soman Chainani Page 0,159

on for eternity. That’s why my pen made a show of twisting the Storian’s tales: to prove that every one of its villains can be a hero and every hero a villain. And yet, we cling to the Pen’s every word, reacting to each victory and loss as if it was our own, the balance swinging between Good and Evil, back and forth, back and forth, while the real people of the Woods are forgotten. Their lives left out of our storybooks, lost in the fog of a pointless war.”

The king’s face softened. “But the Pen has the power to end that war if it chooses. It knows that every villain has something they want. Something they’ve turned Evil to get. Give them what they want and it can stop them. Before they cross the point of no return. Evil preempted by the hand of fate. The Pen would never do such a thing, of course; it needs the two sides at war to preserve its power. So it binds them together like twins, so that Good can’t live without Evil and Evil without Good. . . . But I know better. If I had the Pen’s power, I’d wipe Evil out. Neutralize it. Cut it off at the root. Take my brother, for instance. His soul skews to the worst kind of wickedness. But with the Pen’s power, I can bring back to life the only person Japeth has ever loved. I can give him the only Ever After he’s ever wanted. His Evil would be cured. Imagine if I could do that with every threat, extinguishing every villain, every spark of darkness. If I could use Lionsmane to give them love or fortune or even just a friend: whatever it takes to restore their souls to Good. I could prevent attacks like the Snake’s from ever actually happening. The war between Good and Evil would end. The spotlight stripped from a Pen and a School and returned to the people. Peace, true peace forever. That’s why I need to be king. The One True King. I can do what the Storian could never do. I can erase Evil from these Woods permanently. I can be the balance.”

Clammy coldness clawed at Sophie’s core. The boy in front of her suddenly felt like the knight she once fell in love with, his aqua-green gaze clear, honest . . . real.

“But you can’t stop Evil. Look at you! You’re Evil!” Sophie resisted, snapping from her trance. “You ordered the attacks on kingdoms! You set the Snake loose just so you could be king! You’re responsible for people’s deaths! And so much more. You enslaved Guinevere: a queen. You blackmailed leaders. You’ve tortured Merlin and sent pirates to attack schoolchildren and stabbed me to give my blood to your brother. You told lies about Tedros to get leaders to burn their rings. Lies about Agatha. Lies about me. Lies about everything!”

“Yes, I have told lies,” the king replied evenly. “I have done things that are ruthless and vile. I’ve let my brother attack the Woods at will. At times, I’ve hated myself for it, but like a good king, I know how to do what needs to be done. Even if it means I have blood on my hands. Because unlike Tedros, I spent my life in the shadows, where Good and Evil are never so simple. Every day in my world requires sacrifices. Sacrifices that can be awful and ugly. But I want a better future for people like me, where even a baker or bricklayer has the chance to tell his story. To know that they matter. To be proud of their lives. For that to happen, the Storian must be replaced. The School must fall. And a King of the People must rise. Any Evil I’ve done, any lie I’ve told, it’s to make that future possible. Because only I can lead these Woods to a real peace, a real Ever After, for everyone. Beyond the legacy of my father. Beyond Good and Evil. I can save the Woods from all Evil, forever. I can be the One True King, the immortal Lion, cutting the head off every Snake. Anything is worth that. Anything. So look me in the eye and tell me I’m not as Good as my father. Look me in the eye and tell me I’m Evil, when everything I’ve done has been to save these Woods from it.”

Sophie’s lungs turned inside out.

This was lies.

This had