One True Queen (School for Good and Evil Book 2)

Chapter 26

"Tedros will die unless we stop the execution," said Agatha, standing in the shadows of the School Master's window, Lionsmane's message glowing in the sky behind her. "And if he dies, the Woods belongs to Rhian and Y/n. The Woods belongs to a Snake and a Witch. Our world is at stake. We can't let them win. Not without giving Tedros a chance to fight for his throne."

She took a deep breath. "But first we need to get out of this tower without Rhian's men seeing us."

Her army stared back at her.

"If Rhian and Y/n plan to execute Tedros at dawn, then the other captives are in danger too, Clarissa included," Professor Manley said, eyeing his fellow teachers.

"Agatha's right. We have to make a move." Professor Anemone swallowed. "How many men are still down there?"

Agatha inched to the side of the window, between crouching first years, and peeked through.

Some of Rhian's men roamed the grounds in front of the schools, hacking through lily beds with their swords, while the red and yellow flowers snared and strangled them. Through the glass of Good's castle, Agatha saw others prowling Hansel's Haven, smashing the candied halls, which belched sticky sugar in defense, gluing them to walls like flies in a web.

There were more pirates skulking around the School for Evil, lighting smoke bombs in the corridors to snuff out their prey, only to have the bombs rebound and blast them off balconies. Alarms screeched from both castles as more magical safeguards activated, thwarting the guards' advance.

But for every man foiled by the school's defenses, there were ten more sliding through the hole in the shield over the North Gate, armed with weapons and brandishing lit torches against the dark.

"Agatha?" Professor Anemone pushed.

Agatha turned to her troops.

"They're everywhere." She shoved down her panic. "We need to think. There has to be a way into the Woods without them seeing us."

"What would Clarissa do?" Princess Uma asked the teachers.

"She'd use every spell in her book to blast these goons," Manley spat. "Come on, Sheeba, Emma, all of you. We'll fight them ourselves."

He made a move to stand up, but blue firebolts shot across the chamber, electrifying him and knocking him to the ground.

Agatha froze. "What in the—"

Then she saw where the firebolts had come from.

The Storian, pulsing with spidery blue static, over its open storybook.

"Teachers can't interfere in a fairy tale, Bilious," said Professor Sheeks, helping her trembling colleague sit up. "We can shield the school. We can fight alongside our students. But we can't do the job for them. Clarissa made that mistake and look where she is."

Wiping sweat from his face, Manley still looked shaken.

But not as shaken as the first years, who now realized they were on their own. The fourth years, meanwhile, were undaunted.

"What if me and Vex sneak out?" Ravan postured, a book in one bandaged hand. "We can mogrify and escape before they notice a thing."

"You're injured, first of all," said Hester. "And if they catch you leaving, that means the rest of us are dead meat. Otherwise Ani and I would have gone a long time ago."

"Me too, obviously," Dot pipped.

"And even if Hester and I could go, Rhian and Y/n would see us coming on their map," said Anadil.