“There’s something else,” Gill says in a low voice. She and Samira exchange a worried glance that makes my blood run cold. “The Regents will keep Camlann quiet for as long as they’re able, but when it does get out that war has come, the traditionalists in the Order—including every Legendborn family—will demand a king. If the Regents are going to continue to claim the Scion of Arthur is ‘sequestered,’ they’ll need a strong Plan B.”

“What’s Plan B?” Alice asks.

“Plan B,” Sel’s hoarse voice brings everyone’s attention to the bench, where he’s slowly pushing himself to sitting, “is when the Regents present a compliant high-ranked Scion to serve their interests. A perfect soldier.” He glances at me. “Someone they think both looks and acts the part.”

“So not Bree,” Alice says.

“And not Nick,” William adds.

Samira looks from William to me, brows knit tight. “The Regents have isolated the next eligible heir in the Line of Lancelot. No one knows where he is.”

The cabin goes quiet. Alice looks among us all, eyes wide. “What does that mean?”

Gill shakes her head. “We’re not sure—”

“Don’t dance around the truth, Gill,” Sel snaps. “The Regents need someone powerful enough to lead the Table, if not gather it in full. The Scion of Arthur is out of the question, which leaves the second most famous and respected knight: Lancelot.”

My heart freezes. My mind flashes to a memory from the Lodge. Nick’s own words come back to me from what feels like ages ago. For a long time, men didn’t care what the Spell wanted. They’d eliminate daughters to force it to the next heir….

“There is only one reason for the Regents to have the next heir in the Line of Lancelot fully under their control. One.” His voice is sluggish but threaded with fury. “They aren’t sending out a search party to rescue Nicholas. They’re sending assassins to kill him.”

21

I LOSE MY sense of self, my sense of time. The cabin shrinks, then expands. Becomes like liquid under my feet.

Voices surround me. Sel’s and Alice’s mouths are moving. William collapses into one of the seats, his head in his hands.

Samira claps, the sound echoing in the enclosed metal space. “No time for arguing, no time for tears. We’re not exactly helpless here. The Liege network is already in motion, tapping everyone we know to get ears to the ground.” She gestures to us. “We have two Awakened Legendborn, a capable Onceborn, and a Kingsmage—”

“Former Kingsmage,” Sel interrupts.

Samira ignores him. “It’s enough. All we need is an order.”

“An order for what?” I ask, my voice a dry rasp.