“Oh, please!” Farilane threw up her hands. “You really don’t understand the meaning of the word fun, do you?” Once more, she grinned, and Virgil sighed as if a noisy expulsion of air was a remarkably convincing argument.

Virgil folded his arms, locking them in a show of frustration. “We’re on the outskirts of the empire, beyond the civilized world, literally at land’s end, and venturing into a complicated labyrinth of sea-soaked tunnels—at night! I’m cold, wet, and quite frankly, more than a little frightened. We have no idea what lies ahead. Could be anything. This is incredibly dangerous—no joke. Anyone who went to such great lengths to hide a book down here didn’t want it found. They likely took precautions to protect their treasure. Every step we take is a risk.”

“Oh . . .” Farilane said, surprised. “I apologize and stand corrected. You do know the meaning of fun.”

The lantern caught fire, and the glow illuminated a natural tunnel that twisted and turned.

“I’ll take that.” Farilane stepped forward and reached for the light.

Kolby snatched it away. “I’m going first.” Then he dutifully added, “Your Highness.”

Farilane frowned. “I could order you to stay here.”

“Think that would do it, do you?”

Farilane looked to Virgil.

“Kolby Fiske!” the philosopher snapped in a reprimanding tone that was designed to quash the self-confidence of pride-filled students. “You’re honor bound to obey her.”

“Sort of,” Kolby replied.

“Come again? What do you mean by sort of?”

Kolby shrugged. “We serve to protect the emperor and his family—even from the emperor and his family. It’s part of our code.”

Virgil eyed the knight with the concentration of a cat prior to a pounce. The philosopher knew the Knight’s Creed as well as anyone, and he was a skilled orator who had used rhetoric to win debates in the Imperial Council. “Where exactly is that written?”

Kolby grinned. “In the section that says, ‘Don’t be an idiot.’”

Farilane snickered. And when she saw Virgil’s appalled expression, she laughed harder.

“The two of you . . .” Virgil huffed and shook his head. “It’s like being trapped with children, and I’m tired of being the only adult.”

“I’m sorry,” Farilane said, and she took the philosopher’s hands in hers. “But you’re just so good at it. You have that whole frowny-face thing going for you, and that marvelous sigh, which really lets me know how disappointed you are with my behavior.”

“Yet it does no good, now does it? We were almost crushed to death by that giant near Fairington and nearly drowned in the headwaters of the Urum River. Then there was the . . . Dwarf Incident in Haston five years ago. Don’t think I’ve forgotten. Believe me, I’ve tried. I still have nightmares. And I don’t know how we escaped without starting a war.”

“Would have been a really short war,” Cedric muttered.