Agatha gaped owlishly at the crown and flicked the box shut. “Look, I can’t take this! I’m not queen yet! I’m not anything yet—I haven’t even taken a bath—”

“Good cannot wait anymore for its queen, Agatha,” said Guinevere, hardening. “Last night, your friend Hort went searching for Sophie and discovered she’d vanished from our safe haven and magically returned to the School Master.”

For a moment, Agatha thought she’d misheard or that this was all a sick joke, but nothing in Guinevere’s face suggested either. “What? Sophie went back to h-h-him? But that’s impossible—there’s no way to leave this place—”

“The Lady of the Lake can only protect those who ally themselves with Good. All your friend had to do was wish to rejoin the School Master and he could break through the lake’s enchantments and rescue her,” Guinevere replied. “Poor Hort was gutted after he found her missing. Said he’d do anything to kill the School Master and get her away from him. So he stayed up with me and Lance and told us as much of your and Sophie’s story as we needed to know. And from what I’ve heard, Agatha, I have no doubt that your friend has committed to be Evil’s queen with all her heart. You must take your place as Good’s queen with the same resolve and belief. Or you and my son will not stand a chance.”

Agatha said nothing, the words “my son” hanging between them.

A long moment passed. Slowly Agatha’s fingers crept into Guinevere’s palm and cracked open the wooden box just a sliver. “You, uh, kept your crown all this time?”

“Arthur’s crown remains at Camelot until Tedros claims it,” the former queen replied patiently. “But I rode with mine the night I fled the castle, hoping the guards would assume I was on official business and wouldn’t wake Arthur from his sleep. All these years I wanted to destroy the crown so that Lance and I could forget that part of my story ever happened. . . . But the truth is, I’m still a queen and I’m still a mother, Agatha. Nothing can change that, even if I hide away from the world. And as the holder of the crown, one of my duties to my kingdom, my son, and myself, no matter how much I’ve failed all three, is to pass that crown on.”

Her voice faltered and she composed herself. “I know I can never have a relationship with my child. I don’t deserve to. But I still have to protect Tedros as best I can. And the only way I can do that is by making sure he has the queen that Arthur never had. A queen who isn’t just sure of her crown, but is ready to fight for it when the time comes.”

Her hand slipped down and lifted the diadem out of the box. Agatha could feel her heart throttling as Guinevere raised it into the sun.

“And that time is now.”