“Like Father,” Tedros sniffled.

“No,” said Guinevere sharply. “Your father would never be sitting here with me the way you are right now. Your father could never see that deep down, everything I did was to give all of us a chance to find real happiness. He believed happiness meant something very different. He was a different kind of man . . . a different kind of king. But you can see what he can’t, Tedros. That even though your father and I are flawed to our very core, we came together by the grace of our stories to make the most perfect child in the world. And for that, all of our pain is worth it.”

Tedros couldn’t speak anymore. His mother clasped him to her chest, letting him cry, his muscles fighting and fighting her until at last they surrendered and he curled against her like a little boy. They stayed that way a long time, until his heaving breaths calmed.

“Does that ogre treat you well?” he croaked, nose running.

Guinevere laughed. “As well as an ogre can treat a lady.”

“’Cause if he doesn’t, I’ll gouge out his eye,” Tedros puffed.

“I appreciate your chivalry—”

“If he so much as looks at you the wrong way—”

“How many times you gonna threaten to kill me before you cock up and do it, boy,” a voice growled.

Tedros whirled to see Lancelot approaching, while the rest of the Ever-Never army were gathered in the distance outside the house.

“Though you might want to wait a bit,” said the knight, “considering Merlin just paired the old and young ones up and chose me as your training leader.”

Tedros frowned.

“Come on, lad,” Lancelot smirked, beckoning him towards the others. “Time to show us what you learned at that godforsaken school.”

Guinevere smiled. “Be gentle with him, Lance.”

“Wouldn’t dream of it,” Lancelot said with a wink.

Tedros stayed by his mother’s side, watching the knight catch up with the others.

“Go on, now,” Guinevere urged. “You and your queen have a war to win. Can’t be wasting time with an old housewife.”

Tedros turned. “You’ll be home when I get back?”

The question was so silly and obvious . . . and yet his mother knew what he meant.

“I’m not going anywhere,” she answered flatly.

Tedros nodded, averting his eyes. He rose and started to jog after Lancelot before he stopped and looked at her one last time.

“I love you, Mother.”

He sprinted ahead, ensuring Guinevere didn’t have time to say it back.

She didn’t need to.

Him saying it was enough for the both of them.

It wasn’t long before the first death.

Lady Lesso had been warning from the start that having New students fight Old, bloodthirsty zombies was recklessly stupid, but Sophie felt like the young students had been pampered enough. First, Rafal had protected them from the front line of the coming war. Then, he’d moved war preparations to the School for New, since the old Good castle was warmer and better lit. Then he’d abolished the Doom Room, allowed open access to the Groom Room, and even halted further tracking, ensuring half-mogrified dimwits like Kiko wouldn’t be fully turned into animals and plants until after the war.