She hadn’t seen the old wizard at supper the night before. To her surprise, she’d been surrounded by courtiers eager to hear the tale of their quest. The attention had made her so uncomfortable that she’d begged exhaustion, and had crept back to her chambers. But not before seeing Arthur resplendent at the royal table, the entire court raising their goblets in his honor.

The sarcastic boy from the library had vanished. Last night, he had been every inch the future king.

At the start, their journey had seemed more like an excuse for a road trip than a true quest. But something had changed after they’d returned from Avalon. They had visited somewhere few others had gone, and had encountered strange and powerful magic. Not to mention the Lady of the Lake herself.

“Well,” said Master Ambrosius, rising from his chair by the fire. “I’m glad to see my apprentice has returned in one piece.”

He was watching her carefully. Too carefully. Emry frowned, wondering what was going on. She pasted on a smug expression and slouched against the table.

“Of course I have,” she boasted.

“Should I assume no one discovered your secret?” the wizard asked mildly. “I have to say, it’s impressive you managed to masquerade as a boy for a whole week on the road.”

Emry stumbled, nearly losing her balance. Panic flared white and hot in her chest. She’d thought she had been careful. She’d thought no one knew. And yet the old wizard was staring at her expectantly, clearly harder to deceive than he’d let on.

She looked down at the wooden table, not daring to meet his eye. “When did you guess?”

“I don’t believe your father ever spoke of his son casting silent spells. Only his daughter.”

“You knew this whole time?” Emry asked, shocked. “But you never said anything!”

“It’s not my secret to tell.”

“That’s what the Lady of the Lake said.”

“You accompanied Arthur to the Isle of the Blessed?” The old wizard sounded surprised. “The boat let you cross?”

“It did,” she said, wondering how he knew about the boat.

“What else did Nimue say?”

She didn’t recognize the name, but she knew he meant the Lady of the Lake.

“That Arthur will become a great king with me by his side,” said Emry, nervously meeting the old wizard’s gaze. “I’m sorry. I never meant for it to go this far.”

“And yet it seems fate means for it to go even further,” said Master Ambrosius. “The Lady of the Lake speaks true, although her words are not always plainly understood.”

“She was pretty clear about the it being me part,” said Emry, “and not my brother. If that’s what you were asking.”

The old wizard nodded slowly. “Forgive me,” he said, “but what has happened to your brother?”