31 NICHOLAS

The last day of training camp was going great so far. Nicholas and Seiji had made up, and now he was going to help Seiji do crime. The first order of business was finding Eugene and Bobby to explain the situation—and Nicholas and Seiji’s scheme—to them. That took almost all of breakfast time, with Nicholas waving around his breakfast roll from Seiji to illustrate the master plan.

“I dunno. It’s a million-to-one chance,” said Bobby.

Nicholas grinned. “… But it might just work?”

“I wasn’t going to say that,” said Bobby. “I mean, I’m with you to the death, Nicholas, but I’m actually very worried it won’t work! Can we get banned for life from Camp Menton?”

“The dream,” murmured Dante.

Nicholas appreciated everybody’s support.

“Where were you at breakfast yesterday, by the way?” Eugene asked Seiji. “We missed you, bro.”

Seiji inclined his head without saying a word, but he did the thing where his mouth wasn’t frowning or in a perfectly ruled line, which was something like a smile.

Next up, drills. Nicholas found they were actually going more smoothly than before. A few other teams had to run more suicides than Kings Row.

Aiden had gotten into some kind of trouble, though, so he wasn’t at drills. Without Aiden and Eugene, their team felt incomplete. Nicholas couldn’t wait to go back to normal, but that meant making sure Seiji stayed at Kings Row where he belonged.

Nicholas had to prowl the training grounds until he found Marcel, then wait for him to finish his bout, then demand Marcel lead Nicholas to Jesse. When he did, they found Jesse standing and chatting in German with two other fencers. Jesse was wearing a sunny, charming smile, and his companions seemed dazzled.

As Jesse’s eyes fell on Nicholas, the sunlight drained out of his face. He scoffed, “You?”

Nicholas smiled a wicked, delinquent smile. “Me.”

“He says Seiji sent him,” Marcel reported.

Jesse hesitated, then nodded to the other fencers, who departed with speed, obviously freaked out by the abrupt change in Jesse’s demeanor. Nicholas turned, and Jesse and Marcel followed him out of the practice grounds and through the trees, to the rock by the sea where Seiji stood waiting. Seiji was wearing his fencing whites. Nicholas had argued strongly for Seiji not to wear them, as white from head to toe was the opposite of sneaky.

“I can see you for miles. There’s a reason ninjas don’t dress this way,” Nicholas said in greeting.

Seiji rolled his eyes so hard Nicholas thought he might hurt himself. Jesse was right there, but Seiji was paying attention to Nicholas, so Nicholas felt great about everything.

“Why is this person even here?” Jesse demanded.

Seiji’s gaze moved to Jesse. Nicholas stepped in between them.

“I’m helping out my buddy,” he announced cheerfully, watching Jesse’s mouth go pinched. “You challenged him to a fencing match, right?”

Echoing silence was Nicholas’s answer.

“Did you just think it would work out for you, because you expect everything to work out for you?” asked Nicholas. “Lucky thing Seiji has me. I know how to break the rules.”

“Seiji, is this person a criminal?” demanded Jesse.

“No!” exclaimed Seiji. “Unless you mean in the sense of, Has he committed certain petty crimes? In that case, yes.”

That caused Jesse to make the only expression Nicholas had ever enjoyed seeing on his face. Nicholas felt someone should frame it and put it in an art gallery, and title the masterpiece Jesse Coste, Rendered Speechless.

Nicholas proceeded to explain the plan. “I wanted to have this planning session now, because our team captain is having a fencing match with Bastien. Nobody will overhear us. They’re all watching the match. Our coach has put money on it. Actually, many people have put money on it. I think most of Camp Menton is expecting it’ll be a fun opportunity to see another lousy American fencer get crushed. Which is hilarious, since Harvard’s totally going to win!”

Marcel made a dismissive sound. “Please. My friend Bastien is going to win.”

“Of course he is,” said Jesse. “He’s better than all the Kings Row fencers.”

The calm certainty in Jesse’s voice made Nicholas’s fists itch. He’d wanted to go to Kings Row because his father had gone there before him. Whenever Nicholas walked through Kings Row, he told himself he was walking in his father’s footsteps. Being at Kings Row was the closest he’d ever been to his father.

Jesse had all the rest of their father. He shouldn’t get to look down on the only piece Nicholas possessed.

“What about”—the words stuck in Nicholas’s throat, but he forced them out—“your father? Didn’t he go to Kings Row?”

“Exactly,” Jesse responded. “If my father thought Kings Row were the right place for a promising young fencer, he would have sent me there. That place, that team, almost dragged my father down. That’s why I’m doing Seiji a favor by getting him out of Kings Row.”

“You haven’t done anything yet,” Nicholas reminded him. “You haven’t won your match against Seiji. And Harvard hasn’t lost his. I don’t think he will.” He turned to Seiji. “You agree with me, right?”

Seiji gave some thought to the matter. “I’m not certain. In terms of skill, Bastien and Harvard seem fairly evenly matched.”

“Seiji!” Nicholas shoved him. “Where is your team loyalty? He’s our captain! He’s the best captain ever.”

“My personal feelings about Harvard and Bastien as individuals don’t matter, Nicholas,” said Seiji. “Fencing is a game of skill.”

Jesse raised a golden eyebrow. “What was your captain ranked again? Thirty-third?”

“He should be ranked higher,” Seiji responded in his coolest, most analytical tone. “He’s good at defense, but he’s flawed when it comes to attacking. He has trouble with his low lines, because he’s tall, which I’ve spoken to him about extensively. Yet instead of concentrating on working on his weak points, Harvard spends a great deal of his free time developing plans for his team and guiding us through drills.”

“So you’re saying he focuses on the wrong things,” said Jesse.

“No,” Seiji returned, level. “That’s not what I’m saying.”

If Nicholas hadn’t known Seiji, he would have thought Seiji was entirely indifferent to Jesse’s needling. Unfortunately, Nicholas was keenly aware that Seiji was holding himself with so much tension that Nicholas worried he might snap, as even a great sword might when too much pressure was exerted on the steel. Nicholas wished he could help. He wished he could hit Jesse. But he’d promised Seiji he would stay beside him at the party, and he hadn’t kept his promise. The least he could do was stay by Seiji’s side now.

They walked toward the edge of the trees, heading for the winding road and the botanical gardens.

“What’s your plan, then?” asked Jesse.

“It’s gonna take some good old-fashioned Kings Row teamwork,” said Nicholas, and nodded toward the trees.

Bobby and Dante were there. Dante regarded Jesse with silent disdain, which was how Dante regarded everyone. Bobby, who’d been fully briefed that Jesse was the enemy, restricted his natural exuberance to a small wave at Marcel. Thawing slightly, Marcel waved back.

“You invited all of Kings Row to our conversation?” asked Jesse.

“So, here’s the plan,” said Nicholas, ignoring him. “We’re going to sneak into the salle during the big party.”

Jesse scoffed. “Surely it would be a better idea to sneak in at midnight, once everybody is asleep.”

“You’re an amateur at crime, Jesse,” said Nicholas loftily. “The coaches here are all obsessed with curfews. If a noise wakes them at night, we’re all sunk. If they find us when they’re patrolling, we’re all sunk. The party is when they’ll be distracted. The party’s our chance. Our teammate Eugene says he’ll pretend not to feel well so that we can sneak away. And Bobby and Dante will sneak down to the harbor tonight. If we’re not back and people start asking about us, they’ll create another distraction and a call for help, so everyone will go looking for them and not us.”

Jesse’s voice went captainly again. “You two will get kicked out of Camp Menton.”

Dante asked, “Promise?”

“If necessary, I’m going to fling myself in the water!” Bobby announced with huge excitement. “Dante will be there to make sure nothing bad happens to me.”

He squeezed Dante’s forearm appreciatively. Dante, who hadn’t been in favor of the Bobby flinging himself in the water idea, looked less grim.

“Thanks for helping, both of you,” said Seiji.

The tips of Bobby’s ears went pink. Nicholas also found the measured amount of warmth in Seiji’s voice touching.

“Is this what it’s like at Kings Row?” demanded Jesse.

Bobby didn’t seem to hear Jesse, distracted first by Seiji’s praise and then by a horrible realization. “I can’t believe we’re missing Harvard’s match,” Bobby said wistfully.

As if uttering Harvard’s name was a summoning spell, a tall boy slipped between one shadow and the next, moving in long strides like a predator.

“I, too, can’t believe you’re missing Harvard’s match,” drawled Aiden Kane. “I can’t believe you’re making me miss Harvard’s match. What are you planning, freshmen?”