“MOVE IN!” PROCTOR shouted. “Separate them from the prince! We need them alive!”
“Alive is good,” Chibo whispered. “Maybe we’ll be freed later, right?”
Still kowtowing, Ji didn’t answer. He just clenched his scaly fists and listened to his heart thumping in his chest.
The soldiers swarmed, shouting and scowling. Two yanked Ji to his feet and dragged him to the edge of the pool. Ten more shoved the others beside him, their faces masks of fear and hatred.
Proctor limped beside Brace while Ji waited with a reptile stillness. Thoughts rose and fell in his mind: the outstanding question, the price of freedom. A water tree, a mermaid, a treasure hoard. A servant, a dragon, and a pair of stupid boots.
“We agreed to serve you, my lord Brace,” Roz rumbled, bowing her head. “And we shall abide by our agreement.”
“Because we have honor,” Sally growled.
“You’re peasants,” Proctor said with a chilly chuckle. “You don’t need honor, only obedience.”
“This is how you’ll serve me,” Brace said, his voice ringing out. “And how you’ll serve the realm. . . .”
He raised his arms, and water spouted from the center of the pool. The geyser twisted and coiled, braiding into a gnarled trunk, then branching into a tree. It was half the size of the one in the Forbidden Palace but still towering, deadly, and magical.
“H-how?” Chibo stammered to Brace, his wings shrunken into his hunchback. “Serve you how, m-m’lord?”
“A king must make hard choices.” Brace turned his palms upward. “He must protect the many by sacrificing the few.”
Branches of the water tree lengthened, sharpening into spears. The largest one flowed toward Roz—then paused like a cobra ready to strike.
Blood simmered in Ji’s head and his pulse thudded in his fists.
“At Prince Brace’s whim,” Proctor told them, “the tree will pierce you and complete the rite, securing Brace’s place as prince once and for all. The realm will be safe in the hands of its rightful heir.”
“You—” Roz looked in horror at Brace. “You said you wanted us to join you.”
“And so you shall,” Brace told her, a hint of sadness in his voice. “Your spirits will strengthen mine. And Roz, you won’t be a monster any longer.”
“You will die,” Proctor said, “that the prince may live.”
“I’m sorry,” Brace said, his eyes wet with tears. “I’m so sorry.”
“My lord prince,” Proctor said, “finish this.”
When Brace moved his hands, the water tree shifted. Sally growled, and the silvery branches drew back to strike.
“You . . . you lied to us!” Roz told Brace.
And Ji finally spoke. “He’s not the only one.”