Description: Chapter 1 1 THIS IS THE part where I hesitate. Logically, I know I''ll be fine. I''ve escaped half a dozen times, no problem. Wards are barrier magic, but the one outside my bedroom window was cast to keep intruders out , not to lock occupants in. Still... it feels like a smart idea to test the silent, shimmering curtain of light that surrounds the Lodge before I fling my whole body through it. Just in case. I raise a hand to the open window and press until my palm hits aether. The silver-blue ward flares at my touch, but doesn''t put up a fight. Instead, it ripples in a sluggish wave over my knuckles and wrist. Prickly and warm, but harmless. My fingertips ease through the iridescent layer to meet crisp night air on the other side. When I withdraw my hand, the magic calms again. Excellent. The wind picks up, blowing a wave of harsh scents in my face: Bright, spicy cinnamon. Warm whiskey. Smoke from long-burning logs. Sel usually recasts his wards in the early evening before Shadowborn activity rises, so his aether signature is still fresh. He can only place barriers around specific and immobile locations. Buildings, circles of land, a room. I was moved into the Lodge--against my wishes--precisely because it sits behind a fortress of protective wards. This one in particular wraps the brick and stone and is stronger than the ones he used to cast, making it impossible for someone to enter the home without the assistance of a Legendborn or Merlin. I''ve only been the Scion of Arthur for a month and already I know a little of what Nick must have felt his whole life. Stifled. Trapped. Powerful and powerless, all at the same time. Restless. "Phew." Another gust hits my sensitive nose. I wince and turn. Glance at the bedside alarm clock. Ten thirty. Almost time. I fall back on the bed with a huff. Sel and the Legendborn are probably just now reaching the first stop on their patrol route, the small tract of woods down near the south end of campus. No matter how hard I try to relax, my entire body is a coiled spring. Even my jaw is clenched tight while I wait. A biting breeze blows through the open window, this time tickling my cheeks with the chill of early fall. A reminder that winter is on the way, and that time is passing us by. I shouldn''t be here. The same phrase runs through my mind every day. No matter where I am or what I''m doing, those words will bubble up from somewhere deep in my gut, flow up the back of my throat, and sort of... crash around in my brain. I shouldn''t be sitting in this English classroom, listening to a lecture. I shouldn''t be eating a four-course meal in the Lodge dining room. I shouldn''t be sleeping on a soft bed, safe behind the Lodge''s walls. I''m certain my friends have guessed what I''m feeling by now. How could they not? Greer sits beside me in that classroom, so they see my bouncing knee. They can probably tell that I''m ready to launch out of my chair at any moment. I sit down for the four-course meal, but Pete is right there at my elbow when I poke at the food on the plate and forget to eat it. When the Legendborn return at two a.m. from their late-night patrols, I am always awake, waiting at the door to greet them. The Legendborn are in a holding pattern. I am in a holding pattern. We have been, ever since the events of the ogof y ddraig, the cave of the dragon. Ever since I-- we --faced murder and betrayal and ever since bitter truths were revealed. Ever since Nick was taken from my side as I slept, abducted by Isaac Sorenson, the powerful Kingsmage bound to Nick''s own father. No one has heard from or seen the three of them since. Frustration lives in my stomach like a piece of coal these days--and just thinking about Nick''s capture stokes it into a painful flame, bright and familiar. A month ago, deep under Carolina''s campus, the spirit of King Arthur Pendragon Awakened into the world--and within me, his true descendant. His Awakening signaled that Camlann, the ancient war between the Legendborn and Shadowborn forces, was coming once again. And the very next day the Regents, the current leadership of the Order of the Round Table, instructed us to do... nothing. We are to attend classes, take tests, even go to parties if we''re invited. We can''t afford to draw attention to the chapter--or to me--while the Regents'' intelligence agents gather intel about our enemies and about Nick''s capture by a well-known loyal servant. Until further notice, the Legendborn have been ordered to sit tight and stay here. For us, here is weeks of holding our collective breath while on the brink of war. But for me, here is sitting alone inside my room in the Lodge while the Legendborn are out hunting our enemies. My father already knew the Order as an old academic student group. Knew Nick had invited me to join. But after he found out about my sudden move to their off-campus housing, he''d demanded an explanation. It took the dean of students, my best friend Alice, and my former therapist, Patricia, to convince him the Lodge was legitimate and safe. I couldn''t tell him the whole truth, but I told him there was nowhere more secure. That''s not a lie, it''s just that... I shouldn''t be here. I don''t want to be here. So recently... I have decided I won''t be here. At least for a few hours at a time. Another glance at the clock. Ten forty-five now. That should do it. As I climb up on the sill, I have to chuckle. Even with Arthur''s strength, I never would have considered jumping out of a two-story window if I hadn''t experienced Sel do it from three--with me on his back. "Thank you for the inspiration, Kingsmage," I murmur with a grin as I balance on the narrow strip of wood. The difference between a jump and a fall? A decisive, hard push off the Lodge''s stone exterior. "One." I inhale. "Two." I grit my teeth. "Three!" I jump. When I land, I hear my trainer Gillian''s voice telling me to take the impact intentionally , bending my knees rather than locking them. Back when Gill was first training me, before I inherited Arthur''s preternatural strength, my legs couldn''t have absorbed even a half-story of shock. A jump like this would have sent all that force from the ground straight up my ankles into my knees and hips. Now, Arthur''s strength keeps me from breaking something, but it does nothing for my balance. When I stand, I wobble a bit but manage to remain upright. Progress. I''m only one step away from the building before a voice stops me. "He''s going to catch you one of these nights, you know." I twist back to see a figure emerge from the shadows. William, in a green denim jacket and blue jeans, wearing a wry smile. "And do what?" I cross my arms. "Yell at me again?" William''s mouth twitches. "Yes. Loudly." He tilts his head up to my darkened window. "Not a bad jump. Or landing, for that matter. You''re acclimating to Arthur''s strength." "Yeah, well"--I shake my head--"strength is not enough." "It never is." William would know what strength is and what it''s not. For two hours a day, he is the strongest of us all. Stronger than me. Stronger than Sel. Stronger even than Felicity, the Scion of Lamorak. Silence. I bite my lip. "You here to stop me?" He could, if he wanted to. He probably should , but... William sighs and slips his hands into his back pockets. "No. If I stop you, you''ll just keep sneaking out. In increasingly creative ways, I imagine." The first time William met me, I''d been injured by a hellhound. He healed me while I was barely conscious, without knowing my name or even asking for it. Not long after--when he knew enough to suspect that I wasn''t being fully honest about why I was joining the Order--he healed my injuries again. William understands the value of secrets and doesn''t judge others for keeping them. A blessing, really. Especially tonight. In lieu of judging, he watches me with a mild expression, waiting for me to own up to my crimes. I sigh. "How long?" "Have I known you''ve been sneaking out?" He nods toward my right arm. "Since Monday morning when I spotted the poorly wrapped burn on your wrist at breakfast." That was four days ago; the burn is mostly healed now. I tuck my arm behind me. "Thought I hid that under my sleeve." "You did. From everyone other than me." I am grateful for how much William just... knows ... without saying anything. But I don''t want to discuss the burns I''m not yet skilled enough to prevent. "Sel would have spotted it, too, if he''d seen you that day." "Well, he didn''t see me that day," I mumble. William doesn''t comment. "I thought you''d be out patrolling with the others." I gesture between us. "Or is this another one of y''all''s bodyguard shifts?" "Bree." William regards me for a long moment, letting the gentle admonishment settle like a soft weight around my shoulders. "You can''t blame us, can you?" "No." I look away, and repeat the lore no one will let me forget since that night in the cave. "?''If a fully Awakened Arthur is struck down by Shadowborn blood, the Legendborn Lines will be broken forever.'' I get it." I didn''t plan to sneak out, not at first. But then one day last week Greer confess

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