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Archie glanced down at his weapon: poisoned bread. But it was too slow to save the princess. Too risky, if the ogre had already connected them with Ainsley as the ones who drove the cart. What could he try instead?
Ainsley glared. “How has no man come to stand against you?”
“They’ve all been welcome to try.”
Archie dropped his tray, finally finding his voice. He might not have time to think of another plan but wouldn’t risk letting the princess out of his sight. “I’ll try.”
Ainsley turned. “Archie.” The word had the measure of a full apology, but Archie blamed himself. He should have known that the princess would try something. Asking her to stay behind in the same way her brother had was far too much for anyone to expect. He had just hoped.
And now he had to abandon all his former plans and cling to another fool’s hope. After all, it wasn’t just Ainsley who was in trouble. It was the whole of Carabus and maybe even Castletown.
The whole kingdom.
The ogre stood, pushing the table away from him with his girth. The lumbering movements echoed on the cracked tile. “You’re new. Were you the one who came in with the princess?” He rolled his shoulders, already preparing for a fight. “I suppose that gift alone gives you the right to challenge me if that is truly what you wish. Do you want a weapon?”
Archie’s old bow was broken. He had brought a staff—though he had left it in the cart and wasn’t sure where it was now. Matthew seemed willing to hand over his spear, but the rest of the guards and servants were scattering to the edges of the room, taking the princess with them. They cleared the area so fast that it was obvious this wasn’t the first bloody tournament held in this hall.
Archie swallowed hard, but he stepped forward without the spear. Archie had never liked to solve his conflicts this way—to be seen as another ogre—but perhaps he must to save the princess. He would play any role and use any skill he had available to help Ainsley.
That was exactly the sort of hero he wanted to be.
He stretched his arms in the same way the ogre had, like he really thought he could face the ogre all on his own. “I’ve heard that you let your men pick which of your animal forms they fight.”
“That’s true. Do you have a preference?” The ogre cycled through a series of beasts in a grotesque display of stretching limbs and cracking bones.
Each new form was another dark horror.
A huge lion. A horned bull. A twisted, angular bear—all missing half an ear.
But Archie was still scanning the room for an animal of a different kind. Ainsley followed him, so maybe that meant someone else did too? Someone who always seemed to have the same plan she did? And perhaps this time, he and his magic cat could defeat this beast by playing to each other’s strengths and truly coming to work together.
* * *
What was the stupid miller boy doing? Stalling? It certainly didn’t seem like he had any plan, and Leo was itching to jump from the rafters and attack the ogre himself.
He had done it before.
But that was before he knew the monsters plaguing his land could all be traced back to his drunken, braggart uncle. Before Tabitha had cried and begged Leo not to get himself hurt. Torn between Tabitha’s tears and his white-faced sister, Leo didn’t know which direction to turn, but he could think of a plan. Even if he was still a cat.
Even if he couldn’t talk.
Even if he . . .
Below him, Archie took another step forward. “I am the strongest man in Castletown, and I wish to fight the fiercest and most deadly beast you can become. Not a dog or a bear—the rats were always the true terrors when it came to the plague.”
A rat? Would the ogre do something like that?
The ogre gave a smug smile. He thought the miller boy was stupid, and who could blame him? The boy was showing all the signs. “And why would anyone think the rat is the strongest creature I can become?” the ogre asked.
“Isn’t it obvious? The dogs you sent to the Spring Festival were killed in seconds; I killed one or two of them on my own with only a stick. You lost your ear by another huntsman with a tiny axe. But the rats . . . there were so many of them, and they were so small that no one could see where they would strike next, even a man like me,” Archie said, and he seemed he didn’t care that he would be surrendering himself to a plague far away from the castle healers or anyone who could offer him treatment. Like he was dumb enough to think his strength alone would save him.
Or perhaps he truly was smarter and a better actor than anyone had ever given him credit for? Leo had never known Archie to be the same sort of braggart the ogre was, but he had the build to play the part convincingly, and no one could deny the truth behind every word he spoke.
Then Leo’s sister chimed in. “No, Archie, don’t do it!” the princess cried, like she also thought the rat was the fiercest creature the ogre could become. “The plague rats are too quick and small. You’ll be bitten before you can escape. Make him pick something bigger!”
And when Archie completely ignored his beloved princess, Leo knew it was a con.
“You wasted all this time trying to breed stronger animals when the rats were the beasts to slay the queen—even my own mother fell to their sting.” Archie raised his arm again, expertly baiting his opponent to join him in the fight. “How can I claim a proper victory unless I ask for the highest challenge? Or perhaps it is you who are afraid?”
