THOUGH MUCH OF Pennyroyal Academy had been reduced to a smoldering ruin, even more of it still stood. The sun rose that morning as bright as the dawn of summer, and many of the ancient towers were still there to throw off shadows. The Queen’s Tower had been spared after the initial blow. The top half lay splayed across the ground, while the rest still rose high above campus. The barracks and most of the outbuildings had survived, as had the Dining Hall and Rumpledshirtsleeves’s cottage. But much of the interior had either been heavily damaged or destroyed entirely. The Piper of Hamelin Ballroom, the place where Maggie had won the Grand Ball during their first year, had been flattened. Schummel Tower, where Evie and her friends had competed in Witches’ Night only a few months earlier, was nothing more than a pile of stone.

Not everything was a subtraction, however. There was one huge new addition to campus. As the dawn first started to break, Evie had been coming down the road to deliver the fairies a new fairyweed bush that one of Cinderella’s princesses had brought. She turned a corner and found a foot twice as tall as she was made entirely of stone. Blunderbull lay flat on his back, the largest statue the world had ever known. Evie could only imagine what must have happened for the witches to turn him to stone.

Now, in the full, bright light of the morning, with the battle over, Evie looked around and saw help already happening everywhere. Knights heaved stones to free trapped princesses. Princesses rescued knights from damaged towers. Dragons helped move large sections of crumbled wall.

She smiled, feeling as warm inside as her skin did beneath the hard rays of the early-morning sun. There was not a witch left to be found on campus. Not a giant, either, save for the statue. They had won.

She walked toward the knights’ side of campus. Though everyone was exhausted, they were all still outside helping to search or take inventory or gather weapons and gear. She saw Remington and another knight pulling hunks of limestone off a collapsed stable. As she approached, they managed to roll a boulder aside. It curled to a stop. Moments later, a donkey came trotting out. Then a horse carefully stepped through. Then another.

“Well done, mate,” said Remington to the other boy. He was huffing and puffing, sweating from the exertion. “Ah, Evie. How’s everything up there?” He nodded to the main bit of campus up the hill from the field.

They’d found each other again in the night, hours after they’d parted. Remington and the knights had finally managed to drive Galligantusohn back out into the forest. As he ran off, crashing through the trees, Remington said he had shouted, “I’ll never take money off witches again!”

Now, with the fighting over, she’d come to find him again. And she had something very specific on her mind.

“What is it?” he said, still catching his breath. “Are you all right?”

“I need you to come with me.”

“Of course. Where are we going?”

“Show me where King Hossenbuhr was staying.”

He gave a slow nod as her motives became clear. “You want to see the portrait.”

“I do,” she said, “but I’m absolutely petrified.”

“Right.” He brushed his hands on his breeches. “This way.” He led her through the war-torn training field toward Copperhagen Keep, the fortress the King had been using during the siege. The doors were torn off and the walls marred by black smoke stains. Mostly, though, it seemed intact. Evie studied the structure. Her heart began to race. Now that she knew exactly what the portrait was, it scared her even more than when she thought it might curse her to look at it.

She felt something and looked down. Remington had taken her hand. He gave her a compassionate smile. “Take your time. Whenever you’re ready.”

She breathed in deeply. “I’m ready.”

They walked to the entrance of the castle. Some knights were sitting in small groups inside, drinking tea and recovering from the fight. Evie and Remington walked right past them, hand in hand. They entered the main keep. It was dark inside. Sunlight filtered in at an angle. The air was thick with dust.

“I think he took a chamber in the back,” said Remington.

They crossed through the hall and found the door to another room. It was flanked by piles of armor and weaponry. Remington looked at her and she looked back. Then they stepped through the door and entered Hossenbuhr’s room. There were footlockers and more weaponry, a small table and a bunk of his own, all plundered from the barracks. And there, shoved into the corner, stood a wooden crate, wide and thin, with a chain locked around it.

“That’s it,” said Evie. She stepped over and lifted the lock. “Great.”

“Found the key,” said Remington, walking over with a battle-ax. Evie moved back, and he swung down. There was a metallic clang. Then another. With the third blow, the lock clattered to the floor. Evie raced over and pulled off the chain.

“Give it to me,” she said. Remington handed her the ax, and she used the blade to wedge open the crate. She dropped the weapon and pulled the wood apart with her bare hands. When the lid fell, she took a step back and gasped.

There, nestled into a bed of straw, was the portrait Evie had been longing to see since her first day on campus. It was just as it had been described, but also so much more. The detail, the color, the vibrancy in the face . . . The portrait was so stunningly beautiful, it appeared to live and breathe.

“My word . . .” said Remington. “Evie . . . it is you.”

The girl in the portrait had the same wide green eyes as Evie. The same flowing brown hair. The same face. The same cheeks. The same lips. The same spirit.

“No,” she said. Then she leaned forward to get an even closer look at the detail. There was immeasurable kindness in the girl’s eyes, vibrant and alive to the point that it seemed to radiate from the canvas. Evie reached out a finger and touched the girl’s face. She ran it gently down her cheek. It felt like touching a mirror, so exactly did the two of them match. Then she let her finger slowly fall until it was pointing at the girl’s stomach. “That’s me. Me and my sister.”

After several more minutes, she closed up the crate and lifted the portrait out of Hossenbuhr’s things. Remington ran off to find the donkey he’d just freed, then led it back to the keep. The donkey carried the portrait of Evie’s mother across campus, back to the Leatherwolf barracks. There, she propped it at the head of her bed, sat down on the mattress and crossed her legs, and stared at it for hours.

Girls came and went as they moved through their first day after the siege. Parents, too. Some stopped to talk to her, commenting on the beautiful portrait someone had done of her. Others just gave her a smile and left her to it.

At some point, she knew there was more work to be done, though she would have liked to have stared at the portrait straight through the rest of the day. Her mother—her real mother, Princess Vorabend—had been trapped inside that image. Her body had continued on through life as a witch fighter with no recollection of ever having given birth to Evie or Malora. She studied the painting of her mother’s eyes, which seemed to twinkle beneath the oils. Even if Evie somehow managed to find her, would her story be dismissed? Would her mother turn her away as a crazy person saying crazy things? Would she ever know the feeling of being held by her mother, or would that most human of experiences be forever out of reach? With her head spinning and her heart in knots, she closed the crate and slipped it under her bunk, then went out to help with the efforts.

Later that day, after a meager lunch in the Dining Hall that tasted better than any she’d ever had, Evie and her friends returned to the barracks, and she showed them the portrait. Each of them was sufficiently awed by the work.

“I can’t see one single difference,” said Basil, his head swiveling from the portrait to Evie.

Demetra was so close her nose was almost touching the canvas. “It’s extraordinary. It almost looks like she’s alive.”

“I’m so happy for you, Evie,” said Maggie, giving her a hug.

“Thanks.” Evie couldn’t help but smile as she stared into her mother’s eyes. Of all the people she’d lost, and all the people who had, impossibly, come back to her that day, here was someone she’d only known for a matter of minutes. Someone who had been snatched from her in the very moments after she was born. And now it was as if she were back, too. Evie’s heart threatened to burst.

“Right. You. Over there.” It was the familiar, snarling voice of Corporal Liverwort. They all turned to look at her, and she was pointing straight at Maggie.

“Me?”

“Come with me. Queen wants to see you.”

Maggie stared at her, mouth hanging open. She didn’t say a word. Liverwort snarled and stormed toward them.

“Well? Come on, then! This is the Queen we’re talking about!”

“The Queen? Wants to see . . . me?”

“That’s what she said.” Then she called out to everyone inside the barracks. “All of you, get washed up and be behind the main castle in thirty minutes!”

The rest of the people in the barracks began cleaning up from the long day’s work. Maggie, meanwhile, was having a hard time following the order.

“What will I need? Surely a new uniform. I couldn’t possibly—”

“You’ll wear what you’re wearing,” said Liverwort with a sigh. “Queen wants you straightaway.”

“Of course,” said Maggie. “Let me just put a few things in my knapsack. There must be time for that, right?” She buzzed around her bunk, exploding with nervous energy and talking to herself.

“Corporal Liverwort,” said Evie.

“What,” she said. She turned to face Evie, her face a mask of lumps and scowls and angry lines.

“I just wanted to tell you how sorry I am about Princess Beatrice. I know what she meant to you.”

Liverwort’s face began to go slack as the lines that had been etched into it from years of frowning relaxed. Evie hugged her. She felt as stiff and uncomfortable as a log in Evie’s arms, but within moments, her body began to shake. She was crying, Evie knew, and that made her hold on even tighter.

After a moment, Liverwort pushed Evie away and wiped her eyes, trying to put her sour face back on.

“Come on, Cadet, Queen’s waiting.”

“Ready!” said Maggie.

“Hang on,” said Evie. “I’m coming, too.”

Now Liverwort truly did get angry. “She didn’t ask for you. Just this one.”

“She can discharge me if she likes, but she might be the only person alive who can tell me about my mother. I’m coming along.”

Liverwort sneered at Basil and Demetra. “Fine. Let’s go.”

She led them through campus. Now that several hours had passed since the final witch was defeated, a celebratory atmosphere was beginning to take hold. It had come at great cost, but they had won. And that was the part that was now beginning to sink in.

They reached the Queen’s Tower, or what was left of it. Liverwort showed them into a thin, curving staircase. It curled around the outside of the Queen’s Tower in a gentle contour, passing a beautifully carved doorway at each floor. Finally, she reached the one she wanted and stepped through. Evie and Maggie followed. They walked down a short corridor made of stone and reached another wooden door. Liverwort knocked, then opened it. She stepped inside. “Here she is, Majesty.” She turned and nodded to Maggie, then froze Evie with her eyes. The door shut, leaving Evie alone in the hallway.

She waited and waited, pacing along the smooth stones of the floor, wondering what the Queen could possibly be talking to Maggie about. She was there long enough to start questioning whether she really should have come at all. What if the Queen was even colder and meaner than Beatrice?

Before long, the door opened. Slowly, in a daze, Maggie stepped out. Liverwort appeared behind her and pointed a crooked finger at Evie.

“Wait there while I tell her what you want.” Then she slammed the door.

“Maggie? Are you all right?”

Maggie stepped toward her, lost in her thoughts. “It’s her, Evie.” She met Evie’s eyes. “What they said was true. The Queen is Rapunzel.”

“What?”

Maggie nodded, a smile blooming wide across her face. “It’s really her!”

“What did she want?”

Maggie shook her head, still unable to comprehend what had just happened to her. “She wants me to apprentice with her. To learn how everything works. She said she’s been watching me, Evie, and that she thinks I’ve got a place on the staff!”

“Maggie, that’s incredible!”

“There’s a lot of work to be done before that, of course, but she said that if I train as hard as I have been, she’ll keep an eye on me for Headmistress!”

Evie gasped and clapped her hands over her mouth. She grabbed Maggie’s arms, and Maggie grabbed hers right back. Both of them jumped up and down and screamed.

“Mum used to read me stories about this place when I was a girl! And now I’ll be working here! I get to train the next generation of princesses, Evie! Can you believe it?”

They jumped up and down and screamed again. The door flew open, and Liverwort glowered at them. “Get in here!” she spat.

“I’m so happy for you, Maggie,” said Evie.

“Thanks.”

She hugged her friend once more, then walked toward the door. She stepped past Corporal Liverwort into a dark stone room with a low ceiling. There were windows all along the curved walls looking out over campus. A spinning wheel and a stool sat near the wall. A wooden desk, a bench, and a neatly organized bookcase were the only other objects in the room. An ancient woman in a golden dress sat in a wooden chair with large wheels near one of the windows. Waves of sleek silver hair cascaded from a waterfall braid around the back of her head. A thick, jeweled crown sat above that. She had kind eyes and a sweet smile, and she was ushering Evie closer.

“I hear you’d like to speak with me about your mother,” she said in a small voice. “It’s all right, Corporal, you may leave us. Thank you very much indeed for your help today.”

Liverwort bowed her head, then left the room. Evie stepped forward, her fingers fiddling in front of her. “Before she died, Princess Beatrice said that you and she were the only ones who knew the whole truth about my mother. I was hoping I might become the third.”

Queen Rapunzel closed her eyes and sighed. “Poor Beatrice. She not only broke a vow by revealing Academy secrets, but also broke my heart. She allowed herself to be overwhelmed by her stepmother. But, as difficult as it all is, I forgive her. Who amongst us hasn’t made mistakes when it comes to our families? Come. Sit.” She motioned toward the bench. Her fingers were curled and twisted into a permanent fist.

Evie sat. The old woman’s eyes were so tender, so full of love, that it put Evie immediately at ease. “The Headmistress told me about my father coming here and about the bargain with the witch and my birth. But all she said about my mother was that she was taken away before the witch came for her and given a new life somewhere else.”

“Indeed,” said Rapunzel. “And it was no small feat, mind you. Here was a girl trained as a Princess of the Shield but who had lost herself to a curse. Imagine the bottom falling out of a glass. That was what the witch left us. To protect her from the Seven Sisters, we needed to erase her from the world. But we also needed to explain a fully trained Princess of the Shield. So,” she said with a soft chuckle, “I altered history. You’ve had Lieutenant Volf, correct?”

“Yes, Your Majesty. In my first year.”

“Then you know what a stickler he is with Princess History. Somehow I managed to persuade him to change the truth. That might have been the most difficult part of the entire affair.” She laughed softly again. “With the Lieutenant’s help, the Headmistress and I set about erasing every trace of Princess Vorabend from our records.” A wave of dizziness shot through Evie’s head as she remembered looking at the Registry of Peerage in the Archives and finding her mother blacked out from its pages, leaving King Callahan alone. “Of course, there was still the matter of her old company-mates. I summoned each of those girls back to the Academy and told them we were changing Vora’s identity to save her life. Without hesitation, without any further questioning, each of them accepted it. They took solemn vows to protect her secret to their dying days, which, unfortunately for most, came far too quickly. But a Princess of the Shield always protects Academy secrets. We knew those girls could be trusted.

“Princess Vorabend had therefore been expunged. I worked very closely with your father on assigning her a new identity. He was such a wonderful man. He wanted to ensure that the life we gave her was a good one, even if he would never be a part of it. In fact, it was he who chose her new name. He asked us to call her Princess Middlemiss.”

Evie gasped. Her hands went to her mouth. Princess Middlemiss was the one she’d been reading about since she first cracked a book, the one whose stories had inspired her since she’d discovered them back in her first year. That Princess Middlemiss . . . was her mother.

“He chose the name because he saw her as someone stuck between two lives, between the Vora he had known before the portrait and the Vora she might one day be again. He was a hopeful man, your father, and I think part of him hoped he might someday make her his Vora again. Middlemiss was, to him, a temporary condition. So, with that business sorted, the only thing left to do was assign her a kingdom. We needed a real kingdom, one that wouldn’t arouse suspicion, but one that also couldn’t be easily found. Beatrice herself came up with the idea to assign her as the Princess of Saudade.”

Another dizzying wave passed through Evie’s brain. The Princess of Saudade. The woman in the portrait. Neither of them were Evie; they were her mother.

“Saudade is a long-dead water kingdom. Little of it remains except the ruins of a castle and some local villagers. It is quite remote, and they were only too happy to have their own princess. We thought she could live out her days happily near the sea, never to be bothered by a witch again. But then . . .” She looked at Evie with a knowing smile. “Things changed.

“Our hope was for her to live quietly, but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it. The witches began to spread across the land and her training was still in her bones, even if the rest of her had been stripped away. She refused to let the witches near the coastal kingdoms. In fact, she became one of our most reliable princesses. At first it made me terribly nervous how she attracted so much attention. She even became quite famous after she led a counterattack on one of the kingdoms up there. But the more she proved herself, and the more she built her own name and identity, the safer she became. The witches would never have expected us to disguise someone they were looking for as a highly visible princess of the north. So . . . life went on, and Vora truly did become Middlemiss.

“Countess Hardcastle, meanwhile, had taken not only your sister but also the portrait. From what my sources have told me, she wanted to sell it to the cruelest, most hard-hearted person in all the land. What better way to get revenge on someone who had cheated her, I suppose.”

“King Hossenbuhr,” said Evie.

“Precisely. She sold the portrait to King Hossenbuhr with the explicit order that he must never look at it, for it had been cursed. He proved to be the perfect accomplice to her crime, however unwitting. Hossenbuhr was driven solely by the desire to amass wealth and treasure. He didn’t need to see the portrait; he only needed to possess it. By placing it with someone of such extraordinary greed, the witch had ensured that no one would ever find Vorabend again. What she hadn’t counted on, of course, was a young boy’s curiosity. Until Forbes snuck into that room and looked at the portrait, not a single human eye had ever seen it.”

“Then she came up with her plan to make my father fall in love with her.”

“Indeed. She created the Countess Hardcastle disguise and did what witches have become only too adept at doing. She tricked her way into your family and became your stepmother. When we were introduced, she came across as a perfectly acceptable candidate to be King Callahan’s second wife. Over time, they became our greatest benefactors, though for entirely different reasons. The King was forever grateful for our help in protecting his wife. The Countess, however, was hoping to create a smooth surface here for her daughter to glide across. She wanted Malora to become a princess as seamlessly as possible. That witch, Countess Hardcastle, has been troubling your family since before you were born.”

“Not anymore.”

“Indeed.”

“Is it really over?” asked Evie, after everything had sunk in.

“It is,” said Rapunzel. “You have performed in an exemplary manner, Cadet. I can say with great certainty that both your father and your mother would be immeasurably proud.”

Evie’s mind was swirling. She could scarcely understand everything she had just been told. “Your Majesty,” she said. “Could I ask one more thing?”

“Of course.”

“We were due to have Princess Middlemiss’s royal wedding here in a few months. Does that mean she’ll become a queen?”

“Quite so,” said Rapunzel with a smile. “Which means, of course, that as of this autumn, you shall be the Princess of Saudade.”

•   •   •

Everyone had gathered beneath the old oak tree behind Pennyroyal Castle. Despite the devastation, it remained standing tall. Green shoots had already started to appear on its boughs. Soon, they would form branches and then leaves and then acorns would drop and it would all start again.

Evie was there with Maggie and Basil, of course, but none of them could find Demetra. When they saw that Christa and Camilla weren’t there, either, they realized that the whole family must have gone off somewhere together. The rest of the crowd was composed of the heroes of the siege of Pennyroyal Academy. There were princess and knight cadets, staff and administrators, parents and siblings, as well as the Princesses of the Shield who had ridden from all across the land with Cinderella. Even the fairies were there, slowly regaining their strength. All had gathered in front of Corporal Liverwort, who was standing above them on a broken piece of wall.

“Everyone here?” she snarled. The crowd mumbled. “The Queen wants to say a few things, so pipe down.”

Everyone fell silent in respectful anticipation. Evie and Maggie exchanged a knowing look. Unlike the rest of the people gathered, they’d both seen for themselves that the Queen really was Rapunzel. And then she appeared, pushed in her chair by Rumpledshirtsleeves. There were awed whispers amongst the crowd, and even some gasps. Sir Schönbecker, Commander Muldenhammer, Princess Rampion, Princess Cinderella, Sir Ramsbottom, Princess Copperpot, Lieutenant Volf, Princess Ziegenbart, and all the higher-level instructors had little reaction. But the newest members of staff and recently graduated Princesses of the Shield stared with wide eyes. Queen Rapunzel’s silver hair billowed down from her braid, but even that couldn’t distract from her sparkling crown. Rumpledshirtsleeves helped her stand, then slowly climb up onto the broken wall. Finally, she faced the crowd with a tender smile.

“Good afternoon,” she said. Her voice sounded a bit stronger than it had earlier. “Pennyroyal Academy has taken a punch, ladies and gentlemen. A mighty punch indeed. Yet Pennyroyal Academy still stands—”

Crack! A hunk of stone broke off the battlement across the road and crashed to the ground in a billow of dust. The crowd screamed and dove for the ground, then began to laugh when they realized what had just happened. Rapunzel looked over her shoulder, then turned back to the crowd. She, too, was laughing.

“Most of the Academy still stands!”

They all laughed again.

“Now, in recognition of the feats of bravery and heroism shown throughout our long, dark night, I should like to do something rather unorthodox. But if ever there was a time for unorthodoxy, this is it. You see, cadets, I know everything there is to know about each and every one of you. I pay close attention to your files and the words of my staff. The battle we survived last night was more difficult training than one hundred years at the Academy could provide. As such, and knowing what I know about you all, I should like to advance everyone who was here to defend our beloved Academy. If you were preparing to enter your first-class training this fall, you may now consider yourself a fully commissioned Princess of the Shield. When your fairies are feeling up to it, they will administer your vows and distribute your assignments.”

Evie and Maggie stared at each other in shock. Maggie’s hands were shaking. She looked as though she might pass out.

“Uh, Headmistress?” said Basil, raising his hand.

“That’s the bloody Queen, you idiot!” snarled Liverwort.

“Sorry, Madame Queen?”

“Yes, Cadet, what is it?”

“I’m sorry, Your Majesty . . . but I’m afraid I can’t accept my commission.”

“Basil! What are you doing?” said Evie.

Rapunzel, Rumpledshirtsleeves, and Liverwort all looked at him in astonishment. Then Rapunzel’s face softened.

“Cadet Basil, isn’t it?”

“That’s right, Your Majesty. I’ve loved my time here at the Academy. I’ve loved training to be a princess more than I ever could have imagined. And there’s a part of me that really does want to become a Princess of the Shield. But something happened the other day, and I can’t possibly ignore it. You see, I found the Water of Life. It’s the first step toward a cure for those who’ve been turned to stone. I need to be home finding that cure, not off on assignment. I’m very sorry.” He turned to face the crowd. “I’m sorry, everyone. I don’t want to disappoint you. I just need to find a cure for my . . . my sister.” There was a buzz in the crowd. Basil turned to Evie and Maggie with heartbroken eyes. “I’m so sorry.”

“Did you say sister?” said Maggie in confusion.

“It’s all right, Bas,” said Evie. Then she turned to Maggie. “I’ll explain later.”

“Forgive me, Your Majesty. The last thing I want is to seem ungrateful. But the first thing I want is my sister back.”

Rapunzel gave a slight nod, her smile revealing nothing. “Cadet Basil, am I to understand that you are refusing your commission?”

“I’m afraid I am, Your Majesty.”

“Then you leave me no choice. Step forward, young man.”

Basil made his way onto the wall and stood before her, his spine as straight as a pine, his chest held high.

“Cadet Basil, it is with . . .” She paused, studying his face. “It is with . . . complete humility. With awe. With pride. And with the full acknowledgment that you possess a surplus of all the things that go into a true princess, that I hereby dismiss you from Pennyroyal Academy.” Her hand rose to her forehead in a salute.

“Thank you, Your Majesty.”

“Thank you, Basil.” She stepped forward and hugged him.

One of the girls from a second-class company whispered, “Should we applaud? That seems like a bad thing, right?”

Basil descended the wall and came through the crowd to join Evie and Maggie. As Rapunzel continued her speech, he stood next to them with red eyes. He looked absolutely destroyed.

“Are you all right, Bas?” said Evie, holding his hand.

“I’m not sure,” he said. “I’ve been waiting for this day for two and a half years, but now that it’s here . . . it’s a lot sadder than I expected.”

Maggie gave him a hug. Tears fell down his cheeks. Then Evie hugged him. “I love you, Basil.”

“I love you, too, Evie.”

“Now,” continued Rapunzel, “before we retire to the Dining Hall to feast as we have never feasted before, there is one final order of business I should like to address. Corporal, if you please.”

Liverwort jumped off the back of the wall and disappeared. The crowd murmured with anticipation.

“What more could there possibly be?” said Basil, wiping his tears on his sleeve.

“Everyone, please remain calm,” said Rapunzel.

Liverwort returned, and she was holding the sleeve of a hobbling figure in a tattered black cloak. They made their way up onto the wall together, and that was when the whole crowd began to gasp.

It was the hag from Evie’s first year at the Academy, the blind witch who had issued that fateful prophecy.

“Bring the Warrior Princess to me,” she said in a thin, brittle voice.

Evie gulped, and her insides began to quiver. Everyone turned to look at her. Several people stepped aside to clear a path.

“Bring the Warrior Princess to me. Her battle is still ahead.”

“It’s all right,” said Rapunzel. “Come. Come.” She waved Evie forward.

Slowly, with her heart in her throat, Evie stepped toward the old witch. She could feel the cold air coming off her, could feel her reading the crowd with her black magic. She stepped up onto the wall and went to stand before the witch, whose eyes were fused shut. The witch smacked her lips and moved her head back and forth as though unaware Evie was standing right in front of her.

“I said bring me the Warrior Princess!” she croaked. “Bring her before me!”

Evie furrowed her brow. She glanced out at Maggie, who shrugged. “Uh . . . I’m right here,” she whispered to the witch. “I’m right in front of you.”

The witch jumped, a scowl on her face. “What are you doing there, trying to scare me? Get away, urchin! I want the Warrior Princess!”

Evie looked back at Rapunzel, who was herself utterly perplexed.

“Forgive me, ma’am, but . . . I am the Warrior Princess.” Now her own conviction began to falter. “Aren’t I?”

“No!” yelled the witch. Then, suddenly, her expression changed to one of reverence. She extended a gnarled, bony finger toward the back of the crowd. “She is here! The Warrior Princess approaches!”

With a great murmuring, the crowd began to part to see whom it was she meant.

“Hurry up, Mother, it’s already started! We’re missing it!” Demetra took a huge bite of the doughnut in her hand, then, with stuffed cheeks and sugar residue smeared across her face, realized everyone was looking at her. Her mouth was so full, she could barely speak. “Wha?”

“Bring her before me!” said the witch.

Evie crept down from the wall, her mind a blur.

“What’s happening?” said Maggie.

“It’s Demetra,” said Evie. “Of course! My mother was in the company from twenty years ago, but so was hers! She’s the Warrior Princess!”

The crowd pulled Demetra forward with happy congratulations. She, however, was utterly baffled. “I’m sorry! We were just so hungry, we couldn’t wait for supper!”

Before she knew what was happening, she was standing on the wall in front of the witch, struggling to swallow her doughnut. Liverwort stepped forward and slapped the rest of it out of her hand. “Straighten up!”

“What’s going on?” said Demetra.

“You, my dear . . .” croaked the witch. “You are the Warrior Princess. And now that the Queen has declared you a Princess of the Shield—”

“She has?” said Demetra, astonished. Then she turned to look at the Queen. “Blimey, you’re Rapunzel!”

“Your final battle awaits you, Warrior Princess, and there shall be no excuse for letting fear win. A great victory was secured here today. Calivigne is finished, but there is more to be done.”

Demetra looked dubiously at the witch, then the crowd. “You don’t really think I’m the Warrior Princess, do you?”

Everyone began to cheer. Demetra’s mother, as flabbergasted as her daughter, listened to the applause with shock. Camilla began to clap and whistle along with everyone else.

“I can’t believe it,” said Maggie. “Demetra’s the Warrior Princess.”

“I knew it,” said Basil, clapping loudly. “I could have told you.”

Evie stood near the back of the crowd and shouted and applauded and exalted in the victory they’d won, and the victory Demetra had yet to win. It was an afternoon of triumph, and of friendship, and of hope.

•   •   •

“Uh . . . Father? Mother?” Evie shifted from one foot to the other. She looked up at her parents, who were glaring down at her from the height of a respectable waterfall with cold dragon faces. Her sister stood behind them, looking skeptically at something to Evie’s right. “This . . .” She took a deep breath. “This is Remington.”

“Hiya,” he said, raising a hand and giving an easy smile. Then his face fell. “Sorry, I mean, hello there, very good to meet you . . . er . . . what do I call you?” He turned to Evie. “What do I call them?”

“Remington is king of one of the most influential kingdoms in all the land. And he’s going to help stop the war with the dragons.”

“He’s also your boyfriend, isn’t he?”

“Sister!” said Evie, her cheeks already reddening.

“And how do you propose to stop the war?” said Evie’s father with a grumble.

“He’s already convinced one king from the Eastern Kingdoms, Father.”

Remington stepped forward. “Uh, look, uh . . .” He gazed up at them and found their eyes. “I’ve just lost a very important part of my family. As it happens, it’s the same part that Evie has just had restored to her family.” His eyes met her father’s. “I much prefer her experience to mine, to be honest, and I . . . I just don’t want to see any more families dismantled. I’m going to help you because I believe in this with all my heart. The only thing keeping knights and dragons from living in peace is that no one has ever said, ‘Enough.’”

Evie’s mother and father looked into each other’s eyes and both knew what their answer would be. “We’ll get started trying to change minds on our side,” said Evie’s mother with a nod. “I imagine we’ll find an awful lot of dragons who will be only too happy to see this war end.”

“Brilliant,” said Remington. “It won’t be easy, but this is already a better start than anyone’s ever had before, isn’t it?”

“It is indeed,” said the father. “Thank you for looking after our daughter so well.”

“It has been nothing short of a pleasure.”

“Then stop with this boyfriend business,” he barked.

“Oh, uh . . .” Now it was Remington’s turn to blush.

“Well then,” said Evie’s father, puffing up his chest. “If you’ll excuse us . . .”

“Yes, of course,” said Remington. “Safe travels and, uh, lovely to meet you.” He gave them an awkward wave and walked away toward the Dining Hall. Evie stood at the edge of the hillside with the three dragons as the evening sun bathed everything in gold.

“So? Will you be coming home?” said her father.

“Of course I will,” she said, “but only to visit. I’ll get my assignment soon, and then I’ll have to go out and do my duty.”

He lowered his head and softened his eyes. His voice became gentler, too. “Will you come visit soon?”

“I will. I promise.” She ran forward and threw her arms around her father’s chin. “Oh, I love you, Daddy. I love you, too, Mum. And you, of course, Sister. I love my family as much as I’ve ever loved anything in this life. You’ll always be with me, no matter how far apart we are.”

The other dragons nuzzled in, squeezing Evie between them. They stayed there on that golden hillside for another forty minutes. Evie told them about the Academy and about what her days were like, and they were genuinely interested in hearing it. Her sister even admitted to feeling a bit jealous by the end.

“Why not a dragon princess?” said Evie. “I say you enlist!”

They all shared a laugh. Then the three dragons gave Evie one last nuzzle before lifting off into the deep, dark blue sky, elegant black silhouettes against the falling night.

•   •   •

The next morning at breakfast, Evie and her friends moved to the Crown Company table, the only first-class princess table, an experience the siege had stolen from them. Maggie had a small stack of parchments with her.

“I was tossing and turning all night trying to work something out,” said Maggie. “What did the witch mean when she said Demetra’s battle still lay ahead? If Calivigne is gone, Hardcastle’s gone, and the rest of them are scattered to the wind, then what victory hasn’t yet been won?”

Evie took a bite of toast but realized something before she could chew it. “The training facility!” Crumbs flew out of her mouth and into Basil’s eyes.

“Do you mind?”

“The training facility!” she said, choking down the toast. “The witches have their own training facility!”

“They do?” said Demetra.

“My father said he’d been taken somewhere like that and held. He said there were hundreds of witches there, all together. And they were training for battle, just like us.”

“Then that must be it!” said Demetra. “Where is it?”

“He didn’t know for certain,” said Evie. “Only that it was cold. And there was a lot of snow.”

“Hang on,” said Basil. “Are you saying Demetra has to go and destroy a witch version of Pennyroyal Academy?”

“Exactly right,” said Maggie.

“Wait, what?” said Demetra, suddenly looking quite terrified.

“And I think I’ve figured out where it is,” said Maggie. She turned to Evie. “Do you remember all those letters I sent you last year? The ones you said the witches intercepted?” She reached into her parchment stack and took out a map of the realm. “Look. Here’s the Dragonlands here, where the letters were meant to go.” She put a finger in the northwest corner of the map. Then she put her other finger straight to the south, several inches below the map itself. “Sevigny, where they were sent from, is here.”

“My word, you really do live in the middle of nowhere,” said Basil.

“My parchment hawks would have taken this route,” said Maggie, running one finger north toward the other. She stopped when it reached an enormous range called the Glass Mountains. “That’s where they are. That’s where they were holding Evie’s father. And that’s why it was so easy for them to intercept my hawks. I was sending them straight into the witches’ lair.”

They all stared at the map in silence. The Glass Mountains were huge, stretching out beneath Pennyroyal Academy and continuing west until they ran straight off the map.

“That’s where my final mission is,” said Demetra.

Once they’d all agreed that Maggie was right, they decided to act quickly. Evie packed up her things and found a strong horse on which to tie it all. Demetra and Basil did the same. Maggie, however, would stay and try to get the Academy operational for the new class in the fall. She stood in the courtyard near the fountain and said goodbye to her friends. But this goodbye had an entirely different tone than the last one.

“Good luck, Demetra, I know you can do it. And when you do, we’ll never have to worry about witches as an organized force ever again.”

“Thanks, Maggie. And good luck to you. There’s so much to be done here.” They hugged each other, and then Demetra mounted her horse. Her mother was there, Queen Christa, as was her sister and a team of other elite princesses she’d chosen for the mission, including Princess Falada. “Goodbye, my friend,” said Demetra, giving Maggie a smile. “I’ll see you soon.”

“Goodbye, Demetra.” The princesses began to ride off, leaving only Evie and Basil.

“Look after my portrait,” said Evie. “I’ll need it when we’ve finished with this.”

“I’ll protect it with my life,” said Maggie solemnly.

“Thanks, Maggie.” She gave her friend a hug, then went to mount her horse as Basil did the same.

“Good luck, you two,” said Maggie. “Bravely ventured is half won.”

“Goodbye, Maggie,” said Evie. With a smile, she and Basil turned and rode off after the princesses. A moment later, Remington raced past on his horse.

“Sorry! They just brought out a blackberry tart, what was I to do?” He galloped down the hill and joined the rest of them as they disappeared into the Dortchen Wild.

The group rode for many hours through a placid, magical forest. There was not a witch to be found, and the air was as clear as glass. When they finally reached Marburg, they found the ruins of the once-great kingdom at long last occupied again by people. The witches had abandoned it when the Academy’s wall had fallen, and now its citizens were back, setting things to rights and working to get back to normal, everyday life.

The party stopped to buy some food at the inn, then rode through the kingdom and out into the great, wide world beyond. Finally, the sun began to set, and the air turned golden. They rode to the top of a flat hill overlooking rolling, grassy fields that stretched on for miles. Evie stopped her horse and gazed out across the land. Demetra rode up next to her. Everyone else continued down the hill to get their horses some water except for Basil and Remington. The four of them sat silently on horseback and admired the light-soaked hillsides before them, where the grass seemed to glow green and the air was crisp with possibility and hope. Despite the sun and the warm, wildflower breeze, Evie felt a chill run through her.

“This is where we part ways,” said Demetra.

Evie’s eyes swung over to her. “What?”

“We’re going on without you.”

“What are you talking about? I’m with you to the end.”

“No, Evie. From here, we ride south. And you ride north.”

Evie looked to the north, to where the meadows seemed to stretch on forever until the valleys met the hills, and then the pine mountains beyond.

“Go to your mother, Evie. Go and find her.”

“But I can’t leave the mission—”

“Evie. It’s all right. You wouldn’t let me abandon my mother when we were in Goblin’s Glade, and I won’t let you abandon yours now. Go and find her. Go and be with her. Tell her about the portrait and see if she remembers. If she doesn’t, then start over anyway. Just go to her.”

Tears began to form in Evie’s eyes. “Thank you, Demetra.”

“I’ll ride with Evie,” said Remington. “You know . . . muscle.”

Evie laughed, then turned back to Demetra. “Would you mind? He won’t be any use to you against witches anyway. Trust me, I’ve already had to save him several times.”

“Of course he’ll go with you. I’ll feel better knowing you’re not alone out there.”

“I’m not alone. None of us are ever alone.”

A gentle breeze whispered over them.

“Well then,” said Evie.

“Well then,” said Demetra.

She and Basil spurred their horses on, riding down the gentle glade to join the rest of the team. Evie and Remington didn’t move, or even speak. They sat on their horses, watching in silence as the sun rolled slowly down the western sky, warmed by the wind as it sifted through the long grass.