Okay, I feel absolutely horrible about lying to Evie. I’ve never not told her the truth. At least today will be better, with Jane’s party to enjoy. It’ll be nice just to relax and celebrate her. I am so ready for no drama.

The next morning, as the warm summer sun rose over Evie’s house, Evie and Jay stood in her light-strewed kitchen and packed up three straw picnic baskets for Jane’s birthday party.

“Sandwich,” said Evie, tossing one to Jay. He caught it one-handed, like the skilled athlete he was. His short-sleeved maroon hoodie showed off his biceps in action.

Evie, who’d chosen to wear a sporty shorts romper to the summer soiree, laughed, then started to playfully pluck apples from the fruit basket and toss them to Jay with perfect precision. He looked up as Carlos, all smiles and cheerfulness, walked into the kitchen.

“Good morning,” Carlos said with a spring in his step. Wearing a black-and-white diagonally striped shirt and white jeans, Carlos had clearly put effort into looking extra handsome for the party. Carlos wanted Jane’s day to be as wonderful as she was. Jane was always doing thoughtful things to make everyone else feel special, and that day he planned to do the same for her. He’d picked a bouquet of wild bluebells that matched the color of her eyes, bought several giant birthday balloons as cheery as her smile, and ordered a yellow layer cake with vanilla buttercream, light blue frosting, and pink fondant bows—her favorite.

“I really think she’s gonna like the cake, you guys,” said Carlos, who’d had Happy Bibbidi-Bobbidi Birthday, Jane! scrolled in icing along the top.

“Oh, yeah?” asked Evie.

Carlos had a huge grin on his face as he walked to the pink bakery box, but suddenly, he frowned with surprise. A giant slice of the cake was missing. “Oh, no! Who got into Jane’s cake?” he asked, exasperated. What kind of evil person would eat someone else’s birthday cake?

Celia and Dizzy sat beneath the lilac vines on Evie’s back patio and laughed with delight. Their hands and faces were covered in telltale icing, and cake crumbs cascaded down their bright party dresses. “Dee-licious,” Dizzy said, giggling.

“I especially liked the lack of dirt,” chirped Celia, who had once received an actual mud pie on her birthday.

“And the lack of flies,” Dizzy agreed, licking her fingers. Sprinkles tasted way better than bugs.

Celia took another huge bite and nodded in agreement. “Want some?” She offered her plate to Dizzy, who had already finished every last crumb of cake on her own plate.

“Thank you,” Dizzy said, and happily gobbled up more. The two daughters of villains agreed: cake was definitely the best thing about life in Auradon so far.

Mouthwatering birthday cake was no longer a novelty for Mal, but she was looking forward to Jane’s party for other reasons. The past couple of days had been über-intense, and she gladly welcomed a few hours with her friends at the Enchanted Lake. She’d wrapped Jane’s present in a big purple gift bag and was wearing new purple denim skorts for the special occasion. But no sooner had Mal exited the glass French doors to Evie’s place than she was greeted by a mysterious explosion of billowing pink smoke.

“I was hoping you were home.” Mal heard the familiar voice of Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, whipped her head around, and stared at Audrey incredulously. Audrey looked utterly villainous. She cradled Maleficent’s scepter in her right hand and, with an air of entitlement, wore the queen’s majestic sapphire crown on top of her magenta ombre hair.

“Huh? Is this a joke?” asked Mal, sincerely wondering if the precious princess was off to another one of her lame costume balls. “What are you doing with the crown and the scepter?”

Audrey glared at Mal, spite radiating from her eyes, and extinguished any ideas of humor. “Well, I wanted them, so I took them. You of all people should understand that, Mal,” she hissed, taking a thinly veiled jab at Mal for stealing Ben from her.

Mal looked Audrey up and down suspiciously. The orb of Maleficent’s scepter glowed venomously, and Audrey seemed to be drinking in its power. Mal tried not to freak out, but this was bad—really, really bad. Mal was all too familiar with the destructive powers of her mother’s loathsome staff.

Audrey glared at her nemesis. Then she crouched down, cradling the scepter, as if to cast a spell.

“Wait. Audrey, stop. Don’t use that!” Mal begged, desperately trying to think of a way to disarm her.

“I thought you liked spells,” purred Audrey, relishing her upper hand.

Mal’s alarm heightened. She had to convince Audrey to relinquish the scepter before the vengeful princess did something she’d regret. Perhaps she should appeal to her as a friend. Mal tried to employ her sweetest-sounding voice. “Okay, Audrey—”

Audrey interrupted Mal right there. She wasn’t buying Mal’s chummy act, not for a minute. “Quiet,” she ordered. With a savage blow, she struck the glowing scepter on the ground and released a worrying shower of bright sparks.

Mal genuinely quivered. “That’s not a toy!” she exclaimed. “It’s dangerous.”

Audrey’s eyes teemed with evil intent. “I want to be dangerous. My life was perfect until you stole it! And then Auradon turned its back on me.” Audrey pivoted in place, whipped around her luscious hair, and stormed away with attitude. “It’s time for a little payback,” she muttered ominously.

“Audrey, wait,” shouted Mal. Desperation filled her voice.

Audrey spun around, threw back her head, and cackled. She waved the luminous scepter in Mal’s direction, then cursed her with a flash of light. When the pink smoke cleared, its effect left Mal speechless. The hex had transformed Mal into a shriveled old woman. Mal’s glossy purple hair had turned a sickly shade of gray, and her once-porcelain skin was covered with deep wrinkles and liver spots. Her chic purple vest was replaced with a ratty wool cloak. Mal looked down at her withered hands and winced.

Audrey soaked up Mal’s pained reaction and laughed with glee. “Think Ben will love you now, you old hag?” Audrey lifted the scepter to the sky triumphantly. “You’ll pay the price for what you did, and so will all of Auradon.”

Alerted by the commotion, Evie, Jay, Carlos, and Celia burst out of the house. They stopped short on the driveway when they saw Audrey in possession of the magical objects, then gawked when they saw Mal’s monstrous makeover.

Audrey took a moment to bask in everyone’s shock, then snickered, twirled around, and disappeared in a puffy cloud of pink smoke. “So long, suckers.” Revenge really was glorious.

Jay rushed to Mal’s aid but accidentally recoiled in revulsion when he saw her up close. “Whoa! Ah, you might want to think of a spell for that.” He winced.

“There’s no spell that can reverse the curse of the scepter,” responded Mal. Her voice sounded gravelly and old.

“Well, that’s a shame,” Carlos muttered, and looked away with a grimace.

Mal shook her head of wiry gray hair, then squinted her eyes, crow’s-feet and all, toward the remaining wisps of Audrey’s pink smoke. “Forget about me. Audrey’s out for revenge. Auradon’s in danger.” Mal knew from firsthand experience with her mother: that scepter was dangerous in the hands of a woman scorned.

“What should we do?” asked Evie.

Mal looked at her frantic friends. “The only thing more powerful than the scepter is Hades’s ember.”

“Like he’s just going to hand it over to you after you blew him back to the Isle,” Jay said, raising one eyebrow.

“No one knows where his lair is,” said Evie as she crossed her arms over her chest.

Celia piped up. “I do. I’m his errand rat. I’ve got the key at my dad’s.”

Mal pointed at Celia with authority—well, as much authority as an old hunchback could muster. “You’re coming.”

“But I just got here,” Celia said disappointedly. She had expected to revel in more of Auradon’s beauty and riches before returning to the Isle. And also to eat more cake.

In truth, returning to the Isle wasn’t anyone’s first choice for how to spend the day, but there was no other way. They had to retrieve the ember to safeguard Auradon.

Just then, Dizzy appeared in the doorway, holding Squeaky’s and Squirmy’s hands. They were all spruced up and ready to leave for Jane’s party. “Mal?” asked Dizzy, her voice cracking with confusion.

As realization hit, Dizzy shrieked in terror. The twins buried their faces in fear.

Evie’s heart went out to the terrified kids. “Dizzy, stay here and take care of the twins. We’ll be right back and everything is going to be just fine. Go inside,” she instructed, hoping the younger VKs bought her fake-confidence act. Then she turned to Carlos, Jay, and Celia. “Guys, go get your stuff.”

While the others ran inside Evie’s castle, Mal turned and whispered to Evie, “Really, how bad is it?” She flashed a near-toothless grin.

“You age beautifully,” Evie reassured her with a quick smile. “Now let’s just get you into something fabulous, okay?” Evie was halfway to the front door when she realized elderly Mal walked at an extremely slow pace. She took a few steps back to help her friend.

Mal had always known she and Evie would be best friends until a ripe old age. She just hadn’t planned on that old age coming so soon.

A little while later, senior citizen Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos peeled through the forest on their custom-detailed motorbikes, with Celia riding on the back of Mal’s. On a normal day, the VKs loved to take their tricked-out bikes for a spin, but there was no joy in that day’s ride as they headed toward their unfortunate mission. The group, all wearing helmets in their signature colors, pulled to a stop on a rocky bluff and looked out across Auradon Bay. Not one of them was excited to return home.

Mal lifted her safety goggles. Her wrinkled eyes flashed green and she incanted from memory: “Noble steeds, proud and fair, you shall take us anywhere.” With a zing of enchantment, the motorbikes roared to life and magically zipped across the surface of the sea toward the Isle. Celia had not seen that coming in her fortune cards.

Moments later, Carlos’s dog, Dude, scurried onto the bluff and saw his master’s bike floating toward the horizon. “Carloooooooos!” the talking dog howled forlornly. “You’re gonna miss Jane’s birthday!” But he was too late.