Here’s the thing: I’m not ready to have a slumber party where we braid each other’s hair or anything, but I guess Uma can be kinda cool.

Uma and Celia sat in Evie’s blue kitchen chairs with the pink cardboard bakery box between them. They each had a tall glass of milk and chowed down on slices of Jane’s birthday cake.

Mal glanced out the window anxiously. “That was a good idea to check out Audrey’s room. Now we know we’re on track,” she said. Perhaps she’d underestimated Ursula’s daughter. After all, the girl had been successfully captaining a pirate crew for years.

“Is there an insult in there that I missed?” asked Uma as she lifted her fork to her mouth. The cake really was delicious.

“Just…I wanted to thank you,” Mal said sincerely.

Uma was honestly touched.

Audrey stood in Fairy Cottage, watching Mal and Uma through the orb. She was disgusted by what she saw. Mal and Uma were getting along. They were…what? Becoming friends? Audrey was infuriated. “Think you’re on the right track? You’re not going anywhere,” she taunted them. Then she turned to Chad, who stood quaking by her side. “Ugh. Let’s mess them up.”

Chad had other, less-evil ideas. “I say we go to my place and maybe binge-watch some TV. Or maybe order some stuff online,” he suggested.

Audrey was unimpressed with the quivering fool. She swept her arm in a downward motion, and Chad groveled before her.

“What about pizza?” he asked.

Audrey thrust her scepter in his direction. Chad flinched in fear. “Oh, okay, you don’t like pizza. Then, salad?”

Audrey stared at Chad for a beat before magically blasting him back with a swift wave of her arms. “No saaaallllaaad,” yelped Chad, but it was too late. He flew the length of the kitchen, directly into the open pantry, where he landed with a thud. The pantry door slammed and its wood bar fell into place, locking Chad securely inside among the sad sacks of flour and hanging dry herbs. He called for help, but his effort was futile. Audrey lifted her scepter high into the air. With Chad out of the way, she turned her wicked attention back toward Uma and Mal.

Mal and Uma were sitting together at Evie’s kitchen table, genuinely enjoying each other’s company.

“I maybe kinda missed the boat a little bit when I called you Shrimpy and wouldn’t let you in the gang,” Mal admitted, helping herself to a fingerful of frosting.

“Yeah, we could have really torn up the Isle together—” said Uma.

She was cut short by a loud slam. The girls jumped in alarm as a wood plank smacked into place across the kitchen window. Slam! Slam! Slam! The girls gasped and watched in fright as solid wood planks slammed one after another across every window and blocked out all but a crack of light.

Celia ran down the stairs and tried to throw open the front door, but several wood planks pounded mightily into place and sealed the exit. “We’re trapped,” she said. Celia backed away from the door and joined Mal and Uma in the center of the room. She was frightened. When Celia had first applied to Auradon Prep, she’d imagined a carefree life filled with too much sunshine, dorky pep rallies, and the opportunity to read the fortunes of wealthy Auradon Prep students—not lethal knights and magically sealed exits. This was not what she had bargained for.

Evie and Doug ran into the living room. “Are you guys okay? What’s going on?” asked Evie, frightened. Her room, too, had been boarded up. Doug took Evie’s hand and held it tightly.

Mal’s eyes gleamed with frustration and anger. She’d had enough of Audrey’s nastiness. She raised both of her hands and incanted from deep within her heart: “You’ve caused my friends pain and fear. We’ve had enough. Now disappear.”

The planks merely rattled in response. That was not the result Mal was hoping for.

“You guys, I’m sorry,” Mal told her friends. “My spells aren’t working. Audrey’s magic is getting stronger.”

Uma stared down at her gold shell necklace, which now glowed with light. She had an idea. To Mal’s surprise, Uma stepped forward to stand alongside her and grabbed her hand. Mal’s eyes glowed green, Uma’s necklace shone blue, and together the girls incanted: “You’ve caused our friends pain and fear. We’ve had enough. Now disappear.”

In a flash, the planks dislodged.

The girls stared at each other, amazed by their accomplishment.

“You did it. Together. This is what I’ve been talking about,” cried Evie as she threw her arms around both girls.

“I guess my shell likes you,” Uma said to Mal. Then she looked down at her necklace, opened the shell, and took out Hades’s ember. She offered it to Mal as a token of trust. “Why don’t you hang on to this?”

Mal nodded gratefully and accepted the ember. Celia looked out the open door and cheered with delight as their friends paraded up the front path to Evie’s house, Ben in tow. “Hey, it’s your bae,” she told Mal.

Mal broke from the group, sprinted down the stone path to Ben, and flew into her fiancé’s arms. “You okay?” asked Ben as he touched her cheek.

“A lot better now,” Mal said, and hugged Ben tightly.

Ben looked over Mal’s shoulder and spotted Uma. His eyes lit up, and he broke into a huge grin. “I always knew you’d be part of the solution,” he said. Mal affectionately rested her hands on Ben’s chest and nodded in agreement.

The kids greeted each other joyfully, glad to be reunited. Jane and Carlos hugged Celia, Jay put his arms around Evie and Doug, and Harry enveloped Uma. Meanwhile, Gil helped himself to a fresh orange off Evie’s tree.

Mal ran her hand across Ben’s scruffy beard and through his messy mane. “What is this?” she asked flirtatiously.

“You like this?” asked Ben with a glimmer in his eyes.

“Oh, yeah,” said Mal. “I could get used to this. I love this.” Her engagement ring caught the sun’s rays as she tugged at her fiancé’s whiskers.

“What about those?” asked Uma, pointing out Ben’s sharp fangs.

Mal’s wide-eyed reaction clearly read Not so much. “No,” she said emphatically.

“I like ’em,” admitted Ben with an impish grin.

Mal turned back to Ben and placed her hand on his arm. As much as she’d have loved to spend the afternoon just staring into his gorgeous eyes, they had an evil maniac to vanquish. “Okay, so we all think that Audrey could be at Fairy Cottage. We have no idea where it is. Did she ever take you there?”

Ben gritted his teeth at the memory of the grating afternoons he’d spent there. “Every Fairy Godmother’s Day. Where’s Fairy Godmother when you need her?”

Everyone looked toward Jane, who was seated quietly at a small white bistro table. She straightened her romper and clasped her hands together tensely. “I wish I knew.” She looked away with worry but smiled when she saw Carlos standing next to her holding a small red box with a black-and-white polka-dot bow.

“Hey, um, this might be a bad time,” he said, pulling up a seat next to her, “but happy birthday.” He handed her the package. He’d been waiting for that moment all day. “I made it with my 3-D printer,” he added hesitantly.

Jane carefully opened the box. She pulled out a gold necklace with a little pink accent bow and stared at it with wonder. The word Jarlos, written in beautiful gold script letters, hung in the middle of the chain.

“It’s, uh, our names put together,” Carlos babbled nervously.

“No, right, I get it,” said Jane. She smiled awkwardly.

“Because we’re together. You and me, we’re like a couple,” explained Carlos.

Jane’s face radiated joy when she heard the word couple. “Right! ’Cuz Jane and Carlos makes Jarlos,” said Jane.

“Yes, yeah! I could have gone with Cane. But I went with Jarlos, unless you prefer Cane. Do you prefer Cane?”

“Oh, no, I love it!” exclaimed Jane. Her face glowed.

“You know what? I could remake it. It’s cool, it’s fine,” he said, fumbling for words.

“No, Carlos,” said Jane, rising from her seat. “It’s perfect.” Jane pulled back her long, dark glossy hair so Carlos could fasten the necklace around her neck. It was, by far, the most thoughtful and romantic gift Jane had ever received.

Ben hated to interrupt the intimate moment, but trouble was still brewing in Auradon. He set forth a plan. “Doug, go with Jane. We need to find Fairy Godmother.”

Uma sized up Doug skeptically and shook her head in doubt. “They might need some muscle.”

“Hey,” yelped Doug defensively as he pushed up his glasses.

“Well, I’ll go,” Gil volunteered eagerly. He flexed his fit arms for good measure.

Carlos took Jane’s hand in his. “Yeah, actually, I’d feel better.”

“Yeah, actually, I’d feel better, too,” Evie said.

“Same,” chimed in Mal.

Doug puffed up his chest, tried to match Gil’s brawn, and shrugged. “Yeah, actually, I would, too,” he said, laughing.

Gil threw his thick arm around Doug and gave him a brotherly squeeze. “All right, man. Let’s do it. Let’s go, Jane.”

“Be careful,” said Carlos.

Mal put her head on Ben’s shoulder as she watched the group take off down the path. Then she and the others turned to go back into Evie’s house to plot their next steps. They had to stop Audrey…somehow.