“People make mistakes,” Mike says. “But a few mistakes don’t make a person a monster. No one can be nice all the time.”

“Beauty is!” I say.

“But maybe I shouldn’t be,” Beauty says. She takes off her veil. “I almost got married just to be nice. That doesn’t seem very smart. You should get married because it makes you happy.”

Mike nods. “I figured out what makes me happy — being a beast! You need to figure out what makes you happy, too, Beauty.”

“Books make me happy,” she says wistfully.

Oh! “Maybe you should become a librarian or a bookseller!” I exclaim. “You’re really good at recommending books.”

“You are welcome to take all the books in the basement,” Mike says.

Beauty’s eyes shine, but then she shakes her head.

“I can’t be a librarian,” she says. “I have to help the orphans. And the soup kitchen. And Grumpy Great-Grandma. And I have to take care of my dad’s cottage.”

“You’ve taken care of the cottage for years,” I say. “Let your sisters have a turn. Maybe it’s time to take care of yourself.”

“Maybe,” Beauty echoes. She looks around, from me to Jonah to Prince to Mike. “I guess my first step is taking off the engagement ring,” she says. “Ready?”

“Are you sure?” I ask Mike.

“Absolutely,” he booms.

Beauty wiggles the ring off her finger.

My skin starts to sizzle. It feels as if I’m sitting under a heat lamp at a restaurant. After a few seconds, my face stops sizzling. I touch my cheek. It’s smooth.

I look at Mike.

Fur is growing on his face and arms, and he’s getting taller and taller. Mr. Beast is turning back into his beastly self. He stretches his arms above his head and he grins, showing off his fangs.

“That feels much better,” he says happily. “I’m me! Mike is such a boring name anyway. Good-bye, Mike. Hellooo, Mr. Beast!”

It worked. We’re back to normal.

Suddenly, the front door smashes open.

“What is going on in here?” demands Jax the fairy with a nasty smile.

I jump. “We switched back. You said if they broke their engagement, we would switch back.”

“Hmm,” says Jax. He runs his fingers through his purple hair. “Yes, I did say that, didn’t I? But that was before you people didn’t invite me to the party! You invited everyone but me! That wasn’t very nice! Don’t you know that fairies get mad when they’re not invited to parties? Now you will all be punished. Everyone here will become beasts.”

“What?” I say, panicked. “No! You can’t do that!”

He takes out his yo-yo and starts swirling it over his head. “Yes, I can! One beast, two beasts, now a few; You should be a beast, and you and you and you!”