I freeze. “I…”

Raina grabs my arm. “Actually, this is my potential lady-in-waiting. You see, I’m Princess Scarlet from a nearby kingdom, and I’m considering coming to this school.”

He holds out his hand to shake her free one. “It’s good to see you too, Raina and Heath. Brynn, I suggest you head back to the banquet before Clarissa gets too wound up about not being able to find you and alerts Hazel.”

Brynn’s eyes widen. “Good idea.” She gives me a hug. “Stay safe, miss!”

“You too,” I tell her and look back at the professor. “How did you…?”

His eyes sparkle. “A good prince can always see through to the truth.”

“Red said something about that,” Raina says. “Why would you hide being royal?”

He blushes slightly. “I don’t talk about it much. It’s part of my agreement with the fairy godmother. I was once under Olivina’s tutelage just like you were. I, too, was told I had a promising future in this kingdom as a prince who would sit on the royal court. But when my vision for Enchantasia didn’t match the fairy godmother’s, I found myself on the outs. I tried to change the way things worked at this school, but one voice wasn’t strong enough to tip the balance.”

I feel sad for Professor Pierce. How lonely it would have been to go on this journey alone.

“She didn’t banish you?” Heath asks.

Professor Pierce pursues his lips. “I discovered some information that Olivina didn’t want made public. In exchange for my silence, I was allowed to stay here, under her watch, and teach. I’ve made peace with my decision, but I’ve always been disappointed in myself for not speaking up when I had the chance.” He looks at me. “But when I met you and your friends, I thought, ‘Maybe these are the children who could do what I couldn’t.’ Which is why I put you in touch with our friends in the woods. How are they?”

“Good. I think they miss home, but Tara likes it in the woods,” I add.

The professor looks puzzled. “Tara? Ah, yes, I remember Red Riding Hood mentioning her, though I’ve never had the opportunity to meet her myself.”

Heath and I look at each other. “You don’t know Tara personally? I thought you would have had her as a student,” I say. “I think she was taught privately. She was supposedly Olivina’s favorite.”

Professor Pierce frowns. “I usually know all our students. I do remember a Corden and Prue, who were both banished last year.”

“We met them,” Heath explains. “They’re the whole reason we got this far today.”

The professor ponders for a moment. “I remember Prue being very talented at working the castle’s mirrors and Corden had exceptional taste, but I don’t remember Tara.”

More warning bells go off in my head. How could one of the most popular professors at this school not know Tara?

“But if it’s Olivina you seek, I fear you may have missed your chance,” the professor says. “She is already on the way to the ball.” He raises his right eyebrow. “Unless you’re hoping to visit her quarters when she is not there.”