Tedros looked like he’d been kicked in the pants. “I . . . I don’t know what you’re saying . . .”

“That if you’re asking me to question my happy ending, so should you,” said Sophie.

Tedros shrank against a wall, clutching the shreds of his shirt. He could see the Storian furiously capturing the two of them, alone in the School Master’s chamber. “And if I won’t?”

Sophie’s fingertip glowed pink. “Then I’ll choose Rafal and my loyalty will be to him. Which means I have to tell him you’re here.”

“Listen to yourself, Sophie. Listen to what you’re asking me,” Tedros pleaded. “You’re dazzling, intelligent, and absolutely mental in every way and I can’t imagine my life without you. From the moment I saw you first year, I thought you were my future queen. But we already tried to be together. No matter how good we might seem on paper, in the end, we’re meant to be friends. Just friends. Like we were last year—”

“When you tried to kiss me?” said Sophie.

“That . . . that’s irrelevant . . .” Tedros stuttered. “What matters is that Agatha and I are happy together—”

“Really?” said Sophie, sliding off the bed and moving towards him. “You said I was the one who brought you two back together. Which means you two had broken apart. Which means you two aren’t particularly happy if it takes a third person to fix your love.”

“Look, happy endings take time and work and commitment,” Tedros retorted. “Mine and Agatha’s won’t be the last Ever After that wrestles and doubts and fights to hold on to love. Just look at your own.”

Sophie paused. “You’re right, Teddy. That’s why I asked my heart to tell me my real ending. And this is what it said.” She held up the ink on her skin, desperation creeping into her voice. “I want to love Rafal. I want to love anyone but you. You bring me nothing but pain and hurt and humiliation. Yet my heart only knows your name, Teddy. What else can I do but see if it’s right?” She gazed at him through tears. “Our fairy tale brought us back together, here and now, because it wants a different ending. Why else would you be here alone without Agatha? Why else would you be the one to rescue me instead of my best friend?”

Tedros went rigid, thinking of all the twists and turns that brought him and Sophie to this very moment. The two of them alone, face-to-face, no disguises, no tricks, for the first time in two years. Then his cheeks went apple red. “I could never do that to Agatha. Neither could you, Sophie. You’re not a witch, anymore—”

“And yet, Agatha and I had our own Ever After until you made her reconsider,” Sophie said, treading closer. “So if asking you to open your heart makes me a witch, then you’re one too, Tedros. Because you did the same thing to Agatha when she was my princess.”