More old heroes dead.

The School Master was getting closer to his ending.

But what was it? she thought. What did he need in Gavaldon?

Something he needs to destroy Good forever, Merlin had said.

Agatha chewed on her lip, wrestling this most important riddle of all—

That’s when she saw them. Two goldilocked figures by a small oak grove, indistinguishable in the dark.

Agatha was reminded of a moment two years ago during Forest Group sorting when she caught Tedros and Sophie flirting against a tree. It was the first time Agatha had ever seen her best friend look happier than she did when she was with her. Now the sight of Sophie with the same prince, neither in a rush to find nor include her, brought the feelings roaring back. A sick, primal loneliness reared its head—

Only this time Agatha didn’t run from the pain.

Slowly she let the loneliness in, holding it, studying it as it clawed at her heart like a monster at the door.

What am I so afraid of?

She’d spent her whole life alone before that June morning four years ago when Sophie first came with a basket of face creams and diet cookies, offering to make her over. She’d been happy alone, like a bird trapped in a cage who’d never seen the sky. But as they grew closer and closer, Sophie had opened Agatha’s wings to a love so strong she thought it would last forever. It was she and Sophie against the world.

But on that first day of school, watching Sophie with a prince, Agatha realized how blind she’d been. The bond between two girls, no matter how fierce or loyal, changed once a boy came between them.

She and Sophie had tried to go home after that. They’d tried to get back to the way they used to be. But it was as impossible as returning to being a child once you’d already grown up.

All this time, Agatha couldn’t understand why Sophie had chosen to be with Rafal to begin with . . . why Sophie would choose to be with a boy so Evil. But standing there, alone in the dark, Agatha suddenly felt for her best friend. Because when Agatha kissed Tedros and vanished him home with her, Sophie no longer had someone who put her first. Her two best friends had left her for each other.

Tedros too had once felt that pain, watching her and Sophie kiss before they vanished home.

Now Agatha was the odd one out. For if Sophie and her prince ended up together, their first loyalty would be to each other and their new kingdom. She’d still be their friend, of course, but it would be different. For the first time, there would be a part of Sophie and Tedros that Agatha could no longer share. The two of them would have each other. And she would only have herself.

The ache inside her amplified as if she was getting closer to the fire.