Slowly the color seeped out of Agatha’s cheeks.

“No . . . it can’t be the truth, Hort,” she croaked. “Because I’ll never marry Tedros. And Sophie will never love you.”

The glow in Hort’s face snuffed out.

“Sophie loves Tedros. And unlike me, she never doubted that love,” Agatha said, hunched in the grass next to him. “All I did was doubt Tedros. The more time he and I spent together, the more I couldn’t understand why he wanted me when he could have a real princess. That’s why I wanted to keep him in Gavaldon. In my mother’s house, he wasn’t a prince. He was a scared teenage boy, as lost and confused as I was. But here, in the Woods, Tedros is different: he’s true to himself and lives with a purpose. In his heart, he’s already a king—a king who needs a queen just as confident and self-assured as he is, who can lead his people to hope again. That’s not me. I’m still learning to like what I see in the mirror and accept that someone can actually love me for who I really am. I’m not a leader. I’m not . . . special.”

She gazed at her crowned self in the painting. “When we were at school in the wrong bodies, Tedros said he was afraid of me seeing him once the prince is stripped away. That I’d see he’s nothing special . . . just an ordinary boy. But that’s the Tedros I love. Because the real Tedros—the prince who will grow into a strong, powerful king—will see one day that I’m no different than his mother. I never wanted a prince or a fairy tale. I never wanted a big life. I’m just a girl struggling to be ordinary.”

She looked up at Hort, eyes wet. “But Sophie? Sophie believes she deserves a prince. Sophie wants to be queen. Enough that she’s willing to risk the future of Good for it—”

“Which is exactly why she can’t be Good’s queen!” Hort fought, nodding at his Wish Fish. “Don’t you get it? You belong with Tedros and I belong with—”

“Then why can’t I see my future together with him? If I belonged with him, why can’t I see myself as this girl in your wish? I’m meant to be alone, Hort. That’s why I’ll lose him. Because I need to learn to be happy on my own. Like my mother was. That can be an Ever After, can’t it?”

“You haven’t lost him,” Hort pressed, still looking at his fish. “It’s never too late in a fairy tale!”

Agatha sighed wistfully and touched his cheek. “Even fairy tales have limits, Hort. Both of us have to let go. Let Sophie and Tedros live their Ever After. For your own happiness.”

Hort scorched pink. “For my own happiness? That’s rich coming from you,” he sneered, yanking his finger from the water, dissolving the painting. “You’re the one forcing Tedros to love Sophie, just so she’ll destroy that ring. I heard what she said behind that curtain in the cave. At least I’m willing to fight for my happy ending. You’re giving away your true love to someone he doesn’t belong with and expecting him to live with it forever! Tell yourself all you want that you’re not good enough for him, Agatha. Tell yourself you’re doing it to save Good. Tell yourself any excuse that lets you sleep at night. But we both know you’re just too afraid to fight for the person you belong with. And you know what, princess? Even if I hate the boy to his bones, that doesn’t sound Good to me at all.”