Lady Lesso gurgled for breath—

“Aric, I’d prefer you kill your mother after the war is over,” said Rafal.

Sophie noticed his tone was dead serious.

Aric sensed this too, for he smirked at his mother and whispered in her ear. “And before I kill you, I’ll kill your old fairy godmother friend too. Dovey, is it? I’ll tear out her heart with my bare hands and make you watch.” He released her quickly and pulled back. “Of course, School Master. Please go on.”

Lady Lesso showed no emotion, but when her son turned to his seat, Sophie saw her eyes flicker with terror and her hand brush the marks he’d left on her throat.

“Then our plan for war is set,” Rafal resumed. “Once Merlin and his heroes approach, the old villains will ambush them in the Woods, while the young students defend the castles, under the teachers’ supervision. You will not tell the young students they’re staying behind in the coming war, of course. For the next week, they will train rigorously for combat alongside the old villains. This will ensure they’re prepared in case any of Merlin’s heroes make it past the Dark Army onto school grounds. As to who will be Training Leader of both schools—”

“Me,” Aric and Lady Lesso both spouted.

Rafal ignored Lady Lesso and began to nod at Aric—

“I have a better idea,” said Sophie.

Rafal, Aric, and the rest of the faculty all turned to her.

“Hope it’s as good an idea as the food one,” Castor muttered, drawing snickers.

“HOW DARE YOU,” Sophie hissed.

The room went still.

“I am your queen,” said Sophie, slinking towards the teachers. “Not a student, not a teacher, but a Master of both. Just like the young Master who sits in front of you and yet you continue to disrespect. No wonder our students doubt their loyalties to Evil when they have old, bitter teachers who see no value in youth or a young Dean who can’t even protect himself.” She leered at Aric as she circled the teachers like a shark. “But that will change starting today. Because now they have me.

“When I was first appointed as a teacher, I resisted it. In my heart I still felt I was supposed to be Good. That’s what Readers like me are taught, after all: Never lose your faith in Good, no matter how lost you are. And yet, the Good towers may have once been named Valor, Honor, Purity, and Charity . . . but when I was lost, it was Evil that extended me those things. The rules say Good defends, forgives, helps, gives, loves . . . but in my story, it’s Evil that’s proven these rules true. And suddenly I understood what Rafal has been trying to tell me all along. That some hearts are rebel hearts, pumping with anger and darkness and pain the way others pump with light. And yet, even if my heart beats for Evil, that doesn’t mean I can’t find love. That doesn’t mean I can’t find happiness. It just means I have to find love with someone who embraces my darkness instead of fighting it. Because that’s the love that will change the world. That’s the love that will win this war. And that’s the love we must teach.”