“Shouldn’t have been so mean to her before,” Dot whispered to Agatha. “Must be hard having me as a friend when I’m the kinda girl her mother used to eat. I mean, if I’d gone to her house that day instead of Hansel and Gretel, her mother would still be alive. Gretel saved Hansel ’cause she loved him, where I’d have ended up alone and cooked to a crisp. That’s why I’m not an Ever. Don’t have anyone who’d care enough about me to save me.”

“That’s not true,” said a voice.

Dot turned to see Hester looking right at her.

“That’s not true at all,” Hester said.

Dot blushed.

Agatha forced her attention back to Jack and Briar Rose’s story, if only to hide a sniffle.

On they went, each hero regaling the room with raucous tales of survival—Red Riding Hood, Princess Uma, Yuba and the White Rabbit—until twelve had gone and only one remained. Then, and only then, did the room fall silent for good.

Slowly everyone turned to face the head of the table, their smiles gone.

Merlin took off his hat.

“Seven days,” he said. “That’s as long as the sun will light our Woods, based on Yuba’s calculations. Seven days. If we wish to survive beyond them, we have no choice but to attack the School for Evil and the School Master knows it. He knows Good will always fight for life. And I’m afraid we have no choice but to fall into his trap.” The wizard sighed. “At the same time, so many of our fellow heroes have been slain in the Woods that the shield over the Reader World is barely intact. If any one of our old League members die, I suspect it will fall at last. The School Master will invade their world and claim the secret ending he’s been after all along. An ending he believes will destroy Good forever.”

For a moment, no one spoke, taking this in.

“I don’t understand. Isn’t killing these two duffers enough?” asked Cinderella, pointing at Agatha and Tedros. “It’s their fairy tale. Why does he need the Woods Beyond?”

“It’s a good question and I wish I knew the answer,” said Merlin. “Though I have no doubt he’ll kill Agatha and Tedros too when the time comes.”

Agatha and Tedros exchanged tense looks.

“I think it’s clear the School Master wants this fairy tale to be so cruel, so Evil, that Good has no power left beyond it,” said Merlin. “He’s already rewritten so much of our past. Now he’s after our future. He believes that whatever ending he has planned will make Evil invincible.”

“And you have no idea what that ending is, Merlin?” Princess Uma pushed.

“Only an inkling and nothing I would share,” said Merlin. “Until I know for sure, however, our only hope is to catch Sophie and make her destroy that ring.”

Agatha felt nauseous, trying to remember her best friend was leading the enemy now.

“So how do we do that?” asked Red Riding Hood.