“K-k-kill— Me?” Sophie squeaked like a squirrel, bursting into shivers. “My b-b-best friends? No, no, no, no, no—I said I’d fight with Rafal—that I’d defend him if they came—”

“Defend? No, no, my dear. Evil attacks and Good defends. And when Evil attacks, it kills. I warned you our very first day of class, Sophie. When you are Evil, there is no escaping your Nemesis. The moment you began having Nemesis dreams of Agatha’s face your first year, your fate as enemies was sealed forever . . . much as I tried to believe both of you an exception.”

Sophie was still shaking her head, emitting yips and croaks instead of words.

“Listen to me, Sophie.” Lady Lesso’s tone cut sharper. “I told you the story of my child for a reason. As long as Agatha is alive, you will never have a happy ending. Either you kill Agatha and her true love . . . or they will kill yours. Those are the only two ways your fairy tale ends.”

“I c-c-can’t—I just want to be happy! Why do I have to kill anyone—”

“Because this is your storybook. You and Agatha’s,” said Lady Lesso. “That is why the Storian has yet to close it. It is waiting for you to make your choice between who lives at The End: your best friend or your true love. Good or Evil.”

Sophie clutched her ring with shaking fingers. “But what if Agatha doesn’t feel like my Nemesis anymore? What if I don’t even feel Evil at all!”

Lady Lesso gripped Sophie’s hand across the desk. “Sophie. You wear the ring of Evil’s darkest soul. You brought Evil back from the dead and unleashed hell on Good, just so that you can have a boy to love. Can you think of anything more Evil?”

Sophie rankled. “That isn’t fair! I didn’t know any of this would happen!”

“Ask yourself, then. If you could save Good, would you sacrifice Rafal? After finally finding someone who loves you for your true self, would you choose to be alone? Just so Agatha and Tedros can be happy?”

Sophie followed her eyes out the window to Rafal soaring over the Blue Forest, back to his tower in the sky. Everyone else in the world had betrayed her when she needed them most—family, friends, princes. But not him. She could still feel herself flying in his arms, safe and protected. She could still feel his passionate warning, cold at her core . . . “No one will ever love you but me” . . .

“Could you give him up, Sophie?” Lady Lesso pressed.

A single, scared tear fell down Sophie’s cheek. “No,” she whispered.

“Then you aren’t just Evil,” said Lady Lesso, letting go of her. “You are its deserved queen.”

Sophie shook her head. “But you know who I really am! Last year you and I fought for Good with Agatha and Professor Dovey. All of us were a team!”

“And you and I have paid our price for that disloyalty. Your price is that you must now destroy the friends you should have disowned long ago. And my price is . . .” Lady Lesso’s lips quivered, her gaze drifting to the empty desk across the room. She swallowed subtly and straightened in her chair. “Look, I’m here to help you, Sophie. Because like you, I too have a second chance to prove my loyalty to Evil. And this time, we can’t fail. Even if our leader now has the maturity of a pubescent boy.” She grimaced sourly. “Now pay attention to what I’m about to say.”