The students looked positively hateful now.

“Um, Lady Lesso said Pollux has been teaching in my absence,” she puttered, “so perhaps we should wait for him to—”

Vex let out an angry fart.

Sophie held her breath, appalled.

Find the spy, she refocused. Someone in this room was on Good’s side, trying to help kill the boy she loved . . .

And yet, with their matching scowls, all the students in the room looked equally capable of betraying Evil, Evers and Nevers alike. That is, except for Kiko in a black babushka and veil, sniffling at the back of the room. Sophie glimpsed the small pink ribbon pinned to her uniform:

Kiko saw Sophie looking at her and gave her the same horrible glare as everyone else.

“Did someone put frownies in the school gruel this morning?” Sophie simpered, trying to keep her cool.

A spitball hit her in the eye.

Sophie exploded red, not even bothering to look for who shot it. “Look, it’s obvious why you’re all upset, okay? When I first came to this place, you were vile to me, even though I was nothing but nice to each of you, whether greeting you in hallways, enduring your odious hygiene, or educating you about the evils of white flour. And now you’re mad because the most handsome boy in the world gave me his ring, which makes me queen of the school, sitting up here with all the power, while you’re down there, with no power at all. But you know what? Tough tooties. I’ve been alone my whole life, trying to find someone who loves me who won’t leave me, someone who actually likes me for who I am, warts and all. And now I found him! I don’t care if he’s a sorcerer. I don’t care if he’s the most Evil boy in the world! He’s mine and he loves me, even if I’m emotional and complicated and brutally misunderstood. So pout and be mad all you like, but after all I’ve endured in my life, I deserve to have true love, whether you like it or not, and the least you could do is be happy for me!”

Silence.

“That’s not why we’re mad,” snapped Beatrix.

“No one gives a hog’s behind if you have a boyfriend,” Mona stabbed.

Sophie pursed her lips. “Oh. Then what’s the problem?”

All the kids turned towards the window. Sophie followed their eyes to the colossal scoreboard over the Blue Forest, listing the students in order of their scores. Glowing red lines divided the board into three sections: a top group, a middle group, and a bottom group. She couldn’t read any of the names through the hazy green air, except for Hort’s, firmly atop the rankings.

“Third year is tracking year,” growled Ravan, picking miserably at his shorn black hair. “Starting next week, we’re split into dorms as Leaders, Henchmen, or Mogrifs, based on our rankings.”