by M. A. Larson
Evie’s mother and father looked into each other’s eyes and both knew what their answer would be. “We’ll get started trying to change minds on our side,” said Evie’s mother with a nod. “I imagine we’ll find an awful lot of dragons who will be only too happy to see this war end.”
“Brilliant,” said Remington. “It won’t be easy, but this is already a better start than anyone’s ever had before, isn’t it?”
“It is indeed,” said the father. “Thank you for looking after our daughter so well.”
“It has been nothing short of a pleasure.”
“Then stop with this boyfriend business,” he barked.
“Oh, uh . . .” Now it was Remington’s turn to blush.
“Well then,” said Evie’s father, puffing up his chest. “If you’ll excuse us . . .”
“Yes, of course,” said Remington. “Safe travels and, uh, lovely to meet you.” He gave them an awkward wave and walked away toward the Dining Hall. Evie stood at the edge of the hillside with the three dragons as the evening sun bathed everything in gold.
“So? Will you be coming home?” said her father.
“Of course I will,” she said, “but only to visit. I’ll get my assignment soon, and then I’ll have to go out and do my duty.”
He lowered his head and softened his eyes. His voice became gentler, too. “Will you come visit soon?”
“I will. I promise.” She ran forward and threw her arms around her father’s chin. “Oh, I love you, Daddy. I love you, too, Mum. And you, of course, Sister. I love my family as much as I’ve ever loved anything in this life. You’ll always be with me, no matter how far apart we are.”
The other dragons nuzzled in, squeezing Evie between them. They stayed there on that golden hillside for another forty minutes. Evie told them about the Academy and about what her days were like, and they were genuinely interested in hearing it. Her sister even admitted to feeling a bit jealous by the end.
“Why not a dragon princess?” said Evie. “I say you enlist!”
They all shared a laugh. Then the three dragons gave Evie one last nuzzle before lifting off into the deep, dark blue sky, elegant black silhouettes against the falling night.
• • •
The next morning at breakfast, Evie and her friends moved to the Crown Company table, the only first-class princess table, an experience the siege had stolen from them. Maggie had a small stack of parchments with her.
“I was tossing and turning all night trying to work something out,” said Maggie. “What did the witch mean when she said Demetra’s battle still lay ahead? If Calivigne is gone, Hardcastle’s gone, and the rest of them are scattered to the wind, then what victory hasn’t yet been won?”
Evie took a bite of toast but realized something before she could chew it. “The training facility!” Crumbs flew out of her mouth and into Basil’s eyes.
“Do you mind?”
“The training facility!” she said, choking down the toast. “The witches have their own training facility!”
“They do?” said Demetra.
“My father said he’d been taken somewhere like that and held. He said there were hundreds of witches there, all together. And they were training for battle, just like us.”
“Then that must be it!” said Demetra. “Where is it?”
“He didn’t know for certain,” said Evie. “Only that it was cold. And there was a lot of snow.”
“Hang on,” said Basil. “Are you saying Demetra has to go and destroy a witch version of Pennyroyal Academy?”
“Exactly right,” said Maggie.
“Wait, what?” said Demetra, suddenly looking quite terrified.
“And I think I’ve figured out where it is,” said Maggie. She turned to Evie. “Do you remember all those letters I sent you last year? The ones you said the witches intercepted?” She reached into her parchment stack and took out a map of the realm. “Look. Here’s the Dragonlands here, where the letters were meant to go.” She put a finger in the northwest corner of the map. Then she put her other finger straight to the south, several inches below the map itself. “Sevigny, where they were sent from, is here.”
“My word, you really do live in the middle of nowhere,” said Basil.
“My parchment hawks would have taken this route,” said Maggie, running one finger north toward the other. She stopped when it reached an enormous range called the Glass Mountains. “That’s where they are. That’s where they were holding Evie’s father. And that’s why it was so easy for them to intercept my hawks. I was sending them straight into the witches’ lair.”
They all stared at the map in silence. The Glass Mountains were huge, stretching out beneath Pennyroyal Academy and continuing west until they ran straight off the map.
“That’s where my final mission is,” said Demetra.
Once they’d all agreed that Maggie was right, they decided to act quickly. Evie packed up her things and found a strong horse on which to tie it all. Demetra and Basil did the same. Maggie, however, would stay and try to get the Academy operational for the new class in the fall. She stood in the courtyard near the fountain and said goodbye to her friends. But this goodbye had an entirely different tone than the last one.
“Good luck, Demetra, I know you can do it. And when you do, we’ll never have to worry about witches as an organized force ever again.”
“Thanks, Maggie. And good luck to you. There’s so much to be done here.” They hugged each other, and then Demetra mounted her horse. Her mother was there, Queen Christa, as was her sister and a team of other elite princesses she’d chosen for the mission, including Princess Falada. “Goodbye, my friend,” said Demetra, giving Maggie a smile. “I’ll see you soon.”
“Goodbye, Demetra.” The princesses began to ride off, leaving only Evie and Basil.
“Look after my portrait,” said Evie. “I’ll need it when we’ve finished with this.”
“I’ll protect it with my life,” said Maggie solemnly.
“Thanks, Maggie.” She gave her friend a hug, then went to mount her horse as Basil did the same.
“Good luck, you two,” said Maggie. “Bravely ventured is half won.”
“Goodbye, Maggie,” said Evie. With a smile, she and Basil turned and rode off after the princesses. A moment later, Remington raced past on his horse.
“Sorry! They just brought out a blackberry tart, what was I to do?” He galloped down the hill and joined the rest of them as they disappeared into the Dortchen Wild.
The group rode for many hours through a placid, magical forest. There was not a witch to be found, and the air was as clear as glass. When they finally reached Marburg, they found the ruins of the once-great kingdom at long last occupied again by people. The witches had abandoned it when the Academy’s wall had fallen, and now its citizens were back, setting things to rights and working to get back to normal, everyday life.
The party stopped to buy some food at the inn, then rode through the kingdom and out into the great, wide world beyond. Finally, the sun began to set, and the air turned golden. They rode to the top of a flat hill overlooking rolling, grassy fields that stretched on for miles. Evie stopped her horse and gazed out across the land. Demetra rode up next to her. Everyone else continued down the hill to get their horses some water except for Basil and Remington. The four of them sat silently on horseback and admired the light-soaked hillsides before them, where the grass seemed to glow green and the air was crisp with possibility and hope. Despite the sun and the warm, wildflower breeze, Evie felt a chill run through her.
“This is where we part ways,” said Demetra.
Evie’s eyes swung over to her. “What?”
“We’re going on without you.”
“What are you talking about? I’m with you to the end.”
“No, Evie. From here, we ride south. And you ri
de north.”
Evie looked to the north, to where the meadows seemed to stretch on forever until the valleys met the hills, and then the pine mountains beyond.
“Go to your mother, Evie. Go and find her.”
“But I can’t leave the mission—”
“Evie. It’s all right. You wouldn’t let me abandon my mother when we were in Goblin’s Glade, and I won’t let you abandon yours now. Go and find her. Go and be with her. Tell her about the portrait and see if she remembers. If she doesn’t, then start over anyway. Just go to her.”
Tears began to form in Evie’s eyes. “Thank you, Demetra.”
“I’ll ride with Evie,” said Remington. “You know . . . muscle.”
Evie laughed, then turned back to Demetra. “Would you mind? He won’t be any use to you against witches anyway. Trust me, I’ve already had to save him several times.”
“Of course he’ll go with you. I’ll feel better knowing you’re not alone out there.”
“I’m not alone. None of us are ever alone.”
A gentle breeze whispered over them.
“Well then,” said Evie.
“Well then,” said Demetra.
She and Basil spurred their horses on, riding down the gentle glade to join the rest of the team. Evie and Remington didn’t move, or even speak. They sat on their horses, watching in silence as the sun rolled slowly down the western sky, warmed by the wind as it sifted through the long grass.
Acknowledgments
THIS WILL BE ROUND THREE of appreciation for most of these people, but the Pennyroyal Academy books wouldn’t exist without them. Immense thanks to Alexandra Machinist, my agent. I will never forget the day you called and told me you wanted to represent my first book. It was life changing, and I will always be grateful. A huge thank-you as well to Sally Willcox for so many calm, brilliant ideas. And a cascade of gratitude to Michelle Weiner, Jon Cassir, Kimberly Jaime, Deborah Klein, and everyone at the various agencies and firms that helped me find the perfect publishing partner in G. P. Putnam’s Sons.
To my publisher, Jennifer Besser, and my editor, Arianne Lewin, thank you for all of your care and thoughtfulness and ideas and fun phone calls. I couldn’t imagine better collaborators. And my unending thanks to everyone else at Penguin and Puffin who has helped to get these books into the world.
Thank you to my family and friends (especially my lovely wife and patron-of-the-arts, Hannah) who have supported me as I learned what it meant to be an author, and to all the teachers and librarians who have welcomed me into their schools, either in person or in book form. It means the world to get an email from a student who tells me that you put the books in their hands, and that they have found some small piece of the courage, compassion, kindness, and discipline for which the cadets at the Academy strive. It’s a reward that I never imagined when I began work on the first manuscript.
I would also like to recognize some of the sources that helped me to better understand the importance of the fairy tale. Bruno Bettelheim’s The Uses of Enchantment opened my eyes to hidden depth in stories that I had taken for granted since childhood. Dr. Allan Thexton’s insights into giants and their place in literature helped to shape this third book. And, of course, Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm’s dedication to folklore and cultural preservation have influenced so many, myself included. I was fortunate to spend some time on the Brothers Grimm Trail in central Germany, experiencing the places and sights that forged and inspired them, and it helped me to understand how dedicated and passionate these two great men were. They taught me that although fairy tales may seem frivolous and childish to many in their teenage years and beyond, they are anything but. Fairy tales will always have an important place in our world, and I will be forever grateful for that.
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