Anything can happen now.”

“Yes,” she said, clutching the book as proof. “You decided to leave the safety of a plotted story and plunge into the unknown. You might as well have stayed in your old life if you were going to do that. Are you so fond of uncertainty that you had to bring it into your wish too?” Her wings fluttered in agitation, and a wind rushed through the forest as if nature had no choice but to match her mood. The fire blew out.

Strands of her hair flailed around her shoulders and bits of leaves swirled at my feet. “I brought your son here because I thought he would be safe within the confines of the fairy tale. You only had to do two simple things when Rumpelstiltskin came for the baby: cry so he offered you a second chance, and then answer his question. His name is Rumpelstiltskin. How hard is that? But now anything can happen.

You put your son in danger by choosing this.” I held my baby protectively to my chest, shaking with both fear and anger. “I didn’t choose to have a baby in the Middle Ages. It’s your fault he’s in danger. You’ve got to take him back to the right time.”

“My fault?” She blinked in indignation. “I granted you three wishes and in return you made a deal with a leprechaun that could lead to magical calamity.” She gestured to the baby. “Your son is the key Rumpelstiltskin needs to regain his old powers. It won’t matter where I take the baby now. He was here and yours within a year from your agreement. That means Rumpelstiltskin can claim him.” 262/356

Around us, tree branches shuddered in the wind. The sound of their swishing leaves created a dull, chastising roar. “Do you realize what Rumpelstiltskin will do if he gets his fairy magic back?” Chrissy asked. “He won’t be a friend to mortals, I can tell you that. Expect a lot of frozen crops, plagues, and men to mysteriously change into frogs.

Meanwhile, the fairies will have to join forces to fight him all over again. As if I don’t already have enough to do.” She let out a disgruntled huff and crossed her arms so forcefully she nearly dropped the magic book. The wind ended at the same time as her outburst, and the billowing leaves settled limply back down.

“This,” she said pointedly, “is precisely why fairies stay away from humans most of the time.”

I gaped at her. I could feel Hudson’s hand on my arm, warning me to let it go, but I couldn’t. “I asked for a way to change things into gold and you threw me, my family, and all of our possessions into the Middle Ages. I have been imprisoned, threatened, shackled, and my house was ransacked. I was forced into a bargain with a creepy ex-fairy, knights are out looking for me in order to force me into a marriage with a crazy old man, and the gold enchantment rips at my heart every time I use it. And now, on top of that, you’ve put my baby in danger.”

Chrissy regarded me evenly. “You know, you’re pretty unhappy for someone who got exactly what she wanted.” I gritted my teeth. “I never asked to be part of this fairy tale!”

“But it’s what you wished for. The trouble is that you didn’t really want gold. You wanted a life with no worries, no problems, and the answers to every test before it’s given to you.”

“Okay,” I said. “That sounds good. Give me that instead of this wish.”

263/356

She flicked my words away with a toss of her manicured nails. “If that’s what you wanted, you should have asked to be turned into an encyclopedia.” She shook her head patiently. “You wouldn’t be happy on a dusty shelf though. Living is more fun. The key to happiness—as any good fairy godmother will tell you—is not to avoid problems, but to overcome them.” She took a deep breath, composing herself, then gestured grandly toward the forest. “So off you go on your journey, my little charge. Overcome.”

Hudson cocked his head at her in disbelief. “Overcome?” She ignored him and kept waving her hand at the forest. I looked in the direction she was motioning and then back at her. “It will be dark soon, I have a baby, and there are sword-wielding men out there who want to capture me.”

She pulled her wand out of her purse and waved it at the horses.

They changed from brown mares into white steeds, fully saddled.

“Overcome,” she said. “And if you can’t overcome, at least learn something meaningful. Otherwise it will be an awful story, and no one will want to read it. You don’t want to be responsible for not only giving an ex-fairy his powers back but also ruining a perfectly good fairy tale, do you? Now off you go.”

With another flourish of her wand our supplies flew off the ground and repacked themselves onto the horses.

“No one will want to read it?” I repeated. “That’s what you’re worried about?”

Her gaze ran over me and she let out a martyred sigh. “I suppose as long as I’m blowing my magic budget, I ought to fix your legs too.

You can’t go hobbling around for the rest of the story.” I didn’t argue with her about that. She swept her wand in my direction and the pain drained away, until it had completely disappeared.

264/356

“Here,” Chrissy said, holding out the book. “You should read the next page before you go.”

I was holding the baby, so Hudson took the book and opened it so we both could see it. Illustrations covered the pages again, and the latest painting was of Rumpelstiltskin. He held his magic mirror in one hand, a look of dark determination in his eyes. I recognized the background. He stood next to the boxes of supplies at Robin Hood’s camp. He must have come not long after I left.

Which meant he was looking for me.

My heart jumped into my throat. My hands trembled.

“Even ex-fairies know the ways of the forest,” Chrissy said. “All Rumpelstiltskin needs to do to find you is ask the birds and the trees which way the fair blond maiden went. If you want to keep ahead of him, you need to keep moving. And you,” she said, turning to address Hudson, “would do well to stay a nameless extra during this story.” Hudson shut the book with a thud and put his hand on the hilt of his sword. “Rumpelstiltskin had better stay away from us.” Chrissy patted his shoulder tolerantly. “A very noble thought from you, extra-character guard fellow, but fairies—even ex-fairies—can’t be killed by the sword. They can only be slain by magic, something you have precious little of.” To me she said, “The Alliance may have stripped Rumpelstiltskin of his fairy powers, but over the years, he’s picked up plenty of enchantments. He still has enough magic to kill you easily enough.” She shook her head as though it couldn’t be helped. “Mortals have such a frail grasp on life to begin with. I swear, you’re all born with one foot already in heaven.” Her voice had risen in frustration and she took a breath to calm herself, then smiled at me benevolently. “What I mean is, be careful. More than your life is riding on the outcome of this fairy tale now. Think of your family, and the 265/356

mortals who will bear the wrath of an empowered ex-fairy. Think of my grade. I can feel it slipping down the alphabet as we speak.”

“Your grade?” Hudson asked, but he didn’t wait for her to answer.

He strode over to untie the horses, mumbling things about fairies as he went.

I stayed where I was. “How is my son the key to Rumpelstiltskin regaining his powers?”

Chrissy’s lips twitched into a frown. “The UMA doesn’t destroy a fairy’s magic; they can only lock it up. Regular locks don’t keep out fairies, of course, so the UMA uses magic spells. For example, Sleeping Beauty’s enchanted spinning wheel is in a vault with a spell that only lifts for those who know the wheel is there but don’t want to use it. I could open the vault right now because I have no desire to use sleep-inducing furniture. The moment I wanted to use it, I would never be able to pry the door open.” Her voice slowed. “I wish the UMA had used that spell for Rumpelstiltskin’s power. Instead, his vault can only be unlocked by buying love that cannot be bought.” She lifted her hand and then let it fall. “He found a way around that spell by buying your son when you thought the baby wouldn’t exist.” My arms wrapped protectively around the fuzzy blue blanket.