Hold on to me!” Terms yelled, hacking briars with his training sword. Dazed, Agatha clung to his chest as he withstood thorn lashes with moans of pain. Soon he had the upper hand and pulled Agatha from the Woods towards the spiked gates, which glowed in recognition and pulled apart, cleaving a narrow path for the two Every. As the gates speared shut behind them, Agatha looked up at limping Terms, crisscrossed with bloody scratches, blue shirt shredded away.“Had a feeling Sophie was getting in through the Woods,” he panted, hauling her up into slashed arms before she could protest. “So Professor Nova gave me permission to take some fairies and stakeout the outer gates. Should have known you’d be here trying to catch her yourself.” Agatha gaped at him dumbly.“Stupid idea for a princess to take on witches alone,” Terms said, dripping sweat on her pink dress.”Where is she?” Agatha croaked. “Is she safe?”“Not a good idea for princesses to worry about witches either,” Terms said, hands gripping her waist. Her stomach exploded with butterflies.“Put me down,” she sputtered— “More bad ideas from the princess.”“Put me down!” Tedros obeyed and Agatha pulled away.“I’m not a princess!” she snapped, fixing her collar.”If you say so,” the prince said, eyes drifting downward. Agatha followed them to her gashed legs, waterfalls of brilliant blood. She saw blood blurring— Terms smiled. “One. . . Two. . . Three. . .” She fainted in his arms.“Definitely a princess,” he said.

— Soman Chainani

I'm afraid I've already found my Ever After, Short," said Sophie." What? With who?" Short asked, aghast." On my own," she said, her voice sure and clear. "I'm happy on my own." And for the first time, she knew it was true.

— Soman Chainani

Is it really a Lie if someone is unwilling to see the Truth?

— Soman Chainani

It's the problem with fairy tales. From far away, they seem so perfect. But up close, they're just as complicated as real life.

— Soman Chainani

I've been beautiful all along.

— Soman Chainani

My behavior last night was poor."" Poor?" Agatha coughed. "You pushed me through a window!

— Soman Chainani

Nothing will ever be enough to satisfy the black hole in our hearts.

— Soman Chainani

Only once you destroy who you think you are can you embrace who you truly are.

— Soman Chainani

Professor Manley begins his first day of Qualification class by explaining why villains must be ugly to succeed. Ugliness releases you from the surface - from the prison of vanity and your own looks - and sets you free to embrace the soul within.

— Soman Chainani

She had always found villains more exciting than heroes. They had ambition, passion. They made the stories happen. Villains didn't fear death. No, they wrapped themselves in death like suits of armor! As she inhaled the school's graveyard smell, Agatha felt her blood rush. For like all villains, death didn't scare her. It made her feel alive.

— Soman Chainani