Free The Wrong Side of Magic by Janette Rallison

curse? He sat back on the couch, feeling defeated. “I don’t want to give the trolls your compass, but I can’t keep the mirror. It will ruin my life. What else can I do?”
    Softly, Charlotte said, “We could find the princess.”
    â€œWhat?” Hudson asked, not sure he’d heard her right.
    â€œWe could rescue the princess,” she said more firmly. “And then she could retrieve her scepter and use it to defeat King Vaygran. If we rescue her, she’ll help you get rid of the troll mirror.”
    â€œHow could we rescue her? You said Vaygran’s wizard used magic to hide her.”
    Charlotte gazed at the tree, a cautious excitement growing in her expression. “Most people wouldn’t be able to rescue her, but I know things about magic, and my dad has stuff we could use—so that’s half the battle.” She paused, correcting herself. “Actually, it’s probably more like a quarter of the battle.” She looked upward, still calculating, “Well, depending on where Princess Nomira is hidden, an eighth of the battle … maybe a sixteenth.”
    Hudson stopped her before she could do any more fractions. “I thought you couldn’t go to Logos.”
    â€œIt’s not that I can’t go—it’s that it isn’t safe for me.” She bit her lip again, grazing it along the edges of her teeth. “My father and I lived at the castle, so King Vaygran knows what I look like. He’d love to capture me. But I could disguise myself.…”
    Hudson scratched the back of his neck, thinking. Earlier that day, Charlotte had asked him if he would face danger to save someone he didn’t know. What had he told her? Oh yeah, that he wasn’t that stupid. “Wouldn’t Vaygran have soldiers guarding the princess? And wouldn’t those soldiers have weapons?”
    â€œMaybe,” Charlotte conceded.
    â€œSo actually, trying to rescue the princess is a really bad idea.”
    Charlotte’s lips pursed into a scowl. Her brown eyes took on an angry look, and even the freckles peeking out from her blue lotion seemed suddenly offended. “Having boils follow you will brand you for life. But the compass isn’t yours, so if you give it to the trolls, you’ll be a thief and a coward—and that’s a worse brand to carry.”
    Hudson nearly said, Yeah, but it’s still better than an untimely death. She was right, though. If he cut off Charlotte’s way back home, he’d never be able to undo it. And that would always weigh on him.
    He let out a long sigh. What other choice, really, did he have? “Okay. We’ll try to rescue the princess.” He didn’t even want to think about how dangerous it might be. “Where do we start and what do we do?”
    Charlotte smiled, her eagerness making her stand straighter. “We’ll need to pack some things. Go home and get a change of clothes, some food, and all your stuffed animals. Bring a sleeping bag and pillow, too. Hurry,” she added, because he hadn’t moved. “We’ve got to leave before my dad gets home.”
    â€œRight.” Hudson stood up and trudged to Charlotte’s front door. “I wouldn’t want to face an angry wizard.”
    Even as Hudson said the words, he had the sinking feeling that angry wizards were exactly what he would face when he went to Logos.

 
    5
    FORTY MINUTES LATER, Hudson was back on Charlotte’s doorstep with his backpack, sleeping bag, pillow, and a sack full of trail mix, granola bars, and peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches. He didn’t know how long he would be in Logos, so he’d explained the situation to Bonnie. Their mother wasn’t going to believe one word of it. And she’d be mad at Hudson for going somewhere without her permission. That was a grounding offense. He didn’t even want to think about what the punishment would be for