Free The School for Good and Evil #2: A World without Princes by Soman Chainani Page A

butterflies. Agatha shook her head, confused.
    â€œBut those aren’t Everboys from school!” She pointed out the window. “Those are real princes!”
    â€œWhat happened here happened everywhere in the Endless Woods,” Professor Dovey said gravely. “As your story spread like a plague and princesses imagined a world without princes, the men were magically ejected from their castles and left homeless. They appealed to witches to break the curse, but they too had heard The Tale of Sophie and Agatha . Stirred by the power of your bond, witches joined forces with princesses and took control of the kingdoms.”
    â€œWitches and princesses are friends ?” Sophie said in disbelief.
    â€œNo one thought it possible until your fairy tale,” said Professor Dovey. “And now it is men and women who are enemies.”
    Agatha thought back to the Flowerground—the twittering women in groups, some pretty and cheerful, some homely and queer . . . the few scraggly, lonely males. . . .
    â€œBut we don’t want the princes homeless!” Agatha cried. “We don’t want them to be enemies!”
    â€œWe certainly don’t want them to smell,” murmured Sophie.
    â€œYou made princes irrelevant,” Lady Lesso retorted. “You made them impotent. You made them obsolete . And now you’ve made them turn to a new leader for revenge.”
    The girls followed her eyes to the sea of WANTED signs hoisted outside the gates, demanding Sophie’s head at the orders of this leader.
    â€œThe School Master—” Sophie stammered. “We saw him—”
    â€œDid you now?” Lady Lesso sneered.
    â€œHe’s in the Evil castle! We have to kill him!” Sophie swiveled to Agatha. “Tell her!”
    Agatha ignored the fluttering in her stomach. “But he couldn’t have lived,” she said, almost to herself. She looked up. “You were there too, professors. All of us saw him die.”
    â€œIndeed,” said Professor Dovey. “But that doesn’t mean he isn’t replaced.”
    â€œReplaced?” the girls blurted.
    â€œNaturally Lady Lesso and I believed ourselves the best candidates,” Professor Dovey said, smoothing her gown’s beetle wings. “Homeless and hated, the princes needed leaders they could trust. We assured them The Tale of Sophie and Agatha was closed forever. Under our protection, the Storian would restore men and women to balance, as it does Good and Evil. But just as we tried to bridge peace between boys and girls . . .” Her face dimmed. “Something odd happened.”
    She thrust out the last page of their fairy tale and waited for the girls to say something.
    â€œThey drew Tedros taller than he is,” Sophie offered.
    â€œIsn’t something missing ?” the Dean moaned.
    Agatha remembered the storybook under her bed . . . the wedded princess and prince . . .
    â€œâ€˜The End,’” she said. “Why doesn’t it say ‘The End’?”
    Professor Dovey glared at her and slowly lifted the book to the light. Beneath the last line of their fairy tale, the two girls could see faded ink spelling those very two words . . .
    Before they had been erased.
    â€œWhat happened?” Sophie breathed.
    â€œIt seems your book has reopened,” Professor Dovey said, guiding their eyes to all the other versions of their story splayed across the desk. ‘The End’ had disappeared off each of them too.
    Sophie rifled through the pile. “But how can we lose a happy ending!”
    â€œBecause one of you wished for a different one,” Lady Lesso lashed, not looking at her. “One of you wanted a new Ever After. And now, one of you has put our school on the brink of war .”
    â€œThat’s ludicrous,” Sophie huffed. “I know I wanted to be a princess—but I can’t, can I? I saw what this