Free Villain School by Stephanie S. Sanders Page B

lock on my legs, and keep from falling into the water—” she said.
    â€œLet me help,” a new voice said.
    We all looked up in surprise. At first, I thought Morgana had returned to finish us off, but it wasn’t Morgana. It was—
    â€œMother!” Ileana cried.
    â€œQueen Catalina!” I said. “But what are you doing here?”
    â€œI’ll explain later. We have to get you out of here first,” said the queen.
    She quickly picked Ileana’s lock, and together the two of them unlocked the rest of us. We couldn’t go back to our rooms. We had to find a place that wasn’t crawling with students.
    â€œI know a place,” I said.
    We made our way to the dragons’ dungeon, where Custard was biting on Fafnir’s ear as he slept.
    â€œThank you,” I told the queen as we stopped to catch our breath. “But how did you know we needed help?”
    â€œYesterday, Tabs showed up at my doorstep with a note from Veldin—that is, Master Dreadthorn—saying he feared treachery from Morgana, which I can’t say is very surprising. But he said he’d received information from a trusted spy he had placed in Morgana’s school.”
    At this, Jezebel sat up a little straighter and shot a superior look at Ileana. The princess hardly noticed, though, as she was listening intently to the queen.
    â€œI never liked Morgana much,” the queen continued, “and after her attack on my kingdom last year, I warned Veldin not to trust her! When Tabs showed up with the message, I rushed here—with a little help from a few handy spells I know—hoping to be of some assistance. But just as I was arriving, I heard Morgana make an announcement about traitors and knew I was too late for Veldin. Instead I set out to find and free all of you.”
    â€œWhat happens now?” asked Wolf Junior, licking at his steam-soaked fur.
    â€œNow I’ll have to get you all somewhere safe,” said the queen.
    â€œNo,” I said. Everyone looked at me. “Now we go rescue my dad.”

Chapter Nine
Villains to the Rescue
    â€œNo, absolutely not.”
    We’d already formed a rough plan, but Queen Catalina wasn’t going for it.
    â€œMother, we have to,” Ileana said as she cautiously approached the dragons.
    Fafnir took no immediate notice, but Custard’s ears perked up as she raised her slender yellow head to fix her eyes on the princess. I really hoped Ileana knew what she was doing. Nothing smells worse than burnt princess.
    â€œI won’t allow it. It’s much too dangerous for children. I’m sorry, but—” The queen began some kind of spell to stop us, but Ileana was ready. She fired off a spell of her own, silencing the queen and freezing her in place just as Morgana had done to us in the Prophecy Cave.
    â€œHey, it worked!” Ileana said, surprised at her own skills. Then her smile faded. “I’m sorry, Mother.” She kissed the queen’s cheek. “It’ll wear off after we’re gone.”
    We all mumbled our apologies to the queen. It felt wrong to hex her like that after she’d set us free and was so worried for us. She was like the mom none of us had ever had. And don’t judge me. Even villains can feel bad about hexing nice ladies!
    â€œAre you sure you can do this?” I asked the princess.
    She was already cooing to Custard, and even Fafnir began to take notice, raising his milky white eyes toward the sound of the princess’s voice. The fact that Ileana could talk to flying animals was kind of embarrassing, but I was willing to let it slide for now, especially since she was getting us our ride. Besides there’s a big difference between birds and dragons. Just try cleaning out a birdcage, then cleaning out a dragon cave. Big,
big
difference. In a few moments, both dragons were bent low to the ground, waiting for us to climb aboard.
    â€œEverybody