Page 81 of The Broken Mirror

“Sadly, I’m not so happy to be back,” Filomena says. “Not because I don’t want to see you all—I do, thank goodness you’re here—but because of the circumstance.”

Just then, Byron and Beatrice enter the room. They haven’t left for Wonderland yet, especially since they’re also part of the League of Seven.

“Filomena! Good to have you back!” they tell her.

So Filomena updates them about her mom, how weak she is, how her doctors in the mortal world still can’t tell what’s wrong, and that she’s getting worse every day. And then she tells them the big news. She’s practically fuming by the time she gets to this part.

“I think Queen Olga went to the mortal world to poison her. I don’t know why, but she gave my mom these cosmetics that I’m sure are making her sick. I had to come back. I feel like if there is a cure or a way to stop this, it’s in Never After. I can’t believe this! It’s one thing to come after me, to have her minion ogres try to stab me to death right before I’m supposed to be crowned, but to go after mymom?! In themortal world?! That’s a whole other kind of risk. That’s too far.”

Her friends stand in silence for a minute, soaking in the news. Then they immediately go into solution mode.

“Maybe I can make a reversal potion!” Rosie says. “I can create an antidote, and we can get it to your mom—”

“Olga will pay for this!” Jack threatens.

“No doubt!” rumbles Byron.

“That evil wench!” cries Beatrice.

“Especially in a skincare cream! Truly sadistic!” seethes Gretel.

“What if I make a poisoned cake that gets Olga sick, and then we’ll say the only way we’ll cure her is if she tells us how to cure your mom?!” Alistair yells.

Filomena is thankful for all their ideas, and for their enthusiasm, but she has no idea in which direction to go.

“Hey, over here!” a voice says. “Come on, pick me up!”

It’s her talking mirror. Rosie’s been carrying Ira Glassman around with her wherever she goes, but she must have set him facedown on the table by accident. Rosie picks up the mirror so they can all see his cracked face.

“You didn’t forget about good ol’ Ira here, did you?” Ira says wryly.

“I could never.”

“Good, good. Now listen: I may be broken, I may not be able to show you the world through my pretty little looking glass, but I do have quite a bit of ancient knowledge, you know.”

Filomena starts to tingle.Right, mirrors have mirror world knowledge,she remembers Jack saying.

“I know what you have to do to save your mother,” Ira says. Filomena’s heart leaps.

“Oh, fantastic, Ira! I could kiss your shiny face right now!”

“Don’t get too excited just yet, Fil,” Ira adds. “I’m not sure you’re going to like this.”

Rosie takes Filomena’s hand. Jack takes the other. They all stand before the magic mirror, awaiting his next words and holding their breath.

“What you need,” Ira tells them, “is the sword of Excalibur. It can heal as well as it can harm.”

“Okay, I can do that! That’s not so bad,” Filomena says. She looks at Jack and Alistair. “Now we know our next adventure!”

Jack the Giant Stalker, Alistair Bartholomew Barnaby, Gretel the Cobbler’s daughter, Rose Red, and Beatrice and Byron of Wonderland all look at one another and nod. None of them expected to rest for long. Alongside Filomena, they are the League of Seven, after all.

Filomena feels a wave of excitement and dread well up in her at once. But she looks to her friends. So what if she’s had barely a moment’s rest? So what if she has to take on another quest? She has her friends by her side, and with them, everything feels possible. More than possible—it feels like an adventure.

But her talking mirror clucks and shakes his head in pity.

“That’s not the part that you won’t like, my dear,” Ira adds. “It’s that, this time, you have to go alone.”