Puck chuckled. “I am a lot of things, Sabrina—mischievous, mean-spirited, gassy—but they don’t make me a bad person. They make me immature. You, however, are skating very close to the line. You stole from someone who trusted you and then you lied about it.”
Sabrina wanted to get up and storm away, but she knew the handcuffs wouldn’t let her. She was forced to hear his sermon about good and bad, no matter how ridiculous it sounded.
“I did what I had to do. Daphne would never have gone to get the weapon. Mr. Canis could eat Granny, Elvis, and half of Ferryport Landing and she would still totally trust him. I’m the only one that sees what he’s becoming.”
“Who’s arguing with you about that? It’s obvious to most of us that furface is in trouble. I won’t even say you’re wrong about wanting to do something about it.”
“Then what’s the lecture for?”
“The lecture’s beause the way you are going about these things kinda stinks. It’s all nice and noble of you to want to do the right thing, even if I do think it’s stupid. But if the only way to make something good happen is to do something bad, then maybe it’s not worth it.”
Sabrina looked off into the dark forest, not wanting to see Puck’s face.
“But what do I know? I’m not supposed to be a good person. But you are. You’re Sabrina Grimm and your sister worships you. You’re supposed to be a good role model to her. Don’t you think it’s kind of odd that the Prince of Juvenile Delinquents is teaching you right from wrong?”
Sabrina mulled over Puck’s words as she lay in the dark. She wondered if he might not be right. She knew she had betrayed her sister, but at the same time she realized that she didn’t really care about Daphne’s opinion. She had been in charge of the two of them ever since their parents disappeared and things had worked out just fine. If she had let Daphne vote on their futures, the two of them would be in a heap of trouble.
“By the way,” Puck said softly. It had been an hour since he had last spoken and she was startled to hear him still awake. “You don’t need the makeup.”
Sabrina felt like her face was on fire. He knew about her latenight beauty sessions. And, if she had heard him correctly, he was also admitting that he thought she was pretty. She looked over at him and found he was looking at her.
“I kinda wish I hadn’t said that,” he said.
“Me, too,” she replied.
“Would it help if I said you were a stinky, muck-covered toadface?”
Sabrina nodded and edged as far away as she could on the trampoline. Puck did the same.
“Hello!” Uncle Jake’s voice echoed from near the lagoon.
“We’re here!” Sabrina shouted as she sat up, taking Puck with her. Together they shook Daphne awake.
“Come on! I found our mysterious Goldilocks again. She’s in Paris.”
When the children followed their uncle into Mirror’s room, they found Briar Rose sitting on the bed next to their sleeping parents. She barely had time to say hello before an excited Jake flew into an explanation of why he had woken them.
“As you know, Goldilocks hopped on a flight out of Venice as quickly as possible,” Uncle Jake said as he stood before the mirror. Behind him, the children could see images of Paris. Sabrina marveled at its majestic architecture. The city seemed to be a combination of timeless beauty and modern design. “Whoever that man on the motorcycle was, she’s obviously frightened of him. Luckily, we don’t have to go to all the trouble of tracking her down again. Mirror showed me an exact address. She’s checked into a place called the Hotel Thérèse.”
“Then we don’t have to go back to the library with that booktossing idiot?” Puck said, as he began to scratch himself at the memory.
“Not at all. We can go straight to her,” Uncle Jake said.
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Sabrina asked as she stepped toward the traveler’s chest.
“Uh, when I said we, I didn’t mean you,” Uncle Jake said.
“What? Why?” Sabrina asked.
“You happen to be handcuffed to an Everafter, and as we know, Everafters can’t leave the town. You’re going to have to stay here with Puck and Briar,” Uncle Jake explained.
Sabrina could have strangled the fairy boy. Especially when he smirked at her. “But I can go?” Daphne asked.
Uncle Jake nodded. “Yes, but you’ll have to stay close to me. It could be dangerous.” He reached into his pocket and handed the little girl a key. “You want to give it a whirl this time?”
Daphne looked at it like it was a precious jewel. She repeated the address Uncle Jake told her, then inserted the key. When she turned it, the lid opened, revealing a spiral staircase.
“I’m so jealous!” Briar said. “I haven’t been to Paris in hundreds of years.”
“We’ll bring you back a souvenir,” Daphne said.
Uncle Jake took his girlfriend by the hand. “If I could take you with me—”
Briar kissed him on the cheek. “Don’t talk to any French girls.”
Uncle Jake winked at Briar, then turned to Daphne. “Let’s scoot!”
Sabrina was livid but forced a smile to her face. “Be careful,” she told her sister.