The crew was vainly trying to keep the ship upright as it lurched wildly from side to side, at the mercy of the roiling, angry sea. Uma, Harry, and Gil ran to the decks, helping to hold the sail, while trying to stay away from the boom—which was swinging wildly with the wind—as well as all three masts, which were threatening to break and splinter. The storm raged around them, pouring rain all over everyone and everything.
“Let’s get out of here!” yelled Harry. “We need to go back! The storm’s too strong!” He took the wheel of the ship and brought it around, making for the Isle of the Lost.
But as the Lost Revenge reached its destination, the waves pounded against the hull, finally sending the mast crashing onto the deck, and the sails tore as it slammed right against the dock, tearing up the deck plank by plank.
Shipwrecked.
When the storm had passed, and the ship was still, the pirates groaned and assessed the wreckage. It was clear to Harry that the Lost Revenge would never sail again. The damage to the hull was too great.
A fine, light rain continued to fall, adding to the gloom.
Harry sighed and removed his black tricorn hat to squeeze the water from it. But he was too exhausted to be angry, and too relieved to still be alive to feel disappointment.
He looked up to see Uma standing in front of him, a confused and shocked look on her face. “I had it. I saw it, Harry. It was right there. I almost held it in my hands. The necklace worked, and there was this huge surge of magic for a moment—almost as if something had opened a hole in the dome.”
“So what happened?” asked Harry.
“There was someone else there, some kind of magic,” she said. “That’s the only explanation.”
“You’re holding something,” said Harry. “In your hand.”
“I am?” said Uma, wonderingly. She looked down, surprised to find that Harry was right. She was holding on to something she hadn’t noticed in all the commotion.
“Yeah, what’ve you got?” asked Gil.
Uma looked stunned to find she was holding a purple fingerless glove with a dragon symbol embroidered on the kidskin. It could only belong to one person.
“MAL!” Uma raged, when she realized it had been none other than her fiercest rival who had been on that speedboat.
Harry had no idea why or how Mal was there at the same time they were, but there was no denying it. Mal had Triton’s golden trident now, and Uma had nothing but a purple glove.
“MAL! You don’t always get to win!” Uma screamed in fury.
“I think she just did,” said Gil. “Didn’t she?”
“Shut up, Gil,” said Harry, sighing as he put his black tricorn hat back on his head.
It was almost dawn when they returned to Auradon Prep, and Mal thought she’d never seen a sight more beautiful than the gray stone towers of the school turning pink in the sunrise. No matter that Auradon still didn’t feel one hundred percent like home, she was home in Ben’s arms. “Thanks for being there for me,” she whispered.
“Always,” he said, nuzzling her hair.
He gave her one more hug, then went to help the boys dock the boat in the harbor as they pulled into the bay. Evie went over to where Mal was seated and leaned her head on her friend’s shoulder. “Thanks for being there for me,” she said, echoing what Mal had said to Ben just moments before.
Mal leaned her purple head against Evie’s and told her what Ben had said in return: “Always.”
“That was close,” said Jay, as he helped them climb out of the boat. “I didn’t think we would make it.”
“But we did,” said Mal.
Jay flashed her a rueful smile. “You know it,” he said, giving Ben a fist bump.
“Um, guys? I think we want this, right?” said Carlos, who’d gone to fetch the trident they’d left in the back of the boat.
Ben asked Arabella to meet them at his office, and the little mermaid practically burst into tears when she saw the trident leaning innocuously against a bookshelf.
“You did it!” she said to Ben, obviously not quite believing it was true. “You got it back!”
“We all did,” said Ben with a smile, offering his hand to Mal.
Mal took it and offered her hand to Evie, who linked hands with Carlos, who took Jay’s hand too. “Ben’s right, we all played a part,” she said. “I couldn’t have done it without any of these guys.”
Arabella thanked them profusely. “I’ll make sure it gets back to Grandfather and the museum right away.”
Ben turned to her with a serious look on his face. “Arabella, I hope you already know what I’m about to say to you.”
She blushed as red as her hair. “I know, King Ben. I know. I’ll never steal anything again, I promise. Fairy Godmother’s right, magic is too dangerous to use.” Humbled, she curtsied to Ben and left, holding the trident tightly in her hands.
“Arabella will be okay,” said Mal. “I don’t think she’ll ever get near that trident again.”
“Speaking of the museum. You guys do know that all magical artifacts belong there for safekeeping,” Ben said with an embarrassed cough.
“You mean even my magic mirror?” said Evie, looking worried.
“And my spell book?” said Mal. The two girls looked askance at each other.
“I guess we should hand them over,” said Evie reluctantly. “I do keep reminding Mal that we’re not supposed to depend on magic.” She removed the mirror from her purse and handed it to Ben.
“I’ll make sure the curators get this and keep it somewhere safe,” he promised. He turned to Mal expectantly.
Mal shrugged. “I left my spell book in my room,” she told him. “But don’t worry, I’ll make sure it gets to the museum.”
“Great,” said Ben. “I don’t know about you guys, but I think I’m going to sleep for the entire day.”
“We’ll get out of here,” said Mal, and Ben hugged each one of them as they left, holding Mal extra tightly. She closed the door behind her with a smile.
When they were walking down the hallway, Evie nudged Mal. “He’s a good king,” said Evie.
“The best,” said Carlos.
“You know it,” said Jay.
“Yeah, I think I’ll keep him around,” said Mal. She and Evie said good night to the boys and headed over to the girls’ dormitory.
Mal sat on the edge of her bed, chewing her thumbnail. “What’s wrong?” asked Evie.
Mal sighed. She was glad Auradon was safe once more, and that they had defeated Uma, but she was still embarrassed about almost getting all of them kicked out of school and sent back to the Isle of the Lost. She’d seen the horror and fear in her friends’ eyes, and while she might still feel the tug of home, she knew they felt otherwise—especially Evie, who loved Auradon. She also had to take her position as Ben’s girlfriend more seriously. What she did reflected on him, on his reputation, and on his ability to govern the kingdom.
She wasn’t the girl from the Isle anymore. She wasn’t just Maleficent’s daughter, tagging King Beast’s posters with spray paint and generally kicking up a ruckus. But she wasn’t an Auradon princess either, who knew exactly how to act at every royal occasion.
If she wasn’t Mal from the Isle anymore, who was she?