My mother—mymother—blushes. “Lila, where’d you find this one?” she asks, shaking her head. Still carrying her coffee mug, she walks upstairs.
“Thanks,” I say, kissing his cheek. “You saved me from having to explain to my mother why Iceland has apparently become a scene fromGame of Thrones.”
“Why have we not played this game? It seems like a missed opportunity. I’d surely trounce you.”
“Never mind,” I reply. “Let’s go see if they’ve found Jules in the book.”
To my great relief, the minute I open the book, Edgar is front and center on Everafter Beach. And standing beside him is Jules.
At least, Ithinkit’s Jules.
She doesn’t look like my best friend ever looks. For one thing, she’s wearing a ball gown. She’s traded her signature Doc Martens forballetslippers—Jules, who says ballet is just an excuse for an eating disorder. And her blue hair has a streak of silver running through it. “Jules?” I whisper.
“Okay,” she says, pointing to Oliver. “Suddenly he makes a lot more sense.”
Seraphima stamps her tiny foot. “That ismygown!”
“Cool it, sister,” Jules says. “That’s myfriend.”
Orville steps forward. “Edgar’s been telling us where he’s been, Oliver. I think you’ll find it quite interesting.”
Edgar looks up at us. “Seraphima took me to the copyright page, to escape for a little while.”
“I’ve never been to the copyright page,” Oliver murmurs.
“Exactly. But that’s beside the point. While we were there, something happened.” He hesitates. “There’s a portal. Seraphima and I fell into one of those in the book, and from what I can tell, it’s like a secret place between the words that’s like agiant warehouse of ideas. Thoughts and images and characters that never made it into this book but that were in my mom’s head.”
Your mom’s head.Oliver and I exchange a glance, immediately thinking of Jessamyn.
Oliver clears his throat. “Edgar, there’s something you need to know. Your mother . . . she fell down. She had to go to the hospital.”
Edgar’s jaw drops. “Is she okay? What happened?”
“She fainted. She said she forgot to eat that day,” I say. “She’s much better now, really.”
But Edgar isn’t convinced. He starts pacing on the page. “I’ve got to get out. I have to make sure she’s all right.”
For Edgar to come out, however, means that Oliver must go back. Somewhere deep down, I knew that Edgar would want to be with his mother again, once he heard the news. But I hadn’t thought far enough ahead to realize what I’d lose in the process.
Oliver looks at me, and I know he’s thinking the same thing. “Maybe there’s another way,” he whispers to me. He turns to Seraphima. “Edgar said you came through a portal?”
She shakes her head. “It was just makeup.”
I raise my brows. “Edgar?”
“It reallywasmakeup. But the container was labeledHeart’s Desire.Seraphima must have been wishing for Oliver, and that’s what brought her to you.”
I look at Seraphima, who is staring right at Frump. Oliver wasn’t who she was wishing for.
“That doesn’t explain Jules,” I say.
“Yes it does,” Oliver points out. “Humphrey swapped withFrump. I swapped with Edgar. The only way for the book to eject a character is to suck in something similar enough to replace it.”
That’s exactly why I’m going to lose him.
But even if Oliver and Edgar look alike, Seraphima and Jules couldn’t be more different. I glance at the silver streak in Jules’s hair. If the replacement isn’t similar . . . will the book change it to fit the mold?
“Why don’t you just go get the Heart’s Desire,” I ask, “and wish Seraphima back in?”
