Worlds Collide (The Land of Stories #6)(74)

“Since your plan didn’t work, you’re gonna take it out on the whole world—is that right?” Conner asked.

“In a nutshell, yes,” Morina said with a sinister smile. However, the witch’s smile vanished when she discovered Froggy pinned to a billboard above her. “Charlie!” she shouted. “How did you escape the magic mirror?”

“I performed a good deed,” Froggy said. “That’s a selfless act one commits for the benefit of someone else, in case you’re wondering.”

“Impossible!” she declared. “No one can leave a magic mirror once they’re trapped inside it! That was the whole point of imprisoning you in one!”

“That’s odd, because I can name three people who’ve been freed,” Froggy said. “Perhaps if you were better informed, you might actually accomplish one of the atrocious plans you set forward.”

Morina glared at the frog man. “There’ll be no returning from where I send you next,” she said. “That I promise you.”

The witch raised an open hand toward Froggy and then clenched it into a tight fist. The gesture caused the cables around Froggy’s body to squeeze and choke him. The sight of Morina torturing Froggy made Red’s blood boil. When the witch wasn’t looking, the young queen managed to free her left hand. She reached into her purse and retrieved the Swiss Army knife she’d bought at the airport. She quickly cut herself free and landed on the ground.

“Leave the frog alone, you goat!” she yelled.

The witch turned around and was very amused to find Red challenging her.

“Well, if this isn’t the most pathetic thing I’ve ever seen,” Morina said. “Do you actually think you can stop me?”

“Underestimate me all you want,” Red said. “It’s much easier than facing the truth, isn’t it, Morina?”

“And what truth is that?” the witch asked.

“How sensationally jealous you are of me!” Red declared.

Morina howled with laughter. Conner and the others eyed one another nervously—they had no idea where Red was going with this.

“You think I’m jealous? Of you?” the witch asked.

“So far you’ve ruined my wedding, cursed one of my best friends, and trapped my fiancé in a magic mirror, and now you’re strangling him in front of me,” Red said. “If that isn’t a personal vendetta, I don’t know what is. Obviously something is fueling your obsession with ruining my life, and it doesn’t reek of jelly on my side of the ballroom!”

“Please explain how someone like me could be jealous of someone like you,” Morina said. “I’ve gutted canaries with higher intelligence.”

“Like most aspects of my life, brains have nothing to do with it,” Red said. “Face it, you’re envious of my beauty!”

“Excuse me?” the witch asked.

“You heard me!” Red said. “I have flawless skin, beautiful eyes, fantastic hair, a naturally high metabolism—but I’m also kind, considerate, giving, and a good friend! I’m just as gorgeous on the inside as I am on the outside! And no matter how many potions you drink, no matter how many enchantments you make, there will always be a selfish, greedy, hateful, and ugly goat inside you!”

The queen’s words hit the witch right where it hurt the most. Morina was so outraged, her eyes turned red and the blood in her veins became black. Red’s friends and the Fairy Council closed their eyes, terrified to see how the witch would respond.

“You really are the biggest idiot in the universe,” Morina said. “I consider this a favor to mankind.”

The witch pointed with both hands at Red, and a bright violet light blasted from the tips of her fingers. Just as the deadly blast was about to hit the young queen, Red removed the hand mirror from her purse and used it to shield herself. Morina’s magic bounced off the mirror and headed straight back to her. Morina was hit by her own magic and burst into millions of pieces.

“Who’s the idiot now, Morina?” Red said.

When Conner and the others opened their eyes, they were shocked to see that Red was still standing and the witch was dead.

“Darling, that was incredible!” Froggy cheered.

“Red, you’re a genius!” Conner shouted.

“How did you know the mirror would reflect her magic?” Bree asked.

“Glamorous Magazine,” Red said with a shrug. “I read this wonderful article on the plane that said ‘If a woman wants to be saved, she’ll find her greatest savior in the mirror.’ I don’t know who they were talking about, but they certainly saved me.”

Her friends had never been so thankful for a misinterpretation. Red climbed a ladder and cut Froggy loose from the billboard with the Swiss Army knife. They helped each other to the ground, but before Froggy could help the others, Red stopped him.

“Charlie, I want to get married,” she said.

“Well, so do I, darling—”

“No, you don’t understand,” she said. “I want to get married right now.”

Froggy knew from the desperate look in her eyes that Red was dead serious.

“Sweetheart, are you sure now is a good time?” he said.

“I’m positive,” Red said. “If the last month has taught me anything, it’s how unpredictable life can be—especially when you’re friends with the Bailey twins. This could very well be the last chance we’ll ever get! Let’s do it now, in the Square of Times, before another magical being can tear us apart!”