Spoiler: Beeeeeeg cliffhanger at the end of this chapter

Don't worry---it's a good one!

*makes a weird little giddy face*

DON'T ANYONE DARE SKIP TO THE END OF THE CHAPTER. (haha I'm like Shannon Messenger now--- BUT SERIOUSLY DON'T DO IT!!)

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"There ya are!" Sera grabs Brit and I as we exit Auradon Prep, yanking us both towards the lawn. "We've been waitin' for you two for forever!"

"Sera, I was gone maybe two minutes." Brit laughs. 

"Welp, too bad, cuz we've already picked the "it" person, and it ain't pretty." Sera points to Endora, who has a nasty grin on her face. "All magic allowed!" Sera crows happily. 

"Oh, come on!" Brit complains. "I'll be out in the first second!"

"Hmmm... point. OI! DORI!" Sera waves emphatically to Endora. "NO USIN' MAGIC TO GET THIS ONE!" She points to Brit. 

"Wasn't planning on it!" Endora calls back from her spot. "You guys had better get going, since I've only got about ten seconds left before I'm running!"

"Please, like Dori'll run anywhere." Sera grunts. "C'mon, Brit. Icy, you wanna come with us?"

I glance over at Endora, who raises her eyebrows. "Seven."

"Nah, see ya!" I wave my fingers at them, then close my eyes and appear on the other side of the campus, behind the hedge cut to shape like the Three Fairies. I hear a muffled yelp from my right and turn to see Maira already crouched behind the hedge of the pumpkin carriage. 

"Ellie?" She demands in a loud whisper. Glancing out to make sure Dori isn't coming, she crawls over to my hedge and gives me a tackle hug. "When did you get back? Last I heard, Sera popped up here saying you'd been kidnapped by some guy who needed to blow his nose."

I snort loud, then quickly cover my mouth. "Yeah, I got captured by the Boogeyman. But don't worry, he's not coming back any time soon."

Maira smirks. "Bet ya showed him, right? He never saw you coming."

"Not at first." I peek around the hedge. "I'll tell you in detail later. But nice to know you're okay with playing tag while your friends are being held captive."

Maira shrugs. "I mean, would you rather have us moping around, sharing in a circle about how much awesomeness the Ice Queen is?"

"None of that sentence made sense, but it's nice to see you again, too." I grin at her, and she laughs quietly before ducking behind the hedge more. "Are Mahina and Kalia still going here?"

"Mahina went back to New Motunui to talk to her mom about your episodes." Maira whispers. "Kalia is currently hiding behind the Beast statue, because that's where she always hides. Speaking of, we should stop talking. Dori probably already found her, and Kalia has superhuman hearing when it comes to her friends."

I nod and we both settle further behind the hedge. Then Maira's eyes widen. "Oh! Ellie, use your Mist!"

I mime slapping myself on the forehead. "Why didn't I think of that?" I snap my fingers, creating the tiny blue flame required for the Mist. Blue-gray smoke seeps off of it, blanketing Maira and I moments before I catch sight of Kalia sprinting across the lawn, her gaze sweeping right over us. 

"Yes!" Maira snickers, holding a hand up. I happily oblige, making sure I use my non-flaming hand. 

For a while, we silently crack up watching kid after kid pass by both of us. As far as I can tell, everyone's been found except for Sera, Brit, and Maira and I. 

"We just have to beat Sera." Maira mutters. "She always wins."

"Well, it's Sera." I murmur back, watching a giddy Arson search in the koi pond. "She probably threatens whoever finds her to pretend they never saw her."

Maira snorts. "True. But hey, at least I've got you this time. Nobody can see through your Mist."

"Except me!" Someone says from right behind us. Maira and I both yelp, and Endora lightly taps both of us on our heads. "Now help me find Sera and Brit!"

"Oh, come on!" Maira complains, standing and brushing her khaki shorts off. "How'd you find us?"

Dori rolls her eyes, balanced in the window she must've leaned down from. "I'm a fairy, doofuses. While a fairy may not be the most powerful thing on Earth, I can clearly tell when magic is being worked."

"Your spidey-sense tingles?" I suggest innocently. 

"Ha-ha-ha." Dori says flatly. "Now c'mon, we just have Annoying and Annoyinger left."

"Which one is Annoyinger?" Maira asks, boosting herself inside with Endora. I quickly follow as Endora shrugs. 

"That's for me to know and Sera to earn the title. C'mon." We take off inside the palace, checking inside every room that's not off-limits. 

Which is basically all of them. We really should've planned this out better. 

After combing through the palace (and recruiting Mal, Evie, and Dizzy to help us) we finally get out on the lawn again, all of us extremely frustrated. 

"Where in the world could those two be?" Maira demands angrily. "Ellie, I don't suppose you'd be able to track them with your heat-sensing thing?"

"I never really got the hang of that." I admit. "I'm better at the fire-shadow part of my dad's powers."

"Maybe we should check the Beast statue again?" Kalia suggests airily. 

"We've already been there. That's where I found you." Endora says, waving her away. 

"I think we should check the Beast statue again." Kalia says firmly this time. I flash back to how she used to tell when something was happening, or who someone was, when she was near the ocean. She's gotten better at those notions, detecting decisions before someone can make them when she's not even touching water. 

"Maybe we should." I decide, and Kalia sends me a swift smile. Dori rolls her eyes, but she waves her wand anyway. A second later, our group of girls (the boys are off searching elsewhere) appears near the Beast statue. 

"Mom? Dad?" I say in surprise. My parents whirl around, looking incredibly guilty. I notice both of them whip their left hands behind their backs. 

"What are you two doing here?" Mal asks. 

"Yeah, you said you were going back to the North Mountain while Ellie went to school here." Endora says suspiciously. 

"Ah... something came up." Dad says. "We need to talk to Ellie."

"Well, then shoot." Endora says, waving her hand towards my parents.

"Um, I think they meant alone." Evie points out. "We'll just look for Sera over there." She grabs Mal's and Dizzy's hands, tugging them away. Kalia takes Maira's hand, while Maira grabs Dori's wrist.

"Aww, c'mon, juicy family stuff!!" Endora complains, but she leaves all the same. 

"So... what came up?" I ask nervously. "Did Auradon Prep call you and say I'm not allowed to come anymore? Again?"

"No, not at all!" My mom assures me, smiling gently. "It's just, ah... well... Hade and I realized something---"

Dad coughs. 

"Well, I realized it after he did... what we're about to tell you." Mom corrects herself. "Hade realized it a while ago, apparently, and has been working up the courage ever since, but anyway---"

"Mom, seriously, just spit it out." I urge.

Mom and Dad glance at each other almost giddily, which is so not like the god of the Dead. Then, looking back to me, they both pull their left hands from behind their backs. 

On both their left hands, on the finger designated for one purpose, are two glittering rings. 

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TA-DAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!

My sister suggested this last night, and I couldn't resist when I realized it'd never actually happened before.