Estefania remembered her mother once telling her something when she was very small. The wise woman told her that every problem had a solution if you reassessed the angle. She's always been clever when Solomon or the Brothers tell her something is impossible.

She was always able to convince them to budge once she found the right angle. Solomon often praised her savvy thinking and said that it would make her a great queen. Here in the trial, though, she needed to slow down and understand the wish before she could respond. 

The second wish Trix presented was seemingly simple. "A young woman wishes for luck in her goals." Still, the princess ruminated on the fairy's words. It had to be more complicated than it seemed. 

She thought back about her own mother, who'd been gifted with wisdom. Luck, after all, was a force of the universe. Would it make the girl conscious of changing things around her, or would the world mold to her will? 

There was also positive luck and negative luck. Would the wish curse the girl and hurt the people around her? That was a "dangerous consequence," as Mona would call it. 

"Still need a moment?" Mona goaded. "A real fairy would know almost immediately how to answer such a common wish."

Elowen was right. She couldn't let the countess or Mona or whatever she called herself get under her skin. She could take her time, especially with the stakes so high. 

"Why don't you tell your answer, Mona, if you're so impatient," Trix said. "After all, tradition dictates you take turns answering first."

Mona glared at Trix. The other fairy shrugged unapologetically. Estefania had to admire that if Mona was going to enforce archaic rules, Trix would make sure Mona was a slave to the same laws. 

Still, there was nothing the cruel fairy could do. She just hissed at Trix and flipped her hair back. Then she gave her final answer.

"Naturally, luck is a forbidden wish, which is difficult to quantify and control," Mona said. "So I would advise the girl to seek a wish with the ability to think creatively so she can solve her own problems."

Trix raised an eyebrow, and she looked at Estefania. It was almost like the fairy was trying to give her an opening. 

She thought about Mona's answer. Thinking creatively would be an open wish that could have wild and varying interpretations. There was a very fine line, she realized, between a wish that was a blessing and a curse. 

Luck was just as dangerous as creativity. There had to be a way to fulfill the wish in a better way, and she had moments to figure it out. 

"Every problem has a solution," she muttered to herself. 

"What was that, princess?" Mona demanded.

Estefania knew she needed to stall. "Every problem has a solution. It was something that my mother taught me, countess."

Mona laughed. "Your mother was a backwoods floozie who found her way to a prince though a stupidly granted wish of luck just like this one, and she slept her way to the top."

Estefania's face burned. She knew her mother had been a commoner in Sahar, but it was her wish for wisdom that elevated her to the status of princess. Her father had known the moment he saw her mother that she would be a perfect bride. 

"My mother was wise," Estefania argued. 

"I cannot lie in the trial," Mona said. "She deserved to die. She took everything from a deserving woman, and she ruined a life. She turned Hadrian against his affianced and took a crown for herself."

The words slapped her across the face. Mona couldn't lie. Perhaps there were other reasons her grandmother sent her away. Solomon had always been hesitant to discuss her family with her. This could be a reason. 

"My mother is dead, so why even bother bringing her memory back?" Estefania said. 

"Your parents are the very corruption poisoning the lands," Mona said. "The king of Cyra sits young while his own sons suffer. The queen of Sahar is dying an old fool because she made a horrific mistake. You, her precious chosen heir, are nothing but a failure. The empress thought you were special, and I've proved her wrong."

Trix's eyes blazed. "That is enough, Monique. You should be punishing me. I granted Kelindi her wish. Stop punishing the children for the sins of the father."

Mona whirled on Trix. "I thought I was done with you when I tore your wings from your back. Clearly, you haven't learned your lesson."

Fire formed in Mona's hands. She raised her arm to smite Trix. Estefania threw herself in front of the fairy and shouted. 

"I have my answer."

Mona's fire faded. "You think you have a better answer than mine?"

"Indeed," Estefania said. "Luck would be a poor choice for a wish. It is a force easily turned against the wisher. However, creativity is the wrong answer. What the girl needs is wisdom. That force will guide her to the best decisions and help her create her own luck in her life. That is my choice for this wish."

Trix actually nodded in respect. She looked down at the book, and words appeared, and a smile curled up her lips. Mona glared at Trix and walked over to read the verdict. 

"No," Mona said. "That answer was no better than mine."

"The book doesn't lie," Trix said. "It declares the winner of this round Estefania de Sahar."

Mona looked at Estefania with absolute rage. Fire formed in her hands again. Trix sighed and held up her hand, and a blue shield formed around Estefania. 

"Cressida would be ashamed of you," Trix said. "You know the rules of these trials, Mona. If you break them again, I will let the book declare Estefania the winner by default."

Estefania breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't because Trix had saved her but instead because she'd actually one a round. There was a chance that she could save her brother.

"You won't get lucky twice," Mona growled as her fire disappeared. "Tell us the last wish, Trix, or I will make sure your agony extends far beyond your wings."

She wondered if Mona even knew that Rillian was missing yet. She saw the fairy empress's son in the back of the ballroom beside Solomon, staying out of sight. Someone had helped the fairy with a bath, and he was in cleaner clothes, and his wet hair was slicked back. 

"Finally, a girl's first wish is..." Trix's voice shook. "F-For the just fall of the f-fairy empress for her crimes against the wisher."

Mona smirked like a predator, closing in on her prey. "Justice, at last, Trix. Even the book recognizes this as one of the most important wishes."

"Your cursed wish?" Trix looked distressed. "You wished for Cressida to die, but suddenly, you're the hero? It wasn't justice, Monique. It was genocide."

Unfortuantely it was also the book's final proposition. Estefania wondered how to even approach this wish. Trix was right. The wish killed all the fairies. Still if it was a deep desire from they heart, according the fairy laws it must be granted, or at least addressed and altered like the former wishes. 

Mona stood beside her, drumming her nails. Estefania knew there was a correct answer somewhere. She'd softened the other wishes. Could she deny this wish? There was no way that it was even right. In no world was genocide the answer. 

Trix looked at her uneasily. Estefania was curious if the fairy had even known exactly what had happened to her people before this moment. The way she clutched the book, though, made Estefania think that she feared the answer. 

"Well?" Mona held up a finger. "What does the great princess think? Am I right?"

"You sought justice," Estefania said. "And you brought the fall of an empire down around you. The empress and all her subjects died, therefore there is no justice in wishing for the fall of your mistress. Instead, you should seek justice against the one who wronged you directly."

Mona smiled. "Oh, I did. Your beastly little heart has ruined you, princess. This wish was the justice the wisher desired because she was wronged by Cressida. She deserved to burn after what she had done. This wish should be fulfilled so those who wronged the girl can be held accountable."

Estefania knew she was right. Extinction wasn't the right answer. Mona's answer was dangerous and led to slaughter. The book couldn't deny the logic there.

Trix glanced down at the book. Flames rose across the pages, and when the fire had faded, words blazed on the pages. Trix seemed to pale. Then she read out the verdict loud enough for the entire ballroom to hear. 

"The wisher was wronged, and justice should be served," she said. "Therefore, The Book of Fairies declares the winner of this trial Monique de Dalinos, daughter of Lord Solomon."

Estefania stumbled backward. She'd done everything right, and somehow, that magical book had declared Mona's cruel answer correct. That meant...

She'd lost. 

"The book grants the magic of a punishment for Estefania de Sahar," Trix continued. "And that she lose favor with the fairies."

Estefania's forehead burned in the exact spot where her birthmark sat. It took all of her strength to stay on her feet as the pain subsided. Then the book snapped closed and vanished. 

She couldn't save her brother. He'd be lost now. Wryn too. Nathaniel would be so disappointed in her. She couldn't save them or herself. 

Mona stepped forward with a cruel gleam in her eye. Estefania wanted to shrink down into something small, but her body seized, and she flew toward Mona. The dark fairy's eyes blazed with purple fire. Her smile slithered up her face as Estefania shuddered. 

"You don't have to do this, Mona," Trix said. "It's not what Rillian would have wanted. Hadrian will never forgive you for harming his daughter."

"Rillian never deserved you, Trix," Mona said. "I should have been a queen."

"You reaped what you've sown, darling," Trix said. "Power, lust, and no love."

Mona smirked. "The loveless one, little Trix, is Estefania. She can only love monsters. That makes her unfit to rule, and the old bat was wrong. This girl is worth nothing."

Energy formed in Mona's hand like a red and rosey ball. She shoved the crimson magic at Estefania's face, and it dissolved around her skin, seeping into her body like fire ants burrowing into her flesh. Estefania tasted blood and screamed. 

"Give your father my regards, little girl," Mona smiled. "Not that you can since you'll succumb to the poison. Enjoy your crown, little princess."

The fairy released her body, and Estefania fell to the ground with a sickening crack. Her vision fuzzed as she saw Mona raise her arms in triumph and her wings rise, carrying her upwards. Through the haze in her mind, she heard laughter and a rumble of thunder. 

Lightning blinded the princess, and Mona disappeared. Estefania's body crackled and shook from the blast. The pain shook through her body, worse than the one on her forehead. It rattled every fiber of her being. Then she knew no more.