Ever After High: Next Top Villain: A School Story Read online

  “But you didn’t get what you wanted,” Raven said.

  No, she hadn’t. She’d wanted to succeed so she could eventually change her destiny. But she hadn’t changed anything…

  … or had she?

  Then Duchess realized something: Whether she called herself a Royal like Lizzie or a Rebel like Raven, one thing was perfectly clear. Standing on either side of her were two girls, each holding on to her arm, helping her across the field. She wasn’t alone. Birds of a feather did flock together after all.

  As they walked, a single feather drifted from Duchess’s hair. It was the same size and shape as the other swan feathers that she found after transforming. Except for one thing.

  It was black.

  “That’s random,” Raven said as Duchess held the feather in her fingers.

  “Not really,” Lizzie pointed out. She pulled a card out of her deck and read the message her mother had written there. “Without the black side of the chessboard, the white side would be fast asleep. See?”

  Duchess grinned. For the first time in her life, Riddlish made perfect sense. She was wide awake now, and she knew that whether she summoned her white swan side or her black swan side, her story, the one that belonged to her and to no one else, had yet to be written.

  Instead of trying to hide the black feather by tucking it into her pocket or by tossing it aside, she stuck it back into her hair.

  This was just the beginning.

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  Acknowledgments

  I felt like Alice falling down the rabbit hole.

  It began with a lot of phone calls and some super-secret negotiations. Before I knew it, I was sitting on a plane, heading for Los Angeles to meet with a bunch of executives at a toy company. I was a nervous wreck. What had I gotten myself into? So many people were involved in this project. Shannon Hale was writing the prequels. Why did they want me? Had this all been some sort of mistake?

  The woman seated next to me was busy reading a script, ignoring my fidgeting. I couldn’t focus on anything, my mind racing with self-doubt, so I glanced at her page. The watermark read: mattel.

  “Um, excuse me,” I said quietly. “I don’t mean to be nosy, but do you work for Mattel?”

  “Yes,” she said. “I’ve been in Seattle on vacation. But it’s time to get back.”

  “This is a weird coincidence,” I told her, “but I have a meeting at Mattel later today.”

  “Really?” She smiled. “Wait a minute. I know who you are. You’re Suzanne Selfors.”

  And so it was that serendipity had seated me right next to someone who knew all about my project and the world of Ever After High. And thanks to her warmth and good humor, when we landed two and a half hours later, I felt at ease. And that’s how it’s been ever since. Mattel has welcomed me, and even though they are the creators of this amazing, magical world, they’ve given me the freedom to dance around in it. And it’s been a blast.

  Thank you, Cathy Cline, for that plane ride. And to the creative team at Mattel—Cindy Ledermann, Lara Dalian, Julia Phelps, Christine Kim, Robert Rudman, Nicole Corse, Audu Paden, Venetia Davie, Ryan Ferguson, Charnita Belcher, and Sharon Woloszyk—much gratitude for all your help and support.

  I’ve written many books with Little, Brown, but this time around, I got to work with a new enchanting editorial team. Thanks to Erin Stein, Mary-Kate Gaudet, and Rachel Poloski for helping this damsel de-stress.

  Michael Bourret, you rule the kingdom!

  Bob, you may not own a coat of armor, but I think you should be knighted. I became a writer because you gave me the gifts of time and love. Thank you.

  And finally, Walker and Isabelle, you two are my Happily Ever Afters.

  About the Author

  Suzanne Selfors feels like a Royal on some days and a Rebel on others. She’s written many books for kids, including the Smells Like Dog series and the Imaginary Veterinary series.

  She has two charming children and lives in a magical island kingdom, where she hopes it is her destiny to write stories forever after.

  Also by Suzanne Selfors

  THE IMAGINARY VETERINARY SERIES

  The Sasquatch Escape

  The Lonely Lake Monster

  The Rain Dragon Rescue

  The Order of the Unicorn

  The Griffin’s Riddle

  THE SMELLS LIKE DOG SERIES

  Smells Like Dog

  Smells Like Treasure

  Smells Like Pirates

  To Catch a Mermaid

  Fortune’s Magic Farm

  Contents

  Cover

  Title Page

  Welcome

  Dedication

  Dear Reader

  Chapter 1: Swan Song

  Chapter 2: Ugly Duckling

  Chapter 3: Royal Roomies

  Chapter 4: A Charming Crush

  Chapter 5: The Cauldron Room

  Chapter 6: Rebel Roll Call

  Chapter 7: Duchess’s Dilemma

  Chapter 8: A Scoop of Snoop

  Chapter 9: Madame’s Message

  Chapter 10: Swan Secrets

  Chapter 11: Duchess’s Decision

  Chapter 12: Princess Practice

  Chapter 13: Horse Course

  Chapter 14: Hood’s House

  Chapter 15: Sweet Sabotage

  Chapter 16: Fairy Dust Feast

  Chapter 17: A House of Cards

  Chapter 18: Broken Hearts

  Chapter 19: Raven’s Room

  Chapter 20: A Rebel Revealed

  Chapter 21: Raven’s Ruse

  Chapter 22: Horsing Around

  Chapter 23: The End Is Just the Beginning

  Acknowledgments

  About the Author

  Also by Suzanne Selfors

  Copyright

  Copyright

  This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is coincidental.

  Copyright © 2015 by Mattel, Inc.

  Cover art by Jay Ju

  Cover design by Tim Hall

  Cover © 2015 Mattel, Inc.

  All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S. Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting the publisher at [email protected]. Thank you for your support of the author’s rights.

  Little, Brown and Company

  Hachette Book Group

  1290 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10104

  lb-kids.com

  Little, Brown and Company is a division of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The Little, Brown name and logo are trademarks of Hachette Book Group, Inc.

  The publisher is not responsible for websites (or their content) that are not owned by the publisher.

  First ebook edition: January 2015

  ISBN 978-0-316-40130-2

  E3