Cinderella's secret stepsister is in trouble for something she didn't do—will she get kicked out of the castle? The second book in the Sisters Ever After series, perfect for anyone who loves fairy tale retellings about sisters and princesses! Meet Cinderella’s third “wicked” stepsister, Tirza. For years, Tirza has lived with the shame of what her family did to Cinderella. Against everyone’s advice, Cinderella—now Queen Ella—took a chance on young Tirza. She gave Tirza a home in the castle instead of banishing her. The queen told everyone Tirza was good and kind, not cruel like her older sisters. But now Queen Ella’s famous glass slippers are missing, and there’s only one suspect. . . . Tirza may have tried them on . . . but she didn’t steal them. Now she must find the true thief before she loses her royal home. But as Tirza gets closer to the truth, she finds herself getting closer to something else: her sisters, who might not be quite as evil as Cinderella claims. Praise for the Sisters Ever After series: ★ "The heart of the story lies in the utterly authentic relationship between the sisters, who squabble, tease, and hurt each other—and love one another with a fierceness that absolutely demands a happily-ever-after. Effervescent, thrilling, and practically perfect in every way ."— Kirkus , starred review ★ “This retelling adds an original twist to a beloved classic and gives a younger sister a chance to earn a little of the spotlight . A fun, compelling story…recommended for younger siblings , fans of princess stories , and fantasy lovers .”— SLJ , starred review “A fantastically dark and twisty Sleeping Beauty retelling, full of secrets, danger, fairies who are truly scary, and a complicated sisterly relationship that I adored .” —Stephanie Burgis, author of Kat, Incorrigible "A compelling , delightful , topsy-turvy Sleeping Beauty retelling. Princess Briony is not one to wait for wake-up kisses, she’d rather head straight out into an adventure. Such a fun read! "—Sarah Prineas, author of The Magic Thief and Winterling "Incorporating surprising twists and subverting tropes to emphasize sibling bonds over romance, Cypess creates a fun tale with a strong heroine ..."— PW Leah Cypess is the author of Thornwood, Glass Slippers , and The Piper’s Promise , the first three books in the Sisters Ever After series. She lives in the kingdom of Silver Spring, Maryland, with her family. Visit her at www.leahcypess.com and follower her on Twitter @LeahCypess 1 My original plan for that day was excellent. It doesn’t mean much now, but for the record, I want you to know how well things could have gone. It was the morning of the annual parade. I planned to spend the day in the nursery playing with the royal princes. Queen Ella’s children, Prince Baro and Prince Elrin, were also not allowed to go to the parade. They had begged me to come stay with them, and I had promised. I would never break a promise to the princes. Even that time when I told Baro that if he went to sleep, I would sing him the entire ballad of Sleeping Beauty while standing on my head. I hadn’t thought he would remember, but he had, and I’d done it. Gilma, their nursemaid, had caught me and told everyone, which had gone over really well with the court. But the princes were the only people in the castle who trusted me, and I would never do anything to betray that trust. So even when I got close enough to the nursery to hear the wailing, I kept walking. I slowed down a little bit, I admit. I might have winced. But I didn’t stop. “I want to go to the parade!” That was Baro, who, at five years old, had perfected the art of the tantrum. “It’s not fair! Everyone in the whole world gets to do what they want except me!” A thud, a crash, and another set of wails—­these coming from one-­year-­old Elrin. I quickened my step, which made me trip on a loose section of the rug. I caught myself against the wall and kept going. “I’m a prince ! That means I can do whatever I want!” I broke into a jog and wrenched the nursery door open, just in time to see Baro dump a bottle of purple glitter over his little brother’s head. “Baro!” Gilma cried. “Oh, don’t do that!” Baro grabbed a jar of glue. “No, no, no.” Gilma wrung her hands. “That’s not how a prince should behave!” Elrin yowled, grabbed a chunk of his older brother’s hair, and yanked. Baro shrieked. “Stop fighting!” Gilma wailed. “What would your subjects think?” I strode into the room, grabbed Elrin’s hand, and disentangled it from Baro’s hair. Then I held Elrin out of his brother’s reach. Glitter rained down from his clothes, covering me with purple sparkles. “I have a great idea,” I said. “Once you stop screaming, I’ll tell you all about it.” While I was waiting Baro out, I calmed Elrin down by giving him a sweet pop. He nuzzled into my shoulder and sucked happily, drizzling sticky saliva down the side of my neck. “He shouldn’t be having sweets, Tirza,”