Page 25 of With the Potion in the Courtyard

I crouched down, running my fingers along the ground where Jaylyn’s potion had spilled. Nothing felt out of place. Standing up, I brushed off my hands and glanced at Jessie and Robbie, who were inspecting a statue nearby.

"Find anything?" I said, walking toward them.

"Nothing," Jessie said, disappointment lacing her words.

"Maybe we should check her room," I said. "If there's nothing here..."

"Wait," Robbie stepped closer to the statue. "Let's just give this one more look. I havea weird feeling…"

"All right." I joined them, feeling foolish for hoping we'd find some magical clue out in the open.

We leaned in close, inspecting each curve and angle of the stone figure. That's when I stumbled, my boot catching on an uneven slab. Flailing for balance, I grasped at Robbie's arm, sending us both crashing into Jessie.

The impact sent us tumbling against the statue, and then the world twisted. The solidness of the courtyard vanished, replaced by the sensation of plummeting through a kaleidoscope of colors.

"Wha—?" was all I managed before landing hard on something soft and squishy. I blinked, disoriented, as Robbie and Jessie groaned beside me.

"Did we just..." Robbie pushed himself up.

"Portal," Jessie finished, wide-eyed.

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Portaling was a very strange feeling,like being pulled apart and then put back together all within a few seconds. Part of me felt like when I’d been put back together, the portal gods had forgotten a few pieces. I grabbed my head and shook it, trying to ignore the ringing in my ears, but I still felt wrong.

The ground beneath my feet squished like a mat of sponges as I stumbled, disoriented from the sudden pull away from the godmother academy. "Where are we?" I gasped out, trying to steady myself.

"Got me," Robbie said as he looked around with a mix of wonder and confusion on his face. "This place is... Wow."

Jessie stood still, taking in the surroundings. "It's like walking into a child's daydream," she said.

I glanced around and it struck me how right she was. The sky was a mishmash of pastels and watercolors. Trees with leaves made of crinkled tissue paper swayed gently. Their trunks looked as if they were rolled out of clay by unsteady hands. Creatures that defied logic bounced and fluttered around us, each one outlined as though sketched with a thick crayon and filled in with enthusiastic scribbles.

"Feels like we've been thrown into a picture book," I tried to make sense of the animated landscape.

"Or a coloring book waiting for someone to stay within the lines," Robbie added as he watched a creature that resembled a cross between a rabbit and a fluffy cloud hop by, leaving faint glittery trails in the air.

"Let's just hope the artist isn't in a scribbling mood," Jessie said, half-joking but her gaze remained sharp, scanning for any sign of danger or familiarity.

"Guys, do you smell that? It's like a box of crayons," I said, nose twitching as I tried to place the familiar waxy scent.

"No, but I smell watermelon bubblegum," Robbie said, looking slightly bemused.

Jessie sniffed the air, her eyes closing for a moment. "Smells like pizza to me, and now I'm hungry." She rubbed her belly in emphasis.

"What does this mean?" I asked as unease creeped into my voice.

"It means this place smells differently for all of us. Somehow. Must be magic," Jessie said, looking around with a curious glance.

"But why are we here? What happened?" I asked, my thoughts clearing now that my brain feels like it’s screwed on straight.

Robbie looked confused, but Jessie looked thoughtful. "Somehow, we must have fallen into the same portal that Jaylyn fell into. This must be where she ended up when she disappeared."

"Yay!" I said, grinning. "We found her! We figured out this whole thing, and we can bring back Jaylyn and clear my name."

Robbie gave me a funny look. "Except, we haven’ttechnicallyfound her yet."

He was right. "Where is she then?"