Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 4) (21 page)

“Your blood will make the crystal bowl or
the water react in different ways.” Lucian stepped forward, picked up the palm-sized
dagger, and pressed it against the tip of his finger. When a small drop of
blood pooled there, he let it drip into the bowl. Immediately, the water within
the bowl swirled and began to flash and sparkle.

After a few seconds, the flashing stopped
and the water settled. King Lucian placed the knife back on the pedestal and motioned
with his arm for the girls to proceed.

Mina searched Teague’s face, trying to
see behind the indifferent mask he wore for everyone.

Annalora approached first—probably
hoping that by being brave and showing confidence, she would make an impression
on the Fates. She winced as the knife pricked her finger and quickly, without
hesitating, shook a small drop into the bowl. The crystal bowl turned gold and
glittered like a snow globe newly shaken. Annalora couldn’t hide the pleased
smile that bloomed across her face. She looked to the Fates and waited for
their verdict.

“Very good, Annalora. Follow Wilsey
through the doors, and he will take you to the prepping room.” Her confidence
paid off.

Annalora curtsied. Then, with her head
held high, exited through the doors they had entered.

Mina would have given anything to be in her
shoes at this moment. It didn’t even matter if she got to complete the quest.
She just didn’t want to be caught and executed for being an imposter. Could
this test prove she wasn’t Fae?

“All right. Who’s next?” Lucian called
out.

Ever raised her hand, and the girls stepped
out of her way as she moved to the crystal bowl. She picked up her knife and
pricked her finger, eagerly moving it over the bowl. The water turned a deep
blue, but—although it glittered—it wasn’t with the strength of
Annalora’s blood. Ever’s face flushed red, and she looked up at Teague
hopefully. He seemed pleased.

Lucian nodded his head and motioned to
the door. The servant Wilsey stepped in again and beckoned for Ever to follow
him out. The girls that were left gathered themselves into a line, and Mina was
stuck in the middle of the pack. Would it be considered rude if she made
everyone else go in front of her? Two more girls passed the test and left the
room, leaving eight girls to face the blood trial. The seconds were dragging by
and Mina was finding it very difficult to not stare continually at the exit
door.

The next girl, the fuchsia-colored fairy,
cut her finger a little too deep and dropped more than a few drops into the
bowl. The water stilled. The bright red blood pooled along the top but failed
to make either the bowl or the water react. The girl plunged her hand into
water and swirled it around, leaving a ribbon like trail of blood. Despite her desperate
efforts, there was no reaction. She waited and watched the bowl, tucking her
bottom lip between her teeth. Her eyes flickered between the Fates and the bowl.
It had returned to its crystalline state.

“I’m sorry, Fuchsia, but you will not be
chosen.”

Her face scrunched up with unshed tears
as she tried to keep from breaking down. One of the girls in line behind her
gave her a quick parting hug, which set off the waterworks before she was
escorted out of the room. Teague seemed annoyed with the tear-filled goodbyes happening
in front of him.

That was it? Suddenly, a failing test didn’t
seem so bad to Mina. There was actually hope. Twice more the crystal bowl
performed, showing off the girls’ power. Shaya’s blood made the water rise out
of the bowl and dance. Estellya’s made the water freeze.

Ferah, a beautiful young elf with red
hair and pointed ears, approached for her test. She seemed calm and collected,
but during her test, the water turned black.

Unlike they had in reaction to Fuchsia’s
failure, the Fates rose up in alarm. “An assassin,” Lucian announced.

Ferah pulled a small knife from the folds
of her dress and lunged toward Teague.

“Watch out!” Mina cried, rushing forward
and grabbing for Ferah’s wrist. She tried to wrestle the knife from her hand, but
couldn’t get her to drop it. Instead, acting on instinct, she pulled the girl
toward her and spun, using her hips to flip the girl onto the tile floor in a
pile of tulle and silk.

The knife skittered across the floor.

Seeing that she was defeated, Ferah got
up, gathered her skirts, and ran for the door.

“Guards, guards!” Maeve shouted.

The doors burst open and two giants
entered, blocking her escape. The elf-girl turned, aware that she was trapped.
Reaching within her dress, she pulled out two more blades. She scanned the room
searching wildly for her targets, but the Fates had disappeared.

Teague had disappeared.

Mina felt a brush of cold air across her
skin and realized that Teague at least had never left. The candelabras blew out
as something large passed in front of them, leaving everyone in near darkness.

By the dusky light coming through the
window, Mina saw a shadow beast materialize behind the terrified girl.

Ferah turned, screaming, stabbing at the
darkness that merely dissipated. Her knife pierced nothing.

The temperature dropped and the girls
whimpered when their breath became visible. The beating wings of the creature
grew louder, and the girl slowly backed herself into a corner. Her chest rose
and fell in panic, and her knives whizzed through the air as she continued to
stab at any shadow that passed close to her.

Mina could feel the girl’s terror radiate
outward and spread to the girls behind her. Knowing how deadly Jared was and
knowing that Teague was even more so, her first priority was to protect the
innocent girls.

“Give me your hand.” She reached out to
the girl closest to her, not knowing if they’d even listen. But a trembling
hand latched onto hers. Mina felt around and found another arm. They formed a
chain, and Mina pulled them to the side of the room away from the action. The
girls huddled in a corner with Mina in front of them, her arms held out as a
human shield.

The young assassin regained her composure
and dashed to the middle of the room away from the approaching beast. The
shadow creature moved, materializing as it touched down on the floor. But the
darkness was evident even in Teague’s handsome form. His eyes were dark with
anger, his hair tousled from flying. He must have made a sound because the girl
spun.

Her dress didn’t seem to hinder her as
she leapt into the air and let the knife fly toward Teague, followed quickly by
a second blade.

Teague moved so fast he blurred as he
dodged the knives, but they continued their trajectory.

They were heading straight toward the
clump of girls. As Ferah saw her mistake, her eyes widened and she reached out
as if to stop their course.

“
No
!”
Mina shouted. She held her hands over her face. The last thing she saw before
she closed her eyes was the glint off the silver knives flying toward her.

Chapter 23

The knives never made contact.

Mina waited a few seconds, opened her
eyes, and dropped her hands to see the steely knives suspended in midair, mere
inches from her face. Unwilling to take any chances, in case they continued on
their trajectory she sidestepped the knives.

Her mouth was dry and her heart felt like
it was beating a path out of her chest.

Wailing began behind her, and she turned
to see that—of the six girls left—four of them had broken down into
sobbing piles of color on the floor. It seemed they no longer cared about
wrinkling their dresses. The two not crying were pale in the face, and one
looked like she was going to toss her cookies at any moment.

“Are you all right?’ Teague came to stand
next to her, his face full of concern. Two giants had grabbed Ferah and were
now holding her in a kneeling position in the middle of the room. King Lucian
and Queen Maeve materialized and stood in front of the young assassin. She had
quit fighting and seemed to be slowly accepting her fate.

“I’m fine. Just a little shaken up,” Mina
answered Teague. Her body was humming from head to toe, and she tried to get
her emotions under control. “That was a little too close a call.”

“You defended me.” He smiled, one corner
of his mouth lifting in a bit of a smirk. “Not that I needed your help. But I
think it’s kind of cute.” He crossed his arms and continued smirking at her.

Which only irritated her. Here was the
snarky Jared-side she was used to dealing with. “Well, I don’t know. You could
have been distracted by all of the pretty skirts in the room. Who knows where
your mind was?”

“Skirts? Why would the material of their
dresses be distracting? I can tell you that I’m in no way interested in what
they are wearing. Who’s wearing it is what matters.” He raised his eyebrow, and
Mina rolled her eyes.

“You can calm down now. The danger is
over,” he added.

“I know that,” she huffed.

“Well maybe you do, but my parents not so
much.” He gestured with his chin to the Fates who were looking their way very
pointedly. They were obviously still worried and upset about something, and it
looked like it was Mina.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Apprehension
rose within her once again. “Why do they seem angry?”

“It could be because they see you as a
threat.”

“Me? A threat? I haven’t done anything,”
her voice rose in fear. Had they somehow figured out why she was here?

“Well, you’re the one who is armed.”

“What?” She couldn’t breathe.

Teague shook his head, reached out, and
grasped her forearms roughly. Mina winced from the pressure and started to
panic, pulling away from him.

“You have about ten seconds to calm down
and release the knives from whatever spell you control them with, or the Fates
will have no choice but to dispose of you, and there’s nothing I can do about
it.”

“Knives?” She snapped out of her reverie
and eyed the two knives that were still suspended in midair.

“Yes. Knives. Right now you are holding a
weapon in the midst of the Royals. It’s treason. Unless you drop it, your
punishment is death.”

“I didn’t know. I don’t know if I can.
I’m not sure how I stopped them there in the first place.” The words jumbled
out of Mina’s mouth and she could feel herself beginning to lose control. She
was the one who’d stopped the knives? It was her? How?

Teague shook her roughly, and her knees
knocked together. Over his shoulder she saw the large double doors open, and
more Fae guards entered with swords drawn. They circled around Mina and Teague
but kept their distance. The knives slowly turned toward Mina again, making
Teague’s back the perfect target now.

Fear was making her freeze up. Her eyes
started to water. She didn’t know how she stopped the knives, and if she
couldn’t undo it, she would be killed right here on the spot. It was instinct
on the human plane when she’d pushed Nan and Ever out of the way of the truck.
It was instinct that made her try and save herself here.

It wasn’t instinct to stop doing what was
coming naturally and unbidden.

“Help me,” she breathed out as a tear
escaped down her cheek. She was desperate. “I don’t want to die.”

He looked a little irritated at her lack
of understanding, but he seemed to see her fear as genuine. When he realized
she couldn’t do it, he jumped into action.

“Look at me.” He pressed on her arms and
she struggled to drag her eyes away from the soldiers and their swords.

“Look. At. Me,” he demanded again, but
slower.

Her eyes locked onto his dark blue eyes
as if he were her anchor. She was too scared to look away now. She knew that
she was accessing the Fae power, but she knew nothing of how she’d done it.

“That’s good. Good. Listen to my voice.
Listen to me,” he soothed. “You’re safe. Nothing’s going to harm you. I’m safe.
Nothing’s going to harm me. You’re not going to harm me. At least I don’t think
you want to harm me, do you?” He winked.

Her soul cried out at those words, and a
little sob escaped her lips. Teague thought it was because he was holding her
arms too tight, and he loosened his grip. His thumb rubbed the underside of her
arm, quite an intimate gesture at the moment. After all, she was still a
stranger.

“Take a deep breath,” he coached again.

She did, and then she took another one,
focusing on his eyes. On the color. She had to clear her mind.

“Close your eyes,” he said. “Think of
somewhere safe.”

Home. Home was safe, or at least it was
until she became involved with the Grimm curse.

Finally, a picture formed in her mind. A
picture of Jared. He was a safe place. He’d been her protector. He looked out
for her. It took a while, but she’d come to realize that whenever she was with
him, she would be safe. She pictured his strong jaw, his dark tousled hair, and
his stormy gray eyes. A smile slowly formed on her lips.