Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 4) (22 page)

“Jared,” she whispered under her breath.
She heard the sound of metal clanking on tile and knew that she’d released the
knives. It still blew her mind that she’d been able to save herself like that.

She knew she was beaming from ear to ear,
but she opened her eyes to see Teague’s frustrated face.

“Who’s Jared?”

“A boy,” she replied, immediately wishing
she hadn’t. Teague dropped her arms coldly and turned away from her.

He moved to stand next to his parents,
and she could hear him giving curt answers. Something about her being scared
and not being able to control her powers.

Queen Maeve seemed skeptical, and Mina
was able to catch bits of what she was saying. “What Fae girl of her age can’t
control her powers? Maybe we should send her home now, before we test her. We
certainly have cause. Besides, her results are sure to be weak, even without
using the bowl.”

Her words dug deep beneath Mina’s armor
and wounded her. She’d just done something great. She saved her own life as
well as the six other girls’. Coming off that high only to be treated as
worthless was a huge kick in the stomach.

King Lucian rubbed his golden beard. “Perhaps,
but you must admit, these were not normal circumstances.”

“What if she’s an assassin as well?” the
queen asked.

“Hardly.” King Lucian laughed. It felt
great to get his vote of confidence at least. “She was the one who saw the
danger first and warned us.”

“I’m still not sure about her. Something
feels off.” Queen Maeve didn’t soften her blows simply because Mina was within
earshot. Why should she? She was, after all, queen.

They turned to address Ferah. At least
for now, the topic was dropped.

“You, Ferah, have committed an act of
treason with your assassination attempt. Your punishment will be doled out
quickly and without mercy. What have you to say for yourself?”

Ferah held her head high and glared
angrily toward Teague. Mina was surprised by her stoic bravery in the face of
death. “He will destroy us all. The prophecy has foretold our impending doom.”
Her finger did not waver as it pointed to Teague.

Anger and turmoil rolled off Teague in
waves.

If anyone knew the truth behind Ferah’s
words it was Mina. She knew the outcome. Knew that Teague would quickly break
off his betrothal and try to destroy the kingdom, which would force the Fates
to split his power—his very self—in two. Part of her actually
wanted that to happen, because she wanted the Jared she had known and loved to
exist. The person who stood before her was not him.

“Take heed, Fates. United he will destroy
you. Divided he will fail.” Her voice had taken on an otherworldly quality. She
looked around the room until her eyes met Mina’s. They widened for a fraction
of a second, and then she smiled. Ferah began to giggle. Her head fell to the
side and she continued to laugh at a joke only she knew the punch line to. “I
see that I have failed. But there is another who will not.”

“What is the meaning of this?” King
Lucian growled. Captain Plaith and a guard lifted Ferah off the ground so only
the tips of her shoes skimmed the tile.

“I am not your only hope. It seems there
will be another who comes to finish what I have started.”

“Who? Who dares to try to murder our son?
Answer me, you miserable excuse for a Fae!” he roared.

Ferah pinched her lips together in a firm
line. She met his accusing glare with steel and refused to say another word.

“She won’t talk? I bet she’d talk to one
of the Reapers,” Teague said, and the room collectively gasped in surprise and
horror. He looked to his parents, and they nodded in approval.

“Yes, fetch the Reaper, Captain Plaith.
We will have a hunt,” Lucian agreed. The guard who stood at the Fates’ side
turned on his heel and strode from the room.

Mina’s stomach tightened as bile rose in
her throat. She wanted to cower and hide. The king was calling the
Reapers—the hunters of all things evil. And in the future, the hunters of
the Grimm. Her family. For centuries to come, the Fates would send Reapers
after her family line if they got close to finishing the quests.

Summoned, the Reaper stood before the
Fates, dressed in a long black leather cloak. “My Fates.” He pulled two hand
held scythes from beneath his cloak, bowed, and waited for his orders. This
Reaper was different than the one who hunted her. He was tall and muscular,
but—where her human culture portrayed the Reaper as white like
death—this one was as dark as sin with yellow eyes. Mina knew that
Reapers were not a race of Fae, like fairies, nixies, or giants. A Reaper was a
job description. And the position could only be held by a true murderer, for
they liked to toy with their victims. They were the cleanup crew for the Fates.

Maeve’s voice rang out calm and
collected. “Take her to the woods. Let her feel terror on her heels as you hunt
her down and kill her. It will send a message to all who dare to try and kill
one of us.”

“No, no not that,” Ferah begged. The
guards dragged her from the room kicking and pleading for mercy.

When the double doors thudded closed
behind her, the room seemed to come alive again.

“What’s going to happen to us now?” Tawny
murmured. Her heavy eye makeup had run down her face, leaving trails of black.
“Are we going to have to continue with the test? Or can we choose to leave? We
can’t possibly be expected to stay after what we just witnessed.” She whispered
to the girl next to her, but since no one else was speaking at the moment, her
voice echoed loudly.

Teague heard her fears and turned, his
face red with fury. “By all means, leave if you cannot handle what just
happened. There lies the door and your salvation. Do you think being a Royal is
without its drawbacks? It is not all pastries, dresses, and parties. This is
real. Ruling our kind is dangerous, and I will not ask someone to stand by my
side if I cannot trust them to defend me with their life. As I would do the
same for them.” His chest rose and fell with passion, and his eyes shone black
with anger.

Tawny, embarrassed, was ready to cry. Her
hands covered her mouth and she quivered with fear.

Mina understood Teague’s desire for a
partner, someone he could trust to protect him in return. But his attitude! He
needed some lessons in diplomacy.

Tawny ended up staying, though Mina
didn’t expect her to last long. The room was put to right, and everyone
gathered around the crystal bowl.

Everything felt rushed and less formal.
The Fates stood farther back from the bowl, and Teague paced like a caged lion.
He didn’t look like he would settle down anytime soon.

Thankfully, Mina ended up toward the end
of the line again. Tawny came forward to continue with the test, but when she
picked up the knife, a door slammed loudly.

Teague was no longer in the suddenly cold
room. It seemed he didn’t care about the outcome of the remaining girls and
their test results. Which meant only one thing. He didn’t think they were
worthy, and he’d probably already narrowed down his choices to those in the
first group.

She felt a pinch in her throat, and had
to swallow back her hurt feelings. It was fine. She didn’t need his approval.
She wasn’t here to become his next wife. She just needed to make it through to
the next test so she could stay around. Then, hopefully, she would be the one
to save the Fae plane and her own.

Tawny’s test revealed a strong red glow to
complement her blushing cheeks. The others also passed with flying colors.

It was finally time for Mina to approach
the crystal bowl. So much had happened in the last half hour that she wasn’t
really sure how to feel about taking the test. She wasn’t as apprehensive as
before, because she’d used magic. But what would it do, since she wasn’t even Fae?
Would it perceive her heart—know that she was an imposter—and turn
black like Ferah’s test? Would nothing happen?

She picked up the small knife and studied
it. Even though it had been used on multiple girls, there wasn’t a hint of
blood on the tip. More Fae magic?

Mina pressed the point into the tip of
her finger on her left hand. She expected there to be a sharp pain from being
pricked, but she didn’t feel a thing. The shock of not feeling even the
pressure against her skin made her accidentally press it farther than necessary
into her finger. A very large drop formed, and she quickly held it over the
bowl, praying as it fell into the water. The surface rippled.

She held her breath and waited and
watched.

Nothing happened.

She let out the breath she was holding
and looked up to the King. He seemed a little disappointed in the outcome
himself.

Mina waited for the verdict. For the
words “imposter” or “fake” to come. For the doors to open again and another
Reaper to enter, gunning for her blood. She desperately looked toward the bowl
again.
Please, do something
.

The King opened his mouth and raised his
finger to give an order, when a soft ringing noise was heard. He dropped his
hand, and everyone turned to look at the crystal bowl. It didn’t change colors,
sparkle, or flash—it moved. The water inside the bowl swirled in a
circular motion, causing the crystal to sing. The peal grew in intensity and
volume, and Mina had to cover her ears from the pain that followed.

“Ouch, make it stop!” Silene demanded
from behind her.

She wished she could, but this had
nothing to do with her. It was a Fae creation. Finally, the crystal’s song fell
silent and the relief was almost audible.

“Never before has the crystal sung,”
Queen Maeve announced, giving Mina a curious look. “You are an enigma. It will
be interesting to see how you approach the other tests.” The way she said it
made Mina cringe with worry. “Please follow the others out of the room.”

Mina was so relieved to be dismissed that
she almost ran the first four steps. She caught herself and slowed her steps to
what was expected of a princess.

She was escorted to a waiting room where
the girls who passed the test were waiting. Annalora was reclining on a settee,
her dress spread out around her. Ever stood by the window staring outside.

Tawny was the center of attention as she
was relaying the whole story of the attack, reveling in being the one with the
news. “And Ferah is to be hunted down by the Reaper and killed,” Tawny rushed
out.

“Serves her right.” Annalora spoke up
from her reclined spot. She didn’t seem at all unnerved with the assassination
attempt. “She was about to ruin my chance of becoming future queen.”

Ever turned and spoke up a bit heatedly.
“Don’t you mean ruin any of our chances of falling in love and marrying Prince
Teague?”

Annalora shrugged. “That too, but it’s
not what they’re hoping for. They are looking for family lines and power. If
Teague knows what’s best for him, he’ll choose me.”

“You seem awfully confident about that.”
Ever confronted her, hands on her hips. The wind in the room began to whip as
her wings fluttered, mirroring the temper that was about to get the better of
her.

The two girls bickered back and forth
while Mina paced, biting her knuckle with worry. This wasn’t good. She hated
waiting, knowing that at any moment, she could be sent spiraling into the
future without having solved a thing.

Pretending her feet were hurting, Mina
sat on a cushioned chair and slid off one of her mirrored shoes to rub her
foot. She turned the shoe over and held the mini hourglass toward the light to
see if her time was running out.

Annalora stomped past Mina snapping her
attention back to the room full of young women. “I’m of royal gnome blood which
means I do not have a pointy head,” she fumed, pointing to her perfectly
coiffed hair. “Only the mining gnomes have pointed heads.”

Ever raised her chin and dripped sarcasm.
“Oh, that’s right. I forgot your kingdom lies deep underground. No wonder they
think you’re beautiful.”

“You insubordinate”—Annalora snatched
the glass shoe out of Mina’s hand and approached Ever, threatening her with the
heel—“poor, pathetic excuse for a pixie. Someone should teach you
manners.”

Mina gasped and immediately jumped up and
ran after the gnome to grab the shoe. Her hand grazed the smooth glass side. She
almost had it when Annalora turned, abruptly yanking the shoe out of reach.

Her attention was fully on Mina, and she
grinned when she realized that she had her in the palm of her hand. “What? Do
you want this?” She held the slipper high in the air, just out of Mina’s reach.
Mina swiped for the shoe, but with the other still on, her balance was less
than stellar.

Annalora laughed at Mina’s attempt to get
the shoe back. “Ah, ah, ah. If you want it back you need to get on your knees
and beg.”

Mina felt hampered by her beautiful
feathered dress and a single shoe. Annalora tossed the glass slipper Tawny, who
threw it to Fuchsia. Then Annalora got it back and smirked at her. It was a
triangle of insanity.

“Stop it, Annalora. Just give her the
shoe back,” Dinah said.