Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 4) (27 page)

A dark shadow hovered over Teague. Was he
angry at her suggestion? “Why would you say such things?”

Mina wasn’t sure how she’d upset him, but
she sure had.

“Are you trying to influence my decision
toward another competitor? Unheard of. You really are surprising.”

“Is it that surprising that I tell you
the truth? She loves you, you know.”

“Love? Love has nothing to do with this.”

“Don’t you want to love the person that
you will eventually marry?”

“Love, no. Tolerate, yes. The throne
demands someone strong. That’s all that matters. Strong bloodlines.”

“That’s horrible.”

“That’s the way it is.”

She didn’t speak. She simply waited and
watched Teague. He seemed content to just sit next to her without talking. For
a moment, he looked like he had fallen asleep. His eyes had closed and he
looked relaxed. Again, he resembled Jared.

“What do you think of Dinah?” Mina asked
softly.

Teague’s face scrunched into a frown.
“Really? This again.” He opened one eye at her. “Fine. Bestow upon me all of
her fine qualities, if you think to persuade me.” He waved his hand in her
direction.

Mina pursed her lips. “She’s patient,
wise, powerful, and can make a delicious dessert.”

“You lie. I bet she makes horrible
dessert.”

She laughed. “Well, maybe for you,
because of your sour attitude.”

He waited a few more minutes and then
opened both eyes again, watching her expectantly. “You’ve failed to speak up
for Annalora or yourself.”

“Annalora doesn’t need someone to speak
for her. She can tout her qualities—what few there are—loud enough
to be heard in the next kingdom.”

Teague smiled wryly. “True. But you? You
don’t want to speak up and convince me that you’d make a perfect choice?”

“No, I don’t.”

“Why not?”

“Because I don’t belong here. And as soon
as you’re engaged, it will be time for me to leave.” She didn’t really know how
else to explain it. The Fae plane could never be home to her. She couldn’t
abandon her family, her friends.

“It’s because of him isn’t it?” he asked,
surprising her.

She wondered if he knew about Brody, but
then he continued. “It’s the one named Jared. You love him?” He sat up and
studied his clasped hands.

“I-I do. I mean I did. But there’s no
chance for us anymore.”

“You, who champion love, would give it up
so easily?” He looked at her, seeming disappointed.

She sucked in her breath and her thoughts
spun wildly in her head. She had to push back her feelings about Jared. “As you
said before, you’re not marrying for love. Please, think about what I said
about the other girls. Don’t waste any more time with me. Spend the rest of the
night getting to know Ever or Dinah. Give
them
hints on the third test.”

“How do you know there will be a third?
What if I’ve already made my decision?”

“Isn’t that how it always is in the
stories? There are always three tasks. So I just assumed…am I wrong?”

He paused in thought. “There don’t have
to be three. I can end this anytime I want. The Fates will be happy if I just
choose someone. The first test was to narrow down the selection down based on
qualities. The other tests are only to make the final decision easier.” He
leaned back in the chair again. “Now you’ve got me interested in your stories.
One day you’ll have to tell me some of them. But really, you don’t even want to
know what the next task is?”

Mina walked to her door and motioned for
Teague to leave.

Teague stood up and stared at her, his
face filled with disbelief. “You’re dismissing me. Me?” His pointed to his
chest.

She shook her head. “I’ve told you. I’m
not here to marry you. I’m here to save my family, and I believe that I can do
that by making sure you marry the right person.

So
don’t waste any more time here.”

His eyes went dark, and his mouth pressed
into an irritated line. “As you wish.” He gave her a mock bow, opened her door
with a wave of his hand, and slammed it behind him.

She listened carefully and didn’t hear
the lock click into place. To be safe, she waited another a half hour before
opening the door and sneaking into the dark palace corridor. It was empty. Her
stomach was growling, and she knew that the guards would probably be back
shortly to escort them to dinner.

Which would be an awkward affair. She didn’t
think she could sit and pretend to be cordial with Annalora any longer. Mina
headed down the hallway and tried her best to backtrack to the library, hoping
beyond hope that Teague had put the Grimoire back there.

Footsteps and a feminine giggle approached.
Mina ducked into an alcove and found herself, once again, in the bathing
chamber with the mermaid fountain and the waterfall. If only Nix could see her
now. There wasn’t much time, so she just hid behind a column as the voices grew
louder. And then they were recognizable. She cringed.

“I feel so special that you’re sneaking
off to be alone with me, my prince.” Annalora’s voice resounded like nails on
chalkboard in Mina’s ears. Or it might have been her teeth grinding in anger.
This was not what she meant for Teague to do.
Annalora? Come on, Teague
.

“Think nothing of it, my dear. I’ve been
wanting to be alone with you for a while.” His voice sounded husky. Why was he
trying to get close to Annalora? Was it just that he was a boy, and they tended
to do the opposite of what they were told?

Mina wanted to take off her shoe and
throw it at him, until she realized she wasn’t wearing them.

Annalora giggled again, making Mina’s
skin crawl. It was a fake, look-at-me kind of laugh. They walked past the
bathing pools, and Mina did her best to stay hidden behind a pillar, but she
kept one eagle eye on the couple. Annalora walked arm-in-arm with Teague up to
the fountain. She oohed and aahed over the large waterfall and the mermaid
statue.

“It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed.

“Not as beautiful as you.” Teague teased,
making Annalora let loose her annoying giggle.

“Of course not. There’s nothing as
beautiful as me.” She turned, grabbing his hands, and pulled him toward the
water. The closer they came to the pools, the closer they came to large potted
ferns surrounding the pools. Then they were out of earshot and covered by the
greenery.

Part of Mina wanted seize the moment and
escape, but the other part wanted to sneak closer and spy on them.

Teague had never taken
her
out of her room. He just visited her
behind a closed door. Was that because he didn’t want the girls to see him
wooing her? She’d thought he was showing her favor. But instead, he was just
being a guy. Her jealousy won out, and her bare feet made no sound as she
tiptoed to the closest ferns to watch the proceedings.

Annalora pretended to slip, throwing
herself into Teague’s arms. He caught her and held her closely.

“Oh my, I almost landed in the fountain,”
she breathed out softly, using the moment to wrap her hands around his neck and
pull him closer to her. Mina rolled her eyes in disgust. There was no way she
would fall into the fountain. The floor wasn’t even wet. But Annalora didn’t
care, and it seemed that Teague didn’t mind her forwardness. Annalora came to
the same conclusion, because she softly pressed her lips to his.

Teague was only momentarily caught off
guard, but he returned the kiss. Or that’s how it looked from Mina’s angle.

Mina was
so
furious at the betrayal. She honestly wished the girl would fall
into the fountain. A second later, she saw a vine sneak out from the closest
potted plant and reach up the girl’s leg.

Annalora broke the kiss only long enough
to say, “That tickles.” She greedily pulled him in for a deeper kiss.
Ha!
She thought Teague was the one
tickling her. A split second later, the vine wrapped around Annalora’s legs and
pulled her sideways. She plunked into the fountain with a splash.

The girl came up sputtering and crying.
Her beautifully coifed hair was a tangled, watery mess. Teague put one boot up
on the ledge of the fountain and laughed.

“It’s not funny,” she yelled.

“Oh, yes it is,” he taunted back.

How
dare he?
Mina thought.
To tease a girl.
Yes, Annalora got what
she deserved, but Teague had no right to laugh at her misfortune. Mina made a
shooing motion toward the vine, and it rose up behind Teague. With one hard
push, the dark prince followed her into the water.

Mina watched the vine go back into the
closest pot and quietly congratulated herself on her advancement in Fae magic.
She quietly made her exit amid the echoes of screaming and laughing.

She hurried back toward her room but took
a wrong turn. She had no idea where she was. Passing a partially opened door,
she felt compelled to investigate. The room was empty. Going on gut alone, she
slipped inside. It was a sitting room. The furniture was masculine—a
large desk and mahogany chair. Expansive gold decorations lined the wall. Mina
noticed a silver leaf emblem carved into the bed. This was Teague’s suite.

She didn’t have much time, so she began
to search for the Grimoire. She headed for the bookshelf and gave it a cursory
glance, but didn’t see anything.

Stressed, she rushed over to the desk and
began to open drawers, looking for the book. Then she spotted it—right on
the desk. In her panic, she’d missed it. She grabbed the journal and took off
running for the door.

A soldier approached, so she paused and
ducked back in quickly. She recognized Captain Plaith in his white armor. When
he passed, she quietly left and headed back the way she came. Eventually she
found her room and closed the door behind her. Mina felt whole with the
Grimoire in her hands once again. She crawled into bed and opened it up. Teague
had added a new entry.

It’s
a test. I know I’m being tested. But how can I prove myself?

The next entry was written with a heavier
hand—hurriedly.

I
will show her. I will make her wish she’d never crossed me. She doesn’t tell me
what to do.

There was nothing else on the page. Mina
ran her fingers along the edges and waited for the familiar hum. It soon came.
The Grimoire answered her touch, and it felt so good to have the book in her
hands again. As soon as Teague had taken it away, she knew she needed to have
it back. It was like a drug, its nearness. She just needed to touch it. She had
no idea what would happen if Teague caught her with it, but she would take that
chance. Slipping the Grimoire under her pillow, she lay down and rested her
hand against the leather cover.

She fell asleep that way, and woke to the
young brownie knocking on her door.

“Miss, it’s time for dinner.”

Mina got ready quickly. So far, she had
been very careful to not eat too much of the Fae food, because she wasn’t sure
what was safe for a human. Tonight that wouldn’t be a problem, for her appetite
had disappeared...along with her shoes.

The brownie was able to find her a pair
of slippers that fit, but Mina felt naked—and terrified—without her
shoes. They were her one lifeline home. What was worse was that she wasn’t sure
when they disappeared. She couldn’t remember if they were on her bed when she’d
left the room, or if they were there when she returned. Had someone slipped in
and stolen them while she slept?

The brownie braided her hair and applied
just the lightest touch of blush to her face, probably because Mina looked so
pale. Mina picked up the Grimoire and turned her back to the servant, trying to
find a place to tuck it without being obvious about it.

“Here. Put it here,” the girl piped up.
Apparently, Mina hadn’t done such a good job being stealthy. The brownie
pointed to a hidden slit in Mina’s dress, a pocket big enough for a small
mirror, handkerchief, or small book. Mina slipped the Grimoire inside and
turned to her, trying to gauge her reaction. Maybe she simply assumed it was
Mina’s and didn’t realize it had been stolen from the prince.

The brownie just smiled widely at her,
pleased that she was able to help.

Mina still felt disheartened about her
missing shoes as she was led down to dinner and escorted to an empty chair next
to Dinah. Teague sat at the head of the table, with Annalora at the place of
honor on his right, followed by Ever, and Dinah sat to his left.

This dinner was supposed to be a special
occasion—for Teague to congratulate the four ladies who had made it through
the second test. Tomorrow would hold the last test followed by the official
announcement to the whole land. The other three girls genuinely sparkled with
excitement, their faces glowing and smiles lighting up the room. Mina couldn’t
even gather the courage to plaster on a fake smile.

She found the strength to answer a
question when directly spoken to, but she floundered when it came to
entertaining. She felt hollow, an empty shell of herself. Here she was, at a
beautiful table, eating the most extraordinary food, in a fairy-tale castle,
and all she could think about was she was now stuck here—permanently.