Forever (18 page)

Mina
cried out as another shelf started to topple toward her. She barely dodged it.
“Teague,” Mina called. “Teague, it’s okay. You’ll figure something out.”

He just
raged on in pain and fury. The dark side of Teague came out as his fear
erupted, and he took it out on his precious library.

Mina knew
better than to stay nearby, so she took off running for the door, flinging it
open just as a large table crashed into the wall next to her. She ran down the
hall and into the main foyer and stopped by one of the columns. Fresh tears
streamed down her face as she realized that freedom may come faster than she
realized. All she had to do was wait for Teague to die.

Chapter 24

Mina left
the library and Teague’s destructive anger behind. She was so torn. What was
the right thing to do? She ran blindly, not even caring where she was headed,
as her feet pounded on,
 
doubts and
questions that filled her mind.

Until she
collided into a wall of flesh.

“Oomph.”
Mina groaned as strong hands grabbed her forearms, and she looked up into the
tanned and bearded face of a shirtless stranger.

“Come, we
will get you out of here.” The man gripped her arm and tugged her after him.

“No,
wait! I can’t leave!”

Her
abductor ignored her and pulled her down the hall and out the front door. She
struggled against the older man. His brown beard was tinged in gray, his eyes a
dark hazel, filled with worry. On his arms, she could see the fine white
spidery lines of scars that had long since healed over. A long necklace of
seashells was the only adornment on his upper body.

“Stop! I
can’t cross the bridge. The Reaper will kill me.”

“Who said
anything about crossing the bridge?” He pulled up short and pushed her to the
railing. Was he going to throw her over? He quickly flung his legs over and
yanked her with him as he jumped into the water.

Mina
didn’t have time to scream as the cold water rushed over her face. She tried to
kick and swim for the surface, but the kidnapper dragged her under with
powerful strength. Her chest ached, but she held her breath as he pulled her
through the lake.

She
opened her eyes enough to see a flash of silver scales move near her face. This
couldn’t be. The person dragging her to her death was a merman?

Feeling
the intense pressure and burn build again, she clawed at the hand that held her
forearm. The man turned around, surprised at her distress. He immediately
pulled her up to the surface.

When her
head broke the water, sweet succulent air rushed into her lungs. But instead of
taking the moment to savor her breath, she turned on the merman. “Are you
trying to kill me?”

“No,
quite the opposite. I’m here to rescue you.” He looked taken aback by her
outburst, but he didn’t stop with his plan. He just flipped her over, put his
arm around her neck, and continued to swim at impossible speed across the lake.
When he came to the waterfall, he slowed just before the rocks.

“Trust
your instincts.” He gestured with his finger toward the water. “We’re going
down.”

“What?
No, I can’t.” She kicked out against his body.

He
grunted when she made contact but only tightened his grip. “You can, and you
will. Now on the count of three. One, two”—he propelled himself up and
out of the water using his tail—“three.”

He dove
back under the water, dragging her beside him deep, deep below the surface.

The
battering, rushing water pounded against her back, and her hair whipped around
as they swam through the rough currents. She decided it would be suicide to
fight him and switched her efforts to trying to swim with him.

The
deeper they swam, the darker it grew until Mina saw the underwater cave he was
heading toward. Panic seized her, but his strong grip on her wrist tugged her
toward the cave.

Her
previous fears of being underwater and fighting the sea witch rushed to the
surface of her mind. She’d never liked swimming. Or maybe she did, and it was
her mother who didn’t like the water. She distinctly remembered a beach trip
with her parents when she was a child. Her mother wouldn’t go near the water.
It was her father who had taught her how to swim and to not be afraid of the
ocean. She’d felt safe with him.

Once her
dad passed away, her mom never took them to the ocean again. The memory of what
she’d given up must have been too painful for her.

Her trip
down memory lane helped ease her fears as they swam through the dark underwater
tunnel. Some creature or plant brushed past her leg, making her want to scream
out and release her breath. Too much like that dream that had plagued her
before she’d gone back in time. The darkness began to lighten, and Mina
couldn’t hold it any longer. She rushed to swim upward, but the man turned, saw
her distress, and pressed his mouth to hers the same way Nix had done. Fresh
oxygen flowed into her taxed lungs.

Loud
thoughts pushed past her fears, and she heard him speak as clear as fresh air
into her head.
If you relax, your body
will do what comes natural and slow down your heart. You will be able to stay
under much longer.

Yeah right,
Mina thought back.
You kidnapped me! And this was exactly how I was dragged underwater to
my death by the sea witch. How is this not panic-worthy?

He
flinched at her onslaught of thought.
A
sea witch. Nasty creatures, but you are much stronger than them. We’re almost
through.
His eyes squinted underwater, and she could see his teeth in a
strangely reassuring smile, before he turned to swim further.
We will have to catch the underwater current
to make it out of here. Let it pull you. Don’t fight it.

She tried
to let her thoughts soothe her again and swim in sync with the mysterious man.
It was hard to see, but she felt the water pull at her as they turned into the
current. Once in, the water rushed and pushed at them. She tried to clear her
mind and just focus on counting as they moved through the water.

The light
grew brighter, and the water began to feel warmer against her skin. They broke
the surface, and she gulped in fresh air. They were in a large cove. Rivulets
of salt water streamed down her face, burning her eyes, but once they slowed,
she was able to focus on the large three-masted ship in front of them. The
closer they came, the more detail she was able to make out on the vessel, from
its brightly colored sails to the hand-carved mermaid on the ship’s bow.

He pulled
her over to the boat, and a rope ladder dropped over the side for them to climb
up. The man pushed her in front of him on the ladder, and his arms kept her
from trying to jump back into the water. As if she could even think of going back
in. Her limbs and body and the shock of what had just happened were too much
for her system. She was positive that if she fell in, she would just sink to
the ocean floor.

When she
got to the top, strong hands grabbed her under the arms and helped her onto the
deck. Exhausted, Mina slumped against the railing.

“Welcome
to the fastest siren ship on the seas.
Serenity
.”
The man swept his arms outward, gesturing to the beautiful Fae ship. Her eyes
followed the arc of his arms and took in the vast array of wild and sea-loving
Fae who all stood, staring at her.

“Oy,
Ternan, that was fast. We weren’t expecting you back for another few hours at
least.”

Ternan,
the bearded man who saved her, grinned and shook his head, spraying the water
over the others near him. “I expected that as well, but I came upon her in grim
circumstances. The prince was on a vile rampage, intent on destroying the
palace. It proved just the distraction I needed to sneak in and pull her out.
Not to mention there was a serious lack of guards.”

“Well, it
was a good thing you got to her when you did.” A woman with green highlights in
her long brown hair stepped out of the crowd of onlookers. Her face was tanned
with a hint of freckles across the bridge of her nose. She wore a vest showing
off strong, tan arms with light, tattoo-like patterns, criss-crossing her skin.
Her pants were a dark green with decorative netting wrapped around like a
skirt. She looked mysterious and very much a siren of the sea. “Mina, darling,
are you okay?”

“Who are
you?” Mina asked, studying the faces of the gathered Fae. Many looked like they
were one with the sea, hints of netting or shells embroidered into their shirts
and clothing. Most of them—even the males—had long hair that was
braided or left hanging down their backs, and intricate patterns lightly danced
across their skin.

The woman
who addressed her seemed slightly taken aback by her question. “Well, I know
we’ve never met, but after your mother’s death, we felt it was our duty to take
care of you… and your brother as soon as we find him.”

“That
still doesn’t answer my question,” Mina said, her bottom lip shivering from
cold.

“Why, I’m
Winona, Ternan’s wife. And your grandmother.”

Chapter 25

The
vividly colored sails of the ship rose as the siren crew prepared to depart.
Mina found a barrel to sit on as she watched her grandparents for the first
time, trying to take in this information. Her mother had said to find them,
but—she’d never imagined this. A good part of her wanted to reject them
for not being a part of her life before now. The other part could see the
family resemblance, and it made her want to run and hug them.

But they
were strangers, and they’d abandoned her family.

Ternan
came and leaned against the railing, crossing his arms. He scratched his beard
and tried to make small talk. “You look like her… your mother.”

“And my
father,” she shot back.

He looked
pained at her answer. “Aye, that you do. You need to realize that it was her
choice to leave her mother and me and cut all ties. She felt it was safer that
way—for you, for us.”

Mina got
up off of the barrel and stared across the water as they sailed away from the
small cove. “It would have been better if it stayed that way. You don’t know
what you’ve done.”

“We saved
you from that lunatic prince,” Ternan answered, his voice gruff. He pointed
back the way they had come.

“I made a
bargain. I’d stay with him, and Charlie would be safe. Since you interfered,
you’ve doomed him and my friends.”

Ternan
was about to say something when a wooden hatch slammed open and interrupted
him.

“Mina?”
Ever shot up from below deck. When she saw her, Ever threw her arms around her.
“You’re okay?’

“What are
you doing here?” Mina asked.

“I’m
saving you, you Gimp. No wait, I can’t call you that anymore.” She cast a worried
glance toward Mina’s grandfather. “At least not out loud.” Ever was dressed in
siren garb, black pants, white netted tank top over a blue-purple tank.

Mina
grabbed Ever by her arm and pulled her starboard and away from the prying eyes
of the sirens, who never seemed to stop watching her. “No, what are you doing
here, on the Fae plane?”

“Well,
you’re the one who abandoned our plan and just surrendered herself to the
enemy. We had a perfectly good trap all worked out.”

“I had a
vision—a premonition. Our trap would have backfired, and you would’ve
ended up trapped inside one of the mirrors with the nastiest part of Teague’s
personality and gotten stabbed by the poisoned knife. I watched you sacrifice
yourself to trap the two of you in the mirror forever. And I couldn’t go
through with it.” Tears of frustration burned at the corner of Mina’s eyes.
“I’ve lost too many friends and family to this curse. I couldn’t lose you.”

Ever
stood in front of Mina and placed her hands on her shoulders. “There’s
something special about you, Mina.” All teasing was gone from her tone. “I
don’t know, but when I look at you, I see more than the girl in front of me. I
see a dangerous Grimm, a powerful siren, and a leader. Our futures are
intertwined, and I know protecting you means protecting everyone I
love—Fae and human alike. Giving my life to protect you is not that big
of a sacrifice. I’ve found a purpose, and that purpose…besides annoying you…is
to protect you.”

“But not
if it means your death.”

Ever’s
face crinkled in anger. “I’m a pixie. No one ever expects much from us. They
see our race as troublemakers, but I’m more than they think. I’m more than the
label Fae put on me, and I will prove it.”

“I
understand wanting to be more than a label,” Mina answered, “but you have to
promise me that you’ll be careful.”

Ever
nodded her head. “I’ll try my best. Now about this dream of yours. Is this a
new super power or something?”

“Or
something.”

“And the
plan didn’t work.”

Mina
shook her head. “I wish it had. And there’s more. After I watched you die,
someone came in and blasted me into the mirror as well.”

“Who?”

“I don’t
know. I never saw them. But I knew I couldn’t take the chance of all that
happening.”

“So you
just surrendered yourself to Teague?”

“Yes, and
I’d do it again if it meant protecting everyone. That’s the sacrifice I made.”
She paused and looked over at Ever’s clothes. “But how did you end up here?’

“Well,
you left me with the seam ripper, so the first thing I had to do was come over.
But then, instead of storming the castle like I wanted to, I needed help. So I
went looking for your family.”

Ever
leaned her elbows on the railing and nodded at a cute siren boy with
sun-bleached blond hair past his shoulders. “I didn’t know that sirens were
this good-looking. It took a few weeks of searching since they spend most of
their life sailing and exploring underwater caves. They’re pretty much the
gypsies of the sea, and it’s kind of better for all Fae that they are. They’re
too powerful in large groups.”

“How’d
you find them?”

“She
didn’t. I did.” Nix swung down with a rope from the crow’s nest.”

“Nix,
you’re here on the Fae plane, and you’re okay?”

He looked
relieved. “Yeah, I wasn’t sure if I could cross back over since part of me died
on this plane. The Godmothers weren’t sure I’d survive the crossing either, but
you were worth the risk. Turns out I’m fine because I’m fully human now. You
didn’t abandon me, and I won’t abandon you.”

“Nix
insisted on coming with, especially when I told him I was going to search for
your family.”

“Yeah, I
know enough about them since nixies and sirens are both water races, though the
two don’t particularly get along. They don’t trust us when we turn sea witch,
which I understand. But I’m not a nixie anymore, so don’t worry. I have no
power, no gifts. So far they’ve been putting up with me.”

“Oh, I’ve
heard them talk of throwing you overboard a few times,” Ever chided.

Nix
didn’t miss a beat. “That’s because of my good looks. The men feel threatened.”

Ever
rolled her eyes. “That’s not what I hear. I hear you cheat at games.”

Nix
looked aghast at the accusation. “I only cheat to win.”

“Is there
another reason for cheating?” Mina chuckled.

His mouth
gaped opened, and his finger froze midair as he began a rebuttal but thought
better of it. “Um, nope there isn’t.”

“So how’d
you find them?”

Nix
recovered and became serious. “It’s always wise to know where your enemy is, so
you can avoid them at all costs. Growing up, we always heard the water sprites
and sirens inhabited Dead Man’s Cove, so Ever and I had to make it there and
wait for one to come up from the underground caverns or for a ship to pass by.
Well, we got impatient and built a boat.”

“A raft,”
Ever corrected.

“It was a
fine ship.”

“It was
barely staying afloat. It was nothing more than logs tied together with vines.”

“It had a
mast,” he said.

“With no
sail.”

“Stop
dismissing our vessel. She was the finest one I’ve ever captained,” Nix pouted.

“She fell
apart when we got near the cove and the rocks.”

Nix’s
cheeks went beet red, and he scratched his head. “Yeah, well that was my plan
all along.”

“Oh,
that’s not what you told me. We were going to go out to the cove, sail near the
rocks, and wait for one of them to try and lure us to our death.” Ever placed
her hands on her hips.

“But it
didn’t happen, did it?”

“No, our
boat fell apart, and we began to sink. The sirens saved us.”

“Yeah,
who’d have thought the myths were wrong?” He offered a sheepish shrug.
“Sometimes sirens are the good guys too.”

Ever
turned her back on Nix. “Well, anyway. We found them, and it took some
convincing that we were legit and knew the daughter of Sarafina. It turns out
your family is one of the oldest and strongest family lines, and… well…” She
paused, and her head dropped. “If you had really lived on the Fae plane all those
years ago, you probably
would
have
been sent to the choosing ceremony for the prince.”

“But I
wasn’t even born then.”

“It
doesn’t seem to matter. You always find a way of surprising everyone. But it
seemed that Ternan and Winona knew right away who we were. They had been
keeping an eye on you for some time. They didn’t even ask questions but sailed
straight here to save you. I gotta admit. Your family rocks.”

Mina
looked over at the water and watched in amazement as something large and white
shot out of the water and dove back beneath the waves. It looked like a
creature that was half-fish and half… unicorn.

Ever
coughed to get her attention, and Mina apologized. “They’re strangers,” Mina
added.

“They
don’t have to be. You were worried you didn’t have anyone to take care of
Charlie. I’d say your family is a great place to start,” Ever coaxed.

“I’m his
family.” Sure, her mom had told her to find them, but they were making things
worse. Not better.

“They’re
his family as well, Mina. Don’t you think Charlie would like to meet his
grandparents?”

“We don’t
need them, if you could help me go back,” Mina whispered urgently.

“To the
human plane? No problem.”

“No back
to the palace.”

“Mina,
have you gone mad?”

“I
promised him I wouldn’t run away.”

Ever
scoffed at her. “Well, that’s a dumb promise. Of course you’d run away. Who’d
want to stay with him as crazy and evil as he’s become? I bet he treated you
horrible while you were there.”

“Uh no,
it actually wasn’t that bad. For the most part, he was reasonable and okay
company. Or he was until Annalora showed up.”

“What
does that ugly gnome-head want?’

“She
seems to think he’ll choose her as his next queen.”

“Well,
that would explain her sudden appearance.”

“How so?”

“Because
he does—”

One of
the sirens came and beckoned for Mina to join him.

Ever
stayed where she was, but Mina followed the young man down a few steps and into
the captain’s quarters. Ternan stood at the window, looking forlorn. Winona was
sitting in a chair, her hands folded in her lap. Mina stood in front of her
siren grandparents and waited for one of them to speak first.

It was
Winona who stood up and approached her. “There’s something we should tell you.”

“We’re
not really related. I knew it,” she said, a defense mechanism.

Winona
frowned. “No, you’re the spitting image of our daughter. There’s no doubt that
you’re kin. But with Sarafina’s death, we’ve been left without an heir.”

“You mean
you don’t have anyone else? Why would you let my mother go to the human plane
then?”

Ternan
was the one to answer. “We had two daughters. Sarafina was the youngest and
always followed her heart. Our oldest displeased the Fates and was turned to
stone. She now rests in the bottom of the lake beside the palace.”

Mina’s
heart pounded, and she felt sick. That was her
aunt
? She’d been so close to joining her in death.

“I’ve
seen her,” Mina whispered under her breath. “I’ve heard her call to me.”

Winona’s
head dropped in despair, while Ternan’s voice rose in anger. “We have no love
for the Fates and their cruel ways.”

“I need
to go back. You don’t understand. I can’t stay with you.”

“Nonsense.
You’re family. You will be accepted here among us,” Winona spoke up.

“No, I
made a deal—willingly. I said I’d stay with the prince, and he promised
to leave my friends alone. If I left, they’d be hurt or killed.” She decided
not to mention that she was worried for the prince himself.

“Well,
then we must get to your friends first,” Ternan announced.

“Yes. And
your brother,” Winona agreed. “With Sarafina gone, we are no longer barred from
interacting with her children. Let’s bring them home.”

Mina felt
a moment of relief that she wasn’t alone in her quest to protect her brother,
but the Fae plane wasn’t any safer than the human plane. She’d have to find
him, trust the sirens, and find a way to keep them all safe from Teague.

They
called Ever into the room and spoke quickly about what they were going to do
and how they were going to find Charlie.

“The seam
ripper is only strong enough to open a gate for a few people. We’d never be
able to take everyone with us,” Ever said.

“We will
have to use one of the natural gates then,” Ternan stated.

“It won’t
do us any good unless we know where Charlie is.” Ever looked to Mina for an
answer.

“I don’t
know. The whole point was that I wouldn’t know where they’ve taken him.”