Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 4) (30 page)

When she looked again, there was another
opening. Mina dashed through it before it changed and found herself on a
cobbled path. Was she getting closer to the tower? She tried to keep it in her
line of sight, but every time she headed toward it, the path led her farther
away. How was she supposed to get to the middle? To find Ever?

“Please! Someone help me!” Mina cried out
again, hoping that someone—anyone—would answer. The wind picked up
and leaves scattered along the path before her. A mist gathered near the turn
ahead of her, forming into a familiar ethereal being with dull brown hair and a
small moustache.

“Dad?” Mina clasped her hands over her
mouth.

It couldn’t be him. He’d died. Or as Mrs.
Colbert said, his physical form died. He still lived on in the Fae plane, and
he was here. Her father James was right here. In the maze.

“How?” she choked out in the midst of
sobbing. Was the line between future and past so thin that he could cross it as
easily as she passed through the Fae plane? Or was he a much-needed figment of
her imagination? She decided to believe the first.

He stepped out of the mist, whole and
looking very much alive. He was taller than she remembered, and his kind brown
eyes were filled with worry. He wore the same outfit she had last seen him in,
when he walked out the door of their house never to return—his favorite
white shirt and vest and the khaki pants with smear of peanut butter on them.

“Don’t worry about the how, sweetie,” her
father said, stopping just short of her. “Just know that I’m here to help you.”

“But, Dad, I have to know. Why’d you make
the deal with the Stiltskin? Why did you leave us? Why did you die?”

He looked anxious. He was fading in and
out as if he was struggling to stay with her in the past. “I can’t answer those
questions. Another time mayhap, but you asked for my help and I can only stay
here for a short time. So come with me.” He turned and beckoned for her to
follow.

She’d be an idiot if she didn’t, and Mina
wasn’t about to let her father out of her sight. He headed straight for the
tall tower, ducking into the hedge in front of him. She pulled up short,
stopping before the branches snagged her dress.

Her father leaned out of the bushes,
surprising her. “They’re not here. Just walk through them.”

“Easy for you to say,” she mumbled. Full
of doubt, she held out her hands in front of her, closed her eyes, and stepped
through the hedge. On the other side was another row of hedges and, just beyond
it, the tower. Her dad turned down the cobbled path that ended by a fruit tree.

In front of it, crumpled in a heap, was
Ever. She was bleeding from her head. Mina kneeled down and ripped a silk petal
from her dress to press against the wound. She felt her neck for a pulse. It
was barely discernable, but she felt a soft flutter against her fingertips.
“She’s alive.”

“Yes, she is,” her father leaned down and
looked over the young girl.

“But where’s Dinah?” Mina swung her head
around to look for the nymph.

Her father shook her head. “She wasn’t as
lucky.” He turned to point across the same cobbled path to the hedgerow. At
first Mina couldn’t see anything, but when she leaned to the side, she could
just make out the ruffle of a green dress and one leg, angled oddly, lying near
the path. The rest of Dinah’s body was hidden by the hedge.

“
No
!”
Mina cried out, standing to go to her.

Her father stepped in front of her and
blocked her route. She wasn’t sure how, but his strong arms wrapped around her
in a hug.

Mina started to sob. “It’s all my fault.
If only I hadn’t given up. Maybe I could have saved her. I could have stopped
Annalora.”

“Shhh, there’s nothing you could have
done. If you had gotten here any earlier, you would be the one lying there
unmoving.”

“No, I could have used the Grimoire. I
could have—”

“No my dear, you couldn’t have. But there
is something you can still do. You can still save your family. Finish the test
and return home.” He rubbed her shoulder and she leaned back, sniffing
awkwardly.

“How? The glass slippers are gone. They
went back without me.”

Her father looked at her, his eyes filled
with pride. “You’ve grown up so much. I’m so proud of you, and I’m about to
lose you again.” He pulled her into another hug, and Mina took a deep breath,
imprinting her father’s scent in her memory. Tears fell freely down her face.

Reluctantly, he pulled away from her and
pointed to Dinah’s body again. This time, Mina took a closer look. The shock of
seeing her and the overwhelming guilt she felt had made her overlook something
crucial. On Dinah’s feet, glinting in the afternoon sunlight, were Mina’s glass
slippers.

“She stole them? But why? She was the
sweetest, most honest person—” Mina started.

“It doesn’t matter. There’s darkness
within all of us. Bitter jealousies that sometimes cannot be controlled and
make us do stupid things. I would think you’d understand that more than most,”
her father spoke softly.

Mina shuddered and nodded her head,
thinking back to when—in her own fit of jealousy—she’d manipulated
the Story into hurting Nan.

“Jealousy caused her to steal the shoes,”
he said. “Take them and hurry. Your friend is fading fast.”

Mina reluctantly left the warmth of her
father’s embrace and kneeled next to Dinah’s body. Thankfully, the hedge
protected her from seeing the worst of her injuries, but Mina still noticed the
large pool of blood that spread to the edge of her green dress.

She started to hiccup as she tried to
control her anguish. “I’m sorry, D-Dinah. Please forgive me.” She reached for
the glass slipper and slid it from the nymph’s foot. She pulled the second one
and noticed that the sands of time were almost depleted. She had very little
time left. Had they picked up their pace when she neared the end of her quest?

She took the shoes and carried them as
she walked slowly back to her father, wondering at his presence. He held her
gaze and straightened up.

Then he stood back and grasped his vest,
as if already distancing himself. “Well, put them on. It’s almost time for you
to go, and you haven’t helped your friend yet.”

Mina nodded absently and slipped off her
borrowed shoes. She slid the cool glass slippers back on her feet. “What do I
do now?”

“You know what you must do.” He looked up
at the tower, and Mina shook her head.

“No. It can’t be. This is not how it’s
supposed to happen. It’s not me. It can’t be me,” she pleaded.

“Mina, it’s always been you. It started
with you and will end with you. Everything we’ve done—the curse,
everything—started because of the events that happened this day.”

“No, we can change it. I don’t have to go
up there. It doesn’t have to be like this. We can live without ever having the
curse over our head. I can sit here and wait for Ever to wake up and then she
can enter the tower and everything will be put to right.”

“Sweetie, listen to yourself.” His voice
was firm, commanding her to heed his warning. “Everything has already been put
in motion by your decisions. You have to finish what you’ve started.”

“I can’t! I know what happens. The one
who goes up there betrays him, causing him to lose his heart and turn evil.
He’ll destroy everything. He’ll eventually destroy
you
because of the stupid curse. I can’t let you die again, not
when I have a choice. If I don’t go up there, you’ll live. We can be a family
again.”

Her heart broke further with every word,
because her father continued to shake his head.

“Oh, honey, there’s so much you don’t
know. Things we could never tell you. If you don’t go up there, we’re
already
dead. All of the Grimms. You are
our one chance of survival.”

“It can’t be. I can’t be the one to
betray him, to betray Teague.”

His eyes softened for a split second, and
she thought he would concede and let her off the hook. Instead, he turned his
back on her and walked away.

“No wait! I’m sorry. Come back.” She
chased after him, but he kept walking. She crumpled to the ground and cried
out, “Dad!”

He turned back, clearly weakening.
Whatever was holding him in this time was losing its power. His eyes filled
with hurt and anger. “If you don’t go up there, Ever
will
die!
We
will die! Do
you hear me, Mina?”

Mina blinked in surprise, taken aback by
his fury.

“Go up there and face your destiny like a
Grimm.”

“Dad, what’s happening?” He was fading
and she was losing him. A misty cloud surrounded him.

“Mina, I love you. I’m proud of you. Tell
your mom and brother I—”

As fast as he’d reappeared in her life,
he disappeared.

Chapter 28

There was no more time for tears. Every
fiber of her being wanted to mourn the loss of her father…again. But Mina had
to turn to the problem at hand.

Ever was dying.

She ran back to the girl and felt for her
pulse. And she couldn’t find it.

Ever’s skin was cold to the touch, and
Mina realized she might already be too late. She ran for the tower, made a full
circle around it, and could find no way to enter the pillar. There wasn’t a
door or hidden ladder. Nothing.

The suns were setting, and it was
becoming dark. Every minute she wasted was a minute that Ever slipped closer to
death, that her shoes could send her forward in time, that Annalora could wake
and attack her again.

Mina pressed her hands along the stone
base and felt along the wall. Every single brick was real and solid, until she
suddenly fell forward into the darkness. It was another glamour.

She followed a stone staircase heading to
the top, and her dress kept snagging along the steps. She picked up the silk
flounces and continued upward. She could feel it in her bones, the urgency. She
was running out of time. For every step she took, ten more steps magically
appeared, as if she were running up the wrong escalator. The further she ran,
the more lightheaded she began to feel.

Captain Plaith’s warning came to her
about the maze changing people, but as quickly as it came the memory was lost.

She stopped ascending, and she was
standing in a large room surrounded by glass. Night had fallen, and the stars
lit the sky. She needed to do something, but what? Something clouded her
thoughts.

Someone else was in the room, sitting in
a large chair. The darkness and a hooded cloak hid his face.

“You came?” the voice said in disbelief.
“I didn’t think you’d come.”

“Of course I came,” her voice answered
the shadow. “I need you…” but she couldn’t, for the life of her, remember why.

The shadow moved and Mina saw a hand
extend toward her. She placed her own in it and let the person move her to
stand at his side, gazing out at the darkness visible through the glass.

“This could be yours.” He gestured to the
vast empty space. “If you wanted it, I would give it to you. If you would just
promise to stay with me forever.”

“I’ve no interest in kingdoms,” her voice
was raspy, but she didn’t know why. All of a sudden, time seemed to slow.

“You don’t know how long I’ve waited to
hear those words.” He sighed and removed his hood so she could see his face.
Jared’s glorious gray eyes stared back at her and her heart swelled with love.

She missed him so much! She tried to
speak, but her voice caught.

He reached for her and pulled her into
his arms. “You’re unlike anyone I’ve ever met.” His hands moved up and down her
face as if he were trying to commit her to memory. He brushed the tears on her
face. “Are you crying? Have I done something to upset you?”

“No,
you’ve
done nothing wrong.” She couldn’t help it. She reached up for him, standing on
her toes. He responded by leaning down.

Their lips met in a kiss. It started out
soft and gentle, but progressed into so much more. She could feel his desire to
deepen the kiss, so she ran her hands up the base of his neck. He stooped down
and lifted her into the air, spinning her and pulling her close into his arms.

She squealed as he spun her.

As soon as her feet touched the floor, he
lifted her chin to give her a few more pecks across her lips. “I’ve waited
centuries for you to come. Will you stay? Will you stay with
me
?”

Everything felt so real. He was here, in
her dream again. She could feel his physical breath on her face.

Guilt flooded her, because she was the
reason he was gone. If she could change it, she would. She decided right then,
that at least here, if she couldn’t have Jared in her world, she would have
part of him here in his. It may be the only way she could ever see him again.

“Yes, Jared, I will.”

“Jared? Again with this Jared?” His grip
moved to her arms and tightened painfully. “You betray me already?” Teague shoved
her away.