Fairest (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #2)(25)

“So I’m like the Ghostbuster for the bad Fae that your King and Queen can’t control anymore. They purposely send them my way and hope that I will trap them in the Grimoire.”

Jared glared at her for not raising her hand. Mina smiled apologetically.

“Yeah, it’s kind of a win-win. The Grimms need adversaries, and the Fae need a few less…um, bad guys. There has to be an equal balance. That’s why so many of them want the Grimoire, because with it they too can trap their enemies within its pages. There are also a few other perks or rumors about the Grimoire that make them want it….but none of them are true,” he finished quickly, a little too quickly.

Her hand shot into the air again. Jared nodded again impatiently at her.

“So what’s to keep me from ignoring the quests and running away and living to a ripe old age? I mean, if I don’t complete them, then the gate will never be shut and the Fae will be free to roam both worlds. It’s a win-win for me, right? Life and Life.”

Jared stared at the stick in his hands before snapping the thin wood into pieces. He broke them again and again before turning and chucking them angrily into the bushes. Startled birds took off into the sky. Turning, breathing hard, he looked at her, his eyes sad.

“That is where the Story comes in. A promise is a promise, and if a Grimm doesn’t complete the quests in a timely matter, then the Story begins to set up the quests and forces the Grimm into it. This time without giving them a choice in which quest, or a how it plays out. Remember when I told you that the Story is alive with power Well, it is more than that. It thinks, breathes, and manipulates you like a pawn on a chessboard. But even a pawn is strong enough to take out a Queen. So think about that, will you, before you try to run from your destiny.”

He was right; there was a lot to think about. Tired, sore, and a little defeated, Mina stepped down off the boulder, and they continued their long trek. A few hours later, Jared wanted to stop and try to catch them some lunch, but Mina wanted to press on.

Finally, the cliff tapered off and the steep shale was replaced by dirt and trees. Mina and Jared were finally able to climb the steep embankment and get away from the river. In her head, Mina pictured that if she could just get out of the valley with the river that civilization had to be minutes away. She was wrong. They had been walking in the wrong direction and there were moss covered trees for miles around. Every direction she turned looked the same.

“Now what?” Mina groaned. Her feet were killing her; it had started to rain slightly, and she was starving. She truly believed that they were heading in the right direction, but once they got out of the riverbed, she realized her mistake.

“I don’t think I can do this anymore.” She was so crushed by her discovery she actually turned to Jared for answers. But her simple turn, became a fall when her shoe slipped on the wet leaves, and she started to pitch backward down the steep embankment they had just climbed.

Jared lunged toward Mina and caught her shoulder, but her awkwardness and flailing arms caused them both to tumble backward down the embankment toward the hard riverbed once again. Thinking quick, Jared twisted in midair so he took the brunt of their fall.

One minute she was sliding on the rocks pitching backward, the next, she was wrapped in Jared’s arms at the bottom of the embankment, warm and protected. At a loss for words and unwilling to move first, she just laid there face to face with him, intensely aware of how close they were and how tightly he was holding her.

She had always known that Jared was attractive. His dark hair, strong jaw, and grey eyes made him irresistible, but Mina could never get past his ugly attitude. His pride, arrogance, and the disdain he usually seemed to carry just for her helped keep her in check.

His eyes were closed, and she could make out each individual eyelash. His lips were slightly parted, as he breathed slowly trying to regain his breath from the fall. The faint rain splattered his cheek and in this moment, everything else forgotten, Jared was breathtaking.

She should move, lean back and pull away, but she didn’t, couldn’t, mostly because his arms were wrapped around her, and he didn’t seem to be in any hurry to release that hold.

He still hadn’t opened his eyes. Mina almost thought maybe he was unconscious, but she knew that to be a lie, because her hand was resting across his chest and the longer she stared at his face, the faster her heart raced, and Jared’s heart was racing faster.

Finally, he swallowed, opened up his eyes and she almost drowned in the raw emotions she saw in them. He was going to kiss her! She gasped when she realized his intent, and she wished she hadn’t because he misunderstood her anticipation for rejection. He immediately went cold. His jaw tightened and he looked hurt. He let go of her and she felt a little disappointed, when he reached up toward her face and pulled a stick out of her hair.

“Next time, try not to take the whole forest with you when you fall,” he smiled slowly but the smile never reached his eyes. He pulled another twig from her hair and handed both of them to her. “For your Christmas tree next year,” he joked.

She scrambled away from Jared and instantly felt the loss of his warmth; it was so much warmer being snuggled up next to him. Her cheeks burned with embarrassment, but thankfully he didn’t notice.

He sat up slowly but continued to sit on the ground. He stared at his hands for a moment before looking at her. He looked solemn, determined and whatever he was about to say. She knew she wasn’t going to like it.