Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #5)(54)

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.