Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #4)(5)

In fact, it seemed that most of the room couldn’t see Teague, so that eased her fears. But only a little.

“Mina, do you need a minute to regain your thoughts?” her teacher interjected.

Mina’s eyes never left Teague. He was now giving her his full, undivided devilish focus. Those blue eyes bored into hers with a clear challenge. Everything about him screamed Jared except for those blue eyes.

“No, I don’t need another minute. I’m fine,” she answered. “I’m almost done.”

“Okay then. When you’re ready to proceed.”

She nodded her head, crumpled up the paper into a small ball, and tossed it in the trash can. A smile crept up her face and she raised an eyebrow in challenge. The smirk dropped from his haughty face and he moved away from the wall.

“An interesting fact that is not well known is that the Grimm Brothers were inter-dimensional travelers who captured and sent evil Fae back to their world, which exists on another plane.” The words were clear and crisp, and she didn’t stutter. “Although tasked with an impossible quest, they never gave up in their mission. And to this day their descendants carry on the same assignment. I once said that Joseph and Wilhelm were cursed, because it seemed like the odds were stacked against them. But I was wrong. They’re not the ones cursed. They’re the ones who live free. It’s the Fae that are cursed, and all the ones who must live in fear of tyranny. It is those on the Fae plane I pity, for their time here is short. The Grimm grace period is over. I will not fail to end the tyranny where others have. So run. Run while you can,” she threatened.

Silence filled the room as the tension tried to find a way out. Mina knew what her classmates were probably thinking, although no one said a word. It was uncomfortable and awkward.

Teague looked angry enough to spit acid. “I warned you, Grimm. I warned you, but you didn’t listen,” he spoke out.

Not a single head turned his direction. They were all focused on her. She could see the odd shoulder shrug, the pairs of rolled eyes as some tried to process what she’d said. Only Nix heard Teague, and when Teague’s threat reached his ears, he started to tremble and slid lower in his chair. Any lower and he would be sitting on the floor.

Mina didn’t back down from Teague. She knew never to back down from a rabid dog, and this was the same. This was an intimidation game, and she could not show any sign of weakness.

She managed to cross the short distance without her legs crumbling under her. Now for the icing on the cake. When she reached her desk, she turned her back on Teague, sat in her chair, and pretended to inspect the non-existent nail polish on her fingers.

She could feel the crackle of energy building behind her. It was almost impossible to ignore. The room dropped in temperature, and goose bumps ran up and down her arms. Without looking, she knew Teague was doing what he could to draw her attention, but she turned to Brody and gave him her most dazzling smile.

Or what she hoped was a dazzling smile. It probably looked a bit pained and constipated. “How’d I do?” she asked.

“That was intense,” he answered. His brows furrowed and he looked around. “Does it seem like it got really cold all of a sudden?” When Brody exhaled, his breath turned white.

“No, I don’t find it cold at all,” she lied. Her heart was racing so fast that it sounded like a bass drum leading a marching band in her ears. The temperature dropped again.

Just go away. Please just go away. She looked over her shoulder to see frost creeping up the nearest window and spreading out in impossible swirling fractals. Mina picked up the pencil on her desk and tapped it on her notebook. She visibly shivered from the chill in the air and watched as Mr. Morris went over to thermostat. He rapped the square white box a few times and waited before flicking it off then on.

By now a few of the students were pulling their arms inside of their sleeves and rubbing them to create friction. To have this kind of chill in the middle of a seventy-degree day was nuts.

An idea came to Mina, and she flipped open her notebook and scribbled the words GO AWAY, TEAGUE in bold capital letters and waited.

Only moments later, his answer appeared in a beautiful cursive script on the paper before her.

Not until I get what I want.

What do you want? You’ve won, okay?

I want the dagger.

Mina had no idea what Teague was referring too, so she answered, ???

You know what I mean. Bring it to me and I’ll let your friends live. If you don’t, I’ll destroy them. One by one.

Mina couldn’t ignore the threat anymore. She dropped her pencil and turned around to look at Teague, but the back of the room was empty. She felt a sense of loss and desperation and turned to face the front again.

There he was. She came face to face with fierce blue eyes. Teague was leaning across her desk, his face inches from hers. She could feel his breath on her face when he exhaled, and she was very careful to not move or alert the rest of the room to the invisible person she was having an intense conversation with. From the corner of her eye, she saw Nix’s eyes transfixed on her, waiting to jump in and help if needed. But she could tell he was terrified.

Oddly, Mina didn’t feel the same. It wasn’t fear that caused the single tear to cascade down her cheek, but sadness—at the loss of Jared. Looking into Jared’s face and seeing someone else’s hate-filled gaze was almost her undoing.