Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #4)(63)

“It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed.

“Not as beautiful as you.” Teague teased, making Annalora let loose her annoying giggle.

“Of course not. There’s nothing as beautiful as me.” She turned, grabbing his hands, and pulled him toward the water. The closer they came to the pools, the closer they came to large potted ferns surrounding the pools. Then they were out of earshot and covered by the greenery.

Part of Mina wanted seize the moment and escape, but the other part wanted to sneak closer and spy on them.

Teague had never taken her out of her room. He just visited her behind a closed door. Was that because he didn’t want the girls to see him wooing her? She’d thought he was showing her favor. But instead, he was just being a guy. Her jealousy won out, and her bare feet made no sound as she tiptoed to the closest ferns to watch the proceedings.

Annalora pretended to slip, throwing herself into Teague’s arms. He caught her and held her closely.

“Oh my, I almost landed in the fountain,” she breathed out softly, using the moment to wrap her hands around his neck and pull him closer to her. Mina rolled her eyes in disgust. There was no way she would fall into the fountain. The floor wasn’t even wet. But Annalora didn’t care, and it seemed that Teague didn’t mind her forwardness. Annalora came to the same conclusion, because she softly pressed her lips to his.

Teague was only momentarily caught off guard, but he returned the kiss. Or that’s how it looked from Mina’s angle.

Mina was so furious at the betrayal. She honestly wished the girl would fall into the fountain. A second later, she saw a vine sneak out from the closest potted plant and reach up the girl’s leg.

Annalora broke the kiss only long enough to say, “That tickles.” She greedily pulled him in for a deeper kiss. Ha! She thought Teague was the one tickling her. A split second later, the vine wrapped around Annalora’s legs and pulled her sideways. She plunked into the fountain with a splash.

The girl came up sputtering and crying. Her beautifully coifed hair was a tangled, watery mess. Teague put one boot up on the ledge of the fountain and laughed.

“It’s not funny,” she yelled.

“Oh, yes it is,” he taunted back.

How dare he? Mina thought. To tease a girl. Yes, Annalora got what she deserved, but Teague had no right to laugh at her misfortune. Mina made a shooing motion toward the vine, and it rose up behind Teague. With one hard push, the dark prince followed her into the water.

Mina watched the vine go back into the closest pot and quietly congratulated herself on her advancement in Fae magic. She quietly made her exit amid the echoes of screaming and laughing.

She hurried back toward her room but took a wrong turn. She had no idea where she was. Passing a partially opened door, she felt compelled to investigate. The room was empty. Going on gut alone, she slipped inside. It was a sitting room. The furniture was masculine—a large desk and mahogany chair. Expansive gold decorations lined the wall. Mina noticed a silver leaf emblem carved into the bed. This was Teague’s suite.

She didn’t have much time, so she began to search for the Grimoire. She headed for the bookshelf and gave it a cursory glance, but didn’t see anything.

Stressed, she rushed over to the desk and began to open drawers, looking for the book. Then she spotted it—right on the desk. In her panic, she’d missed it. She grabbed the journal and took off running for the door.

A soldier approached, so she paused and ducked back in quickly. She recognized Captain Plaith in his white armor. When he passed, she quietly left and headed back the way she came. Eventually she found her room and closed the door behind her. Mina felt whole with the Grimoire in her hands once again. She crawled into bed and opened it up. Teague had added a new entry.

It’s a test. I know I’m being tested. But how can I prove myself?

The next entry was written with a heavier hand—hurriedly.

I will show her. I will make her wish she’d never crossed me. She doesn’t tell me what to do.

There was nothing else on the page. Mina ran her fingers along the edges and waited for the familiar hum. It soon came. The Grimoire answered her touch, and it felt so good to have the book in her hands again. As soon as Teague had taken it away, she knew she needed to have it back. It was like a drug, its nearness. She just needed to touch it. She had no idea what would happen if Teague caught her with it, but she would take that chance. Slipping the Grimoire under her pillow, she lay down and rested her hand against the leather cover.

She fell asleep that way, and woke to the young brownie knocking on her door.

“Miss, it’s time for dinner.”

Mina got ready quickly. So far, she had been very careful to not eat too much of the Fae food, because she wasn’t sure what was safe for a human. Tonight that wouldn’t be a problem, for her appetite had disappeared...along with her shoes.

The brownie was able to find her a pair of slippers that fit, but Mina felt naked—and terrified—without her shoes. They were her one lifeline home. What was worse was that she wasn’t sure when they disappeared. She couldn’t remember if they were on her bed when she’d left the room, or if they were there when she returned. Had someone slipped in and stolen them while she slept?

The brownie braided her hair and applied just the lightest touch of blush to her face, probably because Mina looked so pale. Mina picked up the Grimoire and turned her back to the servant, trying to find a place to tuck it without being obvious about it.