Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #4)(79)

Constance was about to head up to the trucks but turned to give her a warning. “Mina, there’s something else you should know.”

She was exhausted and hurting, and she didn’t really want to hear any more news from the GM’s.

“Teague’s goal wasn’t just to attack us. He took something.”

“What was it?” Mina began to chew on her lip in worry. She didn’t need her most dangerous ally to have another huge weapon.

“He stole one of the mirrors from the hall.”

“You mean one of the Grimm mirrors? Whose mirror?”

Constance pushed her glasses up on her nose and gave her a worried look. “Yours.”





Chapter 33


“What?” It was worse than she thought. If Teague had her mirror, there was no way for her to ever surprise him. He could watch her every second of every day. Her stomach rolled, and she turned and slipped her hand into Brody’s unresponsive one. He was still in a memory funk.

In a matter of minutes, the rest of the Fae had cleared the site and were pulling away in the loaded the trucks. Ever, Mina, and Brody watched as five trucks filed in line and drove down an old service road. On their way to who knows where. Nix’s truck was the last to pull out, and he watched them solemnly. When they were about to turn a corner and pass out of sight, Nix stood up and waved goodbye.

Brody snapped out of his coma to raise his arm and salute his best friend. Mina turned and gave him an odd stare. Ever just grinned and rolled her eyes.

“Do you know who I am?” Mina asked, waving her hand in front of Brody’s face.

“Of course I do.” Brody made an amused face and gently pushed her hand down.

“What do you remember?” She tested him.

“Everything.”

“Everything, everything or just—”

“Mina.” Brody reached into his pocket and pulled out a little charm. It was identical to the one Nan had. “I remember everything.”

“How?” She almost started crying in relief.

“Nix slipped it into my pocket in the tunnel and told me to not lose it. And if anything weird happened to just play dumb.”

“But where did Nix get this charm?” Mina asked.

“Why, he stole it.” Ever chimed in. “I watched him swipe it right out of Pandora’s box. You know Nixies have a thing for pretty little baubles. I wouldn’t be surprised if he stole a whole bunch of other stuff from the GMs while he was here.”

“I’m so thankful he did,” Mina cried and gave Brody a hug. Then she turned to Ever. “So what are you going to do now? Why didn’t you go with them, and go into hiding?”

Ever snorted. “Hiding’s not really my thing. And we can’t let Teague get away with this.”

“No, no we can’t,” Mina agreed.

“Plus, I happen to have gotten to know him quite well—or at least Jared pretty well—over the last few years. So if someone has an inside scoop on how he thinks, it’s probably me.”

“Ever, thank you.” Mina reached out and gave her a hug, which Ever tried to get out of as fast as possible.

“Yeah, well I’ve seen you in action and you really need all the help you can get. Good looks aren’t going to be enough.” She pointed at Brody, who just shook his head and gave her a wry smile. “Plus someone has to jump in and be your temporary Godmother, while the world is ending. I mean a Grimm can’t be without a Fae Godmother. And all the qualified ones just left.”

Mina couldn’t believe what she was hearing. “Ever, are you serious?”

“About most things in life…No. About this…I’m dead serious.”

“I’d be honored to have you be my Godmother.”

“Great! It’s a deal. Just don’t tell Nan. That’s really not the image I want everyone to associate with me, you know.”

“Pixie promise,” Mina answered.

“Don’t you know it,” Ever said solemnly.

Ever, Mina, and Brody were standing on the shore when the glamour hiding them dropped. Suddenly there was a whole parking lot filled with police, firemen, and what looked like a bomb squad who might be able to see them.

“So what do we do next?” Brody asked while they stared at the flashing lights and sirens going off. It was unbelievable how much had been muffled by the glamour. Even the heat was ten times more intense now than before.

“He’s not finished.” Ever announced. Her wings started to flap quickly, pushing more hot air toward Mina. “This is just the beginning of what he’s going to do.”

“Teague’s got an army, so I think we need an army,” Mina answered.

“And where do you think we’re going to find an army strong enough to take down one of the strongest Fae in both planes?” Ever asked.

Mina pulled out the seam ripper. “I’m not sure, but I think we can come up with something. I won’t give up. Mei wouldn’t want that.”

“Together?” she reached out and put her hand out palm down.

Ever and Brody smiled and spoke at the same time. “Together.”




The End





About the Author



Chanda Hahn takes her experience as a children's pastor, children's librarian, and bookseller to write compelling and popular fiction for young teens. She was born in Seattle, WA, grew up in Nebraska, and currently resides in Portland, Oregon, with her husband and their twins, Aiden and Ashley.