Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale, #4)(81)

Mina had been on edge for days, sensing that another quest was coming.

She was right, there was one. But this time, he didn’t necessarily want to help her figure it out. He just wanted keep her safe. Confronting the evil Fae would absolutely endanger her life. So what if he was a little slow in the help department? It’s not like he’d had played the role of Helper often over the years. He was servant to the Grimoire. Bound, entrapped—anyway he looked at it, it sucked. But for once in his long life, he’d actually shown himself, his true self. And to a girl no less! Jared had hidden his form from many of the Grimms that had come before, but something made him answer Mina’s cry for help in the beginning. Something about her called to him…and called out to the Story as well.

The Story. He felt uneasiness in his gut and couldn’t help but reach out and put a protective hand on Mina’s shoulder. She jumped, and her breath caught in her throat. She turned and began to pummel him in the arm.

“What do you think you’re doing? Stop it!” she hissed quietly. She turned back around, but not before she mumbled something about boys and watching too many scary movies.

He smiled. Couldn’t help but smile. She did something to him that no one ever had before. She made him feel human, with all of their peculiar range of emotions.

There was another sudden drop in the temperature, and he knew the quest was coming. He needed to get Mina out of here.

“We’ve been here forever because of your girly hunch. I need food, let’s come back another night, and we can play spy versus spy then.” He waited to see if he could goad her into moving. She shifted her shoulders and reached into her pocket. He felt a little surge of happiness. She was going to leave with him.

Something white came flying through the air and hit him in the chest, dropping onto the dewy ground with a thud. Jared reached down to pick it up. It was a granola bar. A slightly squished granola bar. So, she’d take a little more convincing.

He lifted his lip in fake disdain. “What, were they out of chocolate chip?” He was running out of time. They needed to leave. Now.

“Jared, if you don’t shush it, I swear I’ll—”

Quick footsteps sounded down the driveway, and he snapped back to attention as he felt Mina tense in front of him. They both stilled and waited in the darkness as the figure slowed and approached. Jared dropped the granola bar on the ground and watched.

A girl with curly reddish blonde hair walked down the driveway toward them, sniffling. She was short—probably shorter than even Mina. Her heart-shaped face looked flushed and tears poured down her fair cheeks. She wore a pair of shorts with a boy’s blue Lincoln Heights high school letterman jacket. She clutched a brown satchel that was slung over her shoulder and glanced behind her, as if she knew she was being followed. Her pace quickened, and she passed the house’s front door and to go around back.

She was only feet away, but didn’t see them. With a strangely expectant expression, she turned to look up the driveway. Jared followed the girl’s gaze and noticed another shadow approaching—a much larger silhouette.

The side screen door opened, and the girl ducked into the small yellow house. The figure at the end of the driveway grew more distinctive as it came closer. It was a young man with short-cropped hair and wearing a white shirt, denim jeans and sneakers. His arms were well-muscled, and he had the body of an athlete. He walked softly up to the side door, skipped up the steps and rapped three times.

“Kathleen?” he chimed out quietly. “Please don’t cry. I’m sorry. I’ll promise to never make you cry again.”

A porch light went on. The door opened slightly, and a breathy voice answered. “Tom, do you promise?”

Tom looked down at his feet. “Is it that terrible that I tried to kiss you? I’m sorry it wasn’t what you wanted. I thought it was a fabulous first kiss.” Kathleen didn’t answer, and Tom looked back up at her pleading. “I’ll never disappoint you again.”

“No—no you won’t,” her husky voice answered in return.

Before Jared and Mina could react, the teen boy was pulled into the house. The inner door closed, and the screen door banged shut against the doorframe.

Jared’s skin crawled. He could feel the Fae inside. This was not a run-of-the-mill Fae, and he had only ever heard of this one in tales.

“Looks like a lover’s quarrel followed by some making up,” he spoke casually.

Mina stood and eyed the house quizzically. “I guess,” she answered and started walking toward the creek. “I just felt so certain that this was the next quest. That the story wanted me here, and now I don’t know. Maybe this is all a joke. A bad one set up by the Fates.”

Jared mentally sighed and followed behind Mina. “Don’t feel too bad, I mean you’re not the best Grimm I’ve ever seen, so maybe your Grimmdar is off.”

“Grimmdar?”

“You know Grimm Radar.”

Her hands flew to her hips as she turned. She looked him squarely in the eye, and arched her eyebrows accusingly. Uh oh. He knew the signs. He was in trouble now.

“Tell me the truth, Jared. Could you sense any Fae nearby? I know you can tell when they are near.”

Ah, she’d cornered him. He couldn’t outright lie, but he could avoid the truth, and it was something he was quite good at doing. “Yes, there was a Fae nearby. A tall, dark and handsome one that is really hungry and quickly wasting away.” His inner Fae self did a little happy dance at how well he’d avoided her question.