Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 4)

“You have help. You have us.” Mrs. Colbert answered adamantly.

“I want my friends.”

“Well, that’s—”

“No,” Mina interrupted. “No more messing with their minds. I want Nan and Brody to be protected from the resets.”

“Mina, I don’t think that is possible.”

“Yes, it is. When the fairy-tale quest is over, and everything goes back to normal, all of the Fae retain their memories, and I do. Why not my friends?”

“Well, you’re a Grimm. Your protection is in your blood. Same with Charlie.”

“What about our mom?”

“She’s only Grimm by marriage. She’s been allowed to retain her memories so she can protect you.”

“How?”

“Well, we help with tokens and such.”

“The charm bracelet that she always wears. This morning I saw that you’ve added another charm.”

“Yes, that one was created for the sole purpose of helping her forget about Charlie’s kidnapping and staged death by the Stiltskin. She needs to keep some of the Grimm memories so she can do her duty in protecting her children, but she doesn’t need to hold on to the worrisome ones.”

“So now you’re playing God and getting to choose what memories my own mother gets to keep. You’re getting as bad as Teague,” Mina argued.

“Now that’s a little harsh. We’re doing what we need to do to protect ourselves.”

“Well, I want you to create more of these protection charms.”

“They do nothing against physical attacks. They are only strong enough to protect the mind.”

“Exactly. Right now, my mind is my greatest weapon, and I need my friends’ minds too.”

Constance closed her eyes and sighed loudly. “I’ll see what I can do about getting the Guild to allow a protection charm for your friends.”

Mina nodded. At least Mrs. Colbert was going to try instead of saying no. “Oh, um, there’s one more thing.”

“What is it?”

“This morning, my brother was playing with items in a suitcase, and I swear he disappeared right before my eyes for a split second. Does this have anything to do with what happened to him on the Fae plane? I have to admit, I thought maybe it was something he touched but I’m not sure. Can you ask around as see if there are any after-affects to staying over on the Fae plane for too long?”

Constance looked worried and pulled out her cell phone. “I’ll have the Guild look into it. We will try and find you answers.”

“Thank you.” Mina felt relieved. Hopefully, she was wrong about her brother and what she saw. Maybe she could write it off as her being overly stressed and plagued by nightmares.

Chapter 4

Once she was home, Mina began tearing the house apart, looking for the dagger. In desperation, she pulled all of the old books off the bookshelf and felt along the back for hidden compartments. Nothing.

Seeing Teague had been no fluke. He would certainly be sending a quest after her and soon. Especially if she didn’t find the item he was asking for.

Life was so unfair.

The rain that started this afternoon at school still hadn’t let up, and now and again lightning lit up the sky followed by thunder. The pelting of water on the roof and windows was unnerving, especially when she was all alone.