Reign (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 4)

The only thing she could come up with was that the shoes might have run out of time and gone into the future—without her. She had made a stupid mistake. Now she’d never see her mother or brother again.

Mina turned her head at the sound of Annalora’s voice and noticed how often she accidentally brushed against Teague’s arm, or ran her fingers along the cuff of his jacket. She was marking her territory. And at this point, Mina didn’t care.

Dinah dropped her napkin between her chair and Mina’s, leaning close enough to grab it and whisper, “What’s wrong with you? This is no time to give up just because that harlot is trying to mess with your mind.”

When Dinah looked into Mina’s tear-filled eyes and read the pain there, her voice changed. “Something else has happened.”

Mina nodded her head, “Yes, the worst imaginable.”

Dinah pinched her lips together and gave Mina’s hand a quick squeeze. “Don’t worry. It will all be over tomorrow and you can go home.”

“That’s just it. I can never go home, regardless of the outcome,” Mina confided. A single tear slid down her cheek. She tried to wipe it away without making a big fuss about it, but Annalora saw and moved in for the kill.

“So, Elle, crying about the next test already, I see.” Her smile was filled with delight. “Maybe you should quit now and save your breath.”

Teague didn’t say anything. He just sat back and studied the two of them with interest.

Mina didn’t have the heart to exchange barbs at the moment. She just reached out and took a sip of water.

Ever, on the other hand, had plenty of fight left. “Why don’t you worry about yourself, Annalora?”

“Because I don’t have anything to worry about.” She scooted closer to Teague and proceeded to look down her nose at the pixie. “But you on the other hand…do. I’ve heard how you’re an embarrassment to your family. Don’t go doing something stupid tomorrow, like actually trying to win. Because we all know you’ll fail.”

Mina felt the air in the room stir as Ever tried to get her temper under control.

Dinah gasped and clasped her hands over her mouth.

The candles flickered more. Ever was about to truly embarrass herself. And that was something Mina didn’t want her friend to do. What did she have to lose at this point? She really couldn’t stand to see Annalora freely pick on the other girls.

Mina picked up her glass of water and walked past Annalora, dumping it in her lap. Annalora shrieked in anger and jumped up.

“I thought you needed a bath. Oh wait, I forgot. You already had one in the fountain.” Mina snarled and let a smile of pleasure show on her face.

“You! You pushed me in the fountain.” Annalora’s face turned purple with rage. She really looked ugly when she was mad.

Mina shrugged her shoulders, “How could I? I was in my room. Alone.”

She had forgotten about Teague, but his laughter was a sudden reminder. Mina raised the empty glass in her hand and made a play of saluting him. He drank the rest of his and returned her salute.

Mina placed her glass on the table and left. Instead of making her way back to her room, she picked up the edge of her skirt and wandered down the corridors until she found the main palace doors. She should have escaped as soon as she could with the shoes and found a way to her ancestors instead of getting distracted by helping Teague. But now, she was trapped on the Fae plane, and she hadn’t even been able to help anyone.

The guards at the gate gave her a cursory glance, but let her pass without stopping her. She continued down the steps and walked up to the bridge, looking out over the lake. It was nearing sunset, and it was a terrible time to leave, but she couldn’t stay. She needed to find help, to find an ally that would help her find a way back home.

Her feet carried her over the stone bridge, and she hesitated a moment when she heard the sounds of the trolls underneath, their claws scraping along the stone. Her steps piqued their curiosity, and she could see their red eyes watching her through the holes in the bridge. Since she was leaving they had no reason to bother her. Their job was to prevent unwanted arrivals.

When she passed through the hidden veil, her skin buzzed and she heard the pop. She wasn’t sure why, but something told her to pick up her skirt and run. She’d made it past the final barrier without being stopped, but now she wanted to get as far away as she could. Maybe she could find another Schumacher to send her into the future.

She was walking into the unknown. But she knew what would happen if she stayed. She’d either fail the test tomorrow, or she’d pass and have to watch as Teague got engaged to Annalora. And then the event she’d been warned about would happen.

Something would launch the prince onto a terrible warpath of destruction, and she needed to be as far away from him as she could when that happened.

Tears filled her eyes, and it was difficult to see where she was going.

The two suns had finally set just as she made it into the woods. She wandered around and eventually found a small grove of twisted trees with the familiar purple fruit Nix had shown her. She plucked some low-hanging fruit from a branch and sat down to eat.

What was her next move?