Fable (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 3)

Mina quickly calculated the distance and knew there was no way she could hold her breath that long. She looked at Nix’s blushing face and back at the water, and she knew exactly how he was planning on getting her that far.

“Uh-uh, I would rather go through the front door and tackle the giants than have to life-saving-suck-kiss you for five minutes. How in the world am I going to explain this to…” Her cheeks also turned deep red as she imagined explaining this to Brody. And then she remembered she wasn’t dating Brody, and she wasn’t even sure how Jared would feel about her kissing someone. He probably wouldn’t even care. She thought of Charlie in a fiery prison, and that clinched it.

She wasn’t going to let her own modesty and shyness keep her from her goal. She was in another world, playing by different rules, and if she wanted any normal chance at a relationship…with anyone…then she needed to finish these quests. All of them.

Nix wasn’t offended in the least by Mina’s rejection of him. In fact, he looked a little relieved himself. “Well, I might be able to distract the giants from the gates, and you can run across, but the trolls would be on the bridge in seconds flat.”

“Okay, okay. I like your way better. Under the bridge and under the water it is.”

He shrugged and wouldn’t look her in the eye. “All right, then. Life-saving-suck-kiss it is.” He pinched his lips together and quickly turned away, but Mina could see his shoulders rising and falling in rapid succession. He was laughing at her. And then she realized how absurd it sounded and started laughing, too.

Even the kelpies seemed to pick up on their laughter and started to dance in the water. Which drew attention to their area of the lake.

“Uh-oh.” Nix calmed down instantly. “They know someone’s here.” The trolls’ green eyes were moving in their direction. And even the giants had moved to stare out across the water.

“We need to move quickly,” Mina hissed.

“Yes, it’s now or never.” Nix slid off the kelpie, and Mina followed suit. He quickly leaned in and pressed his head to the white kelpie, and she knew he was trying to give him instructions. A moment later the red kelpie stepped out of the water in full horse form and began running toward the bridge, then stopped right before it. Rising up on his rear hooves, he was a magnificent creature and the perfect distraction. The white kelpie did the same thing and took off in the water toward the trolls, dancing and frolicking mere feet from them, taunting them mercilessly.

Nix held Mina close in the reeds, hiding until he knew that both the trolls and the giants were distracted.

“You ready?” he asked.

She nodded her head mutely.

“Take a deep breath and hold on to me. If you need oxygen, just tug on my hand. And remember, we can’t show ourselves and come up for air until we are safely in the palace. Do you understand?”

“Yes,” she whispered.

Nix counted down. “Three—two—one.”

And she took a deep breath, and they were under, Mina swimming hand in hand with Nix toward the bridge. He kept trying to pull her deeper toward the bottom of the lakebed so they wouldn’t be seen, but every instinct in her body wanted to avoid its murky depths at all costs.

He motioned with his hands downward, and she finally kicked and followed him down just as a commotion of water flew past them. Mina turned and could see the white kelpie take off toward the reeds, where they had just come from. They were almost to the bridge, and she could look up through the water and barely see one set of green glowing eyes. Had the other troll followed the kelpie? She had hoped for both trolls to follow the horse, but she was still happy if only one did. That meant one fewer monster to try to kill her if they got caught.

She was at her limit and quickly tugged on Nix’s arm. He immediately turned and wrapped his arms around her, and pressed his lips to hers.

Sweet air rushed into her mouth, and she let him control the breathing and speed at which they exchanged carbon dioxide and oxygen. It seemed like the polite thing to do. He gently tapped the side of her neck three times, signaling for her to count and start swimming. She immediately understood and took one last breath, and they were off.

He still swam slightly faster than she did, and she probably could have done better if she hadn’t started doubting herself all of a sudden. Her plan was stupid, she wasn’t strong enough, and even if she got inside, she didn’t know how to save her brother. She felt herself slowing down, and Nix continued to pull on her in desperation. He saw that she was freezing up and kept shaking his head at her.

It was no use; the doubt continued to flood her mind like a creepy hypnotizing song. She looked at Nix and shook her head, and pointed up toward the surface. His eyes went wide in horror, and he shook his head.

She couldn’t help it. There was no way she could win; she might as well let herself get caught by the trolls. Maybe they would take pity on her and just put her in jail. It was better than death. She was weak—she wasn’t brave. She was useless, a poor excuse for a Grimm. The words kept coming, and the song never stopped. If she just let go of Nix’s hand, he could escape, and only she would be caught. Yes, yes. That was what she must do.

Mina felt herself let go of Nix’s hand, and she kicked toward the surface, toward the green glowing eyes of the troll that was waiting for her under the bridge.

A voice blasted into her consciousness. DON’T LISTEN! It was Nix’s voice, she could tell, and she could see the struggle it was for him to speak to her. He grasped his head in pain, but then took off after her like a fish through water. He grabbed her bare foot and pulled her down into the water right before she almost broke the surface.

She kicked and struggled against him, but he placed his hands over her ears, and she could see him concentrate.

Don’t listen. It’s a trap, a siren. They’re like a sea witch, but worse. Look at me. I can get you through this. Trust me!” He reached forth and pressed his lips to hers, forcing more air into her lungs.

It came as such a relief that she didn’t even know she needed air until that moment. The desolate song of fear, doubt, and hopelessness made her completely forget to breathe.

Look there—do you see it?