Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 5)

Until she collided into a wall of flesh.

“Oomph.” Mina groaned as strong hands grabbed her forearms, and she looked up into the tanned and bearded face of a shirtless stranger.

“Come, we will get you out of here.” The man gripped her arm and tugged her after him.

“No, wait! I can’t leave!”

Her abductor ignored her and pulled her down the hall and out the front door. She struggled against the older man. His brown beard was tinged in gray, his eyes a dark hazel, filled with worry. On his arms, she could see the fine white spidery lines of scars that had long since healed over. A long necklace of seashells was the only adornment on his upper body.

“Stop! I can’t cross the bridge. The Reaper will kill me.”

“Who said anything about crossing the bridge?” He pulled up short and pushed her to the railing. Was he going to throw her over? He quickly flung his legs over and yanked her with him as he jumped into the water.

Mina didn’t have time to scream as the cold water rushed over her face. She tried to kick and swim for the surface, but the kidnapper dragged her under with powerful strength. Her chest ached, but she held her breath as he pulled her through the lake.

She opened her eyes enough to see a flash of silver scales move near her face. This couldn’t be. The person dragging her to her death was a merman?

Feeling the intense pressure and burn build again, she clawed at the hand that held her forearm. The man turned around, surprised at her distress. He immediately pulled her up to the surface.

When her head broke the water, sweet succulent air rushed into her lungs. But instead of taking the moment to savor her breath, she turned on the merman. “Are you trying to kill me?”

“No, quite the opposite. I’m here to rescue you.” He looked taken aback by her outburst, but he didn’t stop with his plan. He just flipped her over, put his arm around her neck, and continued to swim at impossible speed across the lake. When he came to the waterfall, he slowed just before the rocks.

“Trust your instincts.” He gestured with his finger toward the water. “We’re going down.”

“What? No, I can’t.” She kicked out against his body.

He grunted when she made contact but only tightened his grip. “You can, and you will. Now on the count of three. One, two”—he propelled himself up and out of the water using his tail—“three.”

He dove back under the water, dragging her beside him deep, deep below the surface.

The battering, rushing water pounded against her back, and her hair whipped around as they swam through the rough currents. She decided it would be suicide to fight him and switched her efforts to trying to swim with him.

The deeper they swam, the darker it grew until Mina saw the underwater cave he was heading toward. Panic seized her, but his strong grip on her wrist tugged her toward the cave.

Her previous fears of being underwater and fighting the sea witch rushed to the surface of her mind. She’d never liked swimming. Or maybe she did, and it was her mother who didn’t like the water. She distinctly remembered a beach trip with her parents when she was a child. Her mother wouldn’t go near the water. It was her father who had taught her how to swim and to not be afraid of the ocean. She’d felt safe with him.

Once her dad passed away, her mom never took them to the ocean again. The memory of what she’d given up must have been too painful for her.

Her trip down memory lane helped ease her fears as they swam through the dark underwater tunnel. Some creature or plant brushed past her leg, making her want to scream out and release her breath. Too much like that dream that had plagued her before she’d gone back in time. The darkness began to lighten, and Mina couldn’t hold it any longer. She rushed to swim upward, but the man turned, saw her distress, and pressed his mouth to hers the same way Nix had done. Fresh oxygen flowed into her taxed lungs.

Loud thoughts pushed past her fears, and she heard him speak as clear as fresh air into her head. If you relax, your body will do what comes natural and slow down your heart. You will be able to stay under much longer.

Yeah right, Mina thought back. You kidnapped me! And this was exactly how I was dragged underwater to my death by the sea witch. How is this not panic-worthy?

He flinched at her onslaught of thought. A sea witch. Nasty creatures, but you are much stronger than them. We’re almost through. His eyes squinted underwater, and she could see his teeth in a strangely reassuring smile, before he turned to swim further. We will have to catch the underwater current to make it out of here. Let it pull you. Don’t fight it.

>“Yes, I wanted to talk to you some more about what I had said earlier. Have you had a chance to think it over?”

“I have. I’m not sure what you’re proposing will solve my exact problem.”

“Of course it will. It’s a fact that the land will be healed when you choose your queen. Everyone knows that. The fate of our world has always been connected to the Fates. I can see the toll it’s taking on you, and I’m willing to share your burden. Together we can heal the land, and you will live.”

“I’m searching for other alternatives.”

“You’re dying. I know it because the land is dying. You’re not strong enough to sustain the land by yourself and control the armies. Others will come and try to overthrow you if you don’t bind yourself to another.”

“How dare you say that I am weak!” Teague’s eyes blazed, and the books on the shelves behind him started to shake and move in their place. “Do you not know who I am?”