Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 5)

Charlie was shaking and trembling. His little body couldn’t handle the power that he’d just unleashed, and he fell to his knees on the ground and started to convulse.

“Please help him,” she cried out. “Let me go to him.”

Teague didn’t respond. He simply stared around him, taking in the destruction. “He’ll recover, Mina. He just needs time. See? He’s already trying to get back up and keep fighting. You’ve got to admire that in one so young.”

Sure enough, Charlie had made it back to his feet. He wiped white foam from his mouth with the back of his hand and turned his gaze up to them, furious. His eyes glowed with anger. Charlie turned his rage toward Teague and let forth another ear piercing shriek. The protective bubble around them cracked but didn’t break.

“Too bad, I think the first attack wore him out. Now I wonder what spurred on his rage? Oh, I know. The death of his mother, perhaps?”

This time, Charlie just fell to the ground—with no convulsion. He slumped his head and appeared to be crying.

A large ogre with a bulbous nose came walking by with Ever in his hand. She kept trying to fly away, but he pinched her wings between two of his meaty fingers. When he gave a tug on them, Ever cried out in fury and pain. Mina remembered what Ever said about ogres and how they liked to eat pixie wings. He tugged again, and she screamed.

Mina cringed.

Claire strode into the middle of the fairgrounds with Grey Tail dragging Brody forcefully behind. She already looked ten years younger, and she kept touching Brody’s face longingly. She had already taken a few years of his life and she was begging for more. So much was happening so fast, and Mina felt absolutely powerless.

Reid and Temple overpowered Constance. Temple put a golden gloved hand over the muse’s mouth to stop her singing. The giant slowly started to wake up, and the Fae hadn’t gotten all of the passengers out of the Ferris wheel.

Mina watched, helpless, as Nix ran and threw himself on Charlie just as Claire and her wolves circled him. There was little Nix could do to save him. He was fully human now. Mina turned in a circle, tears falling freely from her face as she watched her school continue to crumble beneath the onslaught of the troll.

Police were arriving, and ambulances lined the outskirts of the fairground, but they were hesitant to move in because of the giant that stomped toward their cars.

Mina had lost the war.

Utterly lost.

She wasn’t a general or a fighter or a leader. She was a clumsy seventeen-year-old girl. She couldn’t be responsible for all of these people dying. She didn’t want to be the reason for so much tragedy.

“You said you weren’t unreasonable,” Mina choked out softly.

“I’m not.”

“Then let’s reason. What would it take for you to stop this massacre and leave my friends alone?”

Teague looked around, his hands held wide open. “You want me to stop destroying this… and the people who hurt you?”

“Yes, yes I do. And I want you to release my friends, all of them, even the Godmothers. What would it take for you to do that and to never bother them again?”

“I think you know the answer to that, Mina.” Teague made their bubble fly higher and higher into the sky until they were way up in the air surrounded by clouds. “There are only two things I want. If you give them to me, I’ll stop everything and let your friends live.”

He stood before her, his eyes glowing with power. She tried to stand tall in front of him, but she couldn’t stop the tears as they fell.

“The dagger and…” She let her voice trail off, knowing the other but unwilling to say it out loud.

“Your life.” He smiled, one corner of his mouth pulling up to show his even white teeth.

Mina took a deep breath and shuddered. She held out her hand.

“Deal.”

Chapter 8

She knew the deal had to be made, but she pulled her hand back at the last second.

“Changing your mind already?” He sneered.