Chapter 9
They weren’t happy at Teague’s orders, but Claire released Brody and backed away to be quickly surrounded by Grey Tail and Lone Tree. Ever yelped as the ogre dropped her on her bottom. One by one, members of his army moved away and scattered among the wreckage of the fairgrounds.
As soon as the giant disappeared, fire and rescue teams swarmed the area. Men in uniforms ran to those injured on the ground, and the GMs quickly phased and tried to hide their true selves again. Those that couldn’t hide their Fae side quickly made themselves scarce.
Nix got up from the ground and helped Charlie to his feet. His red hair stood out against his pale skin. “That was too close.” He reached out and ruffled Charlie’s hair. “And what about you, Mr. Siren? I’ve got a distant cousin.”
Mina ran over and hugged Charlie, fresh tears of relief pouring down her face. “Oh, Charlie.”
She ran her fingers up his face. He was still warm to the touch, and his fever seemed to be out of control, but he looked fine. In fact, he glowed with power.
Ever waddled over to Mina as she rubbed her backside. “How are your wings?” Mina asked.
“Could be better. I thought they were goners for a sec there. But it’s going to take more than an ogre to ground Ever Farindale.” She turned and slowly flapped her deep purple and blue tinted pixie wings, wincing in pain.
Mina turned and scanned their group for Brody, but he’d disappeared. She couldn’t see his blond head anywhere. She was about to turn and go look for him when Constance called her.
“Mina.” The muse spoke softly.
She turned to her high school music teacher, with her short gray spiky hair and wing-tipped glasses. Her skirt and top were torn and dirty, but she didn’t look injured.
“You came?” Mina said incredulously.
“We got our injured safely hidden with another inactive sect of Godmothers down in San Francisco. This one wasn’t going to let us abandon you.” She pointed to Nix, who blushed until his skin matched his hair and shoved his hands in his pockets.
“But how did you know where to find me?”
Constance sang a few notes and held out her wrist. A small dragon landed there and immediately began to dance around in excitement.
“Of course. Anders. How could we have forgot about him?” Mina exclaimed.
“You were meant to. He was supposed to follow you, and—when you were in trouble—come find us. There was a small group of us already on our way back to the Guild to try and salvage some of our archives when he found us. Sorry, this is all we had.” She gestured to those standing behind her.
Mina couldn’t help but zero in on Ferah, with her untamed red hair, standing among the GMs. She spoke wildly to the others.
>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.
“No, I uh, I’d just like to add a few conditions.”
He crossed his arms and snorted. “Of course you would.”
“I’d like twenty-four hours before you collect on your debt.”
“Two hours.”