Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale 5)

It took a few seconds before she comprehended.

She was in the mirror. But she was no longer freezing. She was in fact quite warm, or at least her back was. She tried to move away, but a weight across her waist pulled her back against the warmth.

She froze. A soft brush of warm air caressed her neck, and she couldn’t help but notice the masculine arm around her stomach, holding her possessively. Mina turned over and looked into the deep gray eyes of Jared. He had moved over and spooned her to keep her warm. Now, those mesmerizing eyes were looking at her with what? Regret?

She couldn’t read them.

He leaned forward and whispered into her ear. “You are the most insufferable girl when you’re freezing. Whining and shivering. I could hear your teeth clattering. I had to keep you warm, just so I could get some sleep.”

She smiled softly at him. “Liar.”

His gray eyes darkened, and she thought she saw a hint of blue. She needed to remember—he might not really be the Jared that she knew.

“Who am I?” she asked, unwilling to pull herself out of his embrace.

“A dream.” He tugged her closer. “An annoying dream that has come to plague me. Although you haven’t disappeared yet. But you will. You always disappear.”

So that was what was bothering him.

“I won’t leave if you won’t,” she whispered back.

Just the softest of smiles worked at the corner of his mouth.

“There’s only one way to prove you’re not a dream.” His hand came up and brushed against the side of her cheek. “And that’s to do this.” He leaned forward and pressed his lips to hers.

She didn’t move, lost in the feel of his mouth brushing against hers in a gentle caress. He pulled back suddenly, his eyes filled with confusion. “Wait…how?”

Mina didn’t hesitate. She wrapped her hand around his head and pulled him back into the kiss.

He didn’t hold back this time. He deepened the kiss. His lips claimed hers, and she let her hands roam freely in his hair, afraid that she really would wake up, and he’d be gone.

It was a kiss of longing, a kiss of desperation, a kiss of remembering.

Their lips remembered their one shared kiss long ago.

This time when he let her go, there were tears in his eyes. “No. Fates No, tell me you’re not here. You can’t be here.”

“I am. I came for you.”

He closed his eyes in pain and pulled away from her to sit up on the floor. His demeanor changed, and he stiffened. Immediately, she felt the absence of his warmth.

“If you’re here, then you know.”

“Know?” She sat up and reached to comfort him, but he pulled away.

“Know I’m a fake. A fraud…a…a copy.” It was obvious that the admission pained him. “I’m the reason you’re cursed, the reason for the things that happened to you—and your family. I told you in the beginning not to trust me.”

“You are the only one I trust.”

He turned to her, his gray eyes filled with tears. “But you can’t. I’m not Jared. It’s just a name I stole from a memory, because I didn’t want to remember all of the horrible things I did. I’m him.” He said the word with disdain. “And he hates you… but at the same time, parts of me can’t stay away from you.”

“I know. But it doesn’t change the way I feel about you.”

“It should.”

“I still can’t be trusted. You need to finish what you started and destroy the mirrors.”

“No. Not unless you come with me. I can save you. I can free you.”