“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.”
“Mina, just you knowing who I really am is enough for me. I can die happy.”
“Now wait a minute. Who said anything about anyone dying here?”
“I can’t leave here,” he said simply. “I wasn’t joking when I said that I’m imprisoned here. I always have been and always will be the prince.”
“I don’t believe that.”
“Last time I was dangerous enough to be split in two.” He came and took her hand. “I know how you feel about me, how I feel about you. But when I became whole again, I took those memories of Jared and locked them up, deep inside, banished them to the in-between. That is all that’s left of me. The Jared you knew is just a memory.”
“No, you’re more than just a memory to me.”
He shook his head. “No, Mina. If you can’t let go of the memory of Jared, then there’s no hope of ever saving me. The real me. I’m still poisoned and filled with hate. And I don’t understand what happened between us.”
“I don’t believe you.”
“It doesn’t matter if you believe me or not. Look at me,” he demanded. She closed her eyes and turned away.
He came forward and grabbed her shoulders. “Mina. Look at me.”
She could feel the sobs coming on, and she clenched her jaw to try and hold back the overpowering feelings. But she looked into his deep gray eyes, at his strong defined jaw. She had a feeling she wouldn’t like what was coming next.
“I told you, Royals can shift. Because we’re the strongest Fae.”
“No, stop.” She squeezed her eyes shut again.
He touched her cheek softly, and her breath caught. She refused to open her eyes. But then his grip on her changed, and his lips once again pressed on hers. This time, she couldn’t help opening her eyes.
She gasped and pulled away.
“I’ve tried to deny it, even held onto this form in memory. But you have to see the truth.” His eyes were still gray, but Jared’s appearance had changed. His hair was darker, his face a bit more angular. He was Teague.
She tried to comprehend the person in front of her. Even his voice had changed. “What about your eyes?” Mina asked. “Why are your eyes still gray then?”
“Well, because a copy of a copy is never as clear as the original. Blue eyes have always been and always will be the true Teague’s one tell.”
“Can you see me?” Jared asked “Through this?” He gestured to his face. Even though the face was different, his expression was the same.