“The boy with red hair, the one that’s with Charlie.” Her mother walked over and gingerly picked up each bottle reading the label. She looked into the cauldron and over to the teapot. “This smells familiar, this smells…Fae. Mina, what do you know about this boy?”
For starters, Mina didn’t know her mother could tell just by smell what things were Fae and what weren’t. Was that even possible?
“Charlie saved Nix’s life when Nix was about to die on the Fae plane.”
“Charlie was on the Fae plane? When? What happened?”
“I think it’s best if you ask your Fae godmother Terry for those answers. Right now, I need you to trust me. We are doing what we can for Brody.”
Brody stuck his head in the kitchen and held out his arm. “You won’t believe this.” He pulled up one end of the dry paste to reveal a bright pink patch of skin. There wasn’t a single wound left. “That putrid smelling garbage works.”
Chapter 8
Thankfully, Mina’s mom understood and helped her clean up the kitchen. Brody had hundreds of questions. Her mom and Nix were able to fill him in on the gist of it. It was nice to have someone else besides her to explain. When three different people agreed on the story, it was at least slightly easier to make him believe he wasn’t crazy.
Convincing him the Fae really existed was tough. He got quiet a few times and had to get up and walk around the kitchen. Once, he even left the house and stood in the rain before he came back in to hear more of the impossible. The inner turmoil was evident. His mind struggled to come to grips with the reality of what happened versus the false memories implanted by the Story.
They were all careful to continue calling the Fae power Story. Trying to explain Jared’s death as he became one with Teague again could be saved for a later date. A few times, her mom became visibly shaken with the retelling of certain events—especially when something didn’t gel with her own memories. She toyed anxiously with the charm bracelet on her wrist until her face relaxed and she calmed down enough to continue on with the story. Then, her breathing slowed, and she would perk up.
Mina knew it was the charms that were helping her mother. Each renewed memory must send her mother into a nervous fit, but then the charm would push the memory farther back into her subconscious.
It was after midnight when they explained it enough for him to understand. Nix even came clean about his own past and the horrors of possibly turning into a Sea Witch.
Mina told him about the Fates and how it was their deal with the Grimm Brothers to break the curse and close the gates. She left out how the royal Fae were able to shape shift, and that she believed it was Teague himself that attacked Brody. She wasn’t positive, after all. The dark prince could have sent any one of his followers to do the dirty work.
They did warned Brody to watch out, because there were bad Fae intent on harming Mina and all who were associated with her. But there was something different about the wolf. She’d seen the wolf. It was intent on killing Brody.
Brody grew quiet again, and she thought for sure he would drive off right then—out of her life forever. But he surprised everyone, even her mother, when he asked, “What can I do to help?”
Nix shrugged his shoulders and pointed to Mina. “You’d have to ask the Grimm.” He looked at her with such confidence, such devotion and admiration. What had she done to earn this kind of loyalty? She only hoped she was worthy of it in the end.
After the hours-long conversation wrapped up, Mina was still concerned with one thing. “Can you keep my secret, Brody?” He looked like he was about to argue with her, so she added, “For now. And I swear I will try and find a way to secure your memories from being manipulated again.”
Brody hesitated but nodded his head. “Okay. Since you’re coming with me Friday.”
“Why? What’s Friday?”
“The masquerade ball at my parents’ country club, of course.”
“A ball?” That one word made her skin crawl and her mouth go dry. Balls were full of fairy-tale possibility. It would be a sure opportunity for the Story.
“It’s that thing that you promised to attend.”
“I really need to ask more questions in the future.” Mina said, inwardly panicking but doing her best to appear excited.
“That would probably be a good thing.”
***
Scarves can be a great fashion accessory if utilized right. Incorrectly used, they’re a torture device for fashion-challenged teens. In Mina’s case, they were more the second. After her shower the next morning, she looked at three items Nan lent her the last time she’d been over—wedged heels, scarf, and lipstick—and decided to pick one. She chose the scarf, thinking it was the least dangerous of her choices. Mina felt like the simple silk scarf was choking her, but Nan always swore by them as “the perfect accessory to any outfit.”
She should have chosen the heels.
“Blech!” She glared at the chevron-patterned offensive material. This is as good as it’s going to get.