“Ever! Don’t let go!” Mina yelled, wrapping her left arm around the rung. It was useless, she knew. She couldn’t squeeze out of the opening, and she was trapped underground. Her mind had a sudden moment of clarity. This was so much like her underwater dream. Had she seen the future?
“Mina!” Ever cried, when Mina’s hand started to slip through her grasp. Teague had crawled up to the rung behind her and was yanking on her other arm. She knew how this would end.
In her dream she didn’t make it to the surface, so she doubted she would now.
“It’s okay, just take care of Nan. Take care of Nan,” Mina called.
Teague reached up and yanked her arm from around the rung, pulling her backwards. They both lost their footing.
She was falling and Teague was falling with her. The last thing Mina saw was Ever trying to look through the wreckage into the hole. She knew the moment Ever must’ve seen Teague, because she screamed. “Nooo!”
Chapter 11
She was lying on something soft that smelled faintly of cat urine. “Gross,” Mina grumbled. She rolled over to see that she was resting on a yellowed mattress in an old abandoned runoff tunnel. It took a moment for her eyes to focus on the blob of movement by her foot. She’d thought at first it was an old towel—until it moved toward her. She screamed and kicked at the rat sniffing at her shoes, making it scurry away.
Mina sat up and ran her hands across her body for injuries. Had she blacked out? Had she hit her head? Something disturbed a can, and it rolled over by her foot. She jumped to her feet and prepared to run, but Teague stepped out of another tunnel. A light that came from behind her faintly illuminated him. This time he kept his distance from her.
He seemed to be in an odd mood, simply studying her face silently. His eyes softened as he cleared his throat and looked away from her. “That runaway garbage truck wasn’t me.”
“What? You didn’t try to run me over? That wasn’t part of your quest?”
He shook his head no.
“So why warn me? Why save me?” she said irritably.
“Because you haven’t finished the next quest that I’ve set up for you. And this one is the most important of all stories. I am especially partial to the ending.”
“Yeah, me too. Because one day her prince will come and they’ll live happily ever after.” She tested the waters to see what he had up his sleeve.
He laughed. “Come on, Mina, you know there’s no such thing. The day your prince comes will be your worst nightmare. For I will make you bow down and beg for your life.”
“You’re wrong. One day I will have a happy ending. It will be the day that you’re dead.”
“I know, Mina. I know. You’ve tried your best. But I’m not done with you yet.”
“I’m done playing along.”
“No, you’re not. Soon you’ll bow to me and beg for your life.”
“You are not ruler of the human plane, Teague.”
“And I don’t plan on ruling the human plane. I plan on destroying this one.”
“Why?” Mina asked, shivering at the chill that crept into her veins at his merciless tone. “What do you have against humans?”
“You ask why?” Clearly, he believed his reason to be obvious. “Humans are shallow liars and thieves. They are emotionally fickle, which is fun for the Fae to feed on, but they leave a sour feeling in my stomach.”
“Teague, don’t do this. You don’t have to be evil.” Mina moved toward his dark figure and paused within a few feet of him. She could see that she made him nervous. His eyes kept flickering to her neck, probably remembering the pain he’d inflicted on her with his hand. As if he couldn’t trust himself with her. If he felt guilt, then maybe there was a way to reason with him. “You can be good.”
“I was…once. But being good didn’t really work out for me. Being nice and gentlemanly didn’t give me what I wanted.” He met her eyes and she thought his expression saddened for a split second. “So now I just take what I want. And right now I want the dagger.”
“Teague,” Mina cried out in frustration. “I don’t have it. I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
“Don’t lie to me!” Teague roared at her and rushed toward her again.
Mina raised her hands, trying to mimic what she’d done earlier and push him away with power. But she was too scared.
He closed the distance between them but didn’t raise a hand to touch her. “I know you have it. I’ve waited for so long. Jared didn’t think it was you. He tried to convince me I had the wrong girl—that I was mistaken, but I’m not. I know it’s you. You haven’t changed. After your next tale is over you will give to me. Or I will hurt your friends and start sending the quests after your brother and your mother.”
“I thought only one Grimm at a time could complete the quests,” Mina said.
Teague just smirked. “Silly Mina, why do you think the Fae Guild exists all over the world? Why do you think the Godmothers watch all the Grimms from their little mirror room? I’ve toyed with all of them at one time or another. But there was only one Grimm I ever cared about.”