He turned to look at her, an apologetic expression on his face. “I’m sorry. I was rude. You are not much more than a stranger either, but here I am pouring out my troubles on you.”
“No, not rude. You’re stressed and worried. I understand. Sometimes when the choice is taken from us, we feel like a victim. I get that.” It was easy to utter those words which mirrored her own feelings toward her curse.
“What would you do in my situation?” he asked. He leaned in closely, and she felt herself swallow.
What could she tell him? She couldn’t encourage him to do the wrong thing and alter more of history than she was supposed to. Repercussions could be endless. She had to be careful to only affect her own timeline. Still, it seemed like he was asking her permission for something.
“Hope for the best. Maybe you’ll find your true love over the next few days. And if not true love, then true friendship. But I do have to ask—why haven’t you married before now?”
He gave her a slow smile that rocked her to her core. “Because I never met the girl of my dreams…until now. Tell me, though I can already see it in your eyes. You know me like I know you. You’ve dreamt of me also, haven’t you?”
Heat flooded her cheeks and her heart skipped a beat. How could he know just from a look? The Prince of Fae may have been dreaming of her, but how could she explain that when he appeared in her dreams they were her worst nightmares? She shivered at his words and her stomach sank. He saw her shudder and mistook it.
“You’re cold? I’m so sorry. It’s late. I should be getting you back to your escorts.” He paused and looked around in confusion. “Where are they?”
“I seem to have lost them,” Mina lied.
“Well, that will be no problem. I’ll find them. And if not, I’ll send a coach for you, and you can come to the palace. I’ll tell my parents there’s one last addition to list.” He grinned and stood back a few feet.
“No, you can’t. I’m not here for—”
But he didn’t hear her. “Have you ever seen a Royal shift? Because only the Fae with royal blood can do it.”
Mina pursed her lips at him and laughed. “Of course.”
“No, I don’t mean earlier. That doesn’t count.” His smile lit up his face. “Name anything that flies, and I will find your entourage.”
She had no desire to ruin his fun by telling him she had seen him shift numerous times in the future. And he looked so earnest, she couldn’t help but laugh at his attempt to impress her. “Okay, how about a bald eagle?”
“What is that?” he asked, confused. She realized her mistake. He wouldn’t know all of the creatures from the human plane. Yet.
“It’s a bird.”
“Well how can a bird be bald?” he laughed. “That’s absurd.”
“Uh, never mind. Why don’t you pick?”
“All right. Stay here and I’ll be back with your escorts shortly.” Teague stepped back and took off running.”
“No wait!” Mina called after him.
He just waved at her and kept running. He spread his arms and leapt up into the air, shifting into a fiery phoenix. His feathers left a trail of flames in his wake and she watched as his path lit up the sky. She tried to keep him in her line of sight and wave him down, but she was quickly distracted. The shoes that she had left discarded on the ground began to glimmer and flash.
Already? She hadn’t finished what she came here to do, but she couldn’t be stuck in the past. Mina ran to the slippers as their flashing picked up speed, like a timer counting down to activation. She wouldn’t get to say goodbye to Teague. He wouldn’t know where she’d gone.
Mina got one foot in the slipper and dropped the other. She cried out and slipped her foot back in just as another ball of light enveloped her.
She shot down a bright luminescent tunnel.
Chapter 20
This time she was burning hot, and her muscles felt like rubber. She opened her eyes to find herself collapsed in the driveway of the country club—only a few feet away from where she had left Brody.
In fact, he was still there.
“What just happened? You disappeared, and now you’re here again. Where’d you go?” Mina reached for Brody and he helped her up, although she immediately felt like falling again. “You’re burning up. Are you okay?”
Mina nodded. “It’ll pass. Just give me a second.” Odd. It seemed going into the past made her body cold, and shooting into the future made her core temperature a raging inferno. This couldn’t be good for her. And she’d blown it. She hadn’t saved anyone. Her family was still doomed.
It was all because of the stupid shoes. They were broken. They didn’t work. Not to mention she’d been sidetracked by Teague and his problems. Brody helped her back inside the country club and to a private sitting room. Once she sat down on the chair, her defeat set in, and she started to cry. She’d failed.