“I feel so special that you’re sneaking off to be alone with me, my prince.” Annalora’s voice resounded like nails on chalkboard in Mina’s ears. Or it might have been her teeth grinding in anger. This was not what she meant for Teague to do. Annalora? Come on, Teague.
“Think nothing of it, my dear. I’ve been wanting to be alone with you for a while.” His voice sounded husky. Why was he trying to get close to Annalora? Was it just that he was a boy, and they tended to do the opposite of what they were told?
Mina wanted to take off her shoe and throw it at him, until she realized she wasn’t wearing them.
Annalora giggled again, making Mina’s skin crawl. It was a fake, look-at-me kind of laugh. They walked past the bathing pools, and Mina did her best to stay hidden behind a pillar, but she kept one eagle eye on the couple. Annalora walked arm-in-arm with Teague up to the fountain. She oohed and aahed over the large waterfall and the mermaid statue.
“It’s beautiful,” she exclaimed.
“Not as beautiful as you.” Teague teased, making Annalora let loose her annoying giggle.
“Of course not. There’s nothing as beautiful as me.” She turned, grabbing his hands, and pulled him toward the water. The closer they came to the pools, the closer they came to large potted ferns surrounding the pools. Then they were out of earshot and covered by the greenery.
Part of Mina wanted seize the moment and escape, but the other part wanted to sneak closer and spy on them.
Teague had never taken her out of her room. He just visited her behind a closed door. Was that because he didn’t want the girls to see him wooing her? She’d thought he was showing her favor. But instead, he was just being a guy. Her jealousy won out, and her bare feet made no sound as she tiptoed to the closest ferns to watch the proceedings.
Annalora pretended to slip, throwing herself into Teague’s arms. He caught her and held her closely.
“Oh my, I almost landed in the fountain,” she breathed out softly, using the moment to wrap her hands around his neck and pull him closer to her. Mina rolled her eyes in disgust. There was no way she would fall into the fountain. The floor wasn’t even wet. But Annalora didn’t care, and it seemed that Teague didn’t mind her forwardness. Annalora came to the same conclusion, because she softly pressed her lips to his.
Teague was only momentarily caught off guard, but he returned the kiss. Or that’s how it looked from Mina’s angle.
Mina was so furious at the betrayal. She honestly wished the girl would fall into the fountain. A second later, she saw a vine sneak out from the closest potted plant and reach up the girl’s leg.
Annalora broke the kiss only long enough to say, “That tickles.” She greedily pulled him in for a deeper kiss. Ha! She thought Teague was the one tickling her. A split second later, the vine wrapped around Annalora’s legs and pulled her sideways. She plunked into the fountain with a splash.
The girl came up sputtering and crying. Her beautifully coifed hair was a tangled, watery mess. Teague put one boot up on the ledge of the fountain and laughed.
“It’s not funny,” she yelled.
“Oh, yes it is,” he taunted back.
How dare he? Mina thought. To tease a girl. Yes, Annalora got what she deserved, but Teague had no right to laugh at her misfortune. Mina made a shooing motion toward the vine, and it rose up behind Teague. With one hard push, the dark prince followed her into the water.
Mina watched the vine go back into the closest pot and quietly congratulated herself on her advancement in Fae magic. She quietly made her exit amid the echoes of screaming and laughing.
She hurried back toward her room but took a wrong turn. She had no idea where she was. Passing a partially opened door, she felt compelled to investigate. The room was empty. Going on gut alone, she slipped inside. It was a sitting room. The furniture was masculine—a large desk and mahogany chair. Expansive gold decorations lined the wall. Mina noticed a silver leaf emblem carved into the bed. This was Teague’s suite.
She didn’t have much time, so she began to search for the Grimoire. She headed for the bookshelf and gave it a cursory glance, but didn’t see anything.
Stressed, she rushed over to the desk and began to open drawers, looking for the book. Then she spotted it—right on the desk. In her panic, she’d missed it. She grabbed the journal and took off running for the door.
A soldier approached, so she paused and ducked back in quickly. She recognized Captain Plaith in his white armor. When he passed, she quietly left and headed back the way she came. Eventually she found her room and closed the door behind her. Mina felt whole with the Grimoire in her hands once again. She crawled into bed and opened it up. Teague had added a new entry.
It’s a test. I know I’m being tested. But how can I prove myself?
The next entry was written with a heavier hand—hurriedly.