Fable: An Unfortunate Fairy Tale Book 3 (17 page)

She stood there in the cold night air. “I’ll
find a way to save him, Jared. Maybe Ever will help me.”

Jared snorted. “Yeah, right. As if she can
find her way back home. She can’t even find her way to the nearest
mall half the time.”

“
Well, the Godmothers said
I would have to wait until I complete more quests and grow
stronger, or use her seam ripper.”

“
You’re saying Ever has a
seam ripper.”

“
Yes,” Mina said
slowly.

“
When did you see Ever
cross over? Think carefully, Mina.”

She was taken aback at the change in
subject. “Last year she approached me when the Reaper had stolen
the Grimoire and I didn’t know where you were. She used this tube
thing, and drew a circle and disappeared.” Mina indicated with her
fingers the size of the tube.

Jared was distracted and began to walk
toward the parking lot. “It’s a seam ripper, and only a few of them
exist. It cuts right through both planes to create a temporary
gate, but they are dangerous. Only the strongest of Fae are able to
travel back and forth at will, and they become weakened almost to
the point of death. Which is why a wizard developed the seam
rippers to create gates for the Royals and the ruling Fates.
Wherever a gate has been ripped open, it is weakened for a certain
amount of time—that’s how the lesser Fae get over here. But
these…these are gifts given to a handful of people, and she was not
one of them.”

He motioned for her to get on the bike. He
started the motorcycle, and they were once again off into the
night. Mina had no clue where Jared was taking her and was only
slightly surprised when he pulled up to a small rundown motel.
Jared flew off the bike, and stormed over to room number eight and
pounded on the door. A few seconds later, Ever opened the door,
wearing a cute gray dress, and smiled brightly at Jared…until she
saw his expression. Then she cast an accusing look at Mina. Behind
her, Mina could make out a sparsely decorated hotel room with a few
books and a backpack on the bed.

Jared motioned with one finger for her to
follow, and he walked briskly into Ever’s room. Mina followed,
keeping her head down as she entered the pixie’s private domain.
She felt terrible that the girl was sleeping in a motel. That was,
until she closed the door and the glamour lifted. What once was a
room with a single dirty bed with a broken lamp turned into a very
large apartment filled with every plant imaginable. There were wide
windows that gave the room a greenhouse effect. The dining room
table and furniture were white, but the artwork and statues that
decorated the home were filled with pixies.

Ever’s face was pale, her eyes wide with
worry, but she was still spunky enough to throw Mina a perturbed
look before following her into the living room.

It was obvious from the way Jared didn’t
bother to look around the room that he had been there before.

“
How could you, Ever?”
Jared asked, his voice like ice.

“
How could I what?” she
snapped back.

“
Why would you lie to
me?”

“
Do you know what he is
talking about, Gimp, ’cause I sure don’t?”

Mina was uncomfortable under Ever’s
scrutiny. She shrugged.

“
This isn’t about her,
Ever. This is between you and me,” Jared shot out.

She stood up, her eyes blazing. Her hair
started to blow about her shoulders.

“
No, it’s not. It’s always
about her! There is no you and me—you’ve seen to that. Ever since
she showed up, you don’t care about me anymore.”

“
That’s not true. It’s
complicated, and more so now that you can’t be trusted. What deal
did you make with the Fates? What deal did you make with my
mother?”

“
Who told you?”

“
Who gave you a seam
ripper?” he demanded.

Ever’s eyes snapped up to glare at Mina
accusingly and then went innocent when she looked up at her prince.
They filled with tears. It was obvious that she loved him and had
done something terrible.

“
I left everything behind
for you! I gave up everything so I could come over here to be with
you. They helped me come over, and all I had to do was report back
about you. It wasn’t supposed to be like this.” Her gaze traveled
back over to Mina. “She was supposed to fail like the others, and
then it could be like the old times again. You weren’t supposed to
really help her!”

“
Give it to me!” Jared
held out his hand to Ever.

Her back stiffened, and her shoulders rose.
“No, I can’t.”

“
Ever, you weren’t meant
to have one. Now, give it to me!”

“
I—I won’t. I can’t. It’s
my only way back to visit my family. It’s not my fault you’ve
become soft-hearted and want to help the Gimps.” She let slip the
derogatory name the Fae called the Grimms.

“
It’s too dangerous for
you to have one. How many times have you used it already, and
where? Here? Mina’s house?” Ever’s head dropped, and she looked
over at Mina guiltily. “Please don’t tell me you’ve used it near
her house?” Jared pointed to Mina.

“
I had to,” Ever squealed.
“You were spending too much time with her, getting attached. We
were afraid of losing you. I had to follow you both.”

“
Anything could have come
through! We don’t know what is roaming around here now. You
probably even let in another Reaper.”

She shook her head and held up her hand.
“No.”

Jared’s fists were turning white from how
tightly he was clutching them. Mina thought she could actually hear
his knuckles pop from the strain.

“
Ever!”

She bit the bottom of her lip in worry, and,
finally realizing there was no other option, she got up and dug
through her purse. Her hands were shaking, and Mina thought she
heard a few sniffs come from the pixie’s direction. Ever turned
with her fist closed and held it out to Jared.

He snatched it out of her hand fast as
lightning and bolted for the door. Her shoulders dropped and she
nodded. Before grabbing the doorknob, Ever turned and spoke, her
voice ringing with fear. “Please don’t hold this against me, Jared.
I did this for you. I did this for us.”

Jared ran his hands through his dark hair
and spun on her angrily. “No, you did this for you. I forget how
selfish pixies are—they are unable to truly care about anyone other
than themselves.”

“
You don’t mean
that.”

“
Then prove it. Prove that
your race doesn’t define who you are. Show me that you are not just
like all the other pixies. That you care more about others than
yourself.”

Ever’s beautiful eyes filled with tears,
which she tried to blink away. Her head dropped to her chest, and
she took a deep breath before closing the door.

Jared stared at the object in his hand and
tucked it into his pocket before making eye contact with Mina. He
smiled wanly, but the smile didn’t reach his eyes; he looked tired,
worn-out.

“
Let’s get you home,” he
said.

She didn’t respond, just sat stiffly on the
bike as he once again drove her home. This was becoming the night
that would never end. When he once again pulled up to her house, he
sat on his bike, immobile.

She got off the bike and stared at him. She
knew then from the angry look in his eyes that he had no intention
of ever helping her save her brother. He did all of that to take
the seam ripper for himself, not to help her. He could just give
her the seam ripper and she could go alone. He wouldn’t have to
even cross over and endanger himself.

Jared left her no other choice—she was going
to betray him, betray what little trust they had gained. And once
she finished her quest, she would deal with the repercussions then.
She closed her eyes and opened her senses, willing the feeling of
power to come to her. It did. She was living in a home made of Fae
magic, close to a royal Fae prince. It was becoming easier and
easier to recognize the lingering power that was always there, just
on the edges. She remembered when she’d called out for help and
Jared had answered. He didn’t come because he wanted to; he came
because she commanded him to help her. Now she was about to do the
same thing.

“
Jared, give me the seam
ripper.” She pushed all of the power into those words.

His eyes went wide in shock, and he backed
away from her in horror.

“
Mina! What are you
doing?”

“
Just as you are bound to
the Grimoire, you are bound to me and my will. I command you to
give me the seam ripper.”

“
Don’t do this, Mina. You
don’t know what you’re messing with. You can’t trust Fae
magic—you’re not Fae.” Even as he said the words, she could see
that he was fighting with himself and the power of the command. His
hand thrust into his pocket and gripped the seam ripper and pulled
it out.

“
I know what I am asking
you to do, and I’m sorry that it has to be this way.”

“
Mina, don’t make me do
this!” Jared’s eyes were pleading, his whole body struggling with
inner turmoil as he fought the Fae magic. “Please,” he called
out.

The tears she had been holding back flowed
freely. She was taking away his free will.

“
If you do this, Mina, I
won’t forgive you!” He yelled out the words as he fell to his knees
in pain, his fist flung out in front of her.

“
I have to, Jared. There’s
something I have to do.”

“
NO…not like this.” One by
one his fingers uncurled to reveal the shiny silver tube. “You are
breaking our trust.”

“
Jared, you never fully
trusted me to begin with, and right now I have to save Charlie.
When this is over, I can only hope you’ll forgive me. But right
now, I’m not asking for your permission or forgiveness.”

Jared let out a painful grunt, and with a
final act of free will he threw the seam ripper to the ground and
crushed it under his boot. Pieces of it flew across the ground,
scattering into the darkness.

Shock. Anger. Hurt. It all rushed over her
and took control of her body. Her hand slapped Jared so fast across
the face, she surprised herself.

Jared’s cheek turned an angry red, and the
muscle in his jaw twitched in anger, but he refused to look at her.
Instead, his angry glare was directed at the darkness behind
her.

“
You could have chosen to
go with me to help me,” she hissed.

“
I can’t.” He looked into
her eyes to show her how serious he was. “
If
you go there, Mina, you’ll be
going there alone.” Jared glared at her.

Chapter 17

School was a torture. Nothing could make her
happy. Jared was refusing to talk to her, and Ever was avoiding
sitting at their lunch table. Mina kept staring at the clock on the
wall in first period, always wondering how many minutes would pass
before Stiltskin came for her. Could it be weeks? Months? Days? The
Godmothers made it very clear that the magic of a deal in blood
could very well be stronger than the power of her Grimoire, so she
needed a Plan B. Another way to beat him if he came for her, ’cause
she obviously had no way to cross over.

Someone called her name, and she came out of
her daydream to stare into Brody’s worried eyes.

“
Are you okay?” he
asked.

“
Yeah, sure.”

“
Hey, I’m sorry about our
triple date and—”

She held up a hand to stop him.
“Please…don’t mention it...really.”

“
We could try again, maybe
this next Friday,” he said hopefully.

“
Uh, no, thanks. I think
the trio has dissolved,” she said, referring to their very empty
lunch table the day before. Jared and Ever had been absent, and
Mina didn’t think she could sit by Nan and Brody for one more day
without them.

The bell rang, and she darted from her chair
and out into the hall, then headed to the music room, deciding it
was better to get a detention for skipping a class so she could
talk to Constance, er, Mrs. Colbert, in between classes. She
followed a bunch of girls she didn’t know into the choir room and
decided to stick close to a tall brunette with hair down her back
and a smattering of freckles across her pert nose. She wore a light
blue shirt with a pink elephant on it.

She was listening to music on her iPod and
was quietly humming to herself. Mina watched her stretch to her
tiptoes multiple times while waiting in line, the sign of a
dedicated dancer practicing at every opportune moment. She popped
out an earbud, and Mina could hear the faint sounds of country
music playing before the girl turned off her iPod and put it away.
The line had moved, and it was their time to get music. The
brunette picked up a music binder, and turned and handed one to
Mina as well. She knew she had picked the right girl to shadow.

“
Hi,” the girl said
softly. “First time in choir?”

“
Yes, and after Mrs.
Colbert hears me sing, it will probably be my last,” Mina
joked.

The girl laughed. It was soft and melodic.
“I’m Melissa.”

“
Mina.”

“
Are you an alto or
soprano?”

“
Uh…what are you?” Mina
asked.

“
Soprano.”

“
Me, too,” Mina
lied.

“
Then you can come sit by
me and Bekah. We’ll help you blend, and we’ll poke you if you go
off key,” Melissa teased.