Forever

by Chanda Hahn

  “I came to ask for help.”

  Queen Maeve barked a derisive laugh. “Help! I blame you for this.” She waved her hand to the swamp around her. “This is our home now, thanks to you. All you had to do was stay on the human plane, never let him cross back over. But now we’re doomed.” Her regal face crumpled, and Lucian slipped his arms around his wife.

  “Now, now, darling. Everything will be alright,” he whispered softly to her.

  “What happened?” Mina asked. “Why are you in the swamp?”

  “Because of our son,” Lucian answered. “He’s too powerful. Even our armies. He controls them all now, the giants, griffins, ogres, trolls. We dare not go up against him and what’s left of our royal guard alone. This is all that is still loyal to us.”

  The Fae light around her dimmed. Beyond the Fates, about twenty or so soldiers from the palace stood in the nearby reeds. Their uniforms and armor were covered with mud and starting to rust. They looked tired and worn out. Not fit to storm the palace and fight Teague. Among them, she recognized Captain Plaith. But their numbers were dismal.

  “What do we do now?” Mina asked.

  “We?” Queen Maeve scoffed. “You’ve done enough.”

  “Now, Maeve,” Lucian chastised.

  She gave him a seething look. “I wouldn’t trust that human any more than I’d trust a sea witch.”

  “Well, she can’t be all human. You saw how the bowl reacted to her in the test. She’s strong, and… ahem… our son has a fondness for the girl. She could be our only hope.”

  “You once came to me for help,” Mina reminded the Fates. “When the Grimoire ended up in the hands of a renegade Reaper, you sent me after it to protect a part of your son.”

  “That Reaper would have destroyed him—or worse, reunited him with himself.”

  “But I saved him, at least a part of him.”

  “You were the one who turned him into the beast that he is now! He wasn’t like this until that night in the tower. That night that you poisoned our son against us.”

  “You don’t know what happened, do you?”King Lucian turned to her, looking extremely interested. “What exactly happened?”

  “He was stabbed with the dagger of Erjad, and he was dying, but I healed him… Only I didn’t know that a piece of the dagger was still inside. It changed him and turned him into…” She trailed off, not needing to say any more about their son.

  “And how did this dagger end up in our son? You were the one who was with him.” King Lucian’s eyes glowed, and Mina felt pressure around her throat. She grasped at the power that began to strangle her. So that’s where Teague got his temper.

  Her mouth opened and closed as she tried to breathe. She looked at the king’s glowing eyes, and she wasn’t afraid. She closed her own eyes and imagined his power snapping back on the king like a rubber band. She felt the power break.

  King Lucian cried out in pain. He gasped, looking at her in awe. “How did you do that?” A small smile formed at the corner of his lips. “You used my own power against me.”

  Mina ignored the king, rubbing at her throat. She stared directly at Queen Maeve and said two words. “The Godmothers.”

  Queen Maeve sighed and rubbed her forehead. “I wondered. They’ve always had it out for the ruling family. But they used to be mere pests, with the occasional assassination attempt. They believe we are evil dictators.”

  Mina raised an eyebrow and scoffed. “Do you blame them? Look what’s come to pass. They acted based on a prophecy that foretold all of this. Do you know what it’s like to watch your loved ones being hunted—toyed with—only to fall victim to mindless quests? In fact, they weren’t quests. They were traps. You never intended to break the curse over my family.”

  “Of course not. Teague was set on destroying your family, no matter what we did. We could neither stop him nor close the gates between the planes—not when our son was on the human plane.

  Tears of frustration filled Mina’s eyes. “Well, you should have. He would have been happy—at least a part of him would have. I would have seen to that. And then Teague wouldn’t have killed my family.”

  “Perhaps there is truth in what you say. But it’s too late for that now,” Queen Maeve admitted sadly.

  “What about splitting him again?” Mina asked, her voice filled with desperation.

  “We never wanted him split. Just his powers bound.”

  “The first who attempted and failed now sleeps in stone at the bottom of the lake.” King Lucian’s voice carried an edge of anger, and Mina couldn’t help but wonder if he referred to the siren.

  “The second Fae split him into two. Although she didn’t fail, she didn’t do what we asked. That sprite was not who she said she was, and we banished her to the human plane,” Queen Maeve said.

  “Oh,” Mina said sadly.

  “Even if we were able to split him again, there’s no guarantee that Teague’s personality would divide down the same path. You could end up with two different personas of the current Teague,” the queen said sadly. “And as dangerous and unpredictable as he is, I’m not sure that’s worth the risk.”

  “Plus he would never let us get that close to him again,” King Lucian said. “We barely escaped with our lives at our last encounter. You on the other hand…” His voice trailed off as he studied her thoughtfully.

  “How?” Mina asked. “You’re the ruling Fates. How did one boy overpower the both of you?”

  Queen Maeve looked pained at the question. She brought her finger up to her lips and made a shushing noise. “Follow us.”

  She beckoned Mina to follow her through the reeds. A few feet away, the grass parted before the Fates, mud slurping out of the way, reeds bending backward to clear a path so they could move to an area outside of the swamp. They walked to a grove of willow trees.

  King Lucian pulled the low hanging branches apart and let his wife enter the shelter of one, and then Mina. As Mina passed through, she could hear the faint sound of crying.

  Apparently, in the Fae plane, the willows really did weep. Mina had never seen a weeping willow so large or beautiful. Its long, hanging branches appeared more white than green as they formed a swaying rooftop.

  Within the protection of the boughs, King Lucian waved his hand, and gold magic wove up and around the tree, encasing them within a cage of power.

  “No!” Mina rushed to the side, but King Lucian stopped her.

  “Don’t touch the ward. You will be instantly killed.”

  Those words didn’t make her feel any safer. She pulled away from the king and stood awkwardly in the center of the cage.

  “It’s only a sound barrier to keep prying ears from hearing,” Queen Maeve waved her hand, and silver willow branches slowly dropped from above to form a small swing for the queen to sit in. She smoothed out her skirts and watched her husband expectantly.

  King Lucian rubbed his beard and nodded. He prepared to sit on air, when a large purple mushroom formed beneath him, creating the perfect stool.

  Mina felt a little bit perturbed that no one offered her a seat, but why should they? They were the Fates. They created their own seats. Using anger more than common sense, Mina focused on a small blue flower. Envisioning what she had in mind, she felt the prickle of power come to her and pushed it toward the flower.

  She couldn’t hold back the smirk when the flower grew and morphed—not into just a larger version of itself. Three of the petals grew exponentially larger, one creating the back and two others forming armrests. Mina didn’t just create for herself a chair to sit on in front of the Fates. She went so far as to challenge them by fashioning herself a flower throne. She was about to sit on her throne when she noticed how covered in mud she was.

  Well, that wouldn’t do. She pushed the power and made the mud disappear from her clothes. Then, crossing her legs, she settled back in the throne and waited.

  King Lucian laughed. “Well done. Well done, girl. I see you have not only power, but sass. I
like that. I like that very much.”

  Queen Maeve just shook her head at her husband’s verbal adoration.

  “You were about to say?” Mina prompted them with a nod of her head. Her smile did not dim in the light of the king’s laughter.

  “What we are about to tell you cannot leave this tree.” Queen Maeve warned, her voice threatening.

  Mina would have none of it. She leaned forward on her throne, her voice matching the queen’s with its own threat. “One of your Death Reapers took my mother. I make no such promises. I’m here for revenge. I’m not worried about wounding your pride.”

  This time it was Maeve’s turn to look shocked but pleased. “Very well. But you must know this is very sensitive information we are going to share.”

  “Then why share it with me?” Mina asked. “Especially if you blame me for what happened to your son.”

  Queen Maeve stilled her eyes, slowly closing them with barely hidden anger. “Even though I may not trust you, and despite what the Godmothers believe, we do care for our people. And you, child, can save not only your world but ours as well.”

  “How exactly can I do that?”

  King Lucian crossed his arms and spoke slowly. “We are chosen as the Fates, because we are the most powerful Fae. We marry into powerful lineages to protect our line.”

  “That’s why you have the tests,” Mina answered.

  “Exactly,” the king said. “But if one far stronger than us comes to power, they can wrest that title from us. Our son was strong, the Fae magic almost too much for him to handle. He feared he would lose control of the power. We had hoped that by finding his match, it would help balance him, and one day the pair would become the Fates. But in his fury, he has taken that from us all on his own. He is now the lone Fate, and with that title he holds control of the army.”

  “How did he gain control of the army?”

  “Similar to the sweetsuckle bees,” Queen Maeve answered, referring to a Fae bee. “Just as the queen bee controls the swarms of soldiers, the Fate controls our armies.”

  “We need to turn our enemy into our greatest weapon,” King Lucian said.

  “Stop it.” Mina stood and stared down at the king and queen. “I am not a pawn.”

  Her anger was so evident, and her power flowed forth so violently, that the mushroom under the king withered back into the ground, and he fell into the grass. The queen’s swing dropped her on the ground and retreated back into the canopy above. “I am a Grimm.”

  King Lucian recovered first. He stood up, dusting the dirt from the back of his trousers. “That is the power we need if you are to succeed where we have failed.”

  Queen Maeve gave him a hauntingly sad look.

  “Succeed by doing what exactly?” Mina snapped.

  King Lucian didn’t look thrilled himself, but he swallowed and looked deep into Mina’s eyes. “By killing our son.”

  Chapter 14

  There was never any doubt in Mina’s mind that it would come down to death—hers or Teague’s. But for the command to come from his own parents! Their willingness to betray their own flesh and blood so they could once again rule as the Fates turned her blood cold. No wonder Teague was so conflicted. His own parents had just put a bounty out on his head.

  At first Mina started to empathize with the Fates, but she didn’t expect them to betray their own son.

  “I can see the accusation in your eyes,” Queen Maeve said firmly. She came and stood before Mina. Her chin held high as she looked down her nose at her. “You don’t understand how we, his own parents, can wish that upon our son. But you don’t know what havoc he has wreaked in our world. Thousands have died. Thousands more will as well.”

  “He’s your son!”

  “That beast!” Maeve’s hand shook as she pointed outward toward the swamp. “Is not my son.”

  “Deep inside, he is still the same young man, under an evil spell. I came here seeking help. Hoping you would stop him from destroying my world.”

  “How can we,” Queen Maeve whispered, a tear slowly sliding down her dainty white cheek, “when we couldn’t stop him from destroying ours?”

  Mina’s heart was breaking for Teague. She remembered how she felt when her mom abandoned her, but that was only until she realized that her family would do whatever it took to rescue her. By making the greatest sacrifice of all. Her life.

  Maybe if the Fates had been willing to risk themselves, they might have been able to help him. Didn’t they understand that he was scared of ruling? Of losing control? He became the very thing he feared. He’d never wanted this to happen. But instead of searching for another solution, Teague’s parents gave up and were resorting to murder.

  She would have to stop him without their help, because she certainly wasn’t going to help them regain power to a throne that rested on the blood of their son. Even Teague was able to dethrone his parents without killing them.

  How horrible it must be to have such heartless parents. She was so furious, she had problems reining in her anger.

  She stormed to the wall of willow branches and waited while King Lucian unwove the ward to release her. When it was down, and she could no longer see the glowing spider web of power, she turned and said her farewell to the Royals before her.

  “So while my world crumbles, you hide in your swamp kingdom…scared of your own son. No wonder it was easy for him to steal control from you two. You’re cowards.”

  Mina walked out of the boughs and into the swamp. She heard the roar of King Lucian’s angry retort, but she didn’t dare look back. She pulled out her seam ripper, created a gate, and stepped back to her world.

  The gate slowly closed, and she didn’t even care if something followed her through. She didn’t think the king and queen would send anyone after her. Not when their whole plan started and ended with her doing all the work. The weight of her current plan fell on her shoulders like a ton of bricks as soon as came through the gate.

  Her back-up plan had failed, and the task laid before her made her nervous, agitated, and resigned. She hoped she was strong enough for what was to come, prayed that she was brave enough to both save her brother and end the curse on both their worlds. Maybe she’d be alive in the end to tell the story to her kids one day.

  Mina put her seam ripper in her pocket, looked around her bedroom, and wondered how much time she had left. Had time passed at all while she’d been on the Fae plane, or—like Brody said—had it been mere moments? She made her way to the kitchen.

  Ever sat at the breakfast table eating toast with peanut butter and marshmallows on it. She raised one dark eyebrow and offered Mina a piece. “Want some? It’s great for curing the blues, and we have some time to kill.”

  “Ugh, no,” Mina rubbed her face and sat on the stool, burying her face in her arms.

  “Coffee?” Ever held up a mug with the words. Coffee is my happily ever after. “It’s just black. Nothing weird in it. I promise.”

  “No, I can’t handle that stuff unless there’s tons of cream and sugar.”

  “I’m on it.” Ever slid from her chair and went to fill an empty mug. She poured in a splash of cream. Then she waved her finger in the air, and a pink and white striped tube appeared next to her. The paper tube opened, poured into the cup, and the spoon stirred on its own.

  “What is that?” Mina asked, her piqued curiosity overriding her burden for a moment.

  “Sugar,” Ever answered, handing her the cup. The spoon swirled twice more in the mug and came to a slow stop.

  “What kind of sugar?”

  “Only the best ever.” Ever smiled and clinked her cup against Mina’s. She took a swig and rolled her eyes in pleasure.

  Mina stared at the empty wrapper on the counter. A Pixy Stix. Of course Ever would find a use for her addiction to the Fae named candy.

  Not wanting to offend her, Mina took a sip and tried to keep her face as neutral as possible. Huh. It wasn’t half bad.

  Mina glanced around the kitchen a
nd then to the hall, looking for Nix.

  “He’s not here,” Ever answered. “He left after you went upstairs.”

  “Yeah.”

  “You know, you treated him like garbage.”

  “I know.” Mina grumbled, feeling worse.

  “I get why you did it. It’s easier to push them away so they don’t get hurt. Like you did with Nan, Brody, and Charlie. You sent the ones you love the most away. And you started to treat Nix bad, hoping he’ll abandon you too. You’re trying to protect him.”

  Mina didn’t answer. She didn’t have to. The truth was written across her face.

  Ever just continued to talk. “And since you barely tolerate me, you won’t send me away, because I’m not important to you.”

  Mina’s head snapped up. “That’s not true at all.”

  “Relax, Gimp. I know I’m your favorite.” She smiled wryly and took another bite of her peanut butter marshmallow toast. “Plus, you need me,” she said around her mouthful of food.

  Mina sat there staring at Ever. Finally, she reached for that offered piece of toast and took a bite. Something crackled in her throat. Mina coughed into her napkin, and shot Ever an awful look. “Pop rocks?”

  Ever opened her mouth, so Mina could hear the popping noise. “It’s the best.”

  “You’re worse than Charlie.” Mina coughed again as a stray piece of popping candy lodged in her throat.

  “Naw, he’s just got the great Fae taste in food. Always has.”

  “Why is that?” Mina asked, wiping her mouth.

  “Because Charlie and you are a part of our world as much as yours—and magic is your legacy. You can feel how it flows naturally to you. You just need the confidence to control it.”

  “That’s what scares me. I can feel it hovering, especially whenever I’ve been scared or angry—the weakness of all sirens. Everything Nix wanted to avoid. Neither of those emotions are great influences on my power.”

  “Sirens are some of the strongest Fae around. If you start practicing, maybe you’ll be a match for Teague.”