Forever (An Unfortunate Fairy Tale #5)

He tried to say something, but it was lost in a scream of pain as the blade, made entirely of hate, began to poison him again.

Desperate, Mina pushed more power into his mind. She searched and called and coaxed. He had to be in there. She imagined it like the dream, different mirrors with different reflections of Teague.

“Don’t! Let me be. Let me die in peace,” he said, trying to push her hand away.

Mina ignored it and kept holding onto him. “No, I won’t give up on you. I won’t.”

Teague screamed at her, his eyes glowing with hate. He transformed, his mouth turning downward, his hands arching into claws. “Get away! I hate you.” Blue veins appeared along his face as the dagger’s hate-poison traveled through him, changed him. He gasped, and black blood bubbled up and poured slowly from the corner of his mouth. He grabbed at Mina’s hand.

She gripped it tightly. His eyes opened again, and she watched the familiar blue slowly fade to gray.

“Mi…na,” he mumbled. “You did what I didn’t have the strength to. Thank…” He coughed, and more blood came up. He lost the battle with one last word, whispered across his lips. “you.”

Grieving, she eased her grip. His hand fell to the ground.

Chapter 31

“I’m sorry, Teague. I’m so sorry. I tried, and now I’ve lost you.”

Mina felt the tingling of an approaching Fae and turned in time to see a wave rise up. The sea witch appeared.

“Aw, a death to feed on.” Taz Clara stepped up onto the pier, her green skin slightly glowing, her dark green hair moving on its own.

“No, you can’t feed on him,” Mina spat. She stood.

The sea witch’s face turned ugly. “You don’t want to share? You’re the one covered in his blood, not me.”

“Go away!” Mina said.

“Listen, child, and listen well. Let me feed, and I’ll see if I can save a part of him for you.”

“You said you wouldn’t help me with Teague.”

“Not unless you killed him. I am a sea witch after all. I feed on the dead, the dying, and their fears.”

“You can save just a part of him?”

“Did I stutter?” She smiled. “I am the most powerful after a death.”

“Then save him!”

“How about a please?”

“Please,” she added softly and kneeled back down next to Teague.

Taz Clara sighed. “I do owe you a boon after all.” She smoothed out her sea green dress and kneeled on Teague’s other side. Her mouth opened, and Mina caught a glimpse of sharp, pointy teeth. She almost changed her mind—but the sea witch-sprite didn’t bite or tear into Teague. She began to sing.

It wasn’t a happy song but a low-pitched song of mourning. Her voice carried across the bay. Time slowed as Mina listened to the haunting song and watched as the sirens battled the giants, ogres, and golems.

One of the giants picked up an abandoned truck and threw it at the ship. Kino blasted the truck mid-air. It exploded into smaller pieces, still hitting the ship but causing less damage. Mina saw someone or something flying along the bridge, leading a mass of people away from the army. Ever had revealed her wings to the world. Compared to the beasts behind them, she probably looked like a guardian angel.

The Coast Guard had shown up. They were trying to shoot the giants, but bullets kept bouncing off their thick skin. Another stone golem appeared out of the water, picked up a passing fishing boat, and launched it across the air. The crew on the US Coast guard ship dove overboard just as the boat crashed into their deck. An explosion followed, and Mina turned her head to protect her eyes from the blast.

Teague was dead. This should have stopped. Why were they still fighting? Mina had to do something. She looked over just as Taz stopped singing and lifted Teague’s wrist, bending her mouth to it.

Mina couldn’t stay and watch. She could do nothing more for Teague, but she could do something to help the others. She weighed her options, looked once more at Teague and Taz, and back to Ever at the bridge. Then, she took off running.

Mina had to tread carefully over the broken boards and walk along holding the handrails. When she got to the street, she waved down a passing car and leaned into the passenger window.

“I need to get to the bridge,” Mina commanded. But when she saw a small child in the back, she quickly told the woman to go home by another route.

She waved down a white van. The driver was a heavyset guy, probably in his late forties. “I need to get to the bridge.”

“That’s where I’m headed. I hear there’s a Godzilla-type-thing destroying it. Hop in.”

She jumped in and held on as he drove crazily, weaving in and out of traffic. He ran two red lights as he made his way to the bridge. When he got as close as he could before being stopped by the police, he pulled over, jumped out, and opened up the back.

That was when Mina saw the camera gear and paid closer attention to the signage on the van. She’d gotten in a news cameraman’s van.

“You can’t video this,” Mina begged.

“Are you kidding me? How can I not? This footage will be the start of a new career. I’ll be famous.”

She touched the camera and willed a flare of power into it. It sparked and caught fire.

“Ow, what’d you do?” He dropped the camera to the ground, reached in for a fire extinguisher.

“Sorry!” Mina called over her shoulder, as she ran past the police tape.

No one tried to stop her from going in, because the police were so busy rescuing people from the bridge.

Mina was exhausted, darting left and right of abandoned cars. She made it past the school bus, grateful to see it was finally deserted.

She found a metal pipe on the road and held it between her hands. Concentrating, she felt the power flare up. She turned it into a glowing sword just as a troll attacked.

Mina screamed and swung blindly at the troll’s midsection. She let loose her power and—as she let the grief of Teague’s death wash over her—the power eked through her skin.

She swung again at the troll. This time, he howled in pain and jumped off the bridge to avoid another onslaught from her. She turned to the next opponent—another smaller troll. On and on she fought, clearing a path until she got to the middle.

It seemed the advance charge from the sirens had stopped. Kino was on defense now, fighting off projectile attacks. Her grandparents and half the sirens were diving under water and doing their best to rescue people from the sunken cars.

Which were still being tossed from the bridge by one of the giants.

At the center, she realized there were too many. Fae were still pouring through the gate, more than just the strongest of Teague’s army who had come through on small boats and vessels. This was a different army, more human-looking with tanned skin and angry eyes. Familiar, but Mina couldn’t place who they were or why they would attack.

She had to stop the giants and the stone golem.

Ever waved and flew past her, knocking into a Fae wolf who looked a bit like Lonetree. He flailed and hit the water. He started to swim toward the land, but a siren pulled him beneath the water. Bubbles surfaced for a moment, then stopped.

Mina’s stomach rolled. It would only get worse if she couldn’t stop this.