“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.