“Then she’s a sitting duck. Not any duck—probably a Peking duck.” Nan ran to her friend and wrapped her arms around her. “Don’t worry. I will hold onto you. I’ll never let you go.”

“No, she has to go,” Thistle piped up again.

“You just said there was nothing she could do,” Nix intervened. “Make up your mind.”

Thistle tapped her foot impatiently. “You’re not listening. I said there’s nothing she can do at this time. She can still stop this.”

“How?” Mina and Nan chimed together.

“There’s nothing you can do in the present. You have to go back in time.”

Chapter 15

“That’s outrageous,” Mina whispered.

“That’s impossible,” Ever gasped.

“That’s awesome!” Nan cheered.

Ever looked the most startled at the prospect of time travel. Her face had paled. “It can’t be. I don’t believe it.” She kept casting Mina sideways glances and frowning, but Mina was quite used to the odd looks from Ever.

The thought of going back into the past terrified her. What if she messed up—stepped on a butterfly and the following chain of events destroyed the world? Wasn’t there a movie about that? There was no way she could do it.

“What does she need to do?” Nan jumped up and down in excitement.

“Well, it’s going to take some preparation,” Constance said. “Baynard, how long would it take to get Schumacher in here to disassemble one of the looking glasses?”

“I believe it would take two days to craft at least. But there’s no guarantee we could land her in the right spot or time.” Baynard turned and whispered to Thistle who took off running up a pipe that went into a wall and into the next room.

The Guild had clearly decided on a course of action without her. They were going to send her back in time. Constance, Mei, and Baynard began to walk among the mirrors and study each of them. It seemed they were looking for a certain one.

“I think we should use one of the oldest. They are the strongest and have garnered the most magic over the years,” Mei said.

Constance nodded her head. “Yes, but we also need to make sure that we don’t destroy its powers in the making. This could get tricky.”

Mina was temporarily forgotten by the Guild as they plotted their next move. Nan, however, was thrilled at the idea of Mina going back in time. She immediately started to pressure her with all kinds of demands. “Okay, make sure that you bring me back souvenirs, and if you see one of my family members, you should leave them with a set of winning lottery numbers. No, that won’t work. Lottery wasn’t invented back then. Wait, what time are you going back to?”

“It doesn’t matter,” Mina said heatedly. “I’m not going.”

“What do you mean you’re not going? If you don’t, you’ll disappear!”

“We don’t know that for sure.” She knew it was a stupid thing to say—but at that moment she was feeling very overwhelmed. This was not a task for a seventeen-year-old girl. There had to be someone else who could go back and fix whatever was wrong with the timeline. Some other Grimm.

She was about to ask Mei who else could go when she turned and met Nix’s angry emerald eyes.

“Don’t even think about backing out. You have to do this!” he demanded. “It’s not just your own life that you have to save.”

“Nix, I don’t know if I can.”

“So what? At least you try. Mina, if it wasn’t for you, I would have given in to the darkness and become a Sea Witch…or I would have faded and died. If something in the past keeps you from coming into my life, I’m a dead man. Please do this! Please try and save—not only your family—but me as well.”

“You have to! You have to try and save Charlie and your mom!” Nan jumped in, cheering her on.

“No, send someone else! I’m not strong enough to do this.”

When Ever met Mina’s eyes, she looked resigned. “You have to.”

“I can’t, Ever. I don’t think I can.”

Nix dropped to his knees and grabbed her hand. “Mina, I beg you please!”

“I’m sorry Nix. Please don’t ask me again.”

Mina ran from the hall of mirrors with no clear direction in mind. All that mattered was getting away.

Chapter 16

Loud footsteps followed Mina, and she turned expecting to have to dissuade Nix from pressuring her to go back in time.

Instead she was confronted with Ever. Her eyes narrowed and her lips pinched in stubbornness. A flicker of agitation flew across her face. She was far past upset.

Mina stood there with her hands on her hips. “Spit it out.”

“Nix,” Ever said. “He helped you. He saved you.”

Mina gave her a scorching look, but Ever ignored her. “I owe him nothing. My debt was paid before he ever came to the human plane.” Mina glanced around, still confused that he hadn’t followed her. “Where is Nix?”

“I told him to not interfere and that I would try and reason with you,” Ever said defensively. “I won’t let you hurt him.”

Mina was taken aback by her venomous tone. Ever’s invisible pixie wings fluttered behind her, stirring up her dark hair. Another sign of her heightened emotion.

“I’m not going to hurt him,” Mina replied. “He’ll be fine. He’ll be better off if he never meets me. He’ll still be a Nixie. There’s no proof he would have turned into a Sea Witch. At least he’d still be alive.”

Ever snorted. “He would have made a terrible sea witch. He’s too kindhearted.”

“You should be worrying about me.”

“Mina,” Ever said, trying to keep her voice calm and even. “Nix is human now thanks to you. He’s defenseless against the dark prince’s power.”

“Yeah, defenseless like me.” Mina rushed out angrily.

“Ugh, there’s so much I could—” Ever shook her head. “It’s your own fault. You returned the Grimoire to the Fae plane, you gimp. And destroyed…Jared.”

“I didn’t know that would happen, because no one ever told me anything.”

“Listen to me, Mina. Nix is good. Saving him is the one good thing you’ve done since I’ve met you. You betrayed Jared, and now he’s gone. I won’t let that happen to Nix. Someone has to protect him from you.”

“What do you mean? By not going back, I’m not going to hurt Nix.”

Ever sighed and rubbed her forehead. Her shoulders slouched forward in defeat. “Look you don’t understand. You have no choice. I see that now—so clearly.” Her eyes grew misty with tears. “And I’m going to hate myself forever for saying this…but if you don’t go back, I’ll never forgive you.”

“Ever, what are you not telling me?”

Ever rubbed her arms as if to ward off an invisible chill. “You’re a Grimm. You can’t help that. Even if you don’t mean it, you will eventually betray us all. But I care about Nix, and I…I want what’s best for him.”

“I do too. You have to believe that.”