That was it? Suddenly, a failing test didn’t seem so bad to Mina. There was actually hope. Twice more the crystal bowl performed, showing off the girls’ power. Shaya’s blood made the water rise out of the bowl and dance. Estellya’s made the water freeze.

Ferah, a beautiful young elf with red hair and pointed ears, approached for her test. She seemed calm and collected, but during her test, the water turned black.

Unlike they had in reaction to Fuchsia’s failure, the Fates rose up in alarm. “An assassin,” Lucian announced.

Ferah pulled a small knife from the folds of her dress and lunged toward Teague.

“Watch out!” Mina cried, rushing forward and grabbing for Ferah’s wrist. She tried to wrestle the knife from her hand, but couldn’t get her to drop it. Instead, acting on instinct, she pulled the girl toward her and spun, using her hips to flip the girl onto the tile floor in a pile of tulle and silk.

The knife skittered across the floor.

Seeing that she was defeated, Ferah got up, gathered her skirts, and ran for the door.

“Guards, guards!” Maeve shouted.

The doors burst open and two giants entered, blocking her escape. The elf-girl turned, aware that she was trapped. Reaching within her dress, she pulled out two more blades. She scanned the room searching wildly for her targets, but the Fates had disappeared.

Teague had disappeared.

Mina felt a brush of cold air across her skin and realized that Teague at least had never left. The candelabras blew out as something large passed in front of them, leaving everyone in near darkness.

By the dusky light coming through the window, Mina saw a shadow beast materialize behind the terrified girl.

Ferah turned, screaming, stabbing at the darkness that merely dissipated. Her knife pierced nothing.

The temperature dropped and the girls whimpered when their breath became visible. The beating wings of the creature grew louder, and the girl slowly backed herself into a corner. Her chest rose and fell in panic, and her knives whizzed through the air as she continued to stab at any shadow that passed close to her.

Mina could feel the girl’s terror radiate outward and spread to the girls behind her. Knowing how deadly Jared was and knowing that Teague was even more so, her first priority was to protect the innocent girls.

“Give me your hand.” She reached out to the girl closest to her, not knowing if they’d even listen. But a trembling hand latched onto hers. Mina felt around and found another arm. They formed a chain, and Mina pulled them to the side of the room away from the action. The girls huddled in a corner with Mina in front of them, her arms held out as a human shield.

The young assassin regained her composure and dashed to the middle of the room away from the approaching beast. The shadow creature moved, materializing as it touched down on the floor. But the darkness was evident even in Teague’s handsome form. His eyes were dark with anger, his hair tousled from flying. He must have made a sound because the girl spun.

Her dress didn’t seem to hinder her as she leapt into the air and let the knife fly toward Teague, followed quickly by a second blade.

Teague moved so fast he blurred as he dodged the knives, but they continued their trajectory.

They were heading straight toward the clump of girls. As Ferah saw her mistake, her eyes widened and she reached out as if to stop their course.

“No!” Mina shouted. She held her hands over her face. The last thing she saw before she closed her eyes was the glint off the silver knives flying toward her.

Chapter 23

The knives never made contact.

Mina waited a few seconds, opened her eyes, and dropped her hands to see the steely knives suspended in midair, mere inches from her face. Unwilling to take any chances, in case they continued on their trajectory she sidestepped the knives.

Her mouth was dry and her heart felt like it was beating a path out of her chest.

Wailing began behind her, and she turned to see that—of the six girls left—four of them had broken down into sobbing piles of color on the floor. It seemed they no longer cared about wrinkling their dresses. The two not crying were pale in the face, and one looked like she was going to toss her cookies at any moment.

“Are you all right?’ Teague came to stand next to her, his face full of concern. Two giants had grabbed Ferah and were now holding her in a kneeling position in the middle of the room. King Lucian and Queen Maeve materialized and stood in front of the young assassin. She had quit fighting and seemed to be slowly accepting her fate.

“I’m fine. Just a little shaken up,” Mina answered Teague. Her body was humming from head to toe, and she tried to get her emotions under control. “That was a little too close a call.”

“You defended me.” He smiled, one corner of his mouth lifting in a bit of a smirk. “Not that I needed your help. But I think it’s kind of cute.” He crossed his arms and continued smirking at her.

Which only irritated her. Here was the snarky Jared-side she was used to dealing with. “Well, I don’t know. You could have been distracted by all of the pretty skirts in the room. Who knows where your mind was?”

“Skirts? Why would the material of their dresses be distracting? I can tell you that I’m in no way interested in what they are wearing. Who’s wearing it is what matters.” He raised his eyebrow, and Mina rolled her eyes.

“You can calm down now. The danger is over,” he added.

“I know that,” she huffed.

“Well maybe you do, but my parents not so much.” He gestured with his chin to the Fates who were looking their way very pointedly. They were obviously still worried and upset about something, and it looked like it was Mina.

“What’s going on?” she asked. Apprehension rose within her once again. “Why do they seem angry?”

“It could be because they see you as a threat.”

“Me? A threat? I haven’t done anything,” her voice rose in fear. Had they somehow figured out why she was here?

“Well, you’re the one who is armed.”

“What?” She couldn’t breathe.

Teague shook his head, reached out, and grasped her forearms roughly. Mina winced from the pressure and started to panic, pulling away from him.

“You have about ten seconds to calm down and release the knives from whatever spell you control them with, or the Fates will have no choice but to dispose of you, and there’s nothing I can do about it.”

“Knives?” She snapped out of her reverie and eyed the two knives that were still suspended in midair.

“Yes. Knives. Right now you are holding a weapon in the midst of the Royals. It’s treason. Unless you drop it, your punishment is death.”

“I didn’t know. I don’t know if I can. I’m not sure how I stopped them there in the first place.” The words jumbled out of Mina’s mouth and she could feel herself beginning to lose control. She was the one who’d stopped the knives? It was her? How?

Teague shook her roughly, and her knees knocked together. Over his shoulder she saw the large double doors open, and more Fae guards entered with swords drawn. They circled around Mina and Teague but kept their distance. The knives slowly turned toward Mina again, making Teague’s back the perfect target now.

Fear was making her freeze up. Her eyes started to water. She didn’t know how she stopped the knives, and if she couldn’t undo it, she would be killed right here on the spot. It was instinct on the human plane when she’d pushed Nan and Ever out of the way of the truck. It was instinct that made her try and save herself here.