“Nan! Dr. Martin! We have to make sure they are okay.” She looked to Jared, but he wasn’t moving; he was staring at the book.

Reluctantly, Mina moved away from him to grab the book. She opened it up to the last page and ran her fingers across the beautiful picture of a dragon fighting a giant. “Who was she?” Mina whispered.

“A dragon,” Jared answered. He touched the page tenderly, almost lovingly.

Mina touched his cheek with his hand and wiped away a stray tear. “No, who was she to you?” He wouldn’t look at her.

“Probably the only one who ever really cared about me.” He pressed his lips together firmly and she could see that he was steeling himself, getting ready to hide behind his stony mask.

“That’s not true.” Mina pressed her forehead to Jared’s, trying to comfort him. “I care.”

He opened his eyes wide at her admission, and she was sucked into his beautiful grey eyes. He closed his eyes and waited on baited breath as if savoring the moment. Reluctantly, he pulled away from her and looked at the book. “She was my Nanny,” Jared admitted. “She raised me since I was a kid, until I was banished. I was like a son to her.

“Why did she try to scare me?”

“I think she thought you had the Grimoire, and like most Fae, she’s not real fond of the Grimms. But I didn’t even know she came to the human world, she must have come here shortly after I did. I was as surprised as you, when she came crashing through the door.”

Mina nodded silently and stood up, pulling him up with her. She began to walk toward the stairway pulling Jared behind her. Once they were on the stairs, she realized that she was still holding hands with him. She tried to pull away, but Jared held onto her hand firmly.

Not seeing any reason to let go, they walked hand in hand down the stairs. On the second floor they were met by firefighters who escorted them to safety. The parking lot was chaos, filled with fire trucks, ambulances, police, and hospital staff.

It seemed the fire had been contained to the fourth floor and everyone had been accounted for. Everyone except nurse Diedre. Mina sat on a stretcher and was tended to by an EMT. Jared sat next to her, refusing to leave her side. It wasn’t until Mina saw the tour bus and a frightened Brody and Peter waiting impatiently behind a police line that she remembered them.

She ran across the parking lot, and Brody ducked under the police tape and ran to meet her. She wasn’t prepared for Brody’s enthusiastic reception when he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her tightly.

“You’re okay? You aren’t hurt?” He looked at her and pulled her into another embrace. “I can’t tell you how terrifying it was to know you were in there. And when you didn’t come out with Nan, I feared the worst.”

Looking up into his deep blue eyes, she could see the worry etched deep in them and something else. She didn’t have time to think because he leaned down and kissed her. Startled, she froze for a moment before enjoying the kiss. It was soft, tender, and beautiful.

A loud clearing of the throat interrupted them. They broke apart to confront an angry Jared.

“Excuse me, but Dr. Martin is awake and asking a lot of questions. Also, they are about to transfer Nan to another hospital. I think you should get over there, if you know what I mean,” Jared hinted.

Mina grabbed Peter’s hand and dragged him toward the ambulance. She begged the staff to let them have a few moments with Nan before they transferred her. The EMT wasn’t amused, but since Nan wasn’t injured and wasn’t going anywhere, he nodded.

Even in an ordinary hospital gown, Nan was beautiful. Of course, Mina knew it for what it truly was- an enchanted sleep. She was probably the only one who understood that her glowing skin and beautiful complexion was due to Fae magic instead of medicine.

Peter stood before Nan, and he reached out to take her hand in his. He leaned down and whispered into her ear, but she didn’t respond. He looked over to Mina expectantly. “So what is the plan?”

“You kiss her,” Mina answered. “Just like all of the fairy tale stories where true love’s kiss breaks the spell.”

“Mina,” Peter laughed uncomfortably. “This isn’t a fairy tale. I care for her deeply, but we barely know each other. I would never, ever wish this on anyone, but I don’t see how a kiss is going to wake anyone from a coma.”

“It has too,” Mina argued. She clenched her fists to her sides and felt doubt begin to rise up. “I know it will. She was madly in love with you, Peter. It’s what all of your crazy satirical songs are about. So what are you waiting for? Kiss her. If she wakes up, you’ve got a great new song to write about.”

Brody came and stood next to Jared and watched the two argue. Finally, he chimed in. “Go ahead, I’ve never seen you balk at kissing a girl before,” he taunted his cousin.

Sweat began to bead on Peter’s forehead; he wiped it away with the sleeve of his shirt. “Well, that’s because I’ve never kissed an almost dead girl.”

“She’s not dead, or almost dead. Just kiss her and we can all go home.” Mina bit her lip and jumped up and down nervously. She couldn’t understand Peter’s hesitation.

After much coaxing, he moved forward placing either hand on the side of Nan’s shoulders. He took a deep breath, leaned in, closed his eyes, and kissed her on her lips. A few seconds passed, and he broke the kiss.

Everyone waited on baited breath for a change. There wasn’t any.

The band members snuck under the tape and were watching the whole episode with interest. “What do you know?” Naga intoned sadly. “Beauty really is dead.”

Chapter 25

“That can’t be!” Mina was crushed. She looked at Jared, and he shrugged his shoulders. She motioned to speak to him alone.

Jared nonchalantly walked over to Mina away from the Brody and the members of the Dead Prince Society.

“What’s wrong? I gave the stupid story everything it needs for the stupid fairy tale.” She pushed him in the chest angrily. “I kept my part of the bargain. I found the Grimoire, I saved you. The Fates were supposed to give me a fighting chance to save her. I did that. I saved her and even brought a Prince in to kiss her. You can’t get a more fairy tale ending than that.” Mina began pacing and twirling her hair in nervousness.

“You made a deal with the Fates?” Jared asked incredulous. “Both of them? What did they tell you?” He almost seemed panicked.

“Well, just the Queen,” she answered. “But I kept my part of the bargain. She lied.”

Jared thought for a moment long and hard and studied the five boys waiting near the gurney. Four of them seemed nervous and ashamed. Only one of them seemed curious…almost thoughtful.

“Maybe you got the wrong Prince.” He gestured with his head toward the rest of the Princes. “After all, you’ve got three more to choose from.”

All of the doubt and insecurities vanished, and Mina looked up in hope. Of course, she had convinced all four members of the Dead Prince Society to show up at the hospital for an impromptu serenade.

“We can give it a try, but this time you have to do the convincing of kissing a girl in a coma.” Mina pointed her finger at Jared and motioned to the standing boys.