Someone, she wasn't sure who, felt bad enough for Annalora that they got a wet cloth for her eye. But the way Annalora kept glaring at her out of her one good eye made Mina very uncomfortable.

Only one more girl was sent home-leaving a total of eight girls out of the original twelve. Even though it had only been a few hours ago, it felt like Mina had been here days. And much to her dismay, two more days remained before Teague's betrothal would be announced. She was no closer to finding the reason she'd been sent back to this time. She had yet to find or hear of any clue with which she could save her family.

The remaining girls were each given their own room, and a meal was sent to them. Mina received a plate of mixed greens, berry, and a spiced fruit drink. A porter came to her room and apologized profusely, because someone seemed to have misplaced her trunks. Mina didn't have the heart to tell him that she hadn't brought any. She simply said it would be fine. She'd survive.

That seemed to take him aback. He stared at her, clearly perplexed.

Mina looked around the room and realized she'd been here room before. It was a sitting room not far from the bathing room. It had barely changed in a few hundred years, but nevertheless, she'd been here. Teague had presented her with a dress that day, and she'd used Fae magic to change what she was wearing. There was the screen in the corner with the same large mirror. She had never opened the doors to see what was beyond the sitting room.

She did now. A large, impossibly inviting four-poster bed graced a bedroom with a wardrobe and window. Mina went back to the mirror and studied her dress. It had seen better days. The feathers were scattered every which way after being torn loose from her scuffle with Ferah, which saddened her. She really did love this dress.

Taking a deep breath, Mina closed her eyes and tried to concentrate on the electric hum of Fae magic in the air. The air was so thick with it, she could almost taste it. The tough part was gathering it into large enough forms that Mina could harness and direct it. Like when she unintentionally sic'd it on Nan and Brody, causing them to end up in the car accident. And when she'd changed her dress into pants. And every time the Grimoire would shift and change at will for her. Maybe she'd always been the one doing it.

"Sleep clothes." Mina spoke aloud but was unsure what to do. Her white dress softened and became a long-sleeved high neck chemise. "Oh, um, no. How about pajamas?" she whispered, picturing her favorite set from home. Her dress shrank, slowly shrinking into a pair of pink shorts with hearts and a matching tank with the words heartbreaker on them. Mina was giddy with excitement. She looked down at her glass slippers. Dare she take them off to sleep? It seemed irresponsible to even consider it, but what would happen if they took her back to the present in her sleep? She'd reappear wearing glass slippers and her pajamas. That's what. But then she might not get back again.

She decided to take the slippers off and crawled into the large four-poster bed, sliding under the covers. She put the slippers on the wooden table with a pitcher of water and a cup. Hopefully she'd see their flashing if they were about to head to the future again, and she'd have time to magic herself into some appropriate clothes before she went with them.

She curled up in the blankets and buried her head in the soft pillow, but realized she'd failed to extinguish the candle on the nightstand. Instead of sitting up and blowing it out, she decided to practice. She waved her hand at the candle in an attempt to extinguish it.

Nothing happened. Really? She fumed.

"Okay, why can't I blow out a candle?" She wiggled her fingers, but still nothing happened. Frustrated, she crawled from underneath the covers and kneeled in front of the candle. Bringing her hand within centimeters of the burning flame, she felt the heat run along the pads of her fingers. The barest hint of pain ran along the underside, matching the tingling of power from Fae magic. Again, she concentrated and tried to put out the flame.

"Fine. If I can't stop it, I'll change it." This time she imagined the wick dark, cold, extinguished. She thought she saw the flame flicker as if it was going out, but it continued just as before.

She sighed.

A window in the room blew open, extinguishing the candle, leaving her in complete darkness. Goose bumps rose along her arms. She didn't need light to know Teague was in the room.

"Do you sneak into all the girls' rooms?"

"No. Only those who try and protect me one minute, and punch a princess in the face the next. From what I heard, it was over a...shoe." He saw the slippers on the table and reached for them. Mina dove for them and grabbed them before he could.

"Well, if you already know, then you should know better than to mess with a girl's footwear." She tucked them behind her, which drew his attention to the odd clothes she was wearing.

The candle reignited, and Teague stood next to her bed, dressed in dark colors. She would have called them black, but it seemed that he had changed and was wearing dark shades of gray. He frowned at her. "What are you wearing? I've never seen such clothes. Is this what you wear in your kingdom? Do you wear your title proudly upon your chest? I didn't know that there was such a thing as a breaker of hearts."

He looked so confused that she couldn't help but laugh at him, which irritated him. He backed away from her.

"Yes, everyone dresses like me where I come from."

"And where is that exactly? Because no one really seems to know."

"Very far away."

"Yes, I gather that."

"It doesn't matter, because where I come from doesn't concern you," she snapped, a bit more harshly than she intended.

Teague's blue eyes darkened with righteous fury. "How can your origins not concern me, when there may be a chance you will rule beside me?"

She let out a snort, which he didn't find funny in the least. "That's not going to happen," she sighed.

"You think not?" He moved forward to sit on the edge of her bed and look at her. "You are one of the oddest girls I've ever met. Your dress is funny, the way you talk-even your attitude towards me, your prince."

"You're not my prince." Mina said, instantly wishing the words back.

"You see what I mean? You're odd-"

"I'm not odd. I'm normal."

"-and you're intriguing. You've been sent here along with the others, in the hopes of being chosen to be my wife, yet you scoff at the idea."

Scoff at the idea? Mina was scoffing at herself. She had Teague this close to her-in her room even-and she had put the knife in a drawer across the room.

"Why are you here?" he asked.

"Isn't it obvious?"

"No, it's not. No one's heard of you. You make the crystal bowl sing-no one has ever done that. You can't control your powers, and you act like you don't want to be here. Have I done something to offend you?"

"Not in this lifetime," she mumbled.

"See? There you go again."

Mina couldn't help but laugh in the glow of the candlelight; it was so easy to believe she was sitting having a teasing conversation with Jared. And she knew exactly what buttons to push. They seemed to work on Teague as well.

He froze at her laughter, swallowing slowly. He continued to observe her intently.

"What? Do I have something in my teeth?" She grinned widely, displaying her pearly whites for his inspection.

He leaned over and gently grabbed her chin, pretending to inspect them. "No, I don't see anything."

She busted out laughing at the seriousness with which he took her retort. He sat back and cocked his head to the side.

"What?"

"I'm just surprised at you. Your laughter is genuine. You're not hiding behind fake smiles and phony compliments or memorized answers. You really don't seem to care about impressing me, do you?"

This time Mina swallowed nervously. Was she being too casual? Was she going to be sent home because she'd hurt his feelings or teased him?

And why did that possibility bother her so much?

She thought again about why she was here, and how many members of her family would die if she didn't fix what was going to happen. Being here laughing with her enemy wasn't going to solve her problems. Instead, it was making everything more complicated.

"No, I guess I don't see the point of pretending and putting on airs. I'm not ashamed of who I am. At one point, yes, I was embarrassed about who I was, and the clothes that I wore, and where I lived. But I learned that those things weren't important. What's most important to me is family and being proud of the person I am. I'm not going to pretend I'm someone I'm not."

Teague studied her intently and leaned forward. She stiffened as he moved closer, bringing his lips within inches of her ear. "That's good. Because I despise liars and imposters." His voice dripped with hidden meaning.

Did he know? Did he suspect? "And I hate princes that are selfish and power hungry," Mina shot back.

His eyes flashed with anger, and she heard his quick intake of breath. "I can handle the truth, but I'm none of those."

"Are you sure?" she asked, gently testing the waters. "Have you never been of two minds about something? Have you never felt a hunger for something that's not yours?" She watched him carefully for his response.

He turned his head, showing off his handsome profile. "Careful, you're tempting me to do something radical. And tempting me is very, very dangerous. For both you and me," he warned.

She shivered. It was so hard to read him. She didn't need to think much more because he elaborated for her.

"I'm very tempted to steal a kiss." He stood up and moved across the room from her, placing himself at a safe distance.

"What?" Mina asked, caught off guard. Those were not the words she expected to hear from him.

"Get some rest." He closed himself off again. "Tomorrow morning, you will face another test, and as much as I enjoy your wit and brutal honesty, I don't expect you to pass it. I was truly coming to say goodbye."

"That is just stupid," Mina hissed. "Not to mention rude. Have you made the rounds to all of the girls and said goodbye to them?" she said. "Or just me?"

He was by her bed again in a flash, leaning in over her, his hands pressed into the mattress on either side of her hips. "I don't need to say salutations to anyone ever. You disappeared in the woods on me, making me look like a fool when I went back to look for you. You should feel honored that I've even come to speak to you a second time."

"Honored? I'm seriously ticked off. What you should have done was never set foot in here."

He blinked at her, his head tilted as he tried to process what she had just said. "Ticked off?" He started to laugh. "One day, I will have to travel to your lands, so that I may learn to understand the way you speak."

"Over my dead body." Mina grumbled. Seriously, she was at the end of her rope.

Teague laughed even harder and shook his head. "I have to say that I will miss you and your brazen way of speaking." He moved toward the shadows and she heard his parting words. "Unless you can defeat an ogre?"

Chapter 24.

Sleep hadn't come easy, and Mina was awakened by a knock on the door. Her mind immediately rushed back to Teague's challenge. Slay an Ogre? He had to be joking, right? The Fates couldn't possibly make the girls fight for their lives. That was a lot to ask of someone who wasn't guaranteed a throne.

Maybe Teague was just being a jerk and trying to throw her.

A small brownie opened her door and came in carrying a stack of clothes which she placed on Mina's bed. Her skin was darker than Mei's, and her eyes were golden amber in color. But oh, she made Mina miss the wisdom of her brownie-friend.

"Please put these on and meet up with the other girls in the main hall." Her voice was soft and unassuming, and she left as quietly as she came.

Mina lifted the slippers and saw a long sleeved dress of deep blue with no frills, ruffles, or lace. She wondered once again if she was the only one to be given clothes. Were the others going through their trunks and trunks of gowns and wearing their prettiest pieces?

Feeling a sense of unease, she discarded the silk slippers and put on her own glass ones. The diamonds hadn't moved since she last checked and tears filled her eyes. What if the shoes were truly, absolutely broken? Would she be stuck here forever? She furiously wiped the tears away and stood up to see herself in the mirror. Her eyes had worry rings and her nose looked a little red from crying. Picking up a comb from the table, she quickly brushed out her hair, letting the curls from last night wave around her shoulders. She looked wild and free, but she felt anything but. Mina held her breath and puffed out her cheeks, making a face at herself in the mirror. At least the color of the dress complemented her skin tones and made her eyes stand out. She needed to pull herself together. "You can do this, Mina. You're a Grimm. You can handle this. Everyone is counting on you to be smart and figure this out."

After her mini pep talk, she opened her door and headed to the main hall. Sure enough, the other eight girls were already there, minus Ferah, Fushia and Silene. They all happened to be wearing similar slim dresses in varying colors. Of course, the others had done their hair up in in extravagant coifs, ringlets, and braids. Ever, again keeping to herself at the edge of the crowd, looked stunning in a long black dress.

Annalora's face was still swollen, but her makeup decently covered most of the discolored bruise. As soon as she saw Mina enter the hall, she turned her back. Which was fine with Mina. Just seeing Annalora's face put a bounce in Mina's step as she made her way to stand next to Dinah. The tension in the room was at an all-time high as the girls feigned small talk while they watched the doors. A few laughs tittered to unnatural pitches as the girls' nerves ran amok.

"What do you think the test will be today?" Mina asked Dinah absently.

Dinah yawned and rubbed her back. "I'm not sure, but I hope we're done soon. There was a lump in my mattress, and I could barely sleep last night. I think I'm bruised."

"Maybe there was a pea under your mattress," Mina said, amused.

"Oh don't be silly, Elle. Why would there be food under a mattress in the royal palace? It had to have been a rock."

"Why would a rock be under the mattress? In fact, I'd think it was more likely for food to be under the mattress than a rock."

"Fine-pea, rock, or elephant. It was awful. You wouldn't want to switch rooms tonight, would you?"

"If I make it past the next round, I would do anything to help." Mina agreed easily, knowing she probably wouldn't be here after the next test. "So, have the betrothal tests always been this grueling?"

Dinah raised an eyebrow at Mina. "Do you really not know?"

Mina shook her head. "I've lived a very sheltered life."

She wasn't sure if the nymph bought her excuse, but the tall girl explained. "Well, depending on whether the heir is male or female, the choosing ceremony varies. If it's a female then the princes of lesser kingdoms and first-born sons are tested on wit, honesty, and bravery. In the past they've been sent on quests to fight a dragon, steal a golden fleece, or travel to the ends of the known world. But the princess test is always kept a secret. I'm not altogether sure why, but it is always conducted within the palace. Usually the youngest and prettiest daughters-and other princesses-are the candidates. There was a rumor that Queen Maeve was selected because she spun straw into gold."

That didn't sound so bad, but it still seemed out of Mina's expertise. Teague's warning came back to her. "You don't think they'd make us do anything dangerous, do you?"

Dinah shrugged her shoulders. "Who knows? But I'm not expecting it to be as easy as yesterday." Her words only confirmed Mina's fears. "By the way, I'm glad you brought Annalora down a peg. I'd just be careful around her. She's got it out for you."

She turned to face the door when King Lucian entered alone.

"Greetings, princesses and ladies. Day two of our quests will commence shortly. One at a time, you will proceed through the double doors into the library. On the other side is your test."

Dinah let out a sigh of relief and Mina had to agree. A test in a library didn't sound too bad. Did that mean Teague lied to her?

King Lucian wiped his brow and pointed to Tawny to enter first. Tawny smiled and stepped away from Annalora to head through the doors.

They closed behind her, and then the girls waited. Each one of them strained to hear, trying to gather a clue as to what was transpiring on the other side.

There were a few seconds of utter silence.

And then the terrified screams began.

"You can't be serious." Annalora turned to confront the king. "Is she being tortured? I didn't come all this way to be killed."

Most of the girls looked equally confused, while Ever remained thoughtful. Dinah seemed tense but steady. Neither of them appeared to know what was going on the other side of the door.

Estellya spoke up, "Maybe that's not Tawny's voice. Maybe that's part of the test, to distinguish her real cry from fake?"