“Agreed.” Jared laughed. “I can live with that.”
Nan pushed past Brody. “Are you the evil one?” She jabbed him in the chest, and he stepped back with a look of chagrin. But it was clear he approved.
Mina couldn’t help but smirk. “Evil never won.”
She couldn’t say anything else, because Strong Arm pointed at the gate. More boats and ships filled with warriors came through. A small dragon suddenly hovered over her shoulder, nodding to her.
Anders. Faithful through everything.
“I swear those are not my men,” Jared answered.
“But how is it staying open so long?” Ever seemed miffed. “We only had window of a few seconds to get through.”
“I froze the moment in which the gate opened.” Jared shrugged like it was no big deal.
“They just keep coming,” Nan said, her voice full of panic.
Mina looked at Jared and then back at the gate, her face filled with anger. “Then we have to finish what you started. We have to destroy the gate—even if it means we destroy the bridge. We can’t let any more come through.”
Jared seemed surprised at her answer. “There’s that siren side of you!”
He ran up to speak with Strong Arm who agreed. He divided his and what was left of Constance’s Godmothers, and they headed out toward the bridge.
Ternan’s ship was still trying to retreat, under constant fire from the helicopters. A few of the Godmothers helped cloak it again, and it went invisible.
Kino rose up from the shoreline, limping, and shook the water from his hair. A boat of gnomes paddled furiously toward him.
“Godmothers!” Strong Arm pointed, and a few broke off to rush down to the shoreline to meet the oncoming hoard.
Kino crawled, barely able to get away from the gnomes. Brody rushed down and put Kino’s arm around his neck. He half-dragged-half-carried Kino up to them.
“Siren.” Strong Arm’s voice only had one volume. “Are you still with us?”
Kino, visibly shaken, was covered in cuts and bruises. Mina didn’t think he could fight anymore.
“Can you bring the bridge down?”
Kino followed his gaze to the Golden Gate Bridge and paled. “Not on my own I can’t. I may be good, but I’m not that good.”
Charlie rushed forward out of Nan’s grasp and stood by Kino. He pointed his thumb toward his chest and back at the bridge.
“Charlie!” A strange mixture of pride and fear coursed through Mina. She’d seen him use the power of his siren gift—his heritage—before, but so much was at stake here. She just couldn’t make herself believe he was safe. She ran to him and fell on her knees in front of him. “I love you, Charlie. Please be careful.”
Charlie’s lip quivered, and his eyes turned glassy. He gave Mina a thumbs up and grabbed Kino’s hand.
“You protect him, Kino,” Mina stated loudly. “Or I’ll do more to you than make you jump overboard.”
“Aye, aye, Princess.” He swung Charlie’s hand in his own and looked down. “Hey, little Prince, are you ready to see what a real siren call can do?”
Charlie just grinned crookedly at him. They turned and saw that Strong Arm’s guild had incapacitated the boat of gnomes. One of the Fae gestured for Charlie and Kino to get in the boat. Taz rose out of the water and used a large wave to propel them toward the bridge.
“We need to clear the bridge.” Constance said. Anders spun around excitedly above her head. “Warn any of our Fae to get away.”
Anders darted through the air toward the bridge. Jared’s hand slid into Mina’s, and they watched as her little brother and Kino were thrust into the main battlefield, right into the stream of gnomes coming through. Her heart felt like it would stop beating any second.
Kino leaned down to whisper to Charlie. A few seconds later, a shriek ripped through the air, causing their own little boat to move backward in the water. A portion of the bridge crumbled.
Charlie and Kino let forth blast after blast and began to knock down the Golden Gate Bridge piece by piece. It crumbled and fell onto the gnome ships passing through, sinking them.
Fighter jets returned and started firing into the water at Charlie and Kino.
Mina screamed, but then Kino turned and directed a blast at the jet, sending it into a tailspin. The pilot ejected himself before the jet crashed into the water, where it skimmed the surface and took out another of the gnome ships.
Another fighter jet whizzed by, and Jared turned to Mina.
“Your turn.” He flickered in and out.
“I can’t see him. How can I control him?”
“You can.” He placed his hand on her shoulder and gently lifted her hand up toward the jet. “I never wanted to admit it, but you are one of the most powerful Fae I’ve ever met. If you only believe.” Mina couldn’t pull her eyes away from Jared’s. She searched for the lie but only saw truth. He believed in her.
Mina swallowed and turned her thoughts toward the jet. She felt the Fae power gather around her and channeled it to the approaching aircraft.
Jared growled when she hesitated. “You have to protect them!”
Kino was trying to fend off a helicopter, so Charlie focused on taking down the rest of the bridge by himself. She had to do it and do it now. The fighter jet fired it’s guns, and a line of bullet spray ripped into the water to take them out.
She whispered to the pilot. “You can’t see! Pull up.” Immediately, the fighter jet veered to the left and peeled off. She breathed a sigh of relief as he missed her brother. That was easier than she’d expected. “Stay away,” she told him.
Within minutes, the bridge was destroyed. Mina looked at the strangely empty skyline. Her heart grieved that the landmark had been annihilated.
She stared at the water, awed at all of the destruction that had happened because of her cursed life.
The Godmothers rushed to help any injured they found.
Even Brody and Nan left to help, unwilling to stay idle.
Mina, on the other hand, could barely stand without Jared’s support. He held her close, as helicopters continued to zoom over them on their way to the bridge. Many were news copters. She could only imagine the stories that were being played out on screens across America. “It would take a miracle to erase the damage we’ve done.”
“You’re right,” he admitted. “This is beyond altering the memories of a girl and her friends.”
“Or school.”
“Or school,” he repeated.
“Then what can we do?”
“Who knows where Annalora is at the moment—or how many she’s working with? For now, here, we try and protect the innocent Fae. We police our own and try to win the trust of the Fae that are here. Or we find another big enough gate and force them all back into the Fae world.”
“That seems a little harsh.”
“My reign of terror, followed by my parents’ impaired judgment—that was harsh. I made all these Fae leave. I could force them to come back.” He flickered again, and this time, she felt him disappear and come back.
She pulled from his embrace “Jared?” Mina grabbed for him, but her hands went right through him. He tried to speak, but she couldn’t hear him, which meant Taz couldn’t sustain him much longer.
