by Casey Bond
The doors parted. A guard dressed in black with a large weapon slung over his shoulder stepped into the room. “Pardon me, Prince Tauren. Your father wishes to speak to Miss Sable.”
His mouth parted. “I’ll see her to him, then.”
“He wishes to speak with her alone.”
Brecan stepped forward. I knew he was about to insist that he accompany me.
“Thank you for a lovely evening,” I said to Tauren. “Brecan, I’ll let you know when I return to my room.”
Neither Brecan nor Tauren was happy I’d dismissed them, but the two men stood back dutifully and watched as I followed the guard out of the room.
King Lucius looked as tired as he did frazzled, and nothing like the calm ruler he presented at dinner. He had dragged a chair to the window and was staring out at the night sky, but he turned around when I entered the room.
His suit jacket was unbuttoned as well as the top buttons of his crisp white shirt, and from the mussed look of his hair, he’d been raking his hands through it. The circles beneath his eyes were darker and the worry lines on his forehead were more pronounced.
The entire walk to his office, I’d dreaded what he might say. A hundred scenarios played through my mind, but none of them included the smile he graced me with now.
He smiled warmly, wrinkles forming at the corners of his eyes. “Miss Sable.”
I wasn’t sure how to greet him. “Your Highness.”
He gestured to a plush chair sitting empty across from his enormous desk. Sitting down, I waited for him to roll his chair back to its normal position on the other side of the desk. Instead, he stiffly stood and gingerly walked across the room, sitting beside me in my chair’s match.
“My wife and I have reasons to be distrustful of witches, reasons I don’t feel apt to disclose at present, but I trust my son. I trust his instincts. He surprised me by offering you an invitation,” he began. “I wanted to speak with you discreetly for a few reasons. The first is to get to know the young woman who caught his eye.”
“With all due respect, that’s not what happened.”
He tilted his head and propped his ankle on his knee. “I’d say it is. I chose the other women for him. He dreaded turning eighteen, knowing this would be his invitation year. Yours is the only invitation he personally sent.”
“He only sent it because I might be able to help him, sir.”
“I don’t envy you, Sable. I’m not sure how you do it.”
“I don’t have a choice.”
He gave a half-smile. “Fate can make you quite uncomfortable. He did the same to your mother.”
I tilted my head, surprised. “You knew her?”
“I did. Cyril was… I sought her advice often when I was younger and untested.”
“I had no idea.”
He shook his head. “Your grandmother hated that she read for me. She said that Cyril was more loyal to me than to her own kind. She thought we were lovers. We weren’t, of course. Your mother was hand-fasted to another, and I was newly married as well. But people make assumptions and jump to incorrect conclusions sometimes. For the record, I love Annalina very much. I have never, and would never be unfaithful to her.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Who was my mother hand-fasted to?” Fate called himself my father, but I was a child when he claimed me as his daughter. Someone else was my biological father, but who was he? My father’s identity was a detail I’d asked for and never received. Everyone said it wasn’t important, but it was important to me then, and it still was now.
“She never said, and I didn’t ask. When we met, it was for a reading. We weren’t friends, Sable, and thank God we weren’t enemies. There were things Cyril could do that were frightening, frankly.”
I swallowed, wondering if he suspected that I could likely do the same things.
“Is my son in love with you? I know that witches cannot marry. If he loves you, Sable, you should go back to Thirteen as quickly as possible. I don’t want to see him hurt.”
I pressed my lips closed. “I don’t believe he does.”
“If he develops feelings for you, I want you to leave.”
“Before I determine who wants him dead?”
He inclined his head, though I could tell it was difficult for him to do so. The tendons in his neck were so taut, I thought they might snap.
“What would I state as the reason, when I’ve agreed to come and identify his murderer?”
Fate filled my mouth with bitterness again.
“While we appreciate it, we don’t need your help, Sable. This palace is well guarded. No ruler of Nautilus has been slain in two hundred years.”
“With all due respect, I don’t believe you can defend him. Fate instructed me to accept his invitation. I’ve been sent here to protect Tauren. Fate wouldn’t have sent me if he thought you or your guard could handle whomever plans to kill him. Besides, if you knew my mother, you know that I can’t simply leave. That would defy him, and I would pay a very heavy price for doing so, a greater price than I already owe for coming to aid him.”
“Then I suggest you work quickly, for I fear he’s already too fond of you,” the King replied, standing up and offering his hand.
If he knew my mother, he knew I could read him.
When my palm slid against his, there was a kaleidoscope of color. The King was genuine. He wanted what was best for his son, what was best for his people. He envisioned standing beside him, placing his crown on Tauren’s head. Bouncing grandchildren on each knee. He wasn’t trying to poison him…
A scene flashed into my mind. A woman with dark hair and silver eyes. She sat at a small table and waved her hand over a crystal ball, mist gnarling within. Across from her sat the young and untested King…
Beneath it all was a layer of anguish and fear.
He tugged his hand away and the scene vanished. “I’ll speak with Tauren in the morning. Have a good night, Sable.”
“Good night.”
He sank into the chair as I slipped away from his study.
I retraced my steps down the corridor to the staircase. With two knuckles, I knocked on Brecan’s door. He answered wearing nothing but a towel. His pale hair dripped water over his shoulders and rolled down his stomach and back. “That didn’t take long.”
“Long enough for you to make yourself at home,” I quipped.
“Have you tried the shower? It’s magical. Hot water. Jets everywhere. I think I might take another, just because I can.”
I couldn’t help but laugh, turning my head away from his bare chest and stomach.
“If anything could rid you of residues from so many readings, it’s the jets along the wall,” he offered, truly looking like he believed they might help. I wished it were so simple.
The residues from the staff assaulted my mind, making my head ache from front to back.
Hooking a thumb over my shoulder, I told him, “I’m going to check on Mira.”
He stared at me like he wanted to say more, but in the end, simply said, “Good night, Sable.”
I gave him a slight smile, realizing things between us had changed and might never be the same as they were before. I trudged to Mira’s door.
She answered before I could even knock, grabbing my wrist and tugging me inside. “Wait until you see what we’ve made!”
Hanging on a rack was a nude-colored gown with intricate, black velvet patterns and slick beads all over it. The swirling patterns included candles. Tea cups. Crystal balls. Tarot cards. Palmistry. Wishbones. I lit up as I brushed my fingers down the fabric. “How did you do this?”
She shrugged. “It’s what we do. Right, fellas?” She gingerly sat her glass spiders on a nearby table and breathed a spell over them. Obeying her command, they froze in place. Their legs curled in as if they were dead, and they tipped over onto their sides and rolle
d onto their bulbous backs, one scarlet, one cyan.
“You have jeans and a t-shirt in your room for tomorrow. During the day, you can dress casually.”
“I’ve never worn jeans.”
She winced. “They aren’t nearly as comfortable as dresses, but they’re all the rage in the lower twelve. Everyone wears them. The tighter, the better. And all your t-shirts have Thirteen stitched on them, so people can tell you ladies apart.”
“Like they wouldn’t know which sector I’m from?” I laughed, assuming she was joking.
“You have to wear them,” she said gently. “You’re supposed to wear the cuff he gave you, too.”
“I’ll do no such thing. It’s appalling that the Prince of Nautilus cannot devote the time to learn thirteen names.”
Her eyes widened. “What did the Prince say this evening?”
“Not much. But the King said plenty.”
“King? You met with him again?”
I nodded. “He’s worried about Tauren.”
“He knows someone is out to…”
“No, he thinks Tauren might get his princely little heart broken if he likes me,” I said disbelievingly. After pausing a brief moment, I decided to tell her the rest. “He knew my mother. He knows about hand-fasting.”
Her lips formed a tiny o. “So, he knows you can’t marry his son.”
I scoffed, “He thinks his guards can thwart any attempt on Tauren’s life. I’m supposed to leave if I think he’s ‘becoming too fond of me’.”
“Should we pack our trunks now?” she asked, her eyes widening.
I shook my head. “He doesn’t have feelings for me. There’s nothing to worry about.”
“Sable, I hate to be the one to reveal something obvious to you, but he had a room painted and decorated for you, he gave you a necklace from the crown jewel collection, and whenever you’re in his presence, you’re all he can look at.”
He was all I could look at, too, if I admitted it to myself, but it didn’t matter how he or I felt. We could never be. We were attracted to one another, but that was all it was or could ever be.
Mira yawned. “Sorry,” she said, covering her mouth.
Happy for the change in subject, I replied, “Don’t be. I’m tired, too. See you in the morning?”
“Your royal schedule should be delivered first thing tomorrow.”
“Great.”
“I’ll trim any stray threads and bring the gown to you in the morning.”
I walked to the door and stepped into the hall. “Thanks, Mira. For everything.”
She fought another yawn as she closed the door behind me.
I pulled my key out of my dress pocket and slid it into the lock. Lying on the floor just inside the door was a slip of white paper.
I broke the familiar seal to read:
Sable,
Please meet me in the West Garden. I need to speak with you tonight.
With hope,
- Tauren
11
Skinny jeans were the devil’s creation. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get them over my hips, let alone button and zip them. But with some shimmying and hopping around the room, I finally tugged them on, lying flat on my back on the bed to get them fastened. The tighter the better, Mira said. But these were beyond tight. I turned the black t-shirt with Thirteen scrawled across the breast in white lettering inside out and ran a brush through my hair. I didn’t bother with shoes. After a day prancing around in heels, my feet were killing me.
I quietly snuck out of my room, locking it behind me and tucking the key in my pocket. A staff member was kind enough to show me to the West Garden—somewhere I never would’ve found myself.
Tauren waited outside on a bench.
“I need a map,” I grumped, sitting next to him.
“A map?”
“Of the palace, yes. This place is a labyrinth. I have no idea how to navigate it.”
He gave a coy smile. “I should’ve left directions, but figured you were resourceful enough to find your way.” He scanned my clothing, and in an odd tone said, “You look different in those clothes.”
“You don’t like them?” I glanced down, wondering if something was out of place.
“No, I… I like them.” Tauren looked up at the sky, waiting a long moment before adding, “A lot.”
We were silent for a moment, staring at the twinkling stars.
“Why is your shirt inside out?”
“About that…” I readied myself for a fight. “I will not be wearing shirts or bracelets for your convenience. I find it demeaning. You know my name and sector. Learn the names of the other girls… Highness,” I added as an afterthought, to make sure he didn’t throw me in a dungeon or something.
He answered with a smile. “I’ll do that right away, Sable. The producers of the telecast thought it would be easier for the public to learn the girls that way at first. I actually do know all their names and sectors. I have voluminous files on each, thanks to my father’s snoops.”
“Each one but me,” I added.
“Each one but you. You, I’d rather take the time to learn on my own.”
The moths fluttered again. I tamped them down, reminding them that this attraction, if it could be called that, didn’t and couldn’t mean anything.
“Was my father cordial?” he asked.
“He was.” I lowered my voice. “Did you know he knows quite a lot about witches? He knew my mother.”
Tauren’s brows furrowed. “When I was little, he used to tell me stories about the sectors. He knew a lot about Thirteen and I wondered how, since we never crossed the border. Throughout the years, we visited every sector except yours.”
“Well, witches can be a little unwelcoming, except for when it benefits them. On Equinoxes and Solstices, we’re happy to take money from whomever wants to give it to us.”
“Do you use currency in Thirteen?” he asked, a curious glint in his eye.
“No, we trade – food, goods, or services – but some like to travel out of Thirteen, most often visiting Twelve to see new things. I’ve never left before today, though.”
“And now that you have? What do you think of Nautilus as a whole?”
“From what I’ve seen, it’s beautiful. Far more interesting and diverse than I realized. I’d like to visit each sector,” I admitted, “and I’d like to see the ocean before I go back to The Gallows.”
He glanced down at his clasped hands and leaned forward. I gazed at the familiar stars, comforted by their consistency.
“I wish I could see the world as you do,” he said softly, watching me.
I blinked out of the daze I’d been in. “What do you mean?”
He shook his head. “Doesn’t matter.”
A brown and tan moth fluttered over the grass. I called her to me and she landed on my finger. “See?” Tauren said. “Whomever you choose when you arrive back home should cherish the year he’ll have with you, for it will be the most memorable and magical time of his life.”
I raised my finger and let the moth take flight again. “This is common for a witch.” I shrugged. “It would seem boring for my hand-fasted.”
“Nothing about you is mundane or common, Sable.”
I swallowed, looking back to the sky to center myself. For a moment, it felt like I levitated. I may have.
“Do you want to know my first reason for extending you an invitation?” His hand crept across the cement bench and the tip of his pinky grazed my skin.
“Yes,” I cautiously agreed.
“Because I’ve never met anyone I felt connected to so immediately, so… completely. I wanted you to accept, because I wanted you to consider me. Consider having me, that is. As your husband.” His dark lashes fluttered the more flustered he became, and the sight made something in m
y chest ache.
As your husband. The words reverberated through my heart like the beat of a heavy drum.
“I can’t,” I told him regretfully.
He hung his head. “I know that now. You told me the night of the Equinox, but I thought there might be a chance that… never mind.”
The two of us were on opposite sides of a very dangerous line, but when he said such things to me, it made me want to tread closer to him. But like Thirteen’s boundary, this was a line we could never cross. There wasn’t enough magic in the world to pierce it.
12
I left him in the garden and somehow backtracked to my room without becoming lost. I scrubbed my face in the pristine bathroom sink and stared into the mirror, repeatedly asking myself, and Fate, what I was doing there. Why wasn’t he moving this along so I could return home?
Fate remained still, which was alarming since I could always feel him. Since I’d been chosen, he’d always hidden himself inside me. So, I wasn’t sure why he wouldn’t answer now. A simple, Because it’s not time would have sufficed. At least it would leave me the satisfaction of knowing that the time to act was approaching.
Pushing away from the sink, I peeled the t-shirt and skin-tight jeans from me like a snake shedding skin, and slipped on a short, black silk nightgown Mira had laid out on the bed for me.
I slipped inside the plush, black sheets and pulled the soft blankets over me like a caress. For a moment, I even managed to close my eyes… only for them to pop open again to admire the room he’d appointed for me.
I chastised myself for going to the garden in the first place. I’d thought he was in danger, or maybe that he wanted to know what his father talked to me about. It never crossed my mind that he would say such things, and yet they were true. I felt an intense connection to him as well, before I even knew he was the Prince.
But a relationship between us, let alone marriage, was out of the question. I had to get to the bottom of this issue, find the would-be killer, and leave before my heart was shattered. The King was worried for his son, but no one would worry about me.
Restless, I flipped and flopped, tangling in the nightgown a few times before I finally drifted off to sleep.