When Wishes Bleed

by Casey Bond

  I scrubbed myself until the water dissolved the dirt and soot etched on my skin and in my hair. A strange feeling unfurled in my stomach. No matter what I did, nothing eased it.

  Fate was finally stirring.

  Please don’t ask me to hang anyone tonight. Not tonight. Please, I begged. Ivy had promised we would be able to rest for a season, and I felt tired enough to hibernate all the way to spring.

  Someone knocked at the front door. Wrapped in a thick robe, I went to open it, startled to see Brecan standing on the step. “Mira told me to come over and dry your hair. She’s coming over to style it. You might want to close your eyes and hold onto your robe,” he warned with a grin.

  He pointed a finger at me. Wind gusted from it and almost instantly, my hair was dry and fluffy. I thanked him, but told him to let Mira know she didn’t have to worry about me. “You know her. She’ll be over in a few minutes.” He winked over his shoulder and hovered down the steps, across the Center, and to his House.

  I barely made it back to the washroom before Mira entered the House. “Sable?” she yelled. “Did Brecan dry your hair yet?”

  “He did, but honestly, I’m fine,” I told her, puzzled about why they suddenly felt I needed help grooming myself.

  She waved me off. “You are not wearing the gown we made you with hair like that.”

  “Like what?” I scoffed.

  “It looks like it’s detecting a nearby lightning storm!” she giggled.

  “Thanks a lot, Mira.”

  She shrugged. “You asked.”

  She marched me to the washroom and then left it, returning a moment later with a kitchen chair. “Sit.”

  I sat.

  She brushed and twisted and pinned my hair until it resembled a beautiful, sleek mass of coiling serpents on my head. “It’s beautiful,” she whispered, popping in the final pin.

  “Thank you, Mira. For everything.”

  She kissed my cheek. “What are best friends for?” When someone outside shouted her name, she blew out a long breath. “I need to go make sure my witches are ready.”

  “Me too,” I pretended to worry. “Arron, are you ready?” I yelled.

  “Almost.”

  Mira laughed.

  “He likes you, you know.”

  Mira’s face turned red. “Good.”

  “Good?” I asked. My brows arched, and I giggled as her blush deepened to crimson.

  She nodded. “Could I speak to him for a moment?”

  “Absolutely. I have to get dressed anyway.”

  Her footsteps creaked up the stairs.

  I could hear her speaking with Arron, but wasn’t sure about what. I wanted so badly to eavesdrop, but refrained.

  He walked with her down the steps, his eyes on her instead of the staircase. I was afraid he’d tumble down them or worse, that his suit would be stained with drool. I hid my smile behind my hand.

  “Ready?” he asked, more chipper than I’d ever heard him.

  Mira promised to meet us at the Memoriam celebration and walked to her House to ensure all was in order, herding a small flock of Water witches back with her. They disappeared behind the main door.

  The Fire witches, bedecked in blazing red, orange, and yellow gowns made their way into the Center. Ivy and her Earth witches were next, garbed in every shade from emerald to jade. Then emerged the witches of Air, arrayed in complementing shades of white and sky blue. Last, Mira led the witches of Water to join the others, their kaleidoscope of deep blue hues completing the colorful rainbow.

  Arron nudged me. “Our turn.”

  He offered his arm and I wrapped mine around it, wistfully wondering where Tauren was on this night, and with whom he might be enjoying it.

  The Gallows had been decorated with pine boughs from the House of Earth and icicles from the House of Water. The frozen pillars glittered like glass in the fading daylight.

  Ethne and her Fire witches unfurled white paper lanterns, lit the wicks, and lifted them gently into the air where they hovered, casting a warm glow over the crowd. She cleared her throat as she ascended the steps.

  Ethne congratulated Ivy, Mira, and Brecan on claiming dominion of their respective elements, thereby Elevating to Priestesses and Priest. She asked everyone to raise their hands in honor of our sisters and brothers who had passed, including my grandmother Ela, Bay, Wayra, and even Harmony. She did not mention my mother’s name.

  Ivy stepped forward and announced the names of the witches who would graduate from their novice positions in the House of Earth and become Elevated among their peers. Normally, such promotions were awarded at the Equinox, but this year they’d been postponed, and if things had turned out differently, they would have been forgotten entirely.

  I was thankful all was finally settling.

  The Earth witches she called by name formed a line, and as they took the steps and greeted their Priestess, floral crowns threaded around their heads, tightening to a perfectly comfortable fit.

  Ethne announced the Elevated from her House, each one awarded a crown of flame that did not burn their hair or skin, but crackled and flickered like the wicks of the lanterns hovering above.

  Next, Mira stepped onto the platform. Her eyes found Arron at my side. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he watched her. She congratulated the Elevated from her House one at a time, crowning them with a band of churning water.

  Brecan took his turn last. He smiled over the crowd as he listed the Elevated among the Air witches, a swirling swath of wind churning the hair of the promoted.

  He fastened his eyes on me. “Now, Guardian Sable will announce the hand-fasted.”

  I made my way to the platform and stared out at those gathered. I cleared my throat and tried to expel the nervousness from my stomach that had settled into my hands, causing them to quiver. “As we’ve learned, life and time are precious. While we want to honor custom and tradition, sometimes, exceptions must be made in order to heal. Much was taken from us, and as the Priestesses and Priest have promised, much will be restored.”

  I paused, gathering my thoughts and trying to remember the words Brecan had suggested, when I noticed a tall gentleman in a dark hooded cloak, standing at the fringes of the crowd of witches. My pulse quickened. Did Fate fail to reveal one of Cyril’s loyal witches?

  I glanced from him to Brecan, who motioned for me to continue.

  “To honor our fallen, would those who would like to begin a new year together come forward?”

  Mira nudged Brecan and whispered to him behind her hand as Ethne announced several couples. Brecan watched the hooded man as eager couples stepped forward, standing at the base of the platform and raising their clasped hands in the air. Brecan used his affinity to send red ribbons swirling through the air, deftly knotting them around the couples’ wrists and symbolically sealing their year-long commitments to one another, while Ethne charged them to be respectful, faithful, and to honor their fasted above all others, save the Goddess, of course.

  “Are there any other couples who would like to come forward to be hand-fasted?” Brecan asked, his voice echoing over the hushed crowd.

  A commotion came from somewhere at the back of the mass of witches, and colorful cloaks and gowns began to shuffle and part as the stranger made his way toward the gallows. When he was close, he removed his hood.

  His golden eyes were the first things I saw.

  “Tauren?” I jogged down the steps, heedless of the audience in my joy to see him. “What are you doing here?” I asked when he reached me.

  He glanced nervously at Brecan. “I don’t know the proper way to ask this, but…” He got down on one knee, just as I’d seen Knox do to Leah, and took my hands in his. “Sable, will you hand-fast to me?”

  “You’re about to be crowned the King of Nautilus. Your coronation is tomorrow,” I told him dumbly, still not believi
ng he was there. I’d planned to watch it with Mira on their telecaster.

  “I know I’m to be crowned tomorrow, but I can’t do it without you by my side.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small box.

  “I can’t marry you, Tauren. It isn’t our custom.” I glanced to Brecan and then to Mira, noticing the small smiles of… approval on their faces. Sucking in a breath, I turned back to Tauren. A strand of dark hair fell into his eyes. He smiled nervously.

  I brushed his hair back in a habit I’d come to adore, and he continued. “I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and if we have to hand-fast one year at a time, so be it. We’ll come back to this spot next year and the year after that, and so on. If this is what it takes to make you mine, I will hand-fast to you again and again and again. I love you.”

  The moths in my stomach took flight. My lashes fluttered. I pressed my hand to his cheek. “I love you, too.”

  Fate stirred for the first time in so many days, weeks. You must choose.

  Choose? I asked silently.

  You can only be bound to one of us.

  A tear slid from my eye. Why? I silently asked as my lips began to wobble.

  That is simply the way. I will always look out for you, Sable. You are my daughter, not by blood, but something much stronger.

  I love him, I told Fate.

  As I conveyed the words, I felt warm inside. Comfortable. Like a sip of hot tea on a chilly, winter evening. And when he left me, he left gently, soft as an expelled breath.

  My mother lied about him. He didn’t refuse to concede control when I asked for it to be returned, and he wasn’t spiteful or filled with hatred. I realized that he chose me to protect me from her, and that he knew what path she would choose all along.

  I clasped my hand over my heart, already feeling his loss. I wasn’t sure who Fate would choose next to be his, but I was certain of one thing: I was Tauren’s and Tauren was mine.

  And Fate had known all along that this moment would come.

  Tauren swallowed thickly, waiting patiently, still kneeling in front of me.

  I pulled him to his feet and threw my arms around his neck.

  “Is that a yes?” he asked. I heard the grin in his voice even though his mouth was at my ear.

  I looked to Brecan, Mira, Ethne, and Ivy. All four nodded their approval.

  “Yes!” I laughed.

  He twirled me around, and when he moved to set me back down, my feet didn’t touch the ground. I hovered a few inches above, as light as I felt inside.

  He lifted the hinged lid on the small, black velvet box and pulled out a black silken ribbon to act as our hand-fasting symbol.

  My breath caught. “I love it. As I love you.”

  He grinned and kissed me. We could only peck, really, both smiling too widely to do anything more.

  The witches of every House began to applaud. Whistles, cheers, and claps surrounded us. I looked all around at the smiling, genuinely happy faces. Even Brecan clapped, a small smile playing on his lips. Mira was giddy, of course.

  This was happening.

  This was actually happening.

  I felt like pinching myself to be sure I wasn’t dreaming. But when Tauren kissed me again and I felt his soft lips on mine, I knew this was real. We’d survived so much. And now? Now, we could begin anew.

  King Lucius was right. There wasn’t anything we couldn’t figure out – together.

  Tauren clasped my hand in his. We held our arms up and watched as Brecan used his wind to capture the ribbon and bind our wrists, knotting the ends of the silk together.

  And just like that, Tauren and I were hand-fasted.

  28

  Tauren spent the night in my House. Well, in the House of Fate. I wasn’t even sure I was still the Guardian, as a new witch hadn’t come forward yet. Was I the interim Guardian? Could I ask Arron to become the interim Guardian of Fate’s House? I wasn’t sure how this worked. How any of it would work.

  Stress cinched my rib cage as dawn broke. Tauren stretched as he slowly woke, scrubbing a hand down his face. He felt for me beside him and found me near the window, a lazy smile spreading over his lips. At my expression, the smile faded.

  “What’s the matter?”

  “What if the people of Nautilus don’t want a witch for their Queen – even if it’s only for a year?”

  “Number one,” he said, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the mattress. I tried to ignore the V-shape of his shoulders and how the sinew of his muscles slid down to his taut waist, how he wore no shirt and grinned unapologetically at my reaction to him. “It doesn’t have to be for just a year. We can hand-fast again at the next Solstice. Sable, we can be together for as long as you’ll have me.”

  I grinned playfully. “I’ll consider it, as long as you deserve me.”

  Tauren stood and crossed the room, locking eyes with me. “Then I will work to do so every day,” he breathed. “The people love you, Sable. Witch or not. Daughter of Fate or not. Don’t worry about their reaction.”

  If I was being honest, I wasn’t sure who I was without Fate. I wasn’t sure what, if any, ability I might have on my own. I’d always read the futures and fates of others. Could I even do that now, or would I have to conjure love spells for the rest of my life to eke out a living?

  Would I have to work magic at all if I was with Tauren?

  Would I be the queen? Would the people even want to call me ‘Queen’ if I didn’t marry Tauren permanently, instead of hand-fasting each year?

  My chest felt tighter and tighter, and my breaths became more labored as I thought through the myriad of intricacies our irreverent union would reveal.

  This will be more difficult than he realizes. This might not work at all. If the people fear me, then no amount of Tauren’s reassuring words will persuade them.

  “Hey.” He ran the pad of his thumb over the crease between my brows. “Stop worrying.”

  “I can’t.”

  I couldn’t stop worrying or running scenarios through my mind, wondering what was to become of me or my House now that Fate had left me in search of someone else.

  Tauren pulled me in and hugged me tight. I finally relaxed a little, able to breathe for the first time in hours. “There is nothing we can’t figure out together.” When he pulled back, I clung to him. “What does Fate say about our future?” he asked softly.

  Tears pricked the backs of my eyes. “He left me.”

  Tauren tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean?”

  I took a deep breath. “He said that I couldn’t be with you and serve him at the same time…and when I chose you, he left me. He’s gone. I can’t feel him at all.”

  “Who is the new Daughter – or Son – of Fate?” he questioned, pure curiosity lacing his features.

  I shook my head. “I don’t know.”

  “No wonder you’re so unsettled,” he said tenderly. “You’ve had him to lean on since you were a child.”

  A knot the size of a wishbone formed in my throat. I was thankful he understood my unease, but pained to hear him say it aloud.

  “Sable, I don’t want to seem unsympathetic, but he was right. He was right to give you a choice and to honor it. It would have been very difficult for you to perform your duties to him, and be hand-fasted to me. I’m glad he understood that. But I want you to know that it would be the greatest honor of my life if you would now lean on me in his stead.”

  I nodded, one of the many knots curled in my midsection beginning to unravel. “I will. And I want you to promise to do the same.” He once had a father, a King, to turn to, and now that Lucius was gone, I wanted nothing more than to be the confidant Tauren needed.

  He offered a small smile. “I promise.”

  Just then, the sound of pounding hooves came from outside. Tauren tugged the
thick, black curtains back and peeked through the glass. “Courier Stewart has arrived.”

  I froze as panic settled in once more. “I’m not ready! And neither are you! You’re not even fully dressed. We’re going to cause a scandal before we even leave the sector!”

  Tauren’s chuckle filled the air. “Stewart is discreet. Why do you think I sent for him specifically?” He raised his brows. “Besides, your fellow witches won’t bat an eye. They know how we feel about each other. And we are hand-fasted. I’m sure they expect much more from us within the next year…”

  My cheeks warmed at the thought of being intimate with him.

  Or for people across the Kingdom to think, or know, we had been.

  Bay once told me that knowing something and seeing it firsthand were very different things.

  From downstairs came Mira’s voice. “Sable?”

  I ran to the bedroom door and slipped into the hallway, closing it behind me. She met me just outside the door. “I have a few things for you,” she announced with a beaming smile, holding up a garment concealed by a dark bag. “You should wear this today. The rest, I’ve given to the Courier.”

  Mira was a friend I never expected to show up in my life, but one I couldn’t imagine living without now. I hugged her tightly around the neck. She squeaked and I eased my grip. “Sorry.”

  Mira laughed. “I can’t wait to see you tonight.”

  “Tonight? Oh, of course; the coronation will be telecast.”

  “It certainly will, but we won’t be watching from The Gallows. Tauren invited the entire sector to the Coronation Ball.”

  My mouth gaped at her revelation, and I barely heard the door behind me swing open. I turned around to see Tauren with his arms braced on the door frame. He hadn’t bothered to put on a shirt. Mira’s jaw unhinged, and I used a finger to gently close her mouth. She immediately forgot I was standing in front of her, too busy ogling my hand-fasted.

  A slight swirl of jealousy swept through my veins. My fists tightened, and while I would never hurt her, I couldn’t help wanting her eyes off Tauren.

  His voice interrupted my inner turmoil. “Will you require a number of carriages, Priestess Mira, or will you all spirit to the Palace?”