18

18

I sealed the door, unable to take another second of Rose or anyone else’s presence at that point. For years, the only company I had was Brecan when he could steal away, the occasional witch who sought a reading of their fate, usually around Elevation time, and the occasional squirrel who liked to chomp on the wood of my cabin. I realized I’d come to appreciate the calm solitude of a lonely existence.

Tugging the gloves off, I looked at my necrotic fingertips. I was pleased to see the ichor hadn’t spread, and stretching them out didn’t hurt. They didn’t ache. My lips weren’t frozen. Whatever the warning was, I wasn’t sure what it meant.

Someone knocked. That’s probably Brecan ... I tugged the gloves back on, but couldn’t bring myself to whisper the spell to unseal the door.

“Sable?” Tauren’s voice penetrated the air.

I unsealed the door. “It’s unlocked.”

He inspected the knob on the inside of the door when he stepped inside. “There are no locks on the powder rooms, as there is more than one facility.”

“I can stop time, Tauren. Sealing a door – locks or none – is child’s play.”

“Right,” he said with a cough.

“I’m sorry. I’m just having a…” I didn’t know what type of moment I was having. There were no words to describe my roiling emotions.

“Do you want to leave?” he asked sincerely.

“My grandmother is dying.”

His brows kissed in concern. “How do you know?”

“Mira can communicate with those in Thirteen.” I didn’t tell him how or divulge anything further, but I could see the question painted across his face.

“Go to her,” he quietly urged, crossing the room and taking hold of my elbows. I couldn’t look at him. When I tried to pull away, his grip tightened. “Sable, if you need to leave, I understand.”

“No you don’t. My grandmother hated me.”

“That’s not possible.”

He finally let me go when I took a step back. “She hated me. She told me once that it was I who killed my mother; that Fate turned on her because he chose me instead. And now that I am of age and my power has matured, hers has faded, along with her life.”

Fate rumbled in my bones. An unhappy, roiling displeasure sank in deeper than ever before, but I begged him to calm down and just leave me be for a little while .

“Did she hate your mother?” Tauren finally asked, his golden eyes swirling with concern and what I hoped wasn’t pity.

“She did.”

I glanced at the door. Someone would walk into this powder room eventually, and I was sure it would cause quite a scandal for the Prince to be found inside with a witch.

“It doesn’t matter,” I told him woodenly.

“It upsets you, so of course it matters.”

I nodded toward the door. “You should go before someone sees you with me.”

“They’ll be seeing the two of us together much more often now, Sable,” he warned.

“Not in powder rooms.”

“I don’t care what any of them think,” he swore.

I could tell he believed the words he spewed, but he didn’t understand their importance. “What about your father and mother? What about the citizens? They will care, Tauren.” I didn’t give him a chance to argue further, walking quickly to the door.

He didn’t follow, standing rooted in the same place. “There’s more. You aren’t telling me everything.”

I glanced at him over my shoulder. No, I’m not. But you’ll find out soon enough. On the tip of my tongue sat the truth about Rose and the sweetly magical scent she was using against him, but maybe her using the potion was for the best. One of the girls had to ensnare him. Rose was one of the four left that Tauren wanted, and I hadn’t smelled the love potion until tonight. He must have seen something in her before now .

“Can I still meet you tonight?” he asked, standing up straighter as if his body was a shield for his heart.

It would be best to tell him no, to deny the Prince his request, but everything inside me screamed yes. I needed to work the spell, which was the only way I could absolutely ensure his protection. So that was the answer I whispered before leaving him in the powder room and returning to my seat.

The dessert plates had thankfully been cleared by the time I returned. Brecan’s countenance had darkened. “Both you and our fair prince have been absent for a long while.”

“I couldn’t breathe,” I told him. He studied my face. Surely, he could see that my lip gloss wasn’t messy, that every strand of my hair was in place, that my face wasn’t flushed from passion.

Brecan looked away. Mira nudged me softly with her elbow. “The play will take place outside. There’s a small amphitheater to the north.”

“What sort of play is it?”

“A tragedy,” she said wistfully.

At one time, I had wondered why anyone romanticized such terrible circumstances as love, loss, and death… Then I saw the play that evening, and all the pieces slid into place.

Outside, the air was humid, thanks to the earlier rain storm. Mira remarked on each woman’s hair, noting how those who’d curled theirs were wishing they hadn’t. The curls hung heavier and lower, eventually falling away altogether

The amphitheater was small, but large enough for our party. Four wide rows had been hewn into the bedrock in front of a smoothly polished, matching stage. A plush, teal curtain had been hung across the stage to hide the actors and scenery lurking behind. Golden columns streaked up either side of the curtain rod, slowly being consumed by creeping ivy from the ground up.

I could imagine being here in early summer with fireflies lighting the paths down into the hewn earth, cricket song on the gentle breeze, the sky streaked with gold to match the gilded columns.

“This is amazing,” Mira remarked, awestruck by the beauty of such a simple place. “We need one of these in Thirteen.”

I nodded emphatically. “Completely agree.”

“It could be done. The House of Earth could make one.”

I smiled, hoping one day this small dream might come true.

The sky faded to a dark sapphire and diamond stars began to show themselves, the largest boldly sparkling overhead. Seating wasn’t assigned in this place, but we took up a corner of the last row. Tauren sat in the center middle of the bottom row with his parents and brother. He stood and turned to the left and right, peering out over the crowd. When his eyes hooked on Rose, he waved for her to come forward and sit next to him.

My fingernail tips bit into my palm.

Mira made a choked sound. “I thought he was looking for you.”

“He can’t.”

“Why?” she asked, mouth still agape.

“Because I can’t marry him, and he has to choose a wife – soon. ”

Brecan nodded. “Glad the two of you finally came to your senses before things went too far. Assuming they didn’t.”

I felt like clawing him. “They did not.”

“Good,” he said, extending his long legs and leaning back on his palms.

Sometimes, I loved Brecan’s friendship. Sometimes, I didn’t. This was one of the latter times.

“She’s wearing a love potion,” I whispered.

Mira slapped my arm. “I knew it!”

I shushed her when the people in front of us turned around to gawk.

“I knew it was something,” she said quieter.

Brecan sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Where’d she get it?”

“She says she was at the Equinox and bought it in Thirteen.”

“Maybe it’ll help Tauren make up his mind.” It was the cruelest thing Brecan had ever said to me. Not the words he uttered, but the fact he said them at all, knowing how I felt.

Mira leaned closer. “What if she’s bad for him? Bad for the Kingdom, I mean.”

“Right,” he said sarcastically. “Then shame on him for allowing this disgusting pageant in the first place.”

I couldn’t say I disagreed with his logic, but I understood all too well about being bound by customs in which you didn’t want to partake. I agreed to hand-fast when I stepped back inside my sector, knowing full well there wasn’t a single witch to whom I wanted to bind myself .

A gentleman stepped onto the stage and the murmuring of our small crowd ceased. He teased us with the story they were about to unveil; a tale of love which caused strife, and strife which caused death, and death which caused woe.

The actors were skilled. They projected their voices and emotion into the night, and the enraptured crowd soaked up every syllable, every feeling. The story was of a girl, a pauper, who wanted nothing more than to be loved. She met a prince who gave her his heart, but his parents wouldn’t allow them to wed. They wed in secret, bribing a priest to join them despite his parents’ wishes, but the priest had already been bribed by the King and Queen to poison the girl. He disposed of her in a lake, and two days later, the grief-stricken Prince waded into the dark water, never to be seen again.

A shiver scuttled up my spine when Tauren turned to look at me over his shoulder.

Rose followed his gaze to me. One side of her upper lip rose in disgust, but hatred was what shone so brightly in her pretty blue eyes. Realizing her hold on him was failing, she reapplied the love potion, and with it, regained the Prince’s attention. I hoped she’d bought gallons of it. She would need every ounce.

Knox sat on the other side of Rose. Rose’s escorts had squeezed into the second row, sitting directly behind her.

What was strange was that Rose was literally sandwiched between two Nautilus brothers, yet only one of them paid her attention. The love potion should draw any male to her, but Knox... Knox seemed immune. Brecan had been watching, too.

“An Elevated witch made that potion,” he surmised.

I nodded in agreement. “But whom?”

He shrugged. “A few had tables set up along the periphery that evening, if she’s being honest about purchasing it then.”

Most of the witches in The Gallows who bothered to sell potions during our celebrations charged a mint for them. They were easy to make. Even the least gifted among us could make a basic love potion, and those attracted anyone within a fifty-foot radius. The whole party should be fawning over her; the women telling her how pretty she was and how they wished they could be her, and the men falling over one another to do favors for her. But this potion was specifically concocted for Tauren alone, and a spell that concentrated reeked of an Elevated witch.

Once the play concluded, the King and Queen stood, escorted by several guards as they took the rough steps to the soil above us. The Queen’s eyes darted to mine as she passed our row, holding them until she stepped above us. The last of her residue evaporated, but I felt the warning she’d meant to transfer. She wanted me to hurry up. She wanted me to leave her son alone…and then leave the palace.

How did the Queen of Nautilus know how the residue worked? Did my mother teach her?

Knox jogged up the steps next, then came Tauren and Rose. Her arm twisted around his like a vine. She held her shoulders back and her head high, Rose posing like the queen she wanted so desperately to one day be .

Once the royal guards surrounded their charges, we were free to leave. Sector by sector, people filed out of the amphitheater. We were the last to leave. The players busied themselves behind and on stage, disassembling the scenery and taking down the curtain. They loaded everything into hand carts and rushed away, leaving the stage barren.

For a moment, I saw the stage in a different light. Cracks running through the smooth surface, filled with weeds and crushed bits of leaves. Creeping vines covering half of it, threatening to swallow it whole. The place was forgotten.

Fate was upset. He squeezed my middle until I stood from the discomfort. “We should get back,” I said to cover up why I’d risen so abruptly.

Brecan’s eyes glowed brightly in the moonlight, like amethyst. Mira yawned and stretched her arms out wide. “I’m tired.”

“Did you stay up late last night?” I asked as we ascended onto the soil.

“I had to make a few things for you,” she replied.

“Hopefully, this will all be over with soon and you’ll be able to rest, Mira. I appreciate all you’ve done to help me.”

She inclined her head. “Don’t apologize. It’s been the best experience of my life.”

As we walked to our rooms, the cries of those who weren’t invited to remain spilled into the hallways and down the staircase. Mira unlocked her door and said goodnight. Brecan waited in the hall until I’d unlocked mine. He lingered, twisting his key in his hand. “What is it? ”

“If you need anything, if Fate tells you Tauren needs you, I want you to wake me.”

I opened my mouth to agree, but he strode across the hall and put a finger to my lips.

“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I need to say it. So, please, allow me to get this off my chest.” He closed his eyes and then opened them again. “I know you have feelings for Tauren. I recognize it, because I feel the same for you. And I know that you’re trying your best to keep him safe, but I want to keep you safe. If something happened to you –” His voice shattered.

I clasped his hand for a moment, squeezing it. “I’ll wake you,” I rasped.

He pursed his lips, then asked, “Swear it?”

“I swear. If there is danger, I’ll come to you.”

He nodded, satisfied with the vow I’d made. I felt like a cockroach, scuttling away from the light that was the truth, terrified to be caught even for a second in the open honesty of a lie. The moment he went into his room, I planned to change and sneak out to see if Tauren remembered that he’d asked to see me, or if Rose’s potion was still affecting him.

I hoped it wasn’t affecting him too much.

Brecan tipped his chin toward my room. “Good night, Sable.”

“Good night.”

I slipped inside and locked the door behind me, taking a deep breath. The shoes were the first things I shed. I liked them. They were beautiful. They were also hard to walk in on grass, and my ankles throbbed.

Instead of skinny jeans and the ridiculous numbered t-shirt, I gently pulled my gown over my head and laid it at the bottom of the bed, then fished one of my dresses out of my trunk. The familiar, worn velvet settled over me like a comfortable blanket. I unclasped the necklace Tauren had given me and laid it next to the gown. My stomach growled. No wonder. I hadn’t eaten a bite since midday.

Leaving my gloves on, I slipped out my door and quickly locked it, heading downstairs. My footsteps didn’t make a sound on the cold, marble floors. Guards stood at each door leading to and from the palace, but their numbers had increased since dinner. Had Tauren told his father about the attempted poisoning?

Tauren wasn’t waiting in any of the gardens I could find. Rose’s potion must have done the trick.

I pushed through the kitchen’s heavy swinging steel doors and almost ran into Knox again. He laughed, holding up two glasses and a bottle of Champagne. “We have to stop meeting like this, Sable.”

I stared at the twin glasses. Did Tauren send his brother to retrieve them for him and Rose?

“He’s not with her,” Knox supplied, reading my thoughts. “He’s in his room, but will be down soon.”

“I wasn’t looking for him.”

“Liar,” he whispered, a knowing smirk on his lips. A long, silent moment stretched between us. Knox bent forward, whispering, “For the record, I’m all for shaking things up in the Kingdom.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

“A witch and a prince? What an interesting match.”

Didn’t he tell Knox that I couldn’t marry him?

“You seem upset,” he mused, watching me carefully. His eyes were sharp, like his mother’s .

“I’m starving.”

He gave me a look like he didn’t believe me, but then used the Champagne bottle to point toward the back of the room. “The refrigerators are right there. Help yourself.”

“Thank you.”

He nodded once, gave me another quizzical look, and then bid me goodnight, pushing his way through the door.

On the center of one of the cutting board counters was a basket of fruit. I found a napkin and filled it with a bunch of grapes and a green apple, then left the kitchen to return to my room. I met Tauren in the hallway.

“How did you know where to find me?” I asked.

“I bumped into Knox.”

He stood in front of me, close enough that I could smell his cologne. Something spicy and rich. He didn’t smell like Champagne or rose hips, thank the goddess. Tauren studied my dress. “You look beautiful, Sable.”

“There’s nothing beautiful about this old rag.”

“You wore it the night of the Equinox, didn’t you?”

I nodded. That night would be permanently etched into his memory, and no matter what I did from this point forward, I would always be the Daughter of Fate to him, the girl who hung a criminal in front of a crowd of his people. The girl who told him he was going to die.

I might as well have been wearing my noose as a belt.

Silently, he brushed my gloved hand. “Too much residue?” he asked.

“Yes.” I nearly choked on the lie, but allowing him to see my necrotic fingers was not something I was willing to do. Not until I knew why Fate had altered them .

“Will you come outside with me?”

“Of course.”

He led me to a garden I hadn’t seen before, one that was partially enclosed with glass. Pale white moonflowers bloomed all around us, their musky fragrance perfuming the air. There was a small pond with a fountain in the center, its surface covered with pink waterlilies that craned their delicate necks toward the moon. “This is the Night Garden,” he told me once we were inside.

A simple, wooden plank swing hung in the corner. Tauren gave an encouraging nod. “You can swing if you’d like.”

I made my way to the swing and unwrapped the food I’d smuggled away. “Are you hungry?”

“No, thank you.”

I plucked a grape from the stem and popped it into my mouth.

“How are you?” I asked him.

Stress lines creased his forehead. He relaxed his expression, but answered honestly. “I feel horrible for sending so many home, but it had to be done. I hated hearing how upset some of them were, and I don’t understand why I couldn’t have just told them individually. Some were humiliated. Their family and friends were no doubt watching, hoping they would receive a raspberry. The producers insisted it was tradition, but it didn’t sit right with me. And I didn’t want to upset my father by asking him to change it. He has much on his mind.”

“I think some traditions should be broken.”

His eyes searched mine. “What do you think of the four who remain? ”

Should I tell him Rose was manipulating him, or keep quiet? The sound of laughter – male and female – slid into the garden seconds before Knox and Leah popped through the door. He was still carrying the glasses and Champagne, and her arm was wrapped around his as if she’d gotten quite comfortable with Tauren’s younger brother.

Noticing us, she quickly recoiled her arm and stood up straight.

“Relax, Leah,” Knox said. “Tauren knows.”

My brows rose. Was it Knox who was kissing Leah like she was the air in his lungs the night I saw the shadow I thought was Tauren in her room?

“It’s why he extended your visit. Relax,” Knox soothed. His eyes slid from his brother to me. “It seems a little crowded in here. What do you say we find another garden to haunt, Leah?”

“That would be best,” she agreed, tugging him back out of the garden.

I breathed a sigh of relief. “How long have they been…?”

“Since the second night she was here. Knox is typically very casual with women, but he seems to really like Leah. I think the feeling is mutual, too.”

“It must have been uncomfortable having to pretend-date her on telecast, then.” I’d eaten half my grapes.

“You have no idea. I mean, she’s nice enough, but I knew she and Knox were getting serious fast.”

“What about the others?” I led, giving him a sideways glance. “Which one do you like the most?”

He hesitated. “You want to know who I want to marry? ”

“I’m a citizen of this Kingdom. As such, I’m as curious as any about who my queen might be.” Please don’t let it be Rose . I didn’t know much about Estelle or Tessa, as they were quieter and kept to themselves, but I would blindly choose either of them before knowingly wishing for the she-devil.

“Tessa is nice. She’s a sculptor, like my mother was, so my mother loves her.”

I nodded. “It’s good that they get along.”

“Estelle is a painter, and she’s incredibly talented.”

“What do you like about her? What attracts you to her? The skill of painting is admirable, but what draws you to Tessa or Estelle?”

He ignored the question. “Then there’s Rose.”

My heart skipped a beat.

“I’m confused about her. One minute, I feel like maybe she could be the one I choose. The next, I’m not sure why I even thought it.”

I made the mistake of smiling.

“What?”

“Nothing. I was just thinking about how confusing feelings can be,” I lied. Love potions could have that effect on their targets.

Tauren nodded toward the green apple I’d taken. “It’s a Sugarvein. Very sweet. You’ll love it.”

I took a bite and it was delicious. Like an explosion of sugar on my tongue, yet with a hint of tartness to counter the flavor. The Prince laughed as I greedily took another bite.

“Why didn’t you eat dinner, or dessert?”

“How do you know I didn’t? ”

He studied me for a long moment. “Because I watched you.”

“Why?”

“I can’t seem to stop, Sable.”

I swallowed thickly as he approached. I let the napkin fall from my hands, gripping the coarse strands of rope on either side of the swing.

He stepped around me and gave me a push, swinging me toward the pond, then stepped away, toward a sliding door that had been left open. I stopped myself and twisted the swing to look at him.

“I’m afraid,” I croaked.

“Of me?”

I shook my head. “ For you.”

“Has Fate sent a message to you again?”

“Nothing specific, but there’s this unsettled, almost writhing feeling within me, and I don’t know what to make of it. I’ve never felt anything like this before. It’s not pleasant.”

He walked over to me as the swing’s ropes untwisted. He took my hand and waited while I stood. The flecks in his golden irises flickered in the moonlight. I brushed a dark strand of hair out of his eye.

“Today was busy. The coming week will be worse. I’ll get to spend time with you, but it’ll be while cameras are watching,” he said softly.

“You mean, while the Kingdom watches.”

Tauren nodded. “Sable, I need to propose to someone soon –”

I knew what he was going to tell me, but didn’t want to hear it. Not here. Not now .

I tugged my gloves off. Tauren’s eyes widened at the sight of my fingertips. “What is this?” He touched them, and a rush of warmth spread through my veins. I expected him to recoil, to curl his upper lip and back away. But I needed to touch him to perform this spell, and Fate’s answering warmth urged me to do it quickly. A violent magic churned in my bones. Fate was not only going to bless the spell, he would solidify it until it was unbreakable.

“I owe you a kiss,” I said, watching as his pupils dilated.

“Yes, I believe you do.”

“With interest.”

He smiled. “With interest.”

“Would you like to claim it now?”

Tauren didn’t hesitate. He brought his lips so close they brushed mine. “I’ve never wanted anything so desperately.”

Neither have I.

I took his hands in mine and held tight, then pushed my lips to his. I expected a tentative, exploratory kiss. What I received was an explosion of passion, want, and need.

One of Tauren’s hands found the small of my back and brought me forward until the front of me was plastered to the front of him. He threaded the other into my hair. The kiss was magnetic. He moved his lips over mine, waiting until I parted them. To complete a soul-binding spell was dangerous for both of us, but the witches were becoming bolder. They wanted Tauren dead, and if something happened that made it so I couldn’t be with him when they came …

And Fate… Fate was on my side.

I pushed the negative, invasive thoughts away and focused on the spell, letting it wrap around us while I enjoyed Tauren’s lips, the feel of his muscles flexing against me, and the silkiness of his hair. And then, when I could sense with every cell in my body that the magic was ready for the final ingredient, I leaned back and bit my lip until it stung, the coppery tang of blood seeping into my mouth. Then, while he was still dazed, I captured his bottom lip between my teeth and nipped. Tauren’s eyes popped open. Our blood mixed and the magic shimmered gold around us, the color of his eyes but brighter, too bright to look at for very long.

He withdrew, putting several feet between us, running his thumb over his injured lip. But the spell had been cast. He was protected now. “What was that?”

Just then, the door burst open and Brecan ran to me, nearly knocking Tauren over. “What did you do?” He wrapped his hands around my upper arms and shook, hard. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”

“How did you know?” I asked, my eyes open in shock.

He didn’t have the opportunity to answer, because Tauren grabbed the back of Brecan’s shirt, hauled him backward, and punched him, the blow rendering him unconscious. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Brecan’s lavender eyes rolled back in his head as he fell slowly to the ground, as heavily as a tree would tip in the forest. His pale hair splayed around him in the rich, dark soil. For a moment, all I could do was cover my wide-open mouth. Then, I realized what happened. Tauren knocked Brecan out .

“Why did you hit him?” I growled, falling to my knees, unsure what to do next.

“You’re actually defending him? He put his hands on you, Sable. A man should never put his hands on a woman – not like that.”

He was right. Brecan crossed a line. But I knew my friend was also right to worry about the spell.

“What was he talking about? What did you do, Sable?”

Unable to meet Tauren’s eyes, I tried to downplay my actions. “It wasn’t dangerous. I just bound our souls.”

“Bound our souls?” he breathed. “What does that mean, exactly?”

Tears pricked my eyes. “I can’t let you die. Not when I have the means to prevent it. And I’m afraid I’m not strong enough to stop them. I had to do something,” I tried to explain, my rambling emotions getting the better of me.

“How does the spell prevent it?” Tauren swiped his thumb over his bottom lip again. The blood had stopped pooling, but if he didn’t leave it alone, it would start bleeding again.

Brecan groaned from his place on the ground, blinking his eyes a few times.

“How does the spell prevent my death?” Tauren demanded.

Brecan answered him, clutching what would be a very sore cheek. “If someone gravely injures you, Sable will forfeit her life for yours.”

Tauren’s mouth gaped open. I’d never seen the sea, never seen a ship when the wind left its sails, but I imagined it would look much the same way Tauren did. “Sable, no. Undo it.”

There was so much fear, so much desperation in the plea.

I couldn’t bring myself to answer him, so Brecan did it for me. “She can’t. Soul binding cannot be undone.”

Tauren shook his head. “Why would you do something so foolish?”

“Foolish? You are the crown Prince of Nautilus! You are the next King. That is your fate. And besides that, my actions weren’t chivalrous. Any citizen would do the same if they could. They would protect you, Tauren.”

“Just a common citizen doing her duty, huh?” he spat.

“Tauren, I can’t be with –”

He stormed away before I could finish my sentence. Brecan jumped to his feet, cutting me with his stare. “Why on earth would you do that? Bind yourself to him? He’s not one of us. Someone will likely always want him dead, Sable, which means you’ve forfeited your life. When he wears the crown, there will be no shortage of people who want to take it. It’s the fate of all kingdoms, of all Monarchs, to be replaced. There will always be strife and upheaval somewhere.”

“Don’t talk to me about fate, Brecan,” I seethed. “Nautilus has been ruled by the same family for thousands of years.”

“Apparently, someone thinks it’s been far too long,” he growled, stiffly standing to face me.

A frigid wind whistled through the garden and the night-blooming flowers began to sag. “What was that?” he asked .

I swallowed. “I think we both know what’s happening.”

He closed his eyes tightly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ela. She’s weakening.”

She was the Priestess and protector of the Earth, its source of power and energy while she lived. Now, that source was evaporating quicker than a drop of water in a desert. I wondered if the soil would turn to sand once she faded away. Would the Circle be able to appoint a new priestess before the earth itself died?

Brecan left me in the garden without another word. I still wasn’t sure how he knew I’d bound my soul to Tauren’s, but asking him now would just cause another eruption of anger, and I didn’t want to endure more.

I sat on the swing, rocking back and forth, watching the flowers as their leaves and stems slowly withered.