21

21

H ow was Sector Three?” Mira asked when I knocked on her door after we returned to the palace.

“It was one of the best, most humbling experiences of my life.” Thanks to Fate.

He nearly purred within me.

The heat of Tauren’s forgiveness was still branded on my lips.

“Do tell,” Brecan said sarcastically, exiting his room and joining us as we strode across the hall to mine.

“The children were wonderful,” I answered sharply.

“And has Tauren magically forgiven you?” he asked. “I noticed he left in Rose and Leah’s carriage, but rode back with you.”

“And Tessa and Estelle,” I added.

Mira’s eyes bounced back and forth between us as we argued. Attempting to quell the tension, she blurted, “The King and Queen are fine. We checked their meals, kept an eye on them as best we could, and when they retired to their rooms, came back here. They have several guards watching over them now.”

“What’s on the schedule for tonight?” I asked.

“Your evening is free,” Brecan chirped. “The Prince will plan a special evening with each of you this week, beginning with Rose.”

The thought of Rose and Tauren enjoying a romantic dinner made me burn with envy. But I would feel the same if he were dining with Estelle or even Tessa, who wasn’t sure she wanted to give up her life for a royal one – even if it meant being with Tauren. Leah, I knew, was only granted the chance to stay so she could spend more time with Knox.

Footsteps came from down the hallway. Brecan, Mira, and I turned to find Knox waltzing down the hall. Speak of the devil, and he shall appear. The same must apply to thoughts.

“Sable? Could I have a moment of your time?”

“Of course,” I replied, straightening my back.

Knox nodded to Brecan and Mira. “Privately, if you don’t mind.”

I certainly wasn’t inviting him into my room unchaperoned. If he mentioned anything to Leah, she would blab to Rose, and Rose would make sure to mention it on camera.

I followed Knox up another flight of steps, down a hall, and up a spiral staircase that emptied into a solarium. If it weren’t so overcast, the sun would spill through the glass panes and dapple the potted plants, all of which were wilted, the color leached almost entirely from their leaves and petals.

Knox leaned his hip against the cushioned arm of a plush blue chair. “My brother told me what you did today.”

I quirked a brow.

“He said you couldn’t heal just anyone, but I couldn’t help but wonder if you could make a plea on our behalf.”

“A plea for what?”

“Not what, whom . Our father, Sable. No one but he, my mother, Tauren and I know, but he is ill.”

The tone of his words and the soft pain they held told me it was grave. “That’s why he wants Tauren to marry so quickly,” I surmised. “It’s why he didn’t protest when Tauren sent most of the women home early.”

Knox nodded. “He hopes to live long enough to watch him marry.”

It was strange how much he resembled his older brother. I wondered just how many years separated them, or if maybe there were only minutes between the brothers. They looked like twins, except for the bridge of their noses – Knox’s had been broken – and their hair – Knox’s was longer, wilder.

“What does he suffer from?”

“A cancer.”

Fate coiled tightly around my middle. “The stomach?”

“Stomach. Intestines. It’s everywhere.”

I silently asked Fate if he would intervene. He remained with me, but silently refused the request.

“I’m sorry,” I croaked. “I cannot help him. ”

Knox’s face had held a tiny sliver of hope until the words left my mouth. Once they did, his head fell to his hands. “I was afraid you’d say that.”

“But if he is in pain, I can ease it,” I offered.

Knox’s eyes flicked to me. “Truly?”

I nodded. “Truly.”

“Could you come now? He’s… this has been a hard day for him. He pretends well enough most of the time, but… Well, you’ll see.”

Knox led me through the castle to the King and Queen’s chambers. The guards posted outside their rooms announced us and we were granted entry.

We walked into a sitting room appointed with plush furniture, accented by wooden tables and leather chairs positioned in front of a hearth. Knox gestured to a doorway and I walked into a bedroom with walls painted a shade of deep teal that I imagined was possessed only by the ocean herself. The King lay in his bed, propped up on a stack of pillows. The Queen sat at his side, spooning broth into his mouth. She took one look at me and dropped the spoon into the bowl with a clatter. A servant retrieved it from her.

The King tried to sit up, but panted from the exertion. His face was beet red, a sure sign of the pain lancing him from the inside out.

“How long have you suffered?” I asked.

“Only a few months,” he answered breathlessly.

A question sat on the tip of my tongue, but I didn’t utter it. How long did he believe he had left?

“I know I’m dying. Some days, the pain releases me and I feel fine. I feel like myself. Other days, I can barely leave this bed, let alone the room. ”

Knox stiffened behind me.

“May I?” I held my hand out for him.

His eyes filled with unshed tears, but the King placed his large hand in mine. I closed my eyes and whispered a spell to quench his fiery pain. Within moments, his grip relaxed and he sighed, letting his head sink back onto the pillows. “Thank you, Sable.”

“It’s the least I can do.”

He breathed deeply, effortlessly. Queen Annalina put her hand over her mouth, stifling the sobs that threatened. Her eyes met mine and she took her hand away, mouthing the words Thank you .

“You should rest,” I told him, but he was already half asleep.

The Queen gently rose and led me and Knox to the sitting room. “The palace physician told us he has three months to live.”

I wanted to give her better news, but Fate told me otherwise. “He will pass sooner than that, I’m afraid.”

The Queen’s lips began to quiver, and a suppressed cry escaped them.

“How much sooner?” Knox asked for her.

“He will pass on the eve of the next full moon.”

Knox uttered a curse. The Queen let out a quiet sob, falling into her son’s comforting arms. “I’m sorry, Mother.”

I was sorry, too. King Lucius seemed strong when I arrived at the palace. Strong but kind, despite how intimidating it was to speak with the King of Nautilus. But now I knew what had caused the underlying tension and worry that I picked up from both of them. Yes, the King and Queen had concealed this secret well, but I berated myself for not delving further into their residues while I could. I could’ve helped him sooner.

I slipped out the door and was walking down the hall, retracing the steps to my room when Knox caught up with me. “How long will the spell last?”

“Until he…” I couldn’t say it. “He will not feel pain again, Knox.”

He swallowed thickly. “Good.”

“I’m sorry.”

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his dark trousers and rocked back on his heels. “No sorrier than I am.” He was quiet for a long moment. “I’ll tell Tauren. I imagine he’ll want to move things along so our father can attend his wedding.”

I swallowed thickly. “I imagine he will.”

“I need to get back,” he said regretfully, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.

We parted ways and I walked back to my room with leaden feet.

Brecan was waiting in the hall. He smirked, no doubt ready to fire a smart remark in my direction, but stopped when he saw my face. “What happened?”

“Where is Mira?”

“She went to the pool to swim for a while.”

And to speak with Bay, I assumed. I wondered how much longer Ela could hold on. From the look of the potted flowers, not much longer at all.

The need for fresh air consumed me, and Brecan dutifully followed me outside. Estelle sat on one of the garden benches, studying the intricately shaped hedges and the floral tufts and vines rising from the soil. She invited us to sit with her, but we thanked her and kept walking. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but my feet led me to the amphitheater. Jogging down the hewn steps, I pulled myself up to sit on the stage.

Brecan followed and settled beside me, a troubled look on his face ushered in by gusting winds that scuttled dark clouds across the sky.

“Can you contact Wayra?” I asked.

“I’ve been trying.”

Whether it was Fate revealing it to me or some tether within me being severed, I felt the very moment Ela died. The earth trembled beneath us. I closed my eyes.

Brecan cursed as the ivy that had been creeping up the columns to either side of us shriveled, tumbling off their vines and littering the smooth stage behind us. The wind quickly blew it away.

“I hope they hurry. The Earth is parched and already craves a new Priestess,” he said.

“It won’t matter,” I told him. Just then, a darkness slid through me; a tendril of something I thought was dead and gone. A link to my mother. “She’s free.”

Brecan’s brow furrowed.

My thoughts went to Tauren. How could I keep him safe now that my mother had broken free of her earthen tomb?

“What do you know about Cyril, Brecan?”

He took a deep breath, resigned to his task. “I overheard Bay speaking to Mira just before they assigned us to be your escorts. From what I could glean, when you were still a toddler, Cyril threatened the King and was driven away by Annalina, who had gone to the Circle for help when she became leery of Cyril’s intrusion into their affairs. When the Circle confronted her about it, Cyril flew into a rage and attempted a powerful spell to siphon the magic out of the Priest and Priestesses. The Circle fought her, and in the battle, both Wayra and Cyril were injured. Bay and Ethne helped Wayra, while Ela followed Cyril as she retreated into the House of Fate.” He swallowed. “Cyril called on dark magic to evict Fate from your body, but when that didn’t work, she attempted to kill you…to force him out.”

My mouth fell open in shock.

“Bay said you were tiny, but that you knew exactly what was happening and what to do.”

Fate must have guided me.

Brecan clasped my elbow. “You stopped her, Sable. You, with Fate’s help, held Cyril until Ela was able to lure her onto the soil in the center of the Circle, where she bound her.”

How many times had I walked directly on top of her?

“Why don’t I remember anything?”

“You were very young.”

As a toddler, I still would have been old enough to have memories. At least I thought I would. The first memory I could recall was one of fear – of being led to the cabin behind the House of Fate and told it was my home now, and that I had to live there alone. Ethne had escorted me because my grandmother refused. I wondered if it was because whatever she saw occur in the House that day frightened her, or if she was afraid of getting close to me only to have me tear her heart to shreds like my mother had .

Brecan continued, “The pentagram in the center magnified Ela’s spell and contained her, until now – if you’re right and she’s escaped.”

“She has. I can feel it, just as I can feel that Ela’s spirit is with the Goddess.”

“Sable!” someone yelled from the palace. I jumped down from the stage and ran, knowing within my heart it was Tauren who was calling.

“Tauren!”

Please, let him be okay. Fate protect him.

We met in the yard. His eyes searched over me. “Your mother…”

“I know.”

“I was scared she’d come for you,” he admitted.

Brecan stopped alongside us, drawing Tauren’s eye. “I didn’t realize you were busy,” Tauren said, his princely manner smoothly clicking back into place. “I… I have to meet Rose for dinner.” Tauren was out of sorts.

“Did you speak with Knox?”

He nodded, and it was then that I saw the redness that had settled into the whites of his eyes. Tauren had been crying.

Brecan’s eyes pierced me, waiting for clarification, but I didn’t want to speak about his father’s failing health in front of him, or anyone for that matter.

“I would be happy to check your meal and drinks,” I offered.

“Thank you. Just don’t let Rose see you, please.”

Ouch . “Of course.”

“I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant that –”

“It’s fine. It doesn’t matter. I’ll check your food and then enjoy my free time. Right, Brecan? ”

I felt horrible the moment I said it, but Brecan backed me up as he always had. “Right.”

Following Tauren into the palace, I watched the way his muscles flowed beneath his tailored suit. He strode through the rooms and halls confidently, yet inside he was breaking. I knew he didn’t mean to use his dinner with Rose against me. I shouldn’t have used Brecan as ammunition against him in return.

I felt like a worm.

Tauren walked into the intimate dining room, where the table was lit by flickering candles and a trio of musicians were assembled in the corner, lightly tuning their instruments. Rose absolutely bloomed when he entered the room, rising from her chair and sticking her hand out for him to kiss. The smell of rose hips wafted through the air, not that she needed the love potion anymore. Tauren enjoyed her company.

I spelled the room, checked their meals and the wine and water glasses arranged on the table, and quickly took my leave.

Again, Brecan waited for me. I unlocked my room and he silently followed me in. “Don’t use me like that again,” he seethed once the door closed behind him.

Only one other time had I seen him so angry, which reminded me…

“How did you know I’d worked the binding spell?”

“The magic, Sable. It was so powerful, it woke me from a dead sleep and led me straight to you. I could smell it. I could taste and feel it. Even the air bent to you. Did you know that?” He stalked toward me with each proclamation, and I stepped back until my shoulder blades hit the wall and I could retreat no further .

“Why didn’t it wake Mira?”

“Mira?” He laughed mirthlessly. “Mira’s only known you since the day we left The Gallows. I know you, Sable. Better than anyone. I know the unique feel of your magic.”

He braced his hands on the wall, caging me in. “Do you know how easy this would be?”

“What?” I croaked.

“ This . You and me, Sable.”

His lavender eyes glistened with something unspeakable. Something I’d seen again and again. He slowly leaned in, letting his arms hold his weight.

I wished it were as simple as Brecan thought it was, but nothing was simple now that Tauren was in my world. He was the only one I wanted, and at the same time was the fruit from which I was forbidden to eat.

“Would it truly be such a hardship to spend a year with me?” he asked, his lips a breath away from mine.

Brecan didn’t want to hear the truth; he wanted me to accept him. To admit that spending a year together would be perfectly fine. But any year spent with another witch while yearning for Tauren would be a hardship.

“Brecan –”

He leaned in to press a kiss to my lips, but I put a hand between us and whispered a spell to move him away. Apparently, I put a lot of emphasis on the away part, because he was dragged across the room and far away from me.

The look on his face said that I’d hurt his pride. He tugged at his collar and strode to the door. “I’ll be across the hall if you need me,” he said, composing himself .

“I can’t think about this now, Brecan. Not with Ela’s death, my mother being set free, and trying to protect Tauren.”

His shoulders tensed upon hearing Tauren’s name. “I understand.”

He left.

I changed into a comfortable pair of knit pants and a slouchy shirt that was thicker and hung off my shoulders, kicked my shoes off, and headed to the Night Garden. I felt like swinging.

Downstairs, I met Mira in the hall. She nearly bumped into me, startling when I caught her shoulders. “Are you alright?”

Her teeth were chattering and she hugged herself around the middle, trembling violently.

“Mira?” I looked closer to see that strands of her hair were frozen. “Who did this to you?”

“I did,” she answered. “I wanted the water to be cooler. I guess I took the spell a touch too far.” Mira smiled, but it wasn’t genuine. “I’m going to run a hot shower. Don’t worry, Sable.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

She shook her frozen hair and thanked me. “There’s no need, really. I’m tired. I think I’ll turn in early.”

I decided I would give her time to shower and then go check on her.

Mira made her way up the steps and I peeked in the pool room, shocked to find the entire pool of water frozen. The once humid air was frigid. I closed the door behind me and made my way to the Night Garden.

Soft, lush tufts of grass tickled the bottoms of my feet as I walked over to the swing. I leaned my head back as I swung, watching dark clouds race across the sky. Only a few panels of the glass enclosure were left open to the elements tonight, and the scent of something enigmatic and heady wafted on the breeze. There was something familiar in the smell. It pricked at my memory.

The earth looked sad. All the flowers that were merely sagging yesterday were now dead. Did the Circle fail to Elevate a new Priestess of the House of Earth? How could they?

Unless… unless my mother prevented it somehow.

Tauren cleared his throat as he walked into the garden. “Am I interrupting?”

“Interrupting my swinging? Yes, I suppose you are.”

“Then by all means, carry on. Don’t let me stop you,” he teased.

“How was your dinner?”

Tauren leveled me with a ponderous look. “Why do you ask?”

“Curiosity.”

“You know what they say about that.”

I tried to laugh, gripping the ropes of the swing tighter.

Tauren sighed. “Dinner was good. No poison, so that’s something,” he finally said, settling on a stone bench nearby. The garden’s narrow stone pathways were exposed now that its flora was dead. He stretched his legs out and leaned back on his palms.

“Good.”

“And your time with Brecan?” He watched me intently.

“My evening was good as well,” I said, re-using his bland description .

“Good,” he muttered.

A long moment of silence stretched between us.

“I hate it,” he finally said, tearing at his hair.

“Hate what?”

“Seeing you with him.”

I took a deep breath. “Well, I hate seeing you with Rose. And Leah. And Estelle. And Tessa.”

He looked up at me. “Thank you for helping my father. I didn’t get a chance to tell you earlier. He’s resting more soundly than he has in months.”

“I wish I could do more for him,” I admitted. I wished I could heal the King the way Fate allowed me to heal Belle today. But it was time for the King to pass, just as it was time for Tauren to take his place as the ruler of Nautilus.

Tauren leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees and scrubbing his face with his hands. “This is so hard. He’s been sick for a while, but we didn’t realize it was this grave. For months, he brushed everything off as stomach upset or indigestion, and we let him,” he scoffed. “We didn’t ask questions. I never sent for a doctor until the day he collapsed.”

“You didn’t know,” I tried to comfort.

“He’s my father . I should’ve done something .”

“His illness was not your doing, and you can’t blame yourself for something completely out of your control.” No more than my mother or her actions were my fault. I hated that he blamed himself. He shouldered too much. Far too much.

“For the record,” he said, sitting up straighter, “I hate dining with Rose, or Leah, or Estelle, or Tessa.”

“Why do you say such things? ”

He shrugged. “Like you, I’m just being honest. There’s only one woman I want to have dinner with every evening, lunch with every afternoon, and breakfast with each morning.”

“We’re impossible,” I breathed.

“I’m not so sure about that.”

“I thought you were still angry with me.” I watched him out of the corner of my eye.

He blew out a tense breath and looked to the heavens. “I wish you hadn’t worked the spell, but now that you have, I’ll just have to work doubly hard to protect you,” he vowed.

He is ridiculously stubborn . “You should worry about protecting yourself, not about me.”

“No, now that we’re bound, you’ll be my shield, but I will also be yours. We’ll keep each other safe – and alive.”

I smiled. “We’ll defend one another?”

“Back to back.”

“It might come to that,” I told him. “My mother has been freed.”

“I had a lengthy discussion with my own mother after we returned from Sector Three, and she told me all she knew. Now I’d like to ask…how do you feel about Cyril?”

“I always felt cheated out of knowing her, out of being raised by her. If she were alive, I would have been a member of her House, not handed off to another Priestess. But now that I’ve heard more about her and the way people speak about her… they’re frightened. Not just afraid enough to avoid her, but terrified of her. And now I can’t help but be frightened, too.” Plus, there wa s the little tidbit Brecan had overheard about her threatening to kill Lucius, and then trying to kill me.

Fate woke inside me. His comfort curled all around me.

To those who were worried because there could only be one witch of Fate, I felt it down to the dust of me that I was his choice.

Not my mother.

Never her again.

A dark smoke curled through the open glass doors and flooded the garden, despite the wind swirling through it. I leapt from the swing and crossed through the dead foliage to stand beside Tauren.

His eyes were alarmed. “What is it?”

“I’m not sure,” I answered, on edge.

The smoke continued to gather, building in height and width until the shape of a human formed. Out of the plume stepped a male witch with shaggy, midnight-blue hair and pale skin. Silver slitted eyes twinkled as he smiled at me and stepped forward.

“You,” I breathed, finally recognizing his face. He was the boy who clung to the tree outside my cabin, the boy who chose the tea leaves… with the slitted eyes and indecision. “Who are you?”

“Daughter of Fate,” he greeted so much more confidently than he had seemed in my home.

“Come no closer,” I warned, raising a hand to defend Tauren and me. Tauren unsheathed a dagger, the biting sound of metal raking metal filling the air until he held it out in front of him.

“I am not here for a fight, Daughter of Fate,” the male witch proclaimed .

With sharp features that highlighted his nature, he was beautiful – darkness embodied. Without the red cloak hiding his face, he was a sight to behold. Gone was the angst that rolled off him in waves while I read his tea leaves. In its place was boldness.

He’s made his decision.

“What do you want, then?”

“To deliver a parcel.”

I ticked my head back. “A parcel?”

“Yes, Sable. A parcel,” he confirmed, hissing each s sound.

From a leather satchel at his side, he gingerly plucked a small, rectangular package, wrapped in brown paper and tied with a matching string. “Who are you?”

“I am the Son of Night,” he answered.

“And do you often deliver parcels, Son of Night?”

He grinned like a panther. “When it benefits me, yes.”

“Who sent it?”

“Your mother.” The words sent a chill up my spine.

He tossed the package to me and I caught it, holding it against my chest. The witch strode back into the cloud of smoke and let it swallow him. A second later, not even a wisp remained.

“You’re not opening that,” Tauren ordered.

“I am, but not here,” I amended.

“Sable, anything sent by your mother is unsafe for you.”

“She didn’t come here,” I reasoned, “and he didn’t threaten me. Perhaps this is an olive branch. In any event, I can’t open it here. I need Brecan and Mira with me in case I’m wrong. ”

Tauren stared at the parcel like it might turn into a scorpion and strike at him with its bulbous, barbed tail. I was about to dismiss him when he speared me with an intensely determined look. “I’m coming with you.”

“It’s too dangerous for you.”

“When you open it, I will be there, Sable.” He sheathed his blade, never taking his eyes off me. Then he offered his arm, leaving no room for argument. I accepted it and together, we walked quickly upstairs.

Mira had showered, but was still shaken when she entered my room. “My mother froze the pool, didn’t she?” I surmised.

Mira nodded, her eyes wide as she looked between the Prince and me. “What’s that?” she asked, pointing to the package I held securely in my arms.

“I need you and Brecan here in case something happens when I open it.”

“Is it from her?” she rasped. “You don’t want to open it, Sable. She’s… she’s… she took over Thirteen.”

“What?”

Mira nodded. “That’s what she said. At the pool, I was trying to reach Bay when she appeared instead.”

Brecan slipped into the room, catching the last of our conversation. “I can’t reach Wayra, either. And it’s obvious that no Priestess of the House of Earth has been Elevated, since everything remains dead.” Brecan pushed off the wall. “It’ll stay that way if an Earthen Priestess isn’t Elevated soon. If Cyril is strong enough to block the Circle, irreparable damage might be done.”

“Nothing is irreparable,” I whispered .

“Let’s go see what your mother sent you.” Brecan gestured to my door, then looked at Tauren. “Are you sure he should be here?”

“No,” I grumped. “But I’m not sure he shouldn’t, either.”

Tauren stiffened beside me, but I took his hand and pulled him into my room. Mira followed us.

Sending an anxious glance to Brecan and Mira, they extended their hands and readied themselves for battle as I untied the string and unwrapped the parcel. Inside was a simple, hand-held mirror. The handle and frame were ornately carved from jade, and ivy tendrils crawled up each side of the oval frame.

The mirror smelled of rich soil.

It also smelled like my grandmother’s rosemary hand lotion.

I looked in the smooth glass. My reflection was quickly replaced by another, but the one looking through the mirror smiled. The way her lips moved, the dark shade of her eyes… They were the same as mine, yet there was a rage, barely restrained, contained within.

“Stop reading me, Sable,” she snapped.

Blinking, I snapped out of the lazy haze and focused on her. “What do you want?”

“What do I want? Is that any way to greet your mother after seventeen years of absence?”

I remained still, careful to keep the mirror trained on my face and not allow her to see Tauren, Brecan, or Mira.

“How is your little Water witch friend?” Cyril grinned.

“She is well. Why would you ask?”

Her eyes narrowed fractionally, and then she began to pace in front of the purple couch in my House. “I’ve resurrected the House of Fate. Thank you for attempting to clean it before you were plucked away.”

Number one, it was my House now. And she was thanking me? “I wasn’t plucked . I chose to leave.”

“Chose… it’s such an interesting word. As if Fate ever offers a choice.”

Fate growled within me, a rumble resonating through my bones.

Her eyes speared me like a fish on the end of a trident. “I could offer you one, though. I can break his hold on you, the way I broke his hold on me. I could set you free, once and for all,” she offered. “No more fire inside, no more orders to follow, or frigid hands and lips. No more answering to anyone.”

“Except you, I wager.” And I bet she would try to lure Fate back into herself as well…

She smiled. “I am the Priestess now.”

“Where are Wayra, Ethne, and Bay?”

Her eyes narrowed, and her lip curled into a snarl. “I do not answer to you, child .”

Her eyes caught on something over my left shoulder. I’d shifted and revealed Tauren to her. “I see…” she said. “You’re as handsome as your father was in his youth,” Cyril said slowly, calculatingly. “You’ve done well, Sable. Luring him in, weaving a strong enough web to hold him there. Now that you have his heart, the crown is as good as yours.”

As a dark, glittering ribbon slid out of the smooth glass and slithered toward Tauren, I flung the mirror across the room. The glass shattered on impact, skittering shards of mirrored glass across the floor.

Had her magic reached him ?

I spun around to find him looking at me as if he didn’t know me at all. As if my mother’s words had poisoned his heart instead of his food.

“Tauren?” I said softly, approaching slowly. “Please tell me you don’t believe her.”

“Is it true? Do you only want the crown? The power?” he asked.

His words stung. “Surely you know that isn’t what I want, Tauren.”

He braced his hands on his hips. “I honestly don’t know what to think anymore.” Pinching the bridge of his nose, he let out a growl and threw the door open, striding out into the hall.

I wondered if he would come to his senses. I didn’t want his crown, the Kingdom, or any of the trappings that went with it. I just wanted him safe, and for my meddling mother to stop manipulating his thoughts. With one sentence, she’d muddied his feelings for me. And the worst part was that he let her.

I stared out the empty door, willing him to return and say he believed me over Cyril, but he didn’t.

Brecan leveled me with a glare. “Let him go. He doesn’t deserve you if he so easily dismisses your feelings.”

Ugh. I didn’t want to deal with Brecan or his feelings, either. Not now.

Mira finally let out a breath. “I should’ve told you, Sable. About the water. I was just so scared.”

“I understand.”

“What can we do to help Bay?” she asked. “And Ethne and Wayra, too.”

I didn’t know what to do. Fate was still clinging to Tauren, but the witches in Thirteen needed help. If I left, Fate would tear me apart for defying him; if I stayed, I’d rend myself for not going to help them. Not that I’d stand a chance against Cyril if Fate wasn’t with me.

Brecan knelt and gathered the slivers of glass. “I’m getting rid of this. She could still use the shards to spy on you. There are a hundred tiny mirrors she could use now, all still enchanted. I can smell the spell on them.”

“I need to know Tauren is okay,” I said under my breath.

Mira’s hand found my elbow. “I can help.”

She removed a brooch from my trunk. “I snooped a little,” she admitted. The trinket was old and tarnished, one I found along the trail on the path to my cabin one day, but I liked it so much I took it home with me. It was silver, a death moth so intricately carved, it looked as if it might flutter its wings and take flight. When Mira breathed on it, that’s exactly what it did. The moth peeled away from the pin back and took flight. She went to the door and whispered for it to find Prince Tauren. Her eyes glazed over as she eased into a chair near the window.

“You can see through its eyes?” I asked.

Mira nodded. “It will find him.” A handful of precious seconds passed before she spoke. “It’s flying up… up the stairs. Up again. A twist, and then... down a long hallway. It flutters near a door that is closed.”

“His bedroom?”

“No… it’s crawling under the crack at the bottom of the door. It’s inside. Oh my goddess – it’s the King’s bedroom. Tauren is sitting on the bed. The King looks sick! Something’s wrong.”

“He’s dying,” I entrusted .

Brecan paused in his cleaning and glanced up at me. “How long does he have?”

“Until the next full moon.” Brecan’s lips pressed into a thin line.

“I can hear them,” Mira said. “Shhhh.”

She listened for a long while. I settled into a chair beside her and waited while she eavesdropped.

“He thinks you tricked him,” she whispered.

“I didn’t.”

“I know,” she answered. “He thinks you only pretended to love him. He’s telling the King about what your mother said in the mirror.”

I balled my hands into fists.

Mira continued, “But the King doesn’t believe it. He said that Cyril loves to play games, and that Tauren should never take her word over yours.”

I threw my hands up. Exactly!

“The King told him to listen here ,” Mira relays, clapping her hand over her heart. “He doesn’t believe you would lie to him. He thinks you love Tauren.”

Brecan stiffened as he walked to the window and opened it. The shards of glass turned to dust in his hand, and with his breath, he sent a violent gust to scatter the particles.

“Awww,” Mira sighed. “He says you look at Tauren the way Annalina looks at him. He says the other girls are nice enough. They’d enjoy being Queen. They might even be a good partner. They’d enjoy the title, the prestige, and the privilege that comes with it. But he says they don’t have hearts to lead; hearts strong enough to weather storms and withstand battles and all that comes with them, yet be soft enough to show mercy. He says you have that.” She smiled. “The King likes you, Sable.”

Her smile faded slowly away.

“What’s happening?”

“Tauren said you can’t be with him, but the King said he thinks Tauren’s being foolish. He says… rules can be rewritten. New traditions made. Compromises forged. He doesn’t think there’s anything you and Tauren couldn’t figure out and withstand… together.”

Brecan stood stock-still, his arms folded tightly over his chest. I noticed he didn’t close the window.

“Tauren…” she began.

“Tauren, what?” I asked.

She shook her head. “He’s leaving the room. He patted his father’s hand and told him to get some rest, that he’s sorry to have bothered him.” Mira’s eyes refocused. She turned her head to me, giving me a look that was part sorrow, part pity. “The moth is returning.”

A knock came at my door, and the three of us stared at it for a moment before I stood to answer it. Tauren stood on the other side. “I’m sorry,” he said, glancing into the room to see Brecan and Mira were still inside.

“We were just leaving,” Mira chirped, standing up and grabbing Brecan’s arm. She had to pry him from the wall beside the window, but he left the room with her and they returned to their own. I searched the walls for moths, just in case.

Tauren hovered outside, his forearm braced against the door frame.

“Come inside.”

“I shouldn’t. ”

“Yes, you should,” I said softly, taking hold of his free hand and pulling him in.

He looked to the ceiling, but I could see tears glistening on his long lashes. “It’s so hard to see him weakening. Day by day. Hour by hour. Knox is with Leah. I didn’t know where else to go.”

“I’m glad you came to me.”

He glanced toward my trunks. “Did you bring your wishbones?”

“I would never leave them behind.”

“Would you read mine again?”

A sliver of fear coiled in my middle. “I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“Why not? What could possibly be worse than my first reading?”

“Don’t tempt fate, Prince. Things can always be worse.”

He walked toward my trunks. “May I?”

I nodded and waited as he gingerly lifted the silver bowl of bones from the trunk. Settling on the bed, he approached from the other side and placed the bowl between us. “Are you ready?”

Resigned to his wish, I sat down on the bed. “I am. Choose a wishbone.”

The corners of his lips turned downward as his hand hovered over the bowl. He plucked one out and waited until my eyes locked on his.

“Break it,” I guided.

He snapped the wishbone.

It did not bleed. It burst into flame.