27

27

M ira and I were sitting in my room as she helped me pack the trunks. “You could stay,” she suggested half-heartedly. But we both knew that wasn’t an option. I couldn’t live in the palace indefinitely. Not only would it bring shame to our sector, it would cause the Kingdom to whisper about Tauren. If they didn’t already believe it, they might think we were lovers.

“The longer I’m here, the less I want to go home,” I admitted.

“If he placed a crown on your head, you could.”

I closed the lid on the trunk I’d been situating. “He can’t do that.”

Mira regarded me for a long moment. “I’ll wait on the palace steps while you say goodbye.”

I thanked her and watched her walk out of the room, then I peered around at the stack of locked, packed trunks by the door. Tauren promised to have the Courier deliver them soon. I could’ve spirited them home, but he insisted.

Tauren stood just outside my room. He pushed off the wall when he saw me exit. I walked to him and returned my key.

“Thank you for staying, Sable.”

“You would’ve done the same for me.”

He inclined his head in acknowledgement.

Tauren stared at me for a long moment, ponderous words lying just beyond his lips. I brushed a dark strand of hair out of his eyes. He gently caught my wrist, bringing my hand to his lips for a parting kiss that made the moths flutter in my stomach, despite the dread I felt from leaving him again.

“I left something on the bed for you. If you need me, you can reach me.”

His eyes flicked to my door. “Thank you.”

Tauren walked me down the hallway, down the staircase, and out the door where Mira was waiting patiently. He thanked her for coming and she hugged his neck, expressing her condolences.

She grabbed my hand. With one last look at my prince, we disappeared.

Much had been done to rectify the damage to the earth Ela’s absence had caused, and the Gallows was abuzz with excitement when we returned. At the week’s end, our fallen Priestess and Priest, and the new Priest and Priestesses, along with Ethne, who had survived the unthinkable, would be honored in an Affinity Battle that promised to be both entertaining and poignant, a celebration of endings and beginnings. And while it was refreshing to think that life was still moving along despite all that had happened, it was also a bit jarring. I’d just watched Tauren bury his father. Then I left him… again.

Brecan asked me to take part in the hand-fasting ceremony that would take place after the Affinity Battle – but as the Guardian only. The Circle had agreed to release me from the mandate that I hand-fast to someone this year, or any other year. The decision to do so would be mine to make when, or if, I chose. Like Brecan had promised, I was now revered.

That, too, was jarring at times, though it wasn’t at all unpleasant.

Arron was increasingly enamored with Mira and made excuses to visit her House at every opportunity. He was shedding his nervousness like a too tight layer of skin. If she needed something, he volunteered before anyone in her House had the chance. He was a full-fledged resident of the House of Fate now, but was hardly ever there, thanks to his crush on my friend. I had the House mostly to myself… again.

Watching him pine over her was sweet.

It also made my chest hurt.

The morning of the Affinity Battle, Arron and I dressed in black pants and shirts. The two of us couldn’t fight with water, air, fire, or earth, but we had other tricks up our sleeves.

There were no rules, other than to gather as many crystals from the steps of the other Houses as possible – by any means possible, except for spiriting. No spiriting was allowed. That would be too easy, and the battle would be over as quickly as it began.

I tied my hair back and Arron bounced on the balls of his feet nervously, peering out the door in the direction of the House of Water. “I’m not a good loser, Sable. Do we need a plan?”

“A plan? There is an endless amount of possibilities to consider all the moves the other witches might throw at us.”

“What good is it being a fate diviner if you can’t cheat?” he teased.

Ignoring his taunt, I asked, “Is Mira ready?”

“Everyone is in the Center but us and Brecan’s House.”

That was odd. Brecan was always punctual, if not early.

I checked my reflection and walked outside with Arron. He seemed unusually antsy as his slitted eyes narrowed on our competition. We were vastly outnumbered, but had skills no natural witch possessed. “This will be intense.”

“But we’re going to win,” I vowed. “I never thought I’d have a chance to participate. We have to show them we’re equals.”

“So, no pressure?” he asked sarcastically.

I suddenly noticed he’d shaved off his midnight black hair. “I like your hair. ”

He quirked a brow. “I didn’t want my vision to be obscured today.”

I stifled a laugh.

“What? This is a battle, right? Battles are fought to be won.”

“It’s only a game,” I advised with a grin. He could’ve tied it back or worn a hat, but the short hair suited him somehow. Mira certainly thought so. From across the lawn, she kept Arron trained in her sights. She’d smile or address whomever asked a question, but then her eyes inevitably drifted to him.

Ethne, Ivy, and Mira met in the Center. I searched for Brecan among the crowd, but he was nowhere to be found.

The witches gave their Priestesses the honor they deserved by quieting immediately. Ethne smiled. “Brecan is placing crystals on each step.” I turned to find him behind me, placing obsidian on the top step of the House of Fate.

His footsteps were silent as he rushed around the circle of houses placing the crystals, and then slipped through the crowd to join his counterparts.

“To your Houses!” Ethne announced.

Arron and I returned to our lawn and watched the other lawns fill with witches. The Air witches were the most populous, the lawn barely visible beneath their feet. The Fire witches looked like they were ready to do battle. They stared across the Center, their plan of attack probably running through their minds.

“So, do we have a plan?” Arron asked.

“Yep. Steal the crystals from the other Houses while guarding our own. ”

“Inspiring, Guardian,” he smarted.

“Let the Affinity Battle begin!” roared Ethne. She threw her arm down and the battle began.

It was slow at first, each House tentative in their strikes. We were outnumbered, so the House of Fate couldn’t afford to be tentative. Arron poured his clouds into the Center as he ran toward the House of Fire. Brecan’s Air witches quickly used their affinity to form a funnel from Arron’s clouds, a second too soon. My cover blown, the Fire witches caught me on their step.

They realized I was there too late, though. I clutched their hematite stone in my palm and ran as fast as I could, but not before I felt the heat of a hundred flames on my back.

“Fate has the Fire stone!” Brecan yelled.

The stone shot out of my hand, flying into the sky and bursting into a thousand tiny cinders that rained down over the Center. The smell of burning wood filled the air and the lingering smoke hovering overhead formed the shape of a flame, sigil of the House of Fire.

The contest was not over. It had only just begun, but it felt good that Arron and I had made the first strike.

Mira used her power to dehydrate everyone but her charges. Earth, Air, and Fire witches flopped on the ground uncomfortably, like a pond of fishes with too little water. Familiar with Mira’s talents, I’d blocked myself and Arron against the onslaught. With bubbles around us, he tried to distract Mira by catching her eye and luring her into a chase. She laughed as she chased after him, forgetting her dehydration spell, while I crept toward Air .

“Oh, no. I don’t think so, Sable,” Brecan warned. He recovered from Mira’s magic quickly and sent me flying into the air. Suddenly, the light of day disappeared and all became night as Arron’s clouds lassoed me and brought me to the ground.

“No one messes with my Guardian,” he teased Brecan.

Brecan hopped a ride on a jet stream and landed in front of Arron.

The Fire witches claimed the Water witches’ crystal, celebrating as they jogged safely back to their lawns. Mira was livid.

A fountain of water exploded overhead, raining down onto the lawn and everyone on it. The briny scent of the sea hit me and immediately jolted a memory of Tauren holding me in the sand, moments before the world fell apart at the seams. In the air, vapor hung in the shape of a single cresting wave, the sigil of the House of Water.

Arron held out his hands, unsure what else to do as Brecan advanced on him. Whispering a spell to blur reality, everything began to melt. People, our Houses, the trees, the fountain in front of the House of Water. The world oozed like ice cream on a scorching hot day.

Brecan held his hand out in front of him, watching it drip to the ground. “What is this?”

“I didn’t know you could do that,” I marveled.

“I have a few new tricks up my sleeve,” Arron said with a friendly wink.

Sensing Brecan’s discomfiture, Ivy took over. All the witches grew tall, stretching toward the sky like peeling, knobby birches. My nose sprouted into a long, skinny branch and my fingers became trees. The Earth witches turned into lumbering stone soldiers, marched to the House of Air, and snagged their crystal.

Brecan roared at their blatant thievery as his Air witches fought to free themselves, but they remained helplessly rooted to the soil.

A fierce wind tore through the Center, the fresh scent cleansing our sweat-soaked skin. Dried leaves were torn from branches, rushing into a pattern that formed three distinct waved lines over the Center, the sigil of the House of Air.

The wind blew Ivy’s timber curse away as well. The witches gasped to be free and immediately began to fight with torrents of air, torrential rain, walls of fire, and metal called from deep within the earth by the Earth witches. It bubbled up from fissures, cooling and solidifying once again.

Arron locked eyes with Mira and the two of them teamed up. She called forth a dense fog and Arron made the light of day fade into total darkness. The combination made it impossible to see. “Arron, guard our obsidian!”

“I’ve got it,” he promised.

I sprinted through the dark fog to the steps of the House of Earth and scooped up their emerald. Just then, the fog and darkness faded and daylight pierced everyone’s eyes. Pine needles formed the shape of the tree that bore them before falling to the ground, their astringent scent permeating the air. Arron let out a hoot and announced, “Fate takes the Earth crystal!”

He was still celebrating when he realized, too late, that our obsidian was in jeopardy. He tried to fight Brecan off, but my best friend managed to grab our crystal and held it aloft victoriously .

Brecan let out a victory roar and threw our stone into the sky where it exploded into millions of sharp, black wishbones. They covered the lawn in a thick layer before Ivy instructed the earth to absorb them so everyone could walk comfortably.

“All the crystals have been stolen,” Ethne announced, soot and a sheen of sweat covering her face.

Brecan laughed, clapping Arron on the back. “You are a warrior, friend.” He took Arron’s hand and held it up high. “The House of Fate is victorious!”

Witches from every House applauded. Arron bowed as I strode across the Center to join him on our lawn. My hair was a damp, snarled mess thanks to the Water and Wind witches. I was sooty and somewhat singed, thanks to the Fire witches, and pine needles littered my hair, thanks to the Earth witches. But I couldn’t stop smiling. I grinned until my cheeks ached.

“The Memoriam celebration will begin at sundown,” Ivy announced. “Ready yourselves, and we will feast and enjoy this reverent day. Then, as we wait on the winter season to approach, we will finally rest. Come spring, all will be set right.”

In my bedroom, a magnificent velvet gown hung from a hook on the washroom door. I twisted it around on the hanger to get a better look. The back was open to my waist, the front high enough to conceal my collarbones. I vowed to thank Mira for making it.

“Someone put a suit in my room!” Arron hollered from the room he’d claimed upstairs .

“I have a dress!” I yelled back.

“Goddess, she is wonderful,” he marveled. Mira truly was.

He drew a bath and when he was finished, I drew mine. We had been working on upgrading the aged plumbing, and now had running water in every washroom. The pressure wasn’t as forceful as the palace’s, but it was a million times better than washing with a tub and pitcher.

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 believing 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.