Page 106 of When Wishes Bleed

“Don’t you feel it?” he grimaced, raking clenched hands through his pale hair.

I did. In the pit of my stomach, insidious ropes of dread had coiled. “I do.”

“Me too,” Mira admitted.

We left the main road and took a smaller one through Ten, all the way across it. The feeling in my stomach never eased and Brecan never relaxed, even when the air became thick and humid, with a briny taste.

Mira’s eyes glazed over. “Do you smell the sea?”

I had to smile. “I do. How long has it been since you’ve visited the sea?”

“Years. I was just a little girl. Bay took a small group of us to see it. We’d just displayed our affinity and been accepted into his House.”

“Bay seems kind,” I said quietly.

“He is. He’s the kindest person I know. That’s why I’m so worried.”

“Do you think we should send another animal to spy on them?” I asked.

She nodded. “I will as soon as we stop. If I send a sea bird, Bay will know it’s from me. I want him to see it and know we’re aware of what’s happening.”

Fate flared in my stomach. He approved of sending a message, but not of me leaving Tauren.

“How do we help them? I can’t leave Tauren.”

“We could bring him with us,” Brecan said with a poor attempt at a smile.

Fate whispered to me… You will save them.

But how? I asked. If you won’t let me go to them, how can I possibly save them?

Fate did not answer.

As the carriage lurched to a stop, Mira was the first to climb from the vehicle. The ocean glittered in the distance, sparkling like diamonds across a vast, undulating terrain.

“I thought it was only accessible by cliffs?” I asked, remembering the lesson I received during my initial journey to the palace.

Tauren strode toward me. “This is the Kingdom’s port. The cliffs are that way.” He pointed in the direction I’d been staring, toward Sector Eleven. “They want to film me with each invitee near the sea. Would you honor me by being the first?”

My lashes fluttered, along with the moth wings taking flight in my stomach. “Of course.”

He offered his arm and I took it, noting the downward slant of Brecan’s mouth and the way his eyes latched onto the place where my hand met Tauren’s arm. As we walked toward the ocean, I was mesmerized by the undulating motion of it, the ebb and flow. A few ships were moored in the distant waters, bobbing with the tide. Rowboats had been dragged far up onto the shore and temporarily abandoned.

“It’s beautiful.”

“It definitely is,” he said. But when I glanced at him, he was staring at me, not the sea.

With each step we took to the shore, the soil underfoot lost its vegetation and turned completely to sand. Warm grains sifted through my sandals. I stopped and removed them, happy to feel the warm sand between my toes. Tauren tugged his shoes and socks off and rolled the legs of his pants up, revealing the lower half of his muscled calves. He rolled his sleeves up to match, and when he offered his arm a second time, my fingers curled around his soft skin.

I wasn’t sure if the cameras were rolling.

In truth, I didn’t care.

Tauren led me through large puddles that he called tide pools. “There’s a starfish!” I exclaimed, dragging him to go look at it. He threaded his fingers with mine and let me tug him from pool to pool to examine the treasures nestled inside. Some were empty, whereas others had shells as large as my head. An urchin, sharp and spiny, crept across one pool.

“Careful of those,” Tauren warned.

The sun was bright and beautiful overhead, warming my shoulders as we walked toward the water. Frothy waves lapped at our feet and I was mesmerized by the sight. The water wasn’t frigid, like I expected. Something so vast and deep… I didn’t think it could ever be warmed. Tauren’s fingers tightened around mine for a second. “You look like you belong here.”

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