Page 130 of When Wishes Bleed

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.

---