Page 131 of When Wishes Bleed

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.

28

Tauren spent the night in my House. Well, in the House of Fate. I wasn’t even sure I was still the Guardian, as a new witch hadn’t come forward yet. Was I the interim Guardian? Could I ask Arron to become the interim Guardian of Fate’s House? I wasn’t sure how this worked. How any of it would work.

Stress cinched my rib cage as dawn broke. Tauren stretched as he slowly woke, scrubbing a hand down his face. He felt for me beside him and found me near the window, a lazy smile spreading over his lips. At my expression, the smile faded.

“What’s the matter?”

“What if the people of Nautilus don’t want a witch for their Queen – even if it’s only for a year?”

“Number one,” he said, sitting up and swinging his legs over the side of the mattress. I tried to ignore the V-shape of his shoulders and how the sinew of his muscles slid down to his taut waist, how he wore no shirt and grinned unapologetically at my reaction to him. “It doesn’t have to be for just a year. We can hand-fast again at the next Solstice. Sable, we can be together for as long as you’ll have me.”

I grinned playfully. “I’ll consider it, as long as you deserve me.”

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