Page 27 of When Wishes Bleed

“Of course. They fit you perfectly, right?”

They did. I opened my mouth to speak, but she continued. “In addition to a water affinity,” she began, “I have an affinity for creating things. Well, I make helpers that actually bring my visions to life.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled something out. Uncurling her fingers, she glanced up at me nervously. Two glass spiders sat in her palm. “They weave for me.”

She whispered a spell and the spiders’ legs uncurled. They crawled up her arm as she twisted it to see them.

“You have the power of animation,” I marveled, watching the spiders skitter across her collarbone.

“We aren’t the only witches who are different. There are a few others. You are the only diviner of Fate, though.”

“You animate the spiders and command them to weave… gowns?”

Mira smiled proudly. “Among other articles.”

Just then, someone knocked at my door.

Mira’s eyes widened. “Do you think it’s him?”

“It’s probably Brecan.” I crossed the large room and cracked the door open.

Prince Tauren greeted me with a lop-sided grin and a “Hello.” Hands in his pockets, he rocked back on his heels. “I was hoping I could speak with you and your escorts before dinner.”

My heart fluttered. “Sure. Mira’s already here. I’ll go get Brecan.” I squeezed by the Prince and knocked on Brecan’s door. He yanked it open, still sullen from our conversation. “The Prince would like to speak with us before dinner.”

He narrowed his eyes and glanced over my shoulder at Tauren. “Very well.”

We filed into my suite. Brecan made himself comfortable sitting on the arm of the couch. Mira sat in an adjacent chair, her leg bouncing wildly. I stood between them, and Tauren stood across the dark rug from me. He cleared his throat. “The other invitees don’t know that a girl from Thirteen will be among them. I assume you’ve told your escorts why you’re really here?” he asked me.

I shook my head. “I haven’t, but now is as good a time as any.” Brecan straightened his back, curious about the sudden turn in conversation. “Tauren came to The Gallows for the Equinox. I performed a reading for him, and it became apparent that someone—in the very near future—will try to kill him. He invited me here to try to determine who it is.”

Mira’s mouth gaped open. “The Circle doesn’t know that…”

“No, they don’t,” Brecan seconded.

“They can’t,” I said pointedly. “No one outside this room can know.”

“Why is that?” Brecan stood, crossing his arms over his chest.

I swallowed. He wasn’t going to like what I had to say. “Because Fate hasn’t revealed who the person is.”

Brecan scoffed at the idea. “This is why we keep to ourselves. We don’t get involved in kingdom politics.” He brushed his long, pale hair over his shoulders and turned to me. “It’s not a witch.”

“You’re probably right, but I want to be sure.”

Tauren pinched his lips together. “I appreciate your help…” he paused, suddenly aware he didn’t know my true name.

“Sable,” I finished for him.

He smiled. “Sable. It suits you.”

Brecan let out a mirthless laugh. “You didn’t even know her name? That’s rich. You send this invitation, pluck her from her home and cause a huge disturbance within our sector, and you didn’t take the second it would require to learn her name?”

“I have it now,” Tauren asserted. He turned to me, tension melting from his shoulders. “Everything happened so fast the night of the Equinox, I didn’t know what to do. The next morning, I had the idea of inviting you to take part in our tradition, but I didn’t mean to cause you trouble,” he said, staring at me with eyes full of apology.

“So,” Mira cut in, “the other girls have no idea a witch is crashing the party?” She grinned from ear to ear.

Tauren returned her smile. “None.”

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