Page 28 of When Wishes Bleed

“This will be interesting to watch.”

“My parents see your presence as an opportunity, for many reasons of which I’m sure my parents will bore you with very soon. Unless you can unravel the mystery quickly, I’ll need you to stay until I make my final decision,” Tauren apologized. “Which means you’ll be among the last to leave the palace.”

“Exactly how long does it take a prince to choose a wife?” Brecan asked.

I gave him a scathing look. If he didn’t want to escort me, he should’ve stayed home. As a matter of fact, he can go back there now, if he wants.

“Usually the process takes a few months, but the given circumstances require a quicker decision. I hope to choose within a few weeks, at the most. My parents hope that by doing so, more people throughout the Kingdom will tune in and their interest won’t fade so quickly. When my father chose Mother, ratings were high in the beginning when the invitees were presented, but people soon stopped watching as it took him several months to decide amongst the women. Ratings peaked again when he announced his choice, and then fell away again until the wedding. In recent months, Father’s addresses to the Kingdom have gone largely unwatched.”

“Perhaps what he’s saying is boring,” Brecan suggested, looking from the Prince to me.

I ignored his snide grin. “I’ll have to read a lot of fates in a very short period of time…”

Tauren nodded. “Does that adversely affect you? Reading that many so quickly?”

“Not exactly,” I hedged, not wanting to explain the residual effect left by the reading of fates.

Brecan stood and strode toward Tauren, who met him in the center of the rug, standing toe-to-toe with him. Mira clutched her chest in alarm as they squared off.

“You do understand that she cannot marry you?” Brecan snapped, his eyes flashing.

Tauren looked at me over Brecan’s shoulder, his golden eyes locking with mine. “I wasn’t aware she was interested.”

Brecan took a side-step, putting himself in front of me. “She isn’t. And even if she were, she’s bound by the Circle’s rules. Witches do not marry. They hand-fast, and only to their own kind.”

“Brecan,” I said sternly. He turned to face me. “You have no right to speak for me.” I turned my attention to Tauren, sighing. “But he’s right. Hand-fasting is our custom, and I am bound by it.”

The muscle in Tauren’s jaw ticked as his eyes flicked between me and Brecan. “You mentioned the custom the night of the Equinox, Sable. And, of course, I will honor your traditions. But can you please keep that between us as well, at least for the time being? If the other ladies catch word of it, they’ll question why you’ve been invited and why you’re allowed to stay when your custom prevents us from marrying.”

Soon, he would choose someone else, and I would be at his side to protect him, watching the happy couple embark on a life-long adventure with one another.

“We won’t reveal it,” I promised Tauren. Brecan would adhere to my vow, or I’d send him back to The Gallows. “Though I can’t promise someone won’t already know.”

A clock chimed from outside the room, its weighty vibrations making the vase of roses by the entryway scoot across the tabletop. Tauren waited until it was finished. “Dinner will be served in one hour.”

“Will I be meeting the other invitees?”

He shook his head. “Not tonight. Tonight, my parents would like to invite you and your escorts to dine with us privately.”

I wouldn’t meet his future bride tonight, but would dine with the King and Queen of Nautilus. At that moment, I wasn’t sure which would be worse. Not that I got to choose. When the King and Queen asked for an audience, there was no option to politely decline.

“I’ll leave you to get ready,” he said, stepping around Brecan to get to me. Instead of shaking my hand, he placed his on my upper arms and leaned in, gently pressing a kiss to one cheek and then the other. My pulse quickened.

Brecan’s eyes blazed from the intimate gesture, while Mira’s eyes widened to the size of saucers.

Tauren gave me a wink before striding out of the room. When the door closed behind him, Mira squealed.

9

My corset felt too tight. Likely because it was, despite Mira’s repeated assurance to the contrary. I wasn’t used to wearing them, but she insisted on it. The black silk gown she and her spiders had woven beautifully complemented the necklace Tauren gave me, which she insisted I wear as a gesture of gratitude. The dress was strapless and dramatic, and not at all what I imagined wearing while meeting the King and Queen of Nautilus.

I honestly hadn’t given much thought to them at all before Tauren mentioned we’d be dining privately with the royal family. I’d only thought of the bleeding wishbone and a pair of curious golden eyes.

When I objected to showing too much skin, Mira balked, saying that the Queen herself would be showing more. “I want to look like me,” I argued. “If I show up looking like all the other invitees, the King and Queen might assume I’m after the crown. We’re walking a very delicate line, and I’d rather not be responsible for shattering whatever fragile understanding Thirteen has with the Kingdom.”

Conceding to my wish, Mira spelled her glass spiders and whispered for them to weave a high neck and delicate sleeves out of sheer black fabric. After lifting my hair out of the way, they knit it quickly. In the time it took Mira to find a suitable pair of shoes, they’d completed their work and waited patiently for her on my shoulder. She whispered a spell that transformed them back to glass, and tucked them into her pocket before placing a pair of black heels on the floor. The heels were even higher than the last pair, the black as glossy as a beetle’s back, but there was no dagger hidden along the backs.

“Just wear them,” she chirped. “They’ll look incredible. You’ll even stand a few inches taller.” After clasping the necklace and adding a few silver rings on my fingers, she held up a pair of gloves that would match the gown. “Do you want these?”

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