Page 41 of When Wishes Bleed

Fate sent another sharp slice of pain through my side. “Tauren,” I gasped, gripping my side. “Call for your guards.”

He hit a red button on the wall just inside his door. “They’ll be here in a moment. What’s wrong with your side?”

“In a moment,” I raged, tearing through his room, crying out as I bent to look under the bed, threw open the closet doors, and peeked behind every jacket and pair of slacks. I searched the washroom, under cabinets, outside each window. “Someone was about to stab you, and your guards will be here in a moment. Wonderful.” I spun in a circle in the center of the room, looking for anywhere else they might be hiding. The curtains… His drapes were heavy and… I threw them back. There was no one lurking behind them.

A wave of pain rolled through me. I cried out and fell to my knees.

“What’s happening?” he shouted, running toward me. He dropped to his knees, his eyes going to my side. “Sable, you’re bleeding.”

I brought my hand away and sure enough, my fingers were coated with sticky, warm blood.

“It’ll go away. It’s just a warning from Fate,” I gritted.

He looked outraged. “I’d prefer him warn you without harming you, Sable.” He put his hand over mine. “I’m calling for a medic.”

A flash of a scene entered my mind. A dark figure, sliding through the shadows, around the room’s perimeter. Footsteps from outside. A tendril of smoke curled under the door before someone knocked at the door… me.

“Someone was in here, before I knocked and woke you.” I whispered to Fate, “Show me.”

“Sable,” Tauren rasped. “Look.”

I opened my eyes to find a set of glittering, golden footprints shimmering across the floor. The steps crept close to the walls. Concealed by shadow…

Tauren’s mouth hung open. “I don’t believe this…”

He stood as six large men barged into the room. “Highness?” they questioned, weapons pointed at me. Their stunners could take down men twice their size or larger. I raised my hands so they didn’t shoot, wincing through the pain. The men were taken aback by the blood all over my hands and the floor.

Tauren put himself between them and me. “Someone was in my room. Sable had a vision and came to help me. Those are the culprit’s footprints,” he told them, gesturing to the glittering patterns on the floor. The guards lowered their stunners.

“They wore boots,” one of the guards said, crouching down to study the print. “Large ones.”

The guard looked at my bare feet. “It wasn’t me,” I growled.

“Page the medic,” Tauren ordered.

“That’s not necessary,” I argued, but Tauren insisted his physician look at me.

“Can you tell anything from the prints?” he asked his men.

“No, Sire. Did you see anyone? Could you tell if it was a man or woman?” one asked.

Tauren looked to me. I shook my head.

“I have no further information,” he relayed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Look, could you wait outside the door, please?”

His men complied reluctantly. Two went to search the perimeter and alert others about the intruder so heavier measures could be taken, while two remained outside the door, including the red headed fellow that was with Tauren the evening of the Equinox. He kept Tauren in sight, refusing to shut the door, and me inside alone with him. When Tauren barked at him, the guard barked back. I decided I liked him. He cared about Tauren’s wellbeing, even if he was distrustful of me.

Tauren carefully picked me up and carried me to the bed. I hurt bad enough that I let him.

As I relaxed, the pain began to ebb. “I don’t need a doctor. By the time he or she gets here, there will be no trace of blood or even a wound.”

He knelt beside me. “I don’t understand.”

“It’s real, but it’s also not real.” I shook my head, knowing my explanation left much to be desired. “How do I explain this? It’s like Fate paints what he wants over reality so that it looks and feels like it’s happening, but it isn’t. Knowing that’s what it is, keeps me from panicking.”

“It doesn’t help me at all,” he said wearily. “I hate seeing you in pain. And the blood…”

I removed my hand from my side. It came away dry. My nightgown wasn’t wet, and the fabric was intact.

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