Page 75 of When Wishes Bleed

Just then, the door burst open and Brecan ran to me, nearly knocking Tauren over. “What did you do?” He wrapped his hands around my upper arms and shook, hard. “Do you have any idea how dangerous that was?”

“How did you know?” I asked, my eyes open in shock.

He didn’t have the opportunity to answer, because Tauren grabbed the back of Brecan’s shirt, hauled him backward, and punched him, the blow rendering him unconscious. It seemed to happen in slow motion. Brecan’s lavender eyes rolled back in his head as he fell slowly to the ground, as heavily as a tree would tip in the forest. His pale hair splayed around him in the rich, dark soil. For a moment, all I could do was cover my wide-open mouth. Then, I realized what happened. Tauren knocked Brecan out.

“Why did you hit him?” I growled, falling to my knees, unsure what to do next.

“You’re actually defending him? He put his hands on you, Sable. A man should never put his hands on a woman – not like that.”

He was right. Brecan crossed a line. But I knew my friend was also right to worry about the spell.

“What was he talking about? What did you do, Sable?”

Unable to meet Tauren’s eyes, I tried to downplay my actions. “It wasn’t dangerous. I just bound our souls.”

“Bound our souls?” he breathed. “What does that mean, exactly?”

Tears pricked my eyes. “I can’t let you die. Not when I have the means to prevent it. And I’m afraid I’m not strong enough to stop them. I had to do something,” I tried to explain, my rambling emotions getting the better of me.

“How does the spell prevent it?” Tauren swiped his thumb over his bottom lip again. The blood had stopped pooling, but if he didn’t leave it alone, it would start bleeding again.

Brecan groaned from his place on the ground, blinking his eyes a few times.

“How does the spell prevent my death?” Tauren demanded.

Brecan answered him, clutching what would be a very sore cheek. “If someone gravely injures you, Sable will forfeit her life for yours.”

Tauren’s mouth gaped open. I’d never seen the sea, never seen a ship when the wind left its sails, but I imagined it would look much the same way Tauren did. “Sable, no. Undo it.”

There was so much fear, so much desperation in the plea.

I couldn’t bring myself to answer him, so Brecan did it for me. “She can’t. Soul binding cannot be undone.”

Tauren shook his head. “Why would you do something so foolish?”

“Foolish? You are the crown Prince of Nautilus! You are the next King. That is your fate. And besides that, my actions weren’t chivalrous. Any citizen would do the same if they could. They would protect you, Tauren.”

“Just a common citizen doing her duty, huh?” he spat.

“Tauren, I can’t be with –”

He stormed away before I could finish my sentence. Brecan jumped to his feet, cutting me with his stare. “Why on earth would you do that? Bind yourself to him? He’s not one of us. Someone will likely always want him dead, Sable, which means you’ve forfeited your life. When he wears the crown, there will be no shortage of people who want to take it. It’s the fate of all kingdoms, of all Monarchs, to be replaced. There will always be strife and upheaval somewhere.”

“Don’t talk to me about fate, Brecan,” I seethed. “Nautilus has been ruled by the same family for thousands of years.”

“Apparently, someone thinks it’s been far too long,” he growled, stiffly standing to face me.

A frigid wind whistled through the garden and the night-blooming flowers began to sag. “What was that?” he asked.

I swallowed. “I think we both know what’s happening.”

He closed his eyes tightly, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Ela. She’s weakening.”

She was the Priestess and protector of the Earth, its source of power and energy while she lived. Now, that source was evaporating quicker than a drop of water in a desert. I wondered if the soil would turn to sand once she faded away. Would the Circle be able to appoint a new priestess before the earth itself died?

Brecan left me in the garden without another word. I still wasn’t sure how he knew I’d bound my soul to Tauren’s, but asking him now would just cause another eruption of anger, and I didn’t want to endure more.

I sat on the swing, rocking back and forth, watching the flowers as their leaves and stems slowly withered.

---