Page 89 of When Wishes Bleed

Knox uttered a curse. The Queen let out a quiet sob, falling into her son’s comforting arms. “I’m sorry, Mother.”

I was sorry, too. King Lucius seemed strong when I arrived at the palace. Strong but kind, despite how intimidating it was to speak with the King of Nautilus. But now I knew what had caused the underlying tension and worry that I picked up from both of them. Yes, the King and Queen had concealed this secret well, but I berated myself for not delving further into their residues while I could. I could’ve helped him sooner.

I slipped out the door and was walking down the hall, retracing the steps to my room when Knox caught up with me. “How long will the spell last?”

“Until he…” I couldn’t say it. “He will not feel pain again, Knox.”

He swallowed thickly. “Good.”

“I’m sorry.”

He stuffed his hands in the pockets of his dark trousers and rocked back on his heels. “No sorrier than I am.” He was quiet for a long moment. “I’ll tell Tauren. I imagine he’ll want to move things along so our father can attend his wedding.”

I swallowed thickly. “I imagine he will.”

“I need to get back,” he said regretfully, hooking a thumb over his shoulder.

We parted ways and I walked back to my room with leaden feet.

Brecan was waiting in the hall. He smirked, no doubt ready to fire a smart remark in my direction, but stopped when he saw my face. “What happened?”

“Where is Mira?”

“She went to the pool to swim for a while.”

And to speak with Bay, I assumed. I wondered how much longer Ela could hold on. From the look of the potted flowers, not much longer at all.

The need for fresh air consumed me, and Brecan dutifully followed me outside. Estelle sat on one of the garden benches, studying the intricately shaped hedges and the floral tufts and vines rising from the soil. She invited us to sit with her, but we thanked her and kept walking. I wasn’t sure where I was going, but my feet led me to the amphitheater. Jogging down the hewn steps, I pulled myself up to sit on the stage.

Brecan followed and settled beside me, a troubled look on his face ushered in by gusting winds that scuttled dark clouds across the sky.

“Can you contact Wayra?” I asked.

“I’ve been trying.”

Whether it was Fate revealing it to me or some tether within me being severed, I felt the very moment Ela died. The earth trembled beneath us. I closed my eyes.

Brecan cursed as the ivy that had been creeping up the columns to either side of us shriveled, tumbling off their vines and littering the smooth stage behind us. The wind quickly blew it away.

“I hope they hurry. The Earth is parched and already craves a new Priestess,” he said.

“It won’t matter,” I told him. Just then, a darkness slid through me; a tendril of something I thought was dead and gone. A link to my mother. “She’s free.”

Brecan’s brow furrowed.

My thoughts went to Tauren. How could I keep him safe now that my mother had broken free of her earthen tomb?

“What do you know about Cyril, Brecan?”

He took a deep breath, resigned to his task. “I overheard Bay speaking to Mira just before they assigned us to be your escorts. From what I could glean, when you were still a toddler, Cyril threatened the King and was driven away by Annalina, who had gone to the Circle for help when she became leery of Cyril’s intrusion into their affairs. When the Circle confronted her about it, Cyril flew into a rage and attempted a powerful spell to siphon the magic out of the Priest and Priestesses. The Circle fought her, and in the battle, both Wayra and Cyril were injured. Bay and Ethne helped Wayra, while Ela followed Cyril as she retreated into the House of Fate.” He swallowed. “Cyril called on dark magic to evict Fate from your body, but when that didn’t work, she attempted to kill you…to force him out.”

My mouth fell open in shock.

“Bay said you were tiny, but that you knew exactly what was happening and what to do.”

Fate must have guided me.

Brecan clasped my elbow. “You stopped her, Sable. You, with Fate’s help, held Cyril until Ela was able to lure her onto the soil in the center of the Circle, where she bound her.”

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