Page 91 of When Wishes Bleed

“Why didn’t it wake Mira?”

“Mira?” He laughed mirthlessly. “Mira’s only known you since the day we left The Gallows. I know you, Sable. Better than anyone. I know the unique feel of your magic.”

He braced his hands on the wall, caging me in. “Do you know how easy this would be?”

“What?” I croaked.

“This. You and me, Sable.”

His lavender eyes glistened with something unspeakable. Something I’d seen again and again. He slowly leaned in, letting his arms hold his weight.

I wished it were as simple as Brecan thought it was, but nothing was simple now that Tauren was in my world. He was the only one I wanted, and at the same time was the fruit from which I was forbidden to eat.

“Would it truly be such a hardship to spend a year with me?” he asked, his lips a breath away from mine.

Brecan didn’t want to hear the truth; he wanted me to accept him. To admit that spending a year together would be perfectly fine. But any year spent with another witch while yearning for Tauren would be a hardship.

“Brecan –”

He leaned in to press a kiss to my lips, but I put a hand between us and whispered a spell to move him away. Apparently, I put a lot of emphasis on the away part, because he was dragged across the room and far away from me.

The look on his face said that I’d hurt his pride. He tugged at his collar and strode to the door. “I’ll be across the hall if you need me,” he said, composing himself.

“I can’t think about this now, Brecan. Not with Ela’s death, my mother being set free, and trying to protect Tauren.”

His shoulders tensed upon hearing Tauren’s name. “I understand.”

He left.

I changed into a comfortable pair of knit pants and a slouchy shirt that was thicker and hung off my shoulders, kicked my shoes off, and headed to the Night Garden. I felt like swinging.

Downstairs, I met Mira in the hall. She nearly bumped into me, startling when I caught her shoulders. “Are you alright?”

Her teeth were chattering and she hugged herself around the middle, trembling violently.

“Mira?” I looked closer to see that strands of her hair were frozen. “Who did this to you?”

“I did,” she answered. “I wanted the water to be cooler. I guess I took the spell a touch too far.” Mira smiled, but it wasn’t genuine. “I’m going to run a hot shower. Don’t worry, Sable.”

“Do you want me to go with you?”

She shook her frozen hair and thanked me. “There’s no need, really. I’m tired. I think I’ll turn in early.”

I decided I would give her time to shower and then go check on her.

Mira made her way up the steps and I peeked in the pool room, shocked to find the entire pool of water frozen. The once humid air was frigid. I closed the door behind me and made my way to the Night Garden.

Soft, lush tufts of grass tickled the bottoms of my feet as I walked over to the swing. I leaned my head back as I swung, watching dark clouds race across the sky. Only a few panels of the glass enclosure were left open to the elements tonight, and the scent of something enigmatic and heady wafted on the breeze. There was something familiar in the smell. It pricked at my memory.

The earth looked sad. All the flowers that were merely sagging yesterday were now dead. Did the Circle fail to Elevate a new Priestess of the House of Earth? How could they?

Unless… unless my mother prevented it somehow.

Tauren cleared his throat as he walked into the garden. “Am I interrupting?”

“Interrupting my swinging? Yes, I suppose you are.”

“Then by all means, carry on. Don’t let me stop you,” he teased.

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