Page 30 of Bound By Wishes

“Why do I have to take your hand?” she asked, stepping back.

I couldn’t understand her aversion and paralyzing fear of men, but if she was going to win my brother's wretched heart, she needed to overcome it. “Because I would like you to,” I answered her while still offering her my outstretchedhand. When she saw that I would not yield, she stepped closer, placing her tiny hand in mine.

The warmth of her palm against mine and the trust she was bestowing upon me had the potential to melt the stone-cold organ that beat in my chest. But then again, I wasn’t entirely convinced I had a heart anymore.

Once she was tucked closely to my side, I whisked us both away to the decrepit well in the middle of the city. Her words echoed in my mind. Why had I insisted that she take my hand? It certainly wasn't necessary for my magic to transport us, and I refused to believe it was because of the slight panic I felt when the cuffs on my arms started to burn and I couldn’t find her within the palace walls.

I glanced down at her once we were back at the well. In the shadows of the tent, I hadn’t realized how filthy she was. Dust and grime coated her creamy skin, with trails marking where tears had flowed down her face. Without thinking, I reached up and brushed the pad of my thumb against her cheek.

“Who caused these tears?” I asked softly, my tone ringing with anger.

Caleena stepped away from me. “Your brother and his mistreatment of these poor people,” she hissed.

Yet another reason he needed to die.

Caleena’s gaze shifted to the well, and my eyes followed. “Can you give them a new well?” she asked, hope lining her tone.

“It would be too suspicious if a new well magically appeared, and besides, they would tax the new well all the same,” I answered with a shrug and turned to leave.

“Can you make it rain? That wouldn’t be suspicious,right?” Caleena asked, her voice dripping with honey just as dangerous as it was sweet. When I turned back around, her hands were placed defiantly on her hips and her doe eyes dared me to argue further. “Not unless, of course, you would like me towishfor it.”

Anger bubbled in my chest, knowing I had little choice but to do as she asked. My magic surged, shooting up into the air and transforming a fluffy white cloud into a black, menacing mass full of moisture. Dark and brooding, it swirled with shades of deep gray and charcoal, its edges tinged with a faint, eerie green.

Caleena turned to me with a smile so bright it had the potential of lighting up the eerie darkness within me that rivaled that of the rain cloud. A drop of rain fell from above, splattering on Caleena’s nose and blending with the dust as it trickled down her face. More drops fell, splashing against the parched ground, which eagerly soaked them up. Soon, the copper-colored ground darkened with moisture and the air grew thick with the fresh, earthy scent of rain meeting dry soil.

My magic cloaked Caleena and me, sheltering us from the downpour, but she turned to me with a bright smile and then rushed out into the street. She joined the people who danced and sang, celebrating the rain with joyous abandonment. The once dry and dusty streets came alive with laughter and movement as the rain transformed the atmosphere into one of relief and happiness. I was transfixed, watching Caleena scurry around, helping the people find anything they could to catch the rain. How was it possible for one person to care so much for people she had never met? Her big heart was annoyingly hypnotic.

Tiny rivulets began to form, weaving through the cracks in the dirt, before turning the dry ground into a sodden mess. Caleena rushed back toward me, her clothes clinging to her body and her hair dripping wet. Her face was flushed with excitement, and her eyes sparkled with joy as water streamed down her cheeks.

“Come join us, Ranen! You can’t be a stick in the mud your entire life,” she teased, as she urged me forward.

I glanced down at my boots that were now covered with mud. “I can, actually.”

“You’re such a killjoy,” she yelled before darting back into the mucky street.

When the gates to the city slammed open and guards by the dozen started pouring onto the streets, I stepped out of my dry cocoon and reached for Caleena, pulling her close to my side. In an instant, I whisked us back to the safety of her room.

She blinked up at me, still shocked from her sudden change in venue. “What did you do that for?”

Yells and screams oozed from the street, and Caleena rushed from my side and onto the balcony. I watched her from a distance. There wasn’t any need to look. I knew what the guards were doing to the people.

“You have to stop this!” Caleena yelled, snatching around. The glassiness of her eyes was the only sign she was crying, as her tears seamlessly blended with the raindrops streaming down her face. “Those people are doing nothing wrong. The guards have no right to stop them from collecting water!”

I motioned for her to come in out of the rain. “I can’t.”

“Can’t or won’t?” she growled, never moving from herspot like a defiant child.

I pinched the bridge of my nose where a headache was starting to form. “Caleena,” I huffed. “I’ve already explained that wishes cannot stop something like this. I don’t have enough magic needed to fix this with this genie curse dimming my power. To stop this, we have to stop Razoul.”

Caleena ventured in from the balcony, her soaking clothes dripping water and creating puddles on the pristine marble floor. “You never call me by my name,” she remarked, her voice softening.

My gaze snapped to hers, once again caught off guard by her sudden change of subject. Something unsettling and warm stirred in my chest. "I’ll do it more often if it gets you to do what I say."

“I’m not following your orders,” she announced as she slid the dripping wet cloak from her shoulders, dropping it to the floor with a soggy plop. “I need to bathe and change. I can’t stop Razoul in this condition.”

“For once, I agree with you.” I crossed my arms as a smirk tugged at my lips.

Caleena stepped behind the changing screen, her silhouette barely visible through the fabric. “Draw me a bath, Ranen,” she instructed.

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