by Casey Bond
“I’m not the slightest bit hungry.”
He glanced around the room. “This is cruel.”
“Very.”
Hand-fasting, to the Kingdom, was an archaic and strange custom. But it was kind. A witch asked another if they would be loyal to them for a year. If they agreed, they were fasted. If not, there was no ill will. Other than the two involved, it was rare that anyone even knew one had approached the other, though sometimes it was obvious.
“They think witches are vile creatures,” he snorted. “But have they even thought of how this makes those involved feel, or does it matter to them at all, as long as telecast ratings stay high?”
Even Mira was uncomfortable, and none of the three of us lifted a spoon to eat the confections before us.
I needed a minute.
“I have to use the restroom. Will the two of you watch Tauren while I’m gone?”
Brecan stood when I did. “I can go alone.”
He eased my chair out, ignoring me, and placed his hand on the small of my back as I walked around the table.
I could feel Tauren’s eyes on me as I left the dining room in search of the washroom. I didn’t have two minutes of peace before the door opened and Rose sashayed in. Did she enjoy spending time in these rooms? She’d blathered cruel words to one of the other girls through the guise of applying makeup.
My plan was to ignore her entirely. I knew she wanted to rile me in an attempt to prove that witches were easily provoked, and that one seated on the throne of Nautilus would be dangerous to all its citizens.
The only problem was her scent.
She plucked a small vial from her purse and dabbed a clear liquid onto her throat and at each pulse point on the inside of her wrists.
“The only way you can attract Tauren is with a love potion?” I snapped.
“Please,” she said, rolling her eyes and tucking the vial away. “Everyone knows you’ve bewitched him. I’m just evening the playing field.”
“Where’d you get it?”
“Tauren wasn’t the only one to travel into Thirteen on the Equinox.”
My ribcage tightened.
“That’s right. I saw what you did. I know what you are. And I am absolutely positive you’ve used magic to lure the Prince into your tidy little web. Well, I’m going to free him,” Rose exclaimed, a victorious glint in her eyes.
“I haven’t used magic on Tauren.”
She quirked an eyebrow, tousling the red waves in her hair and pursing her lips, watching her reflection closely. “Then I guess the crown will be mine after all.”
I stared straight ahead, gripping the edge of the stone countertop, all the while telling myself not to hex her.
“I know you can’t marry him,” she said, her tone darkening. “So why are you here?”
When I refused to speak, she narrowed her eyes. “Your custom is to hand-fast. You’re not even allowed to marry, especially to a non-witch.”
“Maybe I’m breaking with custom.”
“Maybe… but then again, maybe not. I bet the producers would be interested in that little tidbit.”
I finally smiled, reveling in the sight of her confidence seeping out of her like a sponge wrung until no water could even drip from it. “If you say one word about me to the producers, or to anyone else, I’ll know…and I will make sure you never in your lifetime utter another.”
“You can’t do that.”
I grinned. “Then go ahead and try it.”
She walked out the door, her heels clicking hurriedly along the polished tile.
18
I sealed the door, unable to take another second of Rose or anyone else’s presence at that point. For years, the only company I had was Brecan when he could steal away, the occasional witch who sought a reading of their fate, usually around Elevation time, and the occasional squirrel who liked to chomp on the wood of my cabin. I realized I’d come to appreciate the calm solitude of a lonely existence.
Tugging the gloves off, I looked at my necrotic fingertips. I was pleased to see the ichor hadn’t spread, and stretching them out didn’t hurt. They didn’t ache. My lips weren’t frozen. Whatever the warning was, I wasn’t sure what it meant.
Someone knocked. That’s probably Brecan... I tugged the gloves back on, but couldn’t bring myself to whisper the spell to unseal the door.
“Sable?” Tauren’s voice penetrated the air.
I unsealed the door. “It’s unlocked.”
He inspected the knob on the inside of the door when he stepped inside. “There are no locks on the powder rooms, as there is more than one facility.”
“I can stop time, Tauren. Sealing a door – locks or none – is child’s play.”
“Right,” he said with a cough.
“I’m sorry. I’m just having a…” I didn’t know what type of moment I was having. There were no words to describe my roiling emotions.
“Do you want to leave?” he asked sincerely.
“My grandmother is dying.”
His brows kissed in concern. “How do you know?”
“Mira can communicate with those in Thirteen.” I didn’t tell him how or divulge anything further, but I could see the question painted across his face.
“Go to her,” he quietly urged, crossing the room and taking hold of my elbows. I couldn’t look at him. When I tried to pull away, his grip tightened. “Sable, if you need to leave, I understand.”
“No you don’t. My grandmother hated me.”
“That’s not possible.”
He finally let me go when I took a step back. “She hated me. She told me once that it was I who killed my mother; that Fate turned on her because he chose me instead. And now that I am of age and my power has matured, hers has faded, along with her life.”
Fate rumbled in my bones. An unhappy, roiling displeasure sank in deeper than ever before, but I begged him to calm down and just leave me be for a little while.
“Did she hate your mother?” Tauren finally asked, his golden eyes swirling with concern and what I hoped wasn’t pity.
“She did.”
I glanced at the door. Someone would walk into this powder room eventually, and I was sure it would cause quite a scandal for the Prince to be found inside with a witch.
“It doesn’t matter,” I told him woodenly.
“It upsets you, so of course it matters.”
I nodded toward the door. “You should go before someone sees you with me.”
“They’ll be seeing the two of us together much more often now, Sable,” he warned.
“Not in powder rooms.”
“I don’t care what any of them think,” he swore.
I could tell he believed the words he spewed, but he didn’t understand their importance. “What about your father and mother? What about the citizens? They will care, Tauren.” I didn’t give him a chance to argue further, walking quickly to the door.
He didn’t follow, standing rooted in the same place. “There’s more. You aren’t telling me everything.”
I glanced at him over my shoulder. No, I’m not. But you’ll find out soon enough. On the tip of my tongue sat the truth about Rose and the sweetly magical scent she was using against him, but maybe her using the potion was for the best. One of the girls had to ensnare him. Rose was one of the four left that Tauren wanted, and I hadn’t smelled the love potion until tonight. He must have seen something in her before now.
“Can I still meet you tonight?” he asked, standing up straighter as if his body was a shield for his heart.
It would be best to tell him no, to deny the Prince his request, but everything inside me screamed yes. I needed to work the spell, which was the only way I could absolutely ensure his protection. So that was the answer I whispered before leaving him in the powder room and returning to my sea
t.
The dessert plates had thankfully been cleared by the time I returned. Brecan’s countenance had darkened. “Both you and our fair prince have been absent for a long while.”
“I couldn’t breathe,” I told him. He studied my face. Surely, he could see that my lip gloss wasn’t messy, that every strand of my hair was in place, that my face wasn’t flushed from passion.
Brecan looked away. Mira nudged me softly with her elbow. “The play will take place outside. There’s a small amphitheater to the north.”
“What sort of play is it?”
“A tragedy,” she said wistfully.
At one time, I had wondered why anyone romanticized such terrible circumstances as love, loss, and death… Then I saw the play that evening, and all the pieces slid into place.
Outside, the air was humid, thanks to the earlier rain storm. Mira remarked on each woman’s hair, noting how those who’d curled theirs were wishing they hadn’t. The curls hung heavier and lower, eventually falling away altogether
The amphitheater was small, but large enough for our party. Four wide rows had been hewn into the bedrock in front of a smoothly polished, matching stage. A plush, teal curtain had been hung across the stage to hide the actors and scenery lurking behind. Golden columns streaked up either side of the curtain rod, slowly being consumed by creeping ivy from the ground up.
I could imagine being here in early summer with fireflies lighting the paths down into the hewn earth, cricket song on the gentle breeze, the sky streaked with gold to match the gilded columns.
“This is amazing,” Mira remarked, awestruck by the beauty of such a simple place. “We need one of these in Thirteen.”
I nodded emphatically. “Completely agree.”
“It could be done. The House of Earth could make one.”
I smiled, hoping one day this small dream might come true.
The sky faded to a dark sapphire and diamond stars began to show themselves, the largest boldly sparkling overhead. Seating wasn’t assigned in this place, but we took up a corner of the last row. Tauren sat in the center middle of the bottom row with his parents and brother. He stood and turned to the left and right, peering out over the crowd. When his eyes hooked on Rose, he waved for her to come forward and sit next to him.
My fingernail tips bit into my palm.
Mira made a choked sound. “I thought he was looking for you.”
“He can’t.”
“Why?” she asked, mouth still agape.
“Because I can’t marry him, and he has to choose a wife – soon.”
Brecan nodded. “Glad the two of you finally came to your senses before things went too far. Assuming they didn’t.”
I felt like clawing him. “They did not.”
“Good,” he said, extending his long legs and leaning back on his palms.
Sometimes, I loved Brecan’s friendship. Sometimes, I didn’t. This was one of the latter times.
“She’s wearing a love potion,” I whispered.
Mira slapped my arm. “I knew it!”
I shushed her when the people in front of us turned around to gawk.
“I knew it was something,” she said quieter.
Brecan sat forward, elbows on his knees. “Where’d she get it?”
“She says she was at the Equinox and bought it in Thirteen.”
“Maybe it’ll help Tauren make up his mind.” It was the cruelest thing Brecan had ever said to me. Not the words he uttered, but the fact he said them at all, knowing how I felt.
Mira leaned closer. “What if she’s bad for him? Bad for the Kingdom, I mean.”
“Right,” he said sarcastically. “Then shame on him for allowing this disgusting pageant in the first place.”
I couldn’t say I disagreed with his logic, but I understood all too well about being bound by customs in which you didn’t want to partake. I agreed to hand-fast when I stepped back inside my sector, knowing full well there wasn’t a single witch to whom I wanted to bind myself.
A gentleman stepped onto the stage and the murmuring of our small crowd ceased. He teased us with the story they were about to unveil; a tale of love which caused strife, and strife which caused death, and death which caused woe.
The actors were skilled. They projected their voices and emotion into the night, and the enraptured crowd soaked up every syllable, every feeling. The story was of a girl, a pauper, who wanted nothing more than to be loved. She met a prince who gave her his heart, but his parents wouldn’t allow them to wed. They wed in secret, bribing a priest to join them despite his parents’ wishes, but the priest had already been bribed by the King and Queen to poison the girl. He disposed of her in a lake, and two days later, the grief-stricken Prince waded into the dark water, never to be seen again.
A shiver scuttled up my spine when Tauren turned to look at me over his shoulder.
Rose followed his gaze to me. One side of her upper lip rose in disgust, but hatred was what shone so brightly in her pretty blue eyes. Realizing her hold on him was failing, she reapplied the love potion, and with it, regained the Prince’s attention. I hoped she’d bought gallons of it. She would need every ounce.
Knox sat on the other side of Rose. Rose’s escorts had squeezed into the second row, sitting directly behind her.
What was strange was that Rose was literally sandwiched between two Nautilus brothers, yet only one of them paid her attention. The love potion should draw any male to her, but Knox... Knox seemed immune. Brecan had been watching, too.
“An Elevated witch made that potion,” he surmised.
I nodded in agreement. “But whom?”
He shrugged. “A few had tables set up along the periphery that evening, if she’s being honest about purchasing it then.”
Most of the witches in The Gallows who bothered to sell potions during our celebrations charged a mint for them. They were easy to make. Even the least gifted among us could make a basic love potion, and those attracted anyone within a fifty-foot radius. The whole party should be fawning over her; the women telling her how pretty she was and how they wished they could be her, and the men falling over one another to do favors for her. But this potion was specifically concocted for Tauren alone, and a spell that concentrated reeked of an Elevated witch.
Once the play concluded, the King and Queen stood, escorted by several guards as they took the rough steps to the soil above us. The Queen’s eyes darted to mine as she passed our row, holding them until she stepped above us. The last of her residue evaporated, but I felt the warning she’d meant to transfer. She wanted me to hurry up. She wanted me to leave her son alone…and then leave the palace.
How did the Queen of Nautilus know how the residue worked? Did my mother teach her?
Knox jogged up the steps next, then came Tauren and Rose. Her arm twisted around his like a vine. She held her shoulders back and her head high, Rose posing like the queen she wanted so desperately to one day be.
Once the royal guards surrounded their charges, we were free to leave. Sector by sector, people filed out of the amphitheater. We were the last to leave. The players busied themselves behind and on stage, disassembling the scenery and taking down the curtain. They loaded everything into hand carts and rushed away, leaving the stage barren.
For a moment, I saw the stage in a different light. Cracks running through the smooth surface, filled with weeds and crushed bits of leaves. Creeping vines covering half of it, threatening to swallow it whole. The place was forgotten.
Fate was upset. He squeezed my middle until I stood from the discomfort. “We should get back,” I said to cover up why I’d risen so abruptly.
Brecan’s eyes glowed brightly in the moonlight, like amethyst. Mira yawned and stretched her arms out wide. “I’m tired.”
“Did you stay up late last night?” I asked as we ascended onto the soil.<
br />
“I had to make a few things for you,” she replied.
“Hopefully, this will all be over with soon and you’ll be able to rest, Mira. I appreciate all you’ve done to help me.”
She inclined her head. “Don’t apologize. It’s been the best experience of my life.”
As we walked to our rooms, the cries of those who weren’t invited to remain spilled into the hallways and down the staircase. Mira unlocked her door and said goodnight. Brecan waited in the hall until I’d unlocked mine. He lingered, twisting his key in his hand. “What is it?”
“If you need anything, if Fate tells you Tauren needs you, I want you to wake me.”
I opened my mouth to agree, but he strode across the hall and put a finger to my lips.
“I know you don’t want to hear this, but I need to say it. So, please, allow me to get this off my chest.” He closed his eyes and then opened them again. “I know you have feelings for Tauren. I recognize it, because I feel the same for you. And I know that you’re trying your best to keep him safe, but I want to keep you safe. If something happened to you –” His voice shattered.
I clasped his hand for a moment, squeezing it. “I’ll wake you,” I rasped.
He pursed his lips, then asked, “Swear it?”
“I swear. If there is danger, I’ll come to you.”
He nodded, satisfied with the vow I’d made. I felt like a cockroach, scuttling away from the light that was the truth, terrified to be caught even for a second in the open honesty of a lie. The moment he went into his room, I planned to change and sneak out to see if Tauren remembered that he’d asked to see me, or if Rose’s potion was still affecting him.
I hoped it wasn’t affecting him too much.
Brecan tipped his chin toward my room. “Good night, Sable.”
“Good night.”
I slipped inside and locked the door behind me, taking a deep breath. The shoes were the first things I shed. I liked them. They were beautiful. They were also hard to walk in on grass, and my ankles throbbed.
Instead of skinny jeans and the ridiculous numbered t-shirt, I gently pulled my gown over my head and laid it at the bottom of the bed, then fished one of my dresses out of my trunk. The familiar, worn velvet settled over me like a comfortable blanket. I unclasped the necklace Tauren had given me and laid it next to the gown. My stomach growled. No wonder. I hadn’t eaten a bite since midday.
