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Fate, I knew all too well, was real. He wasn’t an obscure concept of destiny, or a dream of what the future might hold. And he certainly wasn’t luck or a wishing well. He was sentient and very much alive. I was Fate’s daughter, and he lived inside me.
Children would ignore their own experiences and feelings if adults pressed them hard enough into the straight and narrow line. It was how prejudice and ignorance were perpetuated through the generations.
“Futures?” He laughed and pointed a finger at me. “You’re a witch.” “And you’re obviously a genius.” A drunken genius, with pretty, molten eyes.
Heavy was the head that wore the crown, though many coveted the weighty circlet.
“You must be special to him, Miss Sable. He made no special alterations for any other invitee. In fact,” he leaned in to whisper, “he hasn’t greeted any of the other girls yet.”
His admission sent moths aflutter in my stomach. I had to stop letting that happen. Somehow.
Skinny jeans were the devil’s creation. I wasn’t sure I was going to be able to get them over my hips, let alone button and zip them. But with some shimmying and hopping around the room,
Besides, every girl, witch or not, dreamed of becoming a princess. Not with crowns and gowns, but princess of the heart of someone she loved, and who loved her in return.
What would true love feel like? Love that knew no boundaries...
“The boy with the golden eyes, and heart to match,”
Tauren had more magic in his person that I had learned in all my years. He was like an undine, luring me into troubled waters and coaxing me to take his hand, only to drag me into the depths, never aware that I was slowly drowning, never caring if I ever tasted the air I desperately needed again.
“I don’t. Tauren looks at you like… Well, I shouldn’t say anything else.” “How does he look at me, Mira?” “Like you’re the one thing he wants and can’t have,”
“My God, you’re stunning.” There it was. The look Mira described. Part pain. Part longing. Part lust.
The worst part was seeing Brecan wear the same look that Tauren had given me as he watched me descend the staircase with our prince.
“Shhh.” Tauren’s eyes searched mine. The corner of his lip curled upward. “I believe you owe me a kiss.” I was about to protest, but then the tip of his nose brushed my cheek and his lips raked across mine, completely undoing me. I pushed forward, pressing my lips to his, a shuddering breath escaping as I pulled away. I kissed him. I kissed Tauren.
“Yes, I believe you do.” “With interest.” He smiled. “With interest.” “Would you like to claim it now?” Tauren didn’t hesitate. He brought his lips so close they brushed mine. “I’ve never wanted anything so desperately.” Neither have I.
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.
“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.
Fate used me, whispering over her until she looked perfect and not even a scar remained. She sacrificed herself to save her brother, and Fate rewarded valor. He rewarded selflessness.
“Like you, I’m just being honest. There’s only one woman I want to have dinner with every evening, lunch with every afternoon, and breakfast with each morning.”
“The earth belongs to all of us. We’re a part of it; not just bodies dwelling on it.”
“You could’ve been killed!” he seethed. “But I wasn’t,” I argued, turning my attention back to him. “You shoved me away,” he accused, his voice rising with each word. “Of course I did!” “Why would you do that?” “I had to protect you.” “Why, Sable?” he angrily demanded. “You’re my prince,” I offered weakly. “Why, Sable?” he growled. He was insufferable. He knew why. “Why, Sable?” he repeated, softer this time. I threw my hands in the air. “Because I couldn’t live with myself if something happened to you!” I couldn’t. If he died, the weight of my soul would bring his back. But still, the thought
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Tauren gathered me in his arms. “You’re okay,” he breathed. “So are you.” I couldn’t have been more thankful. “I was so scared,” he admitted. “I was terrified for you, too.” Terrified was too soft a word for what I felt when my mother whisked him from the Night Garden, or the events that unfolded afterward. Dry coughing startled everyone…
Tauren and I slept in the House of Fate in the room I claimed before he sent the invitation, wrapped in each other’s arms, both too afraid to let go.
We had to process death with emotion, and experiencing death, and mourning the loss of someone you loved, was not only inevitable for all of us, it was something that transformed us into a stronger version of ourselves.
“I want to spend the rest of my life with you, and if we have to hand-fast one year at a time, so be it. We’ll come back to this spot next year and the year after that, and so on. If this is what it takes to make you mine, I will hand-fast to you again and again and again. I love you.” The moths in my stomach took flight. My lashes fluttered. I pressed my hand to his cheek. “I love you, too.”
all the powers I’d ever possessed, putting a smile on Tauren’s face was by far the greatest.
One king. One queen. One fate.
