Page 33 of Once Upon a Woven Wish
Theskywaspitchblack.No moon to light the way.The snow had stopped, but it still blanketed the rooftops, the street, the treetops.Deep ruts were left from the king’s carriage.
Serena stood outside the cabin, the cloak pulled tight around her, and the lantern clutched in her hand.Yellow light illuminated the glittering snow.
Cold seeped through her weary bones.The thought of trudging up the mountain was enough to make her turn around and go back inside.Papa slept.Maris slept.Now was her chance.
She had to go.
She had to seehim.The stranger at the Well of Wishes.He was the only one who could help her now.
A risk.She knew.A risk she was willing to take.
She needed to make one last wish.One that would help her when she was in the palace.
Her breath turned white in front of her as she started down the path.Her booted feet crunched on new-fallen snow.The only thing that kept her going was that when she crested the hilltop, he would be there, and he would help her.
Her legs ached.Even as fear gripped her, hope burned bright and hot within her breast.Hope that the stranger—whose name she still had not found—would grant her one last wish.She didn’t care what it cost her.
Or maybe she did.Her life was forfeit either way.If the stranger at the Well of Wishes did not help her, then she would fail when she arrived at the palace.She tried not to think about that.Or the way Maris threw a tantrum about her going.She begged to go with her, but Papa refused to allow it, which was a relief.Serena was not sure Maris would do her any favors.She knew too much.
She saw him before she even made it to the top.The stranger stood stiff, his bright eyes glinted with a hint of fear.The hood hid most of his face, but even so she still saw the map of regret, of sorrow, of pain.
“Why did you return?”he demanded, his voice thick with emotion she did not understand.
He was angry she had returned.
Serena paused to catch her breath, her lungs on fire.“You know why.The king has come and needs me to heal his ailing son.”
“The cost is too great, Serena.”His mouth turned down into a frown.
“Are you to refuse my wish?”Her tongue was sharp, though she did not intend for it to sound like a demand.
You cannot deny the wisher, weaver.
She sucked in a breath, glancing around the area looking for the owner of the strange voice.“Who was that?”
The stranger stepped forward, his eyes pleading and his voice quiet but shaking.“Please don’t make me do this.”
There was something in the way he said it that gave her pause.She looked at him and was unnerved.He peered at her with those bright blue eyes that begged her to leave, to return to the village.She closed the gap between them with one step, tipping her head back to look up at him.
Here, in the shadows, his face was nearly concealed by the hood he always wore.His burning gaze met hers and for a moment, she thought she saw something there.Some hint of desire or need.But then that seemed ridiculous, didn’t it?He didn’t know her.She didn’t know him.
And yet…she wanted to find his true name and release him from his bondage.
“Why do you hide beneath the hood?”she whispered and her voice shook.
He said nothing.His jaw clenched, the muscles flexing there.Her free hand moved before her mind told her to stop.She rested it on his cheek.Smooth.Warm.
He flinched and tried to jerk away from her.
“Why?”she repeated.
His gaze bored into hers.And in that moment, something shifted between them.In his eyes, she saw all the lonely years of his life tethered here to this place, where wishes were granted and bargains were made.Without looking away, he reached up and pushed off the hood.
The material fell back, revealing him to her for the first time.And for a moment, she stopped breathing.Her breath pooled in her throat.
Hair pale as moonlight spilled down his back and over his shoulders.It was as if the hood had held it firmly in place.He wore a silver circlet, the intricate knotwork resting against his forehead at a point.
His face was handsome.Perfect cheekbones as though chiseled by the gods themselves.Full lips.A chin that tapered to a point with a dimple in the center.
