Page 8 of Once Upon a Woven Wish
Her sister nodded.“I promise.”
“I’ll be back soon.”
Serena was out the door before Maris could reply.She knew her sister did not want to be there alone when—if—their father passed.But she had no choice.
There was only one person who could help.
The girl returned.He sensed her long before he saw her.
Why had she come back?
Certainly not for another wish.He could not grant her another.Could not take another piece of her.Though he knew if he granted her wish, the price would have to be paid.And he would have no choice.
He was bound to obey the laws of magic, no matter how he felt about it.Or her.
She crested the hill, her feet swift on the footpath.She carried a lantern in the gloaming, the pale light flickering across her face, splashing in slashes across her worn clothes and scuffed boots.
The hood on her threadbare cloak fell back, revealing her halo of auburn hair in the faint light.She halted the moment she saw him standing by the well.
Her blue eyes went wide.Her mouth formed a silent O as she stifled a gasp.She did not expect to see him there.Waiting for her.
Hoping to see her once again.
“You,” she breathed.Her breath plumed white in the chilly air.“You’re here.”
He wanted to tell her to go back home.To leave him in this place, leave him with his solitude and his loneliness.And yet, here she was with her wide eyes full of hope.Hope she knew he could give her.
For a price.
“I am,” he said, his voice quiet in the night.Though he tried to refuse the burning magic within him, he added, “What is your wish?”
“You know I came for another?”She held up the lantern and moved closer, the light bathing her features in a soft glow.
Gods, she was beautiful.
Her face was delicate.High cheekbones.Full lips.Wide eyes fringed in dark lashes.Hair the color of spun silk pulled back at the nape and tied with a faded ribbon.Pale freckles dotted her nose and upper cheeks.
He wanted to refuse her.He knew he could not.
And he would regret taking another part of her if she made another wish.
“It is the only reason for your return, is it not?”
She pressed her lips together and nodded.“Yes, of course.I wish—”
“What did you do with the gold?”he interrupted, though he wasn’t sure why he asked.
He wasn’t ready for her to make her wish, to take another little piece of her.He wanted her to remain a moment longer, as herself.Looking at him with those bright, blue eyes full of hope.If only to assuage the hollowness burning in his chest.
He’d given her more than enough gold as a test.To see if she would squander it away on herself.To see if she was selfish like others.But she hadn’t, had she?Judging by her appearance, she had not.She still wore the scuffed, worn boots and the threadbare cloak.Her face was pale, thin, gaunt.As though she had not had a proper meal in days.
So, what, then did she do with the extra gold he’d spun for her?
She blinked in surprise, taken aback by his abrupt question.“The gold?”
The magic inside him allowed him to only grant wishes, not question the wisher.Though with her arrival, something had shifted inside him.As though her presence cracked the surface and her vibrancy slowly seeped through.
He nodded.“It was more than enough, wasn’t it?”
