“It’s a greater risk now that the king is dead. Militairen will be unpredictable. Talented may be rising up. Even if they’re not, they’ll be hunted until the king’s killer is found. The Trials themselves have claimed many lives. How could I lead a woman into that?”

“You’re not leading me. It’s my decision. You can’t deny that I’d be invaluable.” I’d been waiting for the day to leave. To start living my own life. To discover why I’d been born the Wishtress and how to use it without Oma’s control. I needed to find the Well of Talents for myself and demand answers from it.

“If anyone else learned of your Talent—”

“They would learn only if you told them.” The sky darkened as the sun dipped behind the trees, reflecting my clouding mood.

“Don’t you think my companions would wonder where all the wishes were coming from? Or why everything happened so easily? Even if people didn’t suspect you, they could suspect me and who knows what they’d do? Blackmail. Torture. Maybe even kill me!”

In truth, I hadn’t thought of that. My hopes vanished with the sun. It wasn’t a new feeling. I was used to being denied things I wanted.

“Then take this.” I pulled the wish from my pocket.

His mouth said, “I can’t.” But his eyes—and the twitch of his hand—screamed his desire. Oma would flay me for handing over a wish without a strict contract. I of all people knew the damage that could come from a raw wish.

But I was the Wishtress. Not Oma. And this was the boy I chose to love. “Take it. And come back to me.”

He took it. “Thank you, my love.” He kissed me. I clung to him, hoping for some flare of assurance or comfort. But he pulled away too soon and hoisted his pack onto his shoulders.

He called me “my love.” That must mean he chose me, too, right?

“Be safe,” I whispered as he left me standing alone by the canal.

I stayed there long after his departure, body unmoving but mind spinning. I’d told him. Shown him. Given him a wish, even. I’d waited for the day I’d be free of my secret. So why did I feel like instead of leaving my cell I’d added another padlock?

I could attribute it to nerves, but something deeper in my mind admitted . . . I regretted telling Sven.

I always told myself that I chose him—I chose to love him and I would stick by that. But after today, I saw once and for all that he never chose me.

Chapter 5
Myrthe