Total pages in book: 152
Estimated words: 145704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 145704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 729(@200wpm)___ 583(@250wpm)___ 486(@300wpm)
“As the years passed, Ianca grew wiser, and when it became apparent that the Islorian kingdom would accept Romeria in this peace treaty and that the queen’s plans might come to fruition, she began to worry. She knew Neilina’s ambitions were not that of her husband’s, and Ianca could not see how the poison running through Romeria’s veins would ever inspire peace between the two realms. The only future she could see was war and death, and the suffering of many. One night, she divulged her secret to me.
“Others may not have seen it for more than the obvious—a violation of a sacred oath that, in any other circumstance, would’ve resulted in Ianca’s execution. But because I had spent so many years immersed in the seers’ foretelling, because I have seen much, I knew immediately that what Neilina had done would have greater consequences than Ianca feared.” She pauses, as if deciding how much she wants to share. “Many do not value the seers’ visions, nor do they see purpose in the scribes’ work. It has been that way for thousands of years, but especially since Neilina became queen. And many of the guild’s leaders concern themselves far more with politics and power than Mordain’s true purpose. They are happy to relegate the returning seer casters to dwell in the undercarriage of Mordain’s halls, spewing their nonsense until they expire.” Gesine’s jaw grows taut, her anger visible.
Eventually, she will be one of those seers, as all elemental casters are.
As I would have become had I stayed in my world, in my own mortal body.
“I have told you about the prophecy, the one widely accepted. It has been spoken by three different seers, almost word for word. But it is not the only prophecy about the daughter of Aoife and the son of Malachi. There are others, studied by the most scholarly of the scribes. On their own, they may seem nothing more than confused prattling, but when pieced together, they paint an ominous picture of what may come to pass.”
My scalp prickles with unease. Zander warned me of how these casters only share what they feel necessary at any given time.
“There was once a seer who foretold of a day when the fates would meddle in the joining of the daughter of Aoife and son of Malachi, and a great reckoning would follow. This was spoken before the Great Rift, and to this day, most tie that prophecy to Queen Isla and King Ailill.”
Because Malachi did meddle. He gave Ailill immortality—and what this world has come to know as the blood curse. “But you don’t think it had to do with them?”
“I have never felt certain, especially because King Ailill was not only a son to Malachi but also to Aoife.”
“And Zander’s affinity is only to fire.”
“Yes. And it is powerful, leagues beyond any other Islorian gifted on Hudem. Princess Romeria is not only a daughter to Aoife by the affinity she was born with, but also by the summons Aoife answered.”
“Which was how she meddled.”
“Exactly.”
I shake my head. “And now there are vials of my poisonous blood floating around. Atticus is writing letters to all corners of Islor, giving them carte blanche to lock up their humans in cages.” I think back to the square, to the children tied to posts, awaiting their execution. “Or slaughter them.” This may not be what the seer meant by a reckoning, but it’s certainly going to make life worse for the humans. “If you know all this, why didn’t you kill Princess Romeria before she got to Islor?”
“And would you so easily drive a knife through someone’s heart? Is that who Romy is?”
I falter. Years on the street taught me how to defend myself, but I’ve never done more than strike hard enough to get away. Even the knife I kept strapped to my thigh for protection was designed to deliver a meager flesh wound.
“Our purpose has never been to collect prophecy so we may change the course of its unfolding. The scribes believe that prophecy must unfurl as intended to maintain a balance set by the fates themselves. We did not see the elimination of Romeria as a simple solution. As I said, other prophecies exist. One such, delivered almost three hundred years ago by a seer named Caster Delphine, foretold of a day when Malachi would be summoned to save the daughter of Aoife, and when she rose again as a daughter of many and queen for all, only then could there be hope for peace among the peoples. Again, most would not link this to Princess Romeria because they have been purging any elemental caster with affinities to Malachi since the days of Farren. But we knew of an elemental caster with an affinity to Malachi who lived in Cirilea.”