Page 12 of A Fate in Flames

“Elira!”My mother’s voice was tight, all warmth drained from it.She set the herbs down as she rubbed her temple.

“How many times have I told you about Seers?They are tricksters.Nothing they say is true.They tell people what they want to hear for a few coppers, and leave them with nothing but fear and doubt.”

She sank into a chair at the table, her body suddenly smaller, more fragile.She tapped rhythmically against the cool wood, a habit she’d fall into when anxious.

Tap-tap-tap.Pause.Tap-tap-tap.The sound echoed in the now quiet room.

“Ummi, nothing happened,” I reassured.“She couldn’t even tell me mine, and—” I jabbed a finger in Theo’s direction, “he made me do it!”

“Hey!”He protested, still chewing.

He swallowed, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.“It was just a bit of fun.We didn’t take it seriously.”

I scowled at him, but my mother’s shoulders relaxed as he continued.

“A load of shit.I mean, nonsense.Sorry.” He threw her an apologetic look, ducking his head at the slip.

His fingers absently brushed away the crumbs that had fallen onto his lap, completely unbothered by the hole I was trying to stare into his skull.

“She said something about women falling at my feet.”He gestured toward himself dramatically.“We all know that’s already happening, so it’s hardly a prediction.”

I rolled my eyes so hard I nearly saw the back of my skull.

“And something about travel,” he went on, waving a hand lazily in the air.“A journey, a grand adventure.Blah, blah, blah.You know, the usual mystical gibberish.Total guesswork, if you ask me.”

“No one asked you, Theo,” I snapped, dragging my hands down my face.“Why don’t you go back to stuffing your face and keep your mouth shut?”

My mother’s expression shifted, her hands stilling their anxious movement.She turned to me, eyes dark with an emotion I couldn’t place.

“And what of you, Elira?”

The question hung heavy in the air, weighted with something more than simple curiosity.

I hesitated, my gaze drifting upward as I pretended to search my memory.

“I can’t remember,” I lied, avoiding her penetrating stare.“Nothing interesting, I guess.Just vague nonsense, like Theo said.”

I tried to brush it off with a causal shrug, but Theo—the idiot—spoke before I could steer the conversation elsewhere.

“Didn’t she say something about a bargain?”

I wanted to kill him.

“What did you just say?”Her voice was a whisper, but it carried across the room with the force of a shout, the colour draining from her face.

I clenched my jaw until it ached.“You’re a real thorn in my ass, you know that?”

He had the decency to look confused, his eyebrows drawing together as he glanced between my mother and me beforefinallysensing the tension in the room.

My mother’s eyes had taken on a haunted quality, the lines around them suddenly more pronounced in the fading light.

I sighed, rubbing the tight muscles in the back of my neck, forcing myself to speak before Theo could make things infinitely worse.

“She mentioned a bargain being called in, and something about things not being as they seem.”The words spilled out quickly, tumbling over each other.

I moved to kneel beside my mother’s chair.I reached for her hand and squeezed it gently, feeling the bones beneath her skin.

“I don’t even know what that means.I got up and left.Trust me, Ummi, I didn’t read much into it, and neither should you.”I tried to project a confidence I didn’t entirely feel.“It’s like you always say, they’re tricksters looking for easy money.”