Page 7

I cleared my throat. “We should—” My words fell short as a flash of velvety pewter caught my eye near the merchant stands on the other side of the canal.

Scooping Seryn around the waist, I pulled her into a narrow alley between the shops and pressed my body into hers against the chilled wall.

A garbled sound of distress shot from her lips.

“What the void, Gav?” she hissed, her fingers digging into my sides. “You really need to stop dragging me around like a doll. ”

A half-smile ghosted across my lips as I cautiously peeked around the edge of the building. Two males stalked toward us—a stocky Akridai and a lanky, young Draumr—following the pointed fingers of the weapons merchant.

Damn him.

The enforcer’s metallic cape flapped in the morning breeze. “Melina sent reinforcements,” I whispered.

Seryn gulped, her fingers clinging to the sides of my tunic. She shivered, breathed in deeply, and then nudged me away and lined up her spine in a column against the wall. Her chin lifted as she finally met my eyes, hers frosting over as we moved deeper into the alleyway. “Let’s go.”

We reached the other end and veered down another path along a different canal. Our boots slapped against the planks as we ran. Seryn stopped abruptly, and I nearly collided with her before she spun around, her head angled toward the way we’d come.

She fisted my baldric at the sound of footfalls rushing down the alley, tugging me through an open door to our right.

My brows rose as I glimpsed the creaking sign hanging above the door.

The Oracle’s Seat .

I wouldn’t bother questioning our good fortune.

If Tyche, the Ancient of Luck, had led us to where she wanted us. I’d take it.

As we stumbled into the shop, the musty smell of ancient papers, earthy incense, and melted wax met us. My heart pounded against the inside of my ribs as I surveyed the dimly lit room.

Various mystical artifacts, thick books, crystals, and dripping candlesticks were scattered along the abundant wooden shelves and counters. There, to our left, was a small stairwell leading to the next floor.

Without warning, Seryn darted toward a different doorway in the back, swatting away a pair of velvety azure curtains sweeping over each side.

In frustration, I rolled my eyes and then looked back.

Advancing shadows approached the boardwalk in front of the door, and I bolted through the egress behind her.

“You’ve arrived. Come, sit.” The feminine, melodious words fluttered around us. Seryn paused, gripping the hilt of the dagger at her hip. My heels dug into the plush rugs strewn haphazardly around the cramped space, squinting toward the voice.

Flickering candlelight danced over the walls, painting the stunning female in a soft, sputtering glow.

The waves of her hair were so pale that it looked like fine threads of gold with various metallic beads glinting among sporadically braided strands.

Her white, flowing dress pooled on the colorful rugs beneath her feet.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” she crooned, fixing her gaze upon Seryn. One corner of her mouth tipped as she turned her attention to the worn oracle cards in her hands. She swept her palm over the room’s round table and left behind an arc of cards.

Moving to Seryn’s side, I studied the woman for any signs of ill intention. She didn’t appear to mean us any harm, but you never could be sure. I squared my stance, blocking the way we’d entered, and heard no signs of others following us.

Seryn hesitated, but then cautiously took a step toward the table. Her head tilted as she moved closer, studying both the female and the divination spread across the velvet-covered tabletop.

The seer’s hand hovered over the arc, gilded eyes flashing with every card she plucked and laid on the table in a diamond. Images of various Ancients and lore painted the deck’s colorful faces.

Spellbound now, Seryn drifted nearer still, her attention flitting over the cards as she sat across from the stranger. I moved beside her, the knuckles of my left hand turning white as I clamped my fingers around the top of the chair.

“Ahh, just as I suspected.” The female tapped the card in the west, sighed gently, and then touched the one in the south position.

Beneath her fingertip, the image of a running stag with two arrows protruding from its back lingered.

“You’ve journeyed a great distance through the mist and decay.

Forced your way into the sunlight so the shadows would lift. Even so, they nip at your heels. ”

Remaining silent, Seryn pressed her lips together as the seer’s eyes bore into hers. Seryn’s chair creaked as she shifted. One eyebrow rose on the female’s face, her mouth gently curving.

Without looking, her first two fingers touched the card to the east. The image of three ethereal females mocked me. Their glowing forms huddled together, a whirlwind of golden string twirling around them. “What you seek will be found, but the path will prove arduous. Shadowed truths unveiled.”

She glanced at me, the metal of her irises glinting before she looked back at Seryn. In my ears, the pounding of my heart thundered.

Her fingertips tiptoed over the table and then pressed into the card at the pinnacle, pushing it toward us and leaning forward as if sharing an intimate secret.

“Poseidon’s spear.” She lifted her hand, propping her delicate chin upon her knuckles, revealing the image on the last card.

“On more than a single occasion, you’ll find the beginning in the aqueous depths. Allow your gifts to guide you.”

“What do you—” Seryn started as I barked, “What location?”

Seryn glanced at me, and I nodded once. She continued, looking back at the seer, “The portal is somewhere in water?”

The female smiled serenely and leaned back; her chair silent despite the weight of her riddles. Breathlessly, she mused, “Oracle cards rarely lie. It’s odd more mortals don’t embrace them.”

Rolling her eyes, Seryn pushed herself to her feet.

“Looks like all our problems are solved, Gav. All we need to do is find the portal among water”—she ground her molars together, throwing her hands up and letting them slap onto her thighs before her voice climbed a few octaves—“somewhere in this entire Ancients-forsaken, bloody drowning, salty fucking water region!”

“Sometimes, you must let the journey unfurl. If you were given a direct path, providence might fray. Might ripple through the strings of other fates tethered to yours.” Rising gracefully, the seer offered us a placating smile as she took a step back into the corner where the candlelight couldn’t reach.

“You must go now. I hear hydor lilies are in season. ”

Seryn and I looked at each other, matching expressions of confusion and annoyance etched into our features. When we looked back, the female had vanished. She was a reverie swept away by the shadows.