Page 46 of Wind and Water (Reign of the Witch Queen #2)

Cocking her head, she closes her eyes, as do the other nine around the desk. Opening them, she asks, “May we touch you? It will not harm you.”

I look at Liam, and he nods. I lift my chin and say, “You may, and thank you for asking.”

The sarcasm doesn’t register with the oracle, but Harper tries to stifle her chuckle.

The oracle’s hand is warm and soft. There’s a murmuring of voices along my consciousness, and then it’s gone.

Lowering her hand, she stares for a long time.

So long, I think she may never say anything.

All ten close their eyes, and I have the impression that some communication is happening between them.

It’s a little rude, but Liam seems not to mind, so I ignore it.

Finally, they open their eyes, and sorrow flickers there in the one close to me. “We are sorry for what you have endured. Coire is not meant for the living. Coire is not meant for the pure of heart. This breach by Venora Braddish is beyond what we thought even she was capable of.”

“I don’t think anything that witch does should surprise you.

There are no lengths she won’t go to for the things she wants.

Power is her drug of choice, and she’s long addicted, with no hope of recovery.

” I have no idea what these people want from me, but the one thing they’ll get is the truth, whether they like it or not.

“You are frank, like Harper. This seems to be a human trait. We are glad.” She moves her hand to indicate we should walk with her.

“Not all humans,” I say. “But likely the ones who are willing to jump through a magic portal into a war to help a group of people they didn’t know existed before, those are bound to be direct.”

Liam and Harper laugh.

We walk through an archway into a long hall that leads to a bright room with windows facing the city. It’s beautiful and full of life.

The oracle steps into the center of the room. “This is the room where you will train with Harper. We will show you how to use your magic if you are willing.”

I get the feeling the last part was added on for my benefit, and I appreciate it.

“I would like to be able to use it without my life or the lives of others being at risk. Especially the portal thing. It would be nice to use that to find Liam’s younger brother.

It would also be nice to feel closer to home. ”

“Portal thing?” The oracle narrows her eyes in the first sign of confusion.

“Wren created the portal that allowed us to escape from Coire. She tried and failed before being tortured, but after being dunked in the source, and with the threat of more of the same, she succeeded in making the gentlest portal I’ve ever stepped through.

It took us from the underworld to the fairy glen I showed her in my mind.

” Liam puffs out his chest and beams at me.

After a long pause where the oracle stares at me as if I’m shiny and new, she says, “We will certainly try. Come again tomorrow with Harper when the sun is in the west. We will start your training then. Harper has learned much in the weeks she’s been visiting us.”

I swear I detect a hint of pride, but I have no idea if it’s for Harper’s progress or the fact that the oracle managed to teach something to a human. It might be best if I never knew the answer to that question. “I will come and do my best to learn from you.”

With a deep breath, she turns to the arch where we entered.

“How is Dierdre?” I ask before she can dismiss us.

Slowly, she turns back. Her eyes are shadowed. “I’m surprised you care about the well-being of one who wishes you dead.”

I shrug. “I can’t change who I am.”

Another long look at me makes my skin tingle with magic. “She is sick in mind. We are letting her rest. It has not yet been decided how to help her or if she can be helped. Like Venora, she may have taken her darkness too far.”

“You didn’t find any good in her?” My chest is tight. I look at Liam. “Was there good in her when you were lovers?”

He lets out a long breath, and his shoulders slump. “Yes. There was good in her when our affair began. She slowly became obsessed with court and getting more from me than I was willing to give. That was when I ended it.”

A trill of jealousy rushes through me, but I push it aside. Liam loves me. He doesn’t love any other woman. “If she had good in her, it must still be there. You should try to help her.”

There’s a flash of light, and we’re all standing in the center of the circular desk again.

The oracle all close their eyes, and the sense of magic flowing between them returns.

When they open their eyes, the one who’s been speaking to me says, “It’s important to you, second of the prophecy, Wren Martin? ”

“It is. If you don’t try, then she’s just the first to be lost.” I have no idea how I know this. “There are others who I think she led to attack the centaurs. Perhaps they will need help finding their way back into the light as well.”

Another long pause as she studies me. “We have heard what you say, and we will take it into account as we make our decision.” She looks at Aaran.

“Tell your mother that if she wishes to send the ones who followed Dierdre Byrne, we would accept them. It is sometimes possible to pull darkness from an elf if it is born of something foreign and not ingrained.”

“Yes, Oracle.” Aaran bows and makes the sign with his hands.

“Thank you,” I say.

Liam smiles at me and bows to the oracle.

An instant later, we are all four outside the mountain, standing next to our horses.

“Damn, Wren, you have balls.” Harper’s laughter is contagious.

Smiling, I shrug. “I’m from Texas, Jersey Girl. Besides, if you don’t ask, then the answer is always no. We don’t know what happened to Dierdre. Maybe Venora got to her with magic. Maybe not. It’s important we know the truth.”

We mount and head back the way we came.

Liam won’t stop grinning at me, and it’s making me blush. “What happened with the guards?”

His smile slips too easily into a frown.

“Crain admitted he’s been seduced over the past months by her.

He told the other guard he would take her home, then he let her go.

He didn’t know she had plans to attack you.

At least that’s what he said, and based on his level of shock, I believed him.

I still took him off active duty, and he’ll be cleaning floors and stalls for a long while. ”

“Maybe he needs a trip to the oracle. Maybe Dierdre is passing along a dark spell.” Aaran shivers in his saddle.

I don’t blame him. The idea is like a computer virus poisoning everything, one program at a time, but these are living elves she may have poisoned.