Oracle: The House War: Book Six Read Online Free PDF Page A

cracked—it had arrived that way.
    Rath was dead. The dead had no need of rings. They had no need of memories, either. Only the living did—but Jewel was still alive. Her right hand closed in a fist as she looked, last, to the ring that adorned her left.
    It was the Terafin House ring. Not the ring she had worn for most of her adult life as a Council member, but the House ring itself. There was one, only one, of its kind. She had worn its weight for a scant few months. No, she thought, counting, two months and nineteen days. It was not her possession; it was, in its entirety, the smallest symbol of the office she’d taken. When she died, it would be passed to the woman—or man—who succeeded her.
    But she knew, as she studied its heavy gold face, sapphires glowing as if displayed in direct sunlight, that this was what the Oracle was waiting for. She had not removed the ring once since she had been acclaimed Terafin. Her hands shook as she removed it now.
    No one spoke. Angel briefly touched her arm and gestured. She wanted to shove the ring back onto her finger. She told herself that she could afford to lose Rath’s ring; she couldn’t afford to lose the House signet. She could give away the damn leaves—she had an endless number of them. Even the dress, although she’d have a put-out or enraged white cat to deal with for the rest of their journey. Or the rest of her life.
    But the ring rested in her open palm, and her hand was steady as she held it out to the Oracle.
    The Oracle nodded. She passed a hand over Jewel’s upturned palm—and the ring it contained—and the ring vanished. She had not touched it. “Yes,” she said softly. “It is always difficult to decide what to leave behind, and often, there are no good choices. I will safeguard your ring to the full extent of my ability to do so. Only if you transgress will it be lost to you forever.”
    “What are your rules?” Jewel asked stiffly. “By what laws am I to be bound?”
    Shadow snorted in obvious disgust.
    Night said, “What did you
expect?
She’s
stupid.
”
    Even Celleriant was smiling. It was a condescending, arrogant smile.
    The Oracle, however, did not appear to notice any of this. “It has been many, many years since a daughter of the ancient cities has approached my realm. Not all who reach its heart choose to accept the challenge offered. But if it will comfort you, know this: none of the supplicants had the luxury of time. Many came alone.
    “Isolation is safety, of a kind—but it is not, in the end, your safety.” She turned. The wall, curved and smooth in her absence, waited. She did not point or gesture; she did not speak. Instead, she placed her hands against her chest; Jewel stiffened as they sank beneath the surface of stone robes and stone flesh.
    The air was still, the hush expectant; no one in the room, not even the distant Kings, appeared to breathe as the Oracle withdrew a crystal from the center of her chest. The resultant light from its heart flooded the room, washing out the color that remained.
    “The more you see, the more there is to fear—but regardless, the future will come. It will shape you, Jewel, if you allow it. But if you are strong enough to pierce the veils of now, you will be allowed, in some small way, to shape it in turn. It is the only gift I offer, and acceptance is costly: it was not meant for mortals.”
    “Why,” Jewel asked, breaking the hushed silence, “was it given to us at all?”
    “That, I cannot answer.”
    “Because you don’t know?”
    “Because, daughter, I do not know.”
    “You’re reputed to see everything.”
    “And so I might, should I so choose—but what is seen is oft misunderstood, as you yourself must know. What is seen at a distance is a glance, no more. Such a glimpse might inspire dread or greed or rage. I see you here, before me, as I saw you when first we met. I understand, in some limited way, what motivates you. But I cannot see the whole of it. I