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“Of course, I knew by that point thatyouwere whom the Oracle had meant, but yes. I completely understood why she said such things. I have never entirely hated her, but I have hated what I thought she was to me. Then we went on that mission to rescue your mother.” Sorin ran a hand through his hair. “Gods, Scarlett, you may not blame me for the death of Eliné, but Talwyn does. And she blames me for the death of her twin flame because Tarek was on that mission as well. Talwyn had sent two with me, trusting that I had found her, and he was one that was… There is so much hurt and anger and conflict that could have been avoided. Things could be so different…”
Silence fell between them in that closet as he trailed off. Scarlett studied him, the sorrow and shame that lined his features. She swallowed thickly as she stepped to him. “An ancient immortal once told me that we make bad calls, but we can’t change them. You deal with it. You learn from it. You become humbled by it. But you do not let it define you. You let it shape you.” She ran her fingertips lightly along his cheek and down his jaw. “Just as I do not wish away the experiences that forged me, you must not wish these things away. They led us here. To this place. To each other.”
“Careful, Princess,” he said with a small smile. “It is starting to sound like you believe in the Fates.”
Scarlett wrinkled her nose at the idea, and he laughed.
“We will go and get Cassius and find these keys and deal with Mikale. Then we will deal with my cousin,” Scarlett replied softly, stroking her thumb along his cheekbone once more. Sorin’s own hand came up and cupped her neck as he leaned down and kissed her. After a moment, she pulled back and, looking into those golden eyes, she said, “Rayner said that no one knows what the Oracle actually looks like. That she appears differently to everyone.”
“That is true,” Sorin replied.
“What did you see?”
“I saw you,” he replied softly.
“What?”
“I thought it was Ashtine, actually. The silver hair, I suppose.” He twined a lock of it around his finger. “Looking back, though, it was you. It has always been you,” he said. She brought her lips back to his, and he deepened the kiss. She slid her hands along his bare chest, and his fingers fisted into her hair as he pulled her against him. “Again with this damn witch-suit,” he murmured onto her lips.
She laughed, stepping back and disentangling herself from him. “I need a bath anyway,” she said sweetly, tugging the witch-suit down her shoulders as she walked away from him.
“Still so wicked,” he said, clicking his tongue.
She only laughed as she began heading to the bathing room, where she knew a steaming bath was waiting for her.
“In the interest of not keeping secrets though…” she trailed off, pausing by the closet door.
“What?” Sorin asked, his eyes narrowed at her.
“The Oracle is Cassius's cousin.”
“What?”
The shock on Sorin’s face made her grin like a mad woman. Maybe Briar was right. Maybe she did enjoy the grand reveal a little too much.
“That is not possible. The Oracle is centuries old. Cassius is…not.”
“The Oracle, it seems, is replaced every millennium or so. When a new all-powerful Seer is born.”
“And you think the Oracle is Cassius's cousin because…?” Sorin asked, doubt creeping into his eyes.
“Hazel told me tonight.”
“When? When did those words cross her lips?”
Scarlett rolled her eyes. “She didn’t come right out and say it. Two went with my mother to the human lands. Sybil and Juliette. When I saw the Oracle, it was Juliette. When I—” Scarlett swallowed. “When she died, it apparently released her essence or something, and she was able to return here and replace the previous Oracle. She had visions. In Baylorin, before everything. It’s how she knew about me. Who I was. She shared the visions with Nuri. It’s how Nuri knew.”
“If Cassius and Juliette are cousins, that would make Sybil…”
“The High Witch’s sister,” Scarlett finished.
Sorin just shook his head and muttered, “I am going to bed.”
Scarlett laughed as she made her way to the bathing room.
She emerged a half hour later, clean and exhausted, and more than ready to sleep and sleep and sleep.
When she approached the bed, though, Sorin lifted his head from his pillow. “Your shadows,” he said softly.
