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“Who are you?” I asked.
“Never mind that. I have dreamed of you, Hybrid Heir. In fact, I’ve had visions of your future for years now.”
A seer. I couldn’t seem to escape them.
“My name is Prisca.”
She waved that away. “You will travel to my daughter,” she said to me. And I stared at her. Her daughter?
“Daharak,” she said.
I opened my mouth. What was the pirate queen’s mother doing in this castle with Kaliera?
She held up her hand before I could speak. “Your plan is a good one, and if my daughter can be reasoned with, she will give you what you so desperately need. But listen closely because if she does not get what she is looking for, she will never work with you again. Even if she cannot blame you for the mistake, her pride and rage will overtake her sense. It may only be temporary, but it will be long enough that you will lose this war, and everyone in this kingdom will suffer.”
My skin itched, as if it had shrunk around me. “Tell me what I need to know.”
“When bound by blockade’s tightening fist, heed the drifting shadow, else all be lost. To prevail, dance the sails toward the sun.”
“That’s it?” Why was it seers so often spoke in strange riddles?
She nodded, and her expression turned mournful now. It was difficult to know if she truly felt the emotion or if she had placed it on like a mask.
“In my dreams, I have seen what will come to pass.”
I swallowed. From her tone, what was coming to pass wasn’t exactly going to be joyful. “And?”
“You believe you have lost enough. That the gods wouldn’t be cruel enough to take more from you.” She shook her head. “You should never believe such things. The gods delight in cruelty.”
My mouth turned dry. So dry, it took me a moment to speak. “Who?”
“When the land itself repels war and unnatural clouds obscure the sun…
When the waves are coerced…and reflection deceives…
The Bloodthirsty Prince will die.”
* * *
Crouched in shadow, we watched the gatehouse. Torches flared along the parapets above, the orange glow flickering in the slight breeze. Shouts and clashing steel echoed from the street as our distraction raged within the city.
All of my instincts rebelled at separating from Prisca. Yet I knew this was the best plan. The human queen would likely be closemouthed in my presence, while my power ensured I was necessary to free Jamic. Still…
“She will be fine,” Galon muttered. “If you lose focus, we’ll be the ones who fail to walk away from this.”
He had a point. With Prisca’s time magic, Madinia’s fire, and Rythos’s own inexplicable power, we’d prepared for every eventuality. Yet I knew my wildcat. If there was an extra chance to strike at Regner, or a way to free an imprisoned hybrid on her way out of the castle…
The first gatehouse exploded. Marth grinned at me, his eyes wide. “You have to admit, Madinia was smart to involve the Cleaver.”
She was. Now the criminals the Cleaver had summoned would be attacking from all angles, ensuring the guards were confused and distracted.
The iron guards Regner had in place were his best. They would tighten security in Jamic’s gatehouse. But we’d prepared for that too.
Another gatehouse exploded. The guards surrounding Jamic would be wondering if they were next. Some of them would be convinced that this attack had nothing to do with Jamic, and if they didn’t flee the gatehouse, they were dead.
Others would insist that they needed to stay, trusting their instincts.
I smiled, picturing the chaos.
