Page 43 of Stranger's Choice
Sebin wondered if he would be the one to introduce null charms to the humans of Pynth after all these centuries. If the future the oracles had avoided so assiduously would come to pass because of him. Perhaps the Emperor would no longer feel the need for an oracle of his own if he instead could render the oracles powerless.
No. It was a path to consider, but Sebin already knew he wouldn’t follow it. He had feared the impact null charms might have on the relationship between humans and the magical races back in Moial. In Pynth, he figured the pitfalls of introducing the charms were even deeper. If he was going to be the catalyst for a rebellion in the empire, then he would make sure he sparked a change for the better.
Sebin would break the treaty between the Emperor and the oracles in a way that promoted harmony and helped all the citizens of Pynth.
Somebody had convincedthe Emperor to temper his use of Auraelie this time. Sebin was gone for a full five days, but she only had to scan the futures of a dozen people in total. Though she was not drained magically, she still found herself exhausted by the time Sebin returned late on the fifth day. The emotional toll wore at her.
When she passed by the courtiers, their agitation was palpable. They had always feared her, but they had also felt safe to a degree, because the odds of her approaching them were so slim. Now her presence induced nervous looks, flinches, and evasions. Auraelie had never truly been a part of the court, but she had never felt quite so ostracized either. Though no one would have thought anything of it if she did not visit Sebin’s room the night he returned, Auraelie wanted to go. She wanted to sit and talk with him. To see him smile. To not be alone.
The smile was nowhere in evidence when Sebin welcomed Auraelie into his room. She didn’t think he was mad ather, but he was mad.
“Did your visit not go well?” she asked. She walked over to the tea station Sebin had set up in his room and set some water to boil. He usually made the tea for them, but tonight it was something she could do for him.
Sebin watched her, but she didn’t think he saw her in that moment. His eyes were distant, lost in another time or place.
“Do you know Timben?” he asked, his focus still distant.
Auraelie placed two mugs in front of the kettle and flipped open the lid of the box where Sebin stored his tea. He had acquired a few more varieties in town since his visit to the sprites. “Not well. Timben escorted me to Kalitalo when the time came, but I had never met him before that trip.”
Auraelie glanced at the teas. The blue pouch she had seen in Sebin’s bag the first night he ever made her tea was there, still full. Why did he never drink that one? She picked the bag up.
Sebin’s awareness snapped back to his surroundings. “Not that one.”
Auraelie considered opening the bag to take a sniff. “Why not?”
Sebin blushed.
Putting the pouch down next to the mugs, Auraelie turned to face Sebin. “What is in that tea? Or is it even tea? “
“It’s a contraceptive brew.” Sebin mumbled the words, his face growing even redder. “I got it for you.”
Auraelie glanced back at the pouch. A contraceptive brew. For her. She looked back at Sebin, eyes wide.
“Not because I think you’ll need it any time soon,” Sebin said quickly, his choppy accent disappearing in his haste to reassure her. “I thought you deserved to have the choice, though. If you are ever in a situation like this again, I don’t want you to fear getting pregnant or having a child that the Emperor will steal from you.”
Auraelie wasn’t sure what to think about this. “If it is for me, why have you been hiding it this whole time?”
“Because I didn’t want you to think I bought it because I intended to break my promise to you. And I assume you would get in trouble if anyone finds you with that mixture of herbs.”
“I would. So I suppose I will need to keep hiding it among your teas.”
Auraelie turned back to the tea and returned the blue pouch to the box. She used the herbs in the green pouch to prepare tea, taking longer than necessary so that she could think before facing Sebin again.
She believed him. The tea was not a sign that he planned to change how he treated her. But it was a warning of sorts, whether or not he intended it to be. Now that the Emperor knew people existed who had immunity to her power, he would seek them out. While Sebin remained in Kalitalo, the Emperor did not need to find someone, but he’d start the search.
Auraelie carried the mugs of tea to the table. She did not want to think about what would happen to her once Sebin left. “You did not like Timben, I take it?”
Sebin accepted the shift in conversation without comment. “I did not. He waits when he should act and expects others to fix problems for him. He is an oracle, but instead of searching for a path to the future he wants, he is content to follow the easiest path.”
“Many oracles share that view. They feel that the paths they see are the way things should be and consider interfering or influencing the turning points a subversion of fate. My mother certainly felt that way. We used to fight about my desire to steer the future. She never understood that I don’t see one path, the way she does. I see all the paths, and my warnings or lack thereof can change which path a person travels.”
“She didn’t fight to keep you from being the Emperor’s Oracle, did she?”
Auraelie closed her eyes and shook her head. “We knew the last emperor would die after I was old enough, according to the treaty, to be eligible. Once we knew the timing, there was no discussion needed. I had to be the one. Mama agreed.”
“When?”
Auraelie opened her eyes.
