Page 17 of Oracle's Reign
Yslie rolled her eyes. “You are not a book. Therefore, it is safe to say Sophenie has no interest in you.”
“Nor am I the prince, which means you have no interest in me.”
“Why do you sound surprised? As I just pointed out, he is why I am in Kalitalo.”
“Yet Odela was still interested in how she could use me, and Triese was interested in a bit of fun. But you aren’t focused on marrying theprince. You care aboutPeroen. And given the way his expression darkened the instant he saw me standing close to you, he cares about you in return. What a shame.”
Yslie caught herself before she whipped around to search for Peroen, but it was a near thing. She didn’t trust this incubus. She considered denying his conclusion, but she knew he’d never believe her. Instead, she squared her shoulders. “Why is it a shame?”
“Because I suspect we could have fun together if you weren’t already falling for the prince.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I hardly think my feelings would be an obstacle for you, given your lure.”
Brevin’s expression grew unexpectedly serious. “I don’t go around turning heads that aren’t already inclined toward me. Especially not in a case such as this. My friends might tease me about it, but I must admit I am a bit of a romantic. I rather like the idea that the prince and his oracle bride find happiness together. I won’t ruin that.”
“For how long? The other oracles and I are here tonight so the Assembly members can take our measure. The factions will all be picking favorites. Given what I’ve heard about you, I’d bet at least one of them will approach you soon and pay you to help their chosen candidate win over the prince. Are your romantic tendencies stronger than your greed?”
He grinned. “You have a bite when you are riled. I’d try to claim your lack of faith wounds me, but mostly I am impressed.” He reached out and took her hands in his. “The prince is a lucky man. And because I am more romantic than mercenary, I will give you this warning for free. The factions won’t worry about hiring me to sway the prince’s opinion. They have a different plan in place. His choice won’t matter if they claim the authority to make the final decision for themselves.”
???
“You need toput greater effort into mingling, especially with the human Assembly members.”
Qilar’s voice made Peroen jump. It should have been impossible for such a large man to sneak up on him, but he had. Peroen matched his uncle’s volume, though few people lingered close enough to hear them, even if they spoke normally. “Why bother? I was only invited because it would have seemed silly to meet the oracles while excluding the man one of them would marry. No one cares if they meet me.”
“A situation you need to change. You need to become a person in their minds, not just an embodiment of the loathed imperial family.”
“I did try.” Peroen hadn’t retreated to a corner to hide until at least an hour had passed. “But it is harder to ignore the hatred here. With the courtiers it barely touches me because I don’t care about their opinions. But knowing everyone here sees me as a copy of my father is painful.”
“Unfortunately, you don’t have the luxury of taking your time to convince them you are not like Envaho. Members are discussing altering the terms of your marriage by revoking your right to choose your bride.”
It took a moment for the full scope of Qilar’s words to register. “They want to pick for me,” he said numbly.
“Yes. Odela has a suspiciously large portion of the humans favoring her already. Pianti is trying to figure out how she has managed that, but in the meantime, it is critical that you remind the Assembly members that your entire life will be impacted by this decision.”
“You keep mentioning the humans. What is going on with the magical races?”
“They are still deciding which oracle they’d like to see on the throne, and don’t seem as united. But you don’t need to worry about them as much, because unless I miss my guess, they won’t vote in favor of taking the choice of bride away from you.”
“Why not?” Peroen wasn’t about to believe they didn’t want that power.
“Because Yslie is doing an excellent job of pointing out that all the protections put in place to ensure that the oracle who marries you does so of her own free will mean nothing if you have no choice. She is playing on their guilt over the Imperial-Oracle Treaty while she is at it. Coming from her, the argument is very effective.”
Peroen couldn’t stop himself from glancing in the direction he had last seen Yslie. He’d had to look away after he noticed the man standing with her, their closeness stirring up possessive feelings he had no right to act on. She had moved since then, wasn’t in this room anymore. Neither was the man who had been beside her. Peroen attempted not to think about them together and focused on what Qilar had told him. Yslie was fighting for him.
He tried not to read too much into her actions. As an oracle who might have one day been forced to serve the imperial family against her will, she’d feel the injustice of taking Peroen’s choice away. It had nothing to do with him, simply with right and wrong. But he couldn’t squash every kernel of hope that it meant more.
Because if he had to choose right this instant, Yslie would be his choice. Honestly, he didn’t think that would ever change. He had tried to keep an open mind. He knew his choice in wife impacted more than his personal life. Even with the Assembly taking control of the practical power behind the throne, being a part of the imperial family still granted influence and opportunity.
Peroen would much rather see Yslie wield that symbolic power than Triese. Odela also made him uneasy, though without any obvious signs he could point to if he needed to justify his reaction. Sophenie had no interest in the court or politics—she wouldn’t harm Pynth, he didn’t think, but neither would she look up from her books long enough to do any good, either.
Yslie would see herself in the same light as he classified Sophenie, but Peroen knew better. Yslie never called attention to herself, but that didn’t mean she didn’t act. She was quiet, but steadfast. If she could step in and convince the magical races not to take the choice away from Peroen, then he could handle interacting with the humans to further the same goal.
Especially when that goal allowed him to choose Yslie.
