Page 28 of Oracle's Reign
Peroen was spending so much effort preparing himself to steer his conversation with Odela later in the morning that he almost didn’t realize Sophenie had spoken to him. She never spoke to him beyond saying “good morning” before she settled on the cushions with her book. She was seated in her usual spot, but the book in her lap was still closed.
“What?” he asked, trying to figure out what she had said.
“Last week, you asked Odela and I to switch our portrait sessions. Why?”
He’d hoped that by switching the order of his meetings with the oracles on both days, no one would look too closely at why he might have switched Triese and Yslie’s times. Neither Odela nor Sophenie had even mentioned the switch in all the sessions since then.
Until today. “I thought it best to make sure everyone had a few sittings in the early morning when the light is better.” That was the excuse he had given Triese.
Sophenie glanced at the window, then up at the firestones placed at regular intervals around the wall, their glow amplified by the mirrors behind them. The extravagant use of the elemental artifacts was one of the only ways in which Peroen had ever thrown around his theoretical power as prince. He had spent enough time in his studio over the years—at all hours of the day and night—to justify the expense.
“The amount of light is the same,” Sophenie pointed out. “If anything, switching our times means the shadows are different.”
“If you’d prefer to sleep in later, I can ask Odela to switch back with you.” Peroen tried to puzzle out what had promptedSophenie’s sudden curiosity about how he was painting the portraits. Apart from always sitting on the same cushions, she had never shown any interest in maintaining a single pose from session to session. She didn’t change into the same outfit either. Why did she care about shadows?
“It has to do with Yslie, doesn’t it?”
Peroen set down his palette. “What do you mean?”
He and Yslie weren’t trying to hide their deepening relationship, but he hadn’t gone out of his way to point it out to the other oracles, either. He doubted most of the court had caught on, as they didn’t spend time among the courtiers. Triese was delusional enough to still think she had a chance, and boasted about her relationship with Peroen to anyone who would listen. Odela had to know the truth, thanks to her contacts among the Assembly, but he hadn’t thought Sophenie cared to know one way or the other.
“You are going to marry Yslie,” Sophenie said with a sigh. “In almost all the futures I’ve seen, that’s what happens. I may see too many possibilities to make useful predictions most of the time, but I can tell when the probabilities have shifted.”
“Forgive me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression you didn’t actually want to marry me. Why does it bother you that I have chosen Yslie?”
“I don’t want to marry you,” she confirmed. “I only volunteered because I figured it would be worth it to gain access to the imperial archives. That’s why I was relieved when Odela approached me with a deal. But if you don’t marry her, then she won’t be in a position to grant me access. And lately I’ve seen more possible futures where she marries your father than you. Not that I think those paths are probable.”
“Why are you telling me this now?”
“As I said, the probabilities have shifted. If Odela won’t marry into the imperial family, and I’m certainly not about to, then I need either you or Yslie to help me. I want to make a deal.”
“I’m listening.” Peroen moved away from his easel, not wanting to lean around it to talk to Sophenie.
“I’ll tell you the futures I’ve shared with Odela. In exchange, you arrange for me to get into the imperial archives.”
“I can do that.” At least, Peroen assumed he could. He had never tried to bring someone into the archives, but he didn’t think it would be a problem. The archives were full of historical documents, but any secrets inside existed only because they had been forgotten, not intentionally hidden away from the public.
Sophenie set her book aside. “I can see anywhere from a few hours to a few years into the future, but the farther out I look, the more possibilities there are, and I have no way of telling which is the most likely except educated guesses. My visions are also based on location, not a particular person.”
Peroen would gladly help Sophenie get into the archives without any exchange, but he would not reject the offer of information. “What did your power offer that Odela wanted?”
“She only sees several years into the future, and can’t see the paths that lead to different outcomes. She wanted to use my visions to plan how to make the distant futures she preferred the most likely to come about. Apart from marrying you, she never told me exactly what her goal was, but she always wanted me to focus on the Assembly House when I read the future for her.”
Not surprising. Maybe Sophenie’s information would provide the clues needed to piece together what Odela had offered the Assembly members. And his father. “What did you see?”
Sophenie spent the rest of their time together telling him all the visions she had seen and which ones had caught Odela’s interest the most. Peroen had a good idea of what future Odelawanted to bring about, but he’d share everything with Pianti and listen to her insights before acting on what he’d learned.
“If you are willing,” Peroen told Sophenie after thanking her, “I’d appreciate it if you didn’t tell Odela what we spoke of.”
“Of course. I want to see the archives, not make enemies.” She gathered her book and stood.
“You could have asked,” he said softly as she passed him on the way to the door. “The very first day, you could have asked and I would have agreed to take you to the archives.”
She shrugged. “There were too many possibilities for me to take the risk. I thought Odela was a safer option.”
“We’ll go during our next session. If the guards won’t let you return without me, we can spend each of our remaining portrait sessions in the archives.”
For the first time, Sophenie placed her hands on her thighs and bowed to him. “Thank you,dyela.”
