Page 35 of A War of Crowns

The excited murmurs ghosting about the edges of the chamber rose to a fever pitch, leaving the herald having to shout, “It’s anOracle, my Lord Chancellor. Here to see Her Majesty.”

At her side, Father Perero jolted to his feet. His eyes desperately searched the open doors of the throne room. “An Oracle?” he whispered. “Bless my stars. An Oracle? Here?”

Seraphina barely dared to breathe.An Oracle?Truly? An Oracle there tosee…her?

“Please,” she called back to the herald, not bothering to wait for Duke Percival to shout on her behalf, as would have been proper. “Please, show her in.” As the chatter within the throne room swelled to a roar once more, Seraphina pushed herself to her feet and all but screamed to be heard over the noise, “We will see her.”

An Oracle. Never had she been so blessed as to see an Oracle in the flesh. They were so very rare, and growing rarer by the generation.

Only three remained in all of Avirel. And yet, one of those rare and extraordinary women had journeyed all that way. Just to see her.

Seraphina trembled while she awaited her first glimpse of one of the Lord’s chosen.

Both royal heralds frantically rapped the floor with their staves, calling for order with the thud of wood on stone. Finally, a tense hush fell over the throne room.

The melodious tinkling of bells shimmered through that silence as a figure swathed in white and gold appeared in the doorway, flanked by seven men armored in crimson, with the golden sun of the Lord painted upon their breastplates. Three walked on her left and three walked on her right.

Her seventh Redguard walked in front of her, always a few steps ahead, as was custom.

Her Shield,Seraphina eagerly recalled from theChronicles of Raena—the account of the first Oracle ever born, as documented within the Scriptures.

So many Chronicles had been lost during the dark days of the Sundering, when Avirel had stood on the brink of destruction by the hands of the Enemy himself.

But Raena’s had survived.

Draped head to toe in gossamer veils with only her eyes visible to the world, the Oracle glided through the throne room like a gilded wraith. The many bells encircling her wrists and ankles punctuated her every step with their song. Small of stature, she would have been easily lost within the pack of red-clad men were her Shield not just as short as she.

But despite the Oracle’s lack of imposing height, there was still something about her, something that drew Seraphina’s eye and stole her breath.

Something…more.

The march of booted feet and the whisper of tinkling bells ceased in unison when the Oracle and her Redguard paused before the dais. But while the Oracle’s Shield immediately dropped to his knees, the other six men took a single step backward to leave the prophetess and her seventh guardsman alone before the throne.

Seraphina looked on with wide eyes, absolutely mesmerized as the Oracle sank to her knees in turn amidst a further shushing of her many bells. The other woman was grace personified, although absolutely nothing of her form was visible beyond a glimpse of her eyes where one veil ended and another began.

But her eyes in and of themselves were undeniably breathtaking. As bright and pure as moonlight, they shone with all the brilliance of the finest Elmorian silver.

“Oracle Tsukiko, the Star of the East,” the Shield announced, his voice echoing from within the confines of the helmet still atop his head, “presents herself before Her Majesty Queen Seraphina, the First of Her Name. She brings well wishes from the Holy Lothmeeran Empire and hopes Her Majesty is in good health and high spirits.”

Tsukiko?Seraphina recognized the name. Tsukiko, the Star of the East, was the only Kunishi Oracle ever to have been born within the recorded history of Avirel.

She was the only Oracle born to Seraphina’s own generation, in fact.

Never had a child of Kuni set foot upon Elmorian soil. But now, Seraphina could see they were being honored with not just one child of Kuni but two, when the Oracle’s Shield removed his helmet to reveal that he bore the telltale bronzed complexion and canted eyes of a Kunishi himself.

But he had no clan tattoo on his cheek.

A great murmuring erupted within the throne room again, curiosity and excitement buzzing together into a singular hum that threatened to swallow all other sound.

Even Seraphina herself felt ready to burst from the sheer enormity of the questions she wished to ask them both. Aside from the obvious question of justwhythey were there within her court at all, there were so many other things she had always longed to know about the mysterious little kingdom of Kuni that was nestled so perfectly in between the much larger nations of Drakmorand Lothmeer.

Was it true all Kunishi children could ride a horse by the time they were four? Was it true some Kunishi were even born with the innate gift to speak with animals? Was it true all of Kuni—men, women, and children—were taught the ways of the warrior from the moment they could walk?

Her curiosity threatened to get the better of her, a desire toknowburning upon her tongue. And yet her silence stretched and yawned into something awkward and lingering. She stood there, still struggling to grasp the reality of the situation: there was anOraclekneeling before her.

Swallowing all her many questions, Seraphina left them unvoiced as she sank back into her place upon the throne. Father Perero remained standing, though, as if now frozen.

“My court is honored to receive Oracle Tsukiko, the Star of the East,” Seraphina called out. “Truly honored. But…Sister.” She fought hard not to worry her fingers against the grooves etched into the arms of the throne when she looked down at the gold-draped woman before her and asked, “Why are you here?”

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