Page 82 of A War of Crowns

But it was the woman who immediately drew Seraphina’s eye. She seemed to shine with a brilliance all her own, even within the dim light beneath the trees.

An Oracle.

As the Oracle’s Redguard dealt with what enemies remained, the woman herself turned to look down at the two children. Even covered as she was by an Oracle’s customary veils, it was easy enough to see the way her gaze shimmered. The way a single tear trickled from the corner of one eye.

“There you are,”the Oracle whispered over the melody of the trickling water and the swiftly fading sounds of battle.“For so many years have I searched for you, little Sister…”

Just as the Oracle reached out a hand toward young Tsukiko, the forest melted away. Seraphina stood within a great nothingness, alone with Tsukiko as she was now.

The grown woman and Oracle she had become.

Seraphina gazed into those silver eyes and into the vast sea of unshed sorrow they contained as Tsukiko further whispered within her mind,Who are you?

Seraphina rubbed her cheeks to rid herself of her own tears. Her heart ached for little Tsukiko, for little Ichiro, and their lost mother.

But she didn’t know how to answer this latest question any more than she had known how to answer the first.

I am no one. I was not born for greatness as you were, Tsukiko.A humorless laugh escaped Seraphina’s throat. It echoed strangely within that great nothing.I am the daughter my father never wanted? The queen who was never meant to be?

A sudden breeze whipped past, sending Tsukiko’s many veils to snapping in the wind. In the next moment, the Oracle dissipated like mere wisps of smoke and Seraphina stood alone.

But Tsukiko’s question remained.

Who are you?

The peal of bright laughter that followed those words promptly shattered Seraphina’s heart as easily as glass. She turned to face its source with fresh tears in her eyes, even though she already knew from whence it had come. She would have recognized that laughter anywhere.

Mother.

She stood within the queen’s chambers at the palace in Goldreach, watching her younger self and her brother running circles about the furniture while their mother chased them.Hamon.

Little Hamon.

She remembered that day. It had been a year before the wasting sickness ravaged Goldreach and took their mother. Before their father had placed even more responsibilities on Hamon and turned him cool and serious.

Seraphina pressed a hand over her mouth and watched her brother laughing and leaping about like a stag in the woods. He looked so young. They both did.

And theywere happy.

“Mama, I’m tired,”young Seraphina complained, flinging herself onto the sofa.“I want to play a new game.”

Silvia de la Croix stopped to catch her breath as well, smiling.“I know just the game to play. I’ll teach you how to play Sovereign.”

Hamon wrinkled his nose.“That sounds like a girl’s game.”

“Sovereign is a card game, my love. And anyone can play it.”

Hamon clearly wasn’t convinced. He sighed and made a big production of flopping himself onto the sofa as well.

Young Seraphina watched their mother with wide eyes, though, as the queen pulled out a deck of Sovereign cards and revealed each of the four different cards one by one.

The King. The Queen. The Knight. The Knave.

“Sovereign is a rather simple game,”their mother explained with a smile,“and many believe the only way to win is through luck. But that’s not true.” Silvia leaned in closer and imparted on a whisper,“The true way to win is to know your opponent and anticipate their next move.”

“How do you play?”young Seraphina asked.

Their mother shuffled the cards and further explained,“You have four rounds per game. We will play together so you can see for yourself. I will place one card facedown on the table, and then you will do the same. We will turn them over at the same time and see who won that round. And then we will do that three more times. Whoever wins the most rounds wins the game.”

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