Page 48 of The Oracle of Dusk

“I’m an initiate of Knowledge.”

“And what is your high priestess called? Where is your homeland?”

Aurora looked away. Goddess, how was she supposed to explain the circumstances without sounding altogether mad? Orithyia lashed out with the switch, her blow a hairsbreadth from Aurora’s face. She flinched.

“I’m not asking these questions as some kind of social nicety, and I will not ask twice.”

Sweat rolled down her aching back. If she didn’t answer honestly, the high priestess was sure to know. But if she spoke the truth, would it set her free?

“My high priestess is Orithyia CLXI of the Viridian empire. This is my homeland, or it will be, in several thousand years. The artefact you took from me allowed me to travel back in time. That is why I know about the passage, that the cycle of calamity begins this year, and that the first monstrosities will appear at The Colonnades Of The Colossus. Because that is what is written in our history books,” Aurora replied, mustering her remaining courage to look Orithyia in the eye.

Orithyia raked her with an assessing gaze, her brows furrowing.

“Either you’re the maddest creature in all of Trisia, or you bear the saddest fate in the Tapestry.”

She wished she were mad. At least then, Phaedra wouldn’t have truly died. If only everything were just the delusions of a madwoman.

“What did you hope to accomplish by telling me these things?”

“I want to stop the calamity from ever happening. I want to kill Drakon so that he never rises again. I must. It’s the only way to prevent the future I experienced from happening.”

Orithyia laughed.

“You wish to change the course of time?”

“Yes.”

“Are you certain? All threads on the Tapestry are connected. If you remove one, there is no telling how many will be affected. Everything you knew, all yourhistory, could be altered beyond recognition.”

Without the calamity occurring every few hundred years, no doubt the whole of Trisia would look very different. What could they accomplish without the need to rebuild every few centuries? How many brilliant minds would be born and flourish if they weren’t lost to the cyclical annihilation or the simple need to survive? How much of this world could be saved, preserved, if it weren’t wiped out or altered beyond repair? The cycles of chaos would still occur, tied to the alignment of the sinister planets, but without Drakon, maybe her time would stand a chance, even if she never returned. Even if she had no home to go back to, or it was as foreign to her as this one. As long as Phaedra had a chance to be born, to live, to love, to thrive, then it would all be worth it.

“I’ll take that chance. The alternative…it cannot be allowed to happen.”

“You are a determined little thing, if nothing else.” Orithyia smiled. “What are you called?”

“Aurora.”

“Aurora, I will take the information you’ve given me under advisement and rescind my order to have you arrested. On the chance that you’re not simply mad, you will be treated with the respect due to a visiting member of a foreign temple’s pantheon—with a caveat. I will not tolerate you running around my temple, causing trouble. Queen Flora owes me a favour and is accustomed to hosting foreign dignitaries. You will be assigned quarters in the guest palace here in the capital, and you will remain there until further proof is acquired as to your trustworthiness. Until then, you will keep what we spoke about here to yourself. Understood?”

Aurora’s heart swelled with hope. She’d done it. If she could continue to gain Orithyia’s trust, she could prevent Drakon from ever bringing another calamity. Phaedra would live.

“Thank you!”

“Do not thank me. If the monstrosities don’t appear at the Colonnades, I shall have you blinded, your tongue removed and your feet cut off, after which you will be forced to crawl your way out of this queendom or be eaten by wild dogs, whichever comes first.”

Orithyia pulled a cord near her chair. The door opened immediately. Another strange paladin of Knowledge stepped inside.

“Remove her bindings and see she is comfortably situated in the guest palace. Tell Her Majesty that I’m calling in that favour she owes me.”

Aurora swallowed, praying the events at the Colonnades had been recorded faithfully and passed down the ages without embellishment. If not, Drakon would be the least of her worries.

Chapter 11

Theronglaredupatthe enormous statue of Knowledge.

In Her temple, he could feel Her presence in every breath he took. Like the lone mourner at a party, the black columns of the temple were a distinct incongruity in the colourful capital of Altanus, the dark robes marking the initiated devout, tapestries the shade of midnight billowing in the breeze, the glittering black floors like an endless abyss. But the temple and everything inside it, though sharing the same hue, had been embellished with the occasional sparkle and vein of silver, making him feel as though he’d been thrust into the night sky. It was as though he were a tiny speck in the universe.

Knowledge, She of the fathomless gaze, stared back, obsidian gemstone eyes glittering.

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