“I don’t want to go up to my tower.” Vera yawned. “It’s creepy up there.”

Kale had been trying to convince her to go for at least an hour—ever since she’d started dozing off. “You need better sleep than you’ve been getting.”

“Can’t. Too anxious. Why do you think Suzie wanted us to stay here for two days? What do you think is supposed to happen?”

“It’s already happened,” said a redheaded woman as she pulled the cell door open.

Kale tensed, but Vera placed a hand on his arm. “She’s a friend. Why are you down here, Red? Did something happen?”

“I wanted to give you a gift, a warning, and some advice before you leave.”

“They’re letting us leave tonight?” Vera climbed to her feet, pushing hair back from her face.

“No, you’re going to escape,” said the woman named Red.

Vera’s hands stilled. “Why?”

“Because the king is going to change his mind about setting your friend free.”

“There’s only one way you could know that,” Kale said.

“Yes, yes, I’m an oracle,” Red replied simply.

Vera tipped her head slightly. Kale was certain she didn’t realize she did that when looking into a person’s magic well.

“You won’t find anything interesting there,” Red told Vera.

“You’re human,” Vera said in confusion. “You don’t have any magic.”

“Yes, I am the human oracle. You seem surprised.” Red’s eyes crinkled at the corners with amusement. “Didn’t you take a peek before now?”

“Looking into another’s magic stores wakes my siphon, so I don’t do it unless I have to.”

“But you knew what Missy was,” said Red.

“That just happened. Like I recognized her. Or like my siphon recognized her siphon.”

“Ahh. That makes sense.”

“It does?” Kale thought it made none.

“That’s how oracles recognize each other too. We are like magnets. Like repelling like.”

“If you’re an oracle, why can’t I sense any magic inside you?” Vera asked.

“Oracle magic does not reside inside a being like other magics. It is attracted to us, comes to let us see what we need to, and then it leaves us. Since there is no magic to sense, only an oracle knows another oracle.”

Vera’s eyes narrowed. “You said you didn’t know who the oracles are.”

“I said I’d never tried to find them,” corrected the oracle. “Because I’ve never needed to.”

“Yeah, that’s…” Vera pinched her lips together. “I don’t even have the words.”

“I hadn’t planned to speak to you, but I changed my mind. I’ve decided it is not right to let you die since you aren’t even supposed to be here. Although, the others said you deserved no less.”

“You’re going against your fellow oracles?” That surprised him.

“Saving you is my gift to her,” Red tipped her head at Vera. “For what she’s done for my friends. So don’t go mess everything up,” she warned Kale.

“What about my foster-mother’s plans? Do you know how I can stop them?”

Red shook her head. “I would tell you if I knew. Oracles don’t see all possibilities. We only see what should be. Changing even the smallest thing causes a ripple of untold consequences. Your foster mother is changing everything, and it’s not over yet. But there’s no way for us to know what will happen next or what the damage will be until it’s too late to change it.”

“Cato said I changed something when I saved Missy’s grandmother.”

“He overheard a conversation he was not meant to hear.” Red sighed. “I believe that saving her life was the very thing your foster mother wanted you to do here.”

“Help a lady up the stairs?”

“Cause the death of the human rights leader,” corrected Red.

Vera flinched. “I would never do something like that.”

Kale put a hand on her shoulder to steady her, hoping the oracle was wrong for Vera’s sake.

“He was killed moments ago by a man desperate to feed his young children. That desperate man was a cabinetmaker who made coffins—in recent years, humans have not been able to afford his finer works. When he held up a cart, he had no idea who was in it. Nor did he know what it would mean for the future of all his people, including his children. There was a fight. It was unintentional, but he killed the human rights leader, nonetheless. And then he was executed on the spot. His two children will be taken in by a neighbor, but she will not let them stay for long. She cannot afford the extra mouths.”

“None of that is Vera’s fault,” Kale growled.

“He was supposed to be commissioned for a coffin last night,” said the oracle. “If he had been, he would have had enough money to feed his children for a week—until the next coffin order came in. By saving a woman, whose time it was to die, Vera cost the future of countless people.”

Vera choked on a sob. “I didn’t know any of that, though.”

“I know, but you need to understand how a tiny change affects the larger scheme. It’s why we don’t alter anything in the course of the future.”

“Did Suzie know that rule? She’s arranged every future so I would be here right now. Why didn’t the rest of you stop her?”

Kale didn’t dare move or speak. Someone had hurt Vera. There weren’t marks on her, but she was breaking. Holding back his rage and desire to spill blood was taking all his effort.

“If she could see all the futures, she was no oracle,” assured the woman.

“Then what is she?” Vera asked.

“I wish I knew.”

“Can you unlock my oracle so I can try to stop her?”

“You do not have an oracle inside you,” said Red. “It is not something passed through blood. It is a magic that is attracted to a person with no rhyme or reason.”

“Then how can I stop what is happening?”

“This is my advice to you: If you want to stop Suzie, which you must to save the future we are supposed to have, you need to learn what has already come to pass. You need to know what magic she used and where it came from.”

“Who can see the past?”

“A soul-eater,” answered Kale, finding his voice now that there was something to be done.

“Yes,” agreed the oracle.

“That does not sound like a good thing,” Vera said.

“Soul-eaters harvest their magic from spirits,” explained Kale. “They can call back the spirits of those who might know who Suzie really was.”

“Where do soul-eaters live?” Vera asked.

“Zerzura,” answered the oracle. “The realm of sand and giants.”

Kale clenched his fists at his sides. “It is not the best time for a visit. The Kings and Queens are just coming out of hibernation.”

“What’s that mean?” Vera asked.

“They’ll be cranky and hungry,” he replied.

“When do they hibernate again?”

“Not for five more years.” Damn the Infernals for the blasted timing of all this.

Vera shook her head. “We can’t wait that long.”

Kale forced his legs to remain still. “I know.”

Red stood. “Best of luck to you both. I need to leave. Your escort to the world-gate is on their way.”

“I thought we were escaping,” Kale said.

“You are,” assured Red. “With a little help. Don’t stop for any reason on your way. For your sake and humans everywhere, I hope you find the answers you seek.”

The oracle was only gone for a few minutes when a guard showed up, led by Prince Cato.

“Time for you both to leave,” he announced.

The world-gate was at the center of the Academy. A centaur guarded each turn and doorway along the way. None of them thought to stop Cato, though. When their group finally made it to a seemingly empty room, Vera couldn’t even breathe a sigh of relief that there was no hydra. Going home didn’t mean what it once did. There was no peace or safety there, just more danger and puzzle pieces. And she wouldn’t be there long before the next quest for answers. Cato instructed their escort to stay at the entrance of the chamber.

Quietly to Vera he said, “I can never repay you for saving my sister.”

“Yeah, well I also doomed humankind to servitude.”

Cato tilted his head with a funny look. “Do not be so sure. The leader of the human rights movement was prone to violence and was creating more discord than peace. Or so I felt. With him gone, someone else may have greater success.”

“You seem to know a lot about the movement,” noted Kale.

The prince didn’t reply, but the side of his lips quirked suspiciously. Vera wondered how he’d hidden his participation in the group from his father. She did not doubt that he was part of it, even if he was only a shadow figure.

“If you ever need anything, many here will stand behind you.” He gave a quick, short bow and then backed up.

Yelling echoed down the hall.

“You should hurry,” said the prince. “It’s about time for me to explain to my father that I misunderstood his instructions.”

Vera frowned. “How much trouble are you going to be in?”

“I’ve screwed up worse.”

“Stop them!” someone yelled.

“Time to go.” Kale grabbed Vera and leaped through the gate.

Vera looked back in time to see the prince’s eyes go wide with confusion as a guard charged into the chamber. She had to give it to him. He was a good actor.