Chapter 26
Ireturned to my chambers after Ozanna excused herself and Oshruli from the library. He was over tired after an afternoon looking at books and picking up the words we introduced to him. I’d held up very well during breakfast and throughout our afternoon, but when the doors closed behind me, I gave into the trembling that wanted to start the moment I realized Oz was carrying twins. Leaning against the doors, I stared down at my shaking hands.
She wasn’t supposed to have twins. In those last moments before I carved the Oracle out of my being, like the cancer it was, I’d only ever seen Oz with Lobikno’s baby … for the immediate future, at least.
Something had changed.
When I realized it, I’d automatically reached out for that power that wasn’t there anymore, only to be reminded of its absence.
I stood there staring into my parlor and laughed at the irony. “I wish I’d had the foresight to not get rid of my foresight,” I giggled and moved to the window, opening the frosted glass to look out on the courtyard. Then out to the fields and houses beyond the curtain wall. I had a sense that the Oracle was still out there, somewhere. It had been cast away recklessly on an impulse, I’d not considered where it might go. How would I even go about finding it? I scoffed. Why even consider such a foolish thing? I’d cast it out for good reason. But what if Ozanna’s second child was just the first wrong thing? Or worse, what if it’s not the first and I just don’t know it?
“First thing first,” I murmured to myself, “I need to find a teacher.”