Page 21 of The Oracle of Dusk

Silvanus reached over and cut through the silk without a word.

Beneath the wrapping, a familiar box greeted her. They were the ones used at the dig site to hold artefacts. Aurora remembered the numbers on the side—the very same ones she’d used to catalogue her artefact. With shaking hands, she opened the lid, revealing the small, damaged globe she’d unearthed at the ancient temple. Aurora’s throat constricted with emotion, her vision now entirely clouded by tears.

“You stupid cow,” Aurora cursed, closing the lid.

“Ugly crier.”

“I h-hate you,” Aurora stammered.

“Yeah? Well, your hair looks terrible.”

“How could you do this?”

“With minimal effort. They left it out in the open.”

“Phaedra!”

Phaedra reached up, her cold, clammy hand wiping tears from Aurora’s face.

“You’re more than just the shit hand that Fate has dealt you, and I was worried you’d forget that.”

“Fae…”

She squeezed Aurora’s arm, her voice suddenly fierce.

“You’re a scholar. And after all the lectures about the long-dead King Theron and his long-dead bloody language you made me sit through, I’ll never let you forget it.”

Aurora choked on a teary laugh. Had it been less than a day since her whole life had been ripped out from under her? How quickly things had fallen away—her priorities, her pride, her sense of safety, of self. Yet even here, Phaedra lifted her up and out of the gloom. Aurora clutched the small box to her chest.

“You should have been more worried about yourself. If only for my sake,” Aurora sniffed.

Phaedra waved off her concern.

“We’re going to Gilvus next, right? Well, look forward to some pampering at my favourite beach houses while stuffing our faces with succulent seafood. If you’re going to be concerned about something, be concerned for my waistline.”

“No, actually, we won’t,” Silvanus cut in.

Both Aurora and Phaedra stared at him in bewilderment.

“What do you have against fun?” Phaedra asked.

“Nothing.”

“Liar.”

“Where else would we go?” Aurora asked.

“To the nearest major temple,” Silvanus replied. “We’ll find the most protection nearest powerful sites of divine magic.”

“What about awakening?”

Had he already given up on her? Was she truly hopeless? Could it be that all that was left for her to do was to cower inside one of the temples and pray the goddesses sent someone else to save them from Drakon?

“You already awakened your wild magic. Long ago, I suspect,” he answered.

“Did you hit your head in that fight?” Phaedra asked.

“I’ve never wielded magic before in my life. Nothing happened at the wellspring here! You saw it for yourself.”

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