I stopped. Breathed.
“Her eyes were wide open, full of a terror no child should ever know. She looked like she’d been screaming for me for a long time.”
Caspian’s hand found my shoulder. He didn’t speak. Just gripped, hard, anchoring me.
“And then she saw me,” I whispered. “Through whatever connection the woman’s head had built between us, my sister saw me. Screamed my name. ‘Max! Max!’ I reached for her, but the blackness spread and swallowed her. Her hands, her face, her voice. All of it. Gone.”
My nails dug into my knees. I refused to cry again. I’d used up every tear I had the right to spend tonight.
“Describe the head,” Aelindor said, his voice brimming with the steadiness I needed. “Everything you can remember about her appearance.”
I closed my eyes and pulled the image back.
“The face was pale. Drained. Lips completely colorless, like all the blood had been siphoned out long ago. But her eyes were open. Alive. Aware.” I opened my own eyes and met Aelindor’s gaze. “Conscious of every second. Whoever she was, she knew exactly what had been done to her, and she’d been awake through all of it.”
I paused, searching the memory.
“There was a birthmark under her left eye. Small. Shaped like a three-pointed star.”
Both Caspian and Drakken turned to Aelindor, as if the Fae prince were a walking library.
Aelindor drew a sharp breath. His blue eyes went distant, rifling through whatever archive of knowledge he carried behind them.
“Few beings have ever met the Oracle,” he said carefully. “After Xander captured her, he killed her. Severed her head, kept it alive with dark magic, and made himself the sole audience for her visions. No one else gets near that case, not even his inner circle.” He gave the other two heirs a measured nod. “But I’ve seen a drawing of her. Max’s description fits. The colorless skin, the living eyes, the star-shaped birthmark.”
“Cadet Max could’ve seen the same drawing,” Drakken said.
“Where?” I didn’t bother keeping the edge out of my voice. “In a deep mining shaft? Under some rock?”
“So you had a nightmare about a severed head.” Drakken shifted his weight against the tent pole. “You’re worried about your sister, you’ve heard stories about the Collector, and your mind filled in the blanks.”
“Your imagination is impressive,” I said, flat as stone. “But it wasn’t a nightmare. It was a vision.”
“A vision.” Drakken’s mouth twisted. “Last time, you revealed you’re actually a woman. Then you showed off that you could commune with a sentient metal no one else has heard of. And now you’re a psychic.” He spread his hands. “What’s next, Cadet Max?”
I opened my mouth and stared at him.
“Asshole,” Caspian growled. “Ignore him, Max. He’s always been like this. Never fucking agreeable. Never happy. It’s exhausting.”
“What Max experienced was a vision,” Aelindor said, his voice firm. Final. “Coldiron no longer conceals her, not since she left the mine. The DarkVeil acts as a conductor between worlds, between realms, between times. At this proximity, it waspossible for the Oracle to overcome the barriers of distance and reach Max.”
“Even so, why Cadet Max?” Drakken shot back, but the gunfire had left his voice. Aelindor’s logic had that effect. It didn’t silence objections so much as it made them sound foolish by comparison. “What does the Oracle want with her?”
Caspian rubbed his chin. “Could be a trap. The enemy luring Max to the Haven so Xander can add her to his collection.”
“Not exactly a trap. Not the kind you mean,” Aelindor said, sympathy flashing in his deep blue eyes. “The Oracle wants to be set free. Being kept alive as a severed head, conscious of every second—it’s a fate I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. She reached out to Max because Max may grant her the death she longs for.”
“The Oracle’s playing a mind game,” Caspian growled. “Max is green, she’s desperate. If it were my sister, I’d jump into the fire without blinking. The Oracle knows that and she’s exploiting it.”
“Caspian is right,” Drakken said. I glanced at him. It was possibly the first time I’d heard him agree with Caspian on anything. “Max is unknown and untrained. A first-year cadet. If the Oracle wants freedom, why not reach out to us? We’d have a far better chance of cracking that case open.”
“Because only Max can free the Oracle.” Aelindor gave Drakken a sharp look. “It would be a vast mistake to keep underestimating her.”
Caspian shot Drakken a loaded glance.
“Max’s vision told us something else,” Aelindor continued, pulling the thread tighter. “Xander now knows about her. I’ve been trying to prevent that, or at least delay it, but he’s been searching for her. And he isn’t the only one.”
My heart slammed against my ribs. My mind drifted to the demons coming out looking for the One. I’d thought of myself as nobody. A miner’s daughter who could talk to metal.