The Raven Lord | Book I

X. The Seer

My heart pounded in my ears, my hands gripping my dagger, my knees bent, ready to attack if need be. 

"There's no need for that, dear," the woman in front of the fire chimed. 

My breath was ragged as I beheld her: her face, sagged by years spent in the sun, was set by sunken, purely white eyes. Although she appeared truly ancient, her voice was like that of a song, sung by both the young and the old.

"Aniah..." I questioned reluctantly. The woman grinned widely, but it looked like she was baring her teeth. 

"That would be me." She swept her arm toward the chair across from her, motioning for me to sit. When I stayed by the door, her grin faded into a deep frown that increased the wrinkles on her ancient face. "There isn't much time. There is much to say before that handsome friend of yours comes looking for you."

"Lex?" I said.

A bemused smile cracked her face. "Ah, so it has begun, then?" 

"What-"

"Never mind that." Aniah tilted her head to the side, as if she could hear things that weren't truly there. "Know this, Kaira. There will come a time when you must make a difficult decision." 

I snorted, "I've already done that a few times just this week."

It could have been the lack of light in the room, but I swore that Aniah's cloudy eyes turned dark, her wrinkled fingers curling in her lap. "It is true that life is made of trials and tribulations, but you already know that." A toothy smile. "You have seen much, girl, but the most dangerous thing you could do is believe that you have seen it all."

My toes curled in my slippers and my mouth went dry. Something wasn't right. Something felt off.

Aniah glanced at the closed bronze door, her eyes narrowing. "Know that when the time comes to make that decision, the answer is written on the heart."

What kind of cliché answer was that? I wanted to scream at her. As if my life wasn't already confusing enough. 

I opened my mouth to speak but Aniah's gaze locked on the door as she said, "Bring it in. Do not be shy."

The door behind me creaked open, and Lex filled the door frame, the goblet clutched tightly in his hands. His amber eyes scanned my face, but the expression he wore was cold: he was once again the stone faced lord I had seen on my first day in Stygia. He nodded once at me, and I slipped my dagger back into its sheath. 

It 's just a façade, I told myself.

﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀﹀

Lex

Kaira had gone pale. 

When I walked into the room, her eyes were wide and I could see the fear hidden in them: the stain of deeply rooted wounds. I couldn't help but wonder if one day she would tell me what it was that sent that fear through her. And that terrified me, because I knew that once she did, I would stop at nothing to make it disappear. 

Aniah grinned and looked at me with those cloudy eyes, as if she could hear the thoughts that rooted themselves deep within me. She rose from her spot by the fire, her form bent and crooked. 

"Do you know the power that you hold, boy?" Aniah's voice bounced off the walls in a way that seized my spine, causing me to wonder if she really meant the goblet in my hands. 

I nodded once and she looked to Kaira who stood silently beside me. 

"With a simple ritual, the person whose blood is spilled into Vates, the goblet, will be able to see whatever they wish." Aniah said with a cluck of her tongue. "They only need ask."