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“THERE ARE VERY FEW things I can tell you with absolute certainty. But the fact that you and Raven will clash again is one of them.” Sarena’s focus switched off me, and I saw her slip back into whatever realm allowed her to gaze through the intricate weave of time.
“How?” I asked. “When?” It wasn’t that I was specifically opposed to that scenario—she and I definitely had a gigantic bone to pick, if not a whole skeleton’s worth. Revenge against Raven was one of the sweetest feelings I could imagine. I wanted to see the look on her face when she lost her little war and was held accountable for everything she’d done.
“Not now, but sooner than you think.” Sarena looked directly at me. “Your whole life is building to this one great eventuality. It marks the end of one phase and the beginning of another. A great transition for you and your kingdom.”
“Let me guess; it could go badly if I’m not careful,” I remarked wryly.
Sarena smiled. “Yes, but the same could be said for almost anything.” She tapped her fingers on the tabletop, gathering her thoughts. “What makes this encounter interesting is that to me, it appears to be fixed. No matter how I attempt to view your present, your future, or even your past, you and Raven remain somehow entwined.”
“Great,” I muttered. “Love that.” I wanted very badly to be done with Raven someday, to have her fade into the background of the past. In an ideal world, years down the line, I’d have forgotten her entirely. Now, that seemed disappointingly unlikely.
“It’s remarkable, really.” Sarena fell silent for a few moments. Then she added, “I understand why you despise her.”
I didn’t know why, but something about the way she spoke gave me pause. Her statement was meant to be empathetic, and yet it struck me as incredibly odd. As far as I was concerned, Sarena was an outside party. There was no need for her to choose sides or even hint at an alliance. I found myself abruptly questioning her motives in a way I hadn’t thought to do before.
“Because she killed the man who was, for all intents and purposes, my dad?” More than a trace of bitterness crept into my voice. “Or because she used me and lied to my face, just to come back later and steal my throne away?” I clenched my teeth until my jaw ached. “Yeah, I guess you could say I’m not her biggest fan.”
“Sift through your emotions,” Sarena counseled, her tone gentle. “This is a safe place to sort them out.” She took my hand again. “I am only here to help you.”
Sifting through my emotions was the last thing I wanted to do, but I knew that kind of obstinance wasn’t going to help in the long run. Trying not to clamp down on her hand, I shut my eyes tightly and took a deep breath. The exhale rushed from my lungs all at once, and with it went some of the anxious clutter taking up space in my brain.
I did start to feel better.
“I hate her,” I said out loud. “And I want her to know it.”
“Don’t worry,” Sarena replied. “She does.”
“Yeah, but I want her to hear it from my own mouth,” I continued forcefully. “Like, I want to tell her to her face.”
“You will get that chance.”
“Good.” I opened my eyes and stared at Sarena and Theo. “It’s the least we both deserve.” I hesitated and let out a deep sigh. “Can I ask you something else?”
“Certainly.” Sarena’s attention focused even more intently on me, as if she were preparing to pluck an answer from the aether. “That’s why I am here.”
I chewed my lip. “Does it ever get easier? Trying to assimilate to a brand-new culture? Being the last member of a reigning family? Is there ever a point in the future where I can confidently say I know what the heck I’m doing?” It was hard, the longer I spent anywhere other than Earth, to keep from feeling utterly defeated. My life had turned upside down, and I still hadn’t quite managed to right it.
Which was a wonderful way to spend every freaking day more demoralized than the last. The very concept of optimism was faint and fleeting.
The fact that Sarena took a long time to come up with a reply definitely did not bolster my confidence. I looked down at my lap, lacing and unlacing my fingers while I waited for her to say literally anything. Each passing second only drew the silence deeper in that strange gazebo. I smiled slightly, thinking about what it must have looked like to the outside world.
Finally, she cleared her throat. Theo and I both glanced up. I tried not to let my hopes lift too high—she was probably going to hit me with a platitude that was just vague enough to seem deep. It’s always darkest before the dawn.
“It is possible that I’m not supposed to tell you this,” Sarena began slowly. I noticed Theo’s eyebrows arch just a little bit; even he was surprised. “Forgive me if it should bring you misfortune.”
I should have been feeling apprehension at this point, but honestly, my ears perked up. Maybe I was just craving something more interesting than the gloom and doom in which my life was currently steeping. “No, please,” I prompted the seer. “Go ahead.”
Sarena nodded. “You are a brave woman, Princess Ambrose. I believe that your courage will be that which defines your legacy.” She took the next moment to gather herself, and then she gazed directly into my eyes. “The truth—the one you have been seeking all along—is that you are not the last Cavelon.”
Theo leaned forward. “What?” He furrowed his brow. “How is that possible?”
I barely heard him. The instant the words had a chance to sink in, I felt like I’d been plunged beneath the surface of an ice-cold lake. Everything was far away except the beat of my own heart thrumming loudly in my ears. I stared through Sarena, blinded by shock.
“I don’t know how much more I can say.” Sarena balked, shaking her head. “Look at her, Theo. I fear I have already said too much.”
“Then you may as well say it all,” Theo replied. He reached out and placed a hand on my arm. “Ambrose? Are you in there?”
I saw the two of them as if from a distance, the far end of a long, bright tunnel. Tiny motes of light danced along the edges of my vision, and I wondered if I was just going to pass out on the floor. Although I opened my mouth to reassure them that I was fine, the words had trouble passing my lips. I ended up mouthing syllables without much sound.
“Oh, I’ve made a mistake.” Sarena touched her forehead. “I’m terribly sorry, Princess.”
I made an attempt to shake my head and pardon her, but I just couldn’t move. One thought echoed over and over in the cavernous emptiness of my mind.
Not the last Cavelon. Not the last Cavelon.
I, Ambrose Cavelon, was not the last of my royal line. There was someone else out there, someone who shared my name and my blood. That dawning realization was what broke me out of my stunned fugue at last.
“Who is it?” I demanded, scooting forward to the edge of the bench. “I have to know.”
