Page 75 of An Arcane Education
“That’s right. You better be on your best behavior, Miss Harver.” He winks, and my stomach swoops.
When I slip back into the Great Hall, the party has become more chaotic. The faculty members are fighting a losing battle against students passing around bottles of what I'm certain is Fae wine, and the energy of the party has become more chaotic.
I find my friends clustered around one of the tables near the back of the room, and they all turn to look at me when I approach.
“Where have you been?” Callista demands. “We were about to send out a search party.”
“I told them you went to the bathroom,” Max says, clearly covering for me. She’s the only one who knows even some of the reality about my situation, and I’m grateful for her willingness to lie on my behalf.
“There's a fortune teller,” Delilah says, gesturing to the back of the massive room where a small corner area is draped in purple fabric. “We were thinking of getting readings done. Want to join?”
I shrug. “Sure, why not?” I’ve never been much of a believer in that sort of thing, but it’s fun if nothing else.
We make our way over to the table, and I vaguely recognize the woman behind the booth. She’s tall andthin, almost willowy in stature, with long, dark hair that reaches her hips.
“She’s an Oracle,” Max whispers. “She’s in some of my Mentalism classes.”
“Wait, is that actually a real thing?” I ask. “Not just some silly, vague pseudo-spiritual stuff?”
“Kind of. Oracles have visions of the future on very rare occasions, so that’s legitimate. But otherwise, they generally just have a slight knack for predicting the future on a really mundane scale.”
Will I ever get used to this sort of thing? Probably not. I can hardly believe there are real, actual people who can see the future, even after learning about magic.
One by one, the others take their turns, stepping into the booth and slipping the fabric drape closed for privacy. Callista goes first, laughing at whatever the Oracle tells her. Avery goes next, emerging looking thoughtful. Then Delilah, who seems pleased with her reading. Max goes fourth, and when she returns to us, her expression is amused.
Finally, it's my turn.
I sink into the chair across from the Oracle, and she flashes me a polite smile. A candle flickers between us, wax pooling in droplets at the base where it’s dried.
“Ask your question,” she prompts.
“Oh, uh, I don't really have a specific question. Could you just maybe tell me what you predict?”
She nods, taking both of my hands in hers and looking at me thoughtfully. Her eyes close, but when she opens them again, they roll back in her head, and only the whites of her eyes are visible.
I resist the urge to pull away, telling myself this is normal, but deep down, I know it’s not. The woman speaks in a resonant tone that’s nothing like the soft one she’d greeted me with.
“Five shall gather where five once stood to change the tides of fate. What is unfinished alone may yet be made whole, and in your greatest weakness, strength will be revealed.”
The candle between us flares, its flame shooting up a foot in the air before dying back down to normal.
Then, just as quickly as it began, it's over. The Oracle blinks, her eyes returning to normal, and she shakes her head, confused.
“I—I’m sorry, I spaced out for a second,” she says. “Let’s do your reading.”
I drop her hands and stand. “Actually, that’s okay. I’m just gonna go.”
She clearly doesn’t remember the weird vision she just had, which means she won’t be able to repeat it. But what the hell did it mean?
I exit the makeshift tent in a daze, and the girls immediately notice that something’s wrong.
“Hey, what happened in there?” Delilah asks.
I shake my head. “I don’t know, but I don’t want to talk about it right now.”
Max furrows her brow, even more concerned now. “Vivian, if she had an actual vision, you should?—”
I cut her off. “Please. Let’s just dance, okay?”
