Oh, crap. “No, thank you.” No need to ponder. She got being prepared. But when did a psychic vision become a self-fulfilling prophecy? “If I know what’s coming, I might change my behavior, might make wrong decisions, based on a supposition.”
“Kaysar would disagree.” Amber flattened a palm on the rounded body of the spyglass, pushing it from Cookie’s range. “But I don’t want to show you what’s coming. I want to reveal something from his past.”
“That would be a big no thanks, too. I’m not peeping into his business. Not without permission.” But she wanted to. Temptation had her number. What she wouldn’t give to see a slice of Kaysar’s life.
No. She shouldn’t. Their relationship was strained enough already. Why add a potential bomb to the mix?
“Do you wish for Pearl Jean and Sugars to live here?” Amber asked.
The oracle planned to talk her around, didn’t she? “You know I do,” Cookie grumbled.
“Do you want a future with Kaysar? Do you want to win him?”
She flashed a scowl. “I do. But he doesn’t desire to be won.” When would he fight for her? Everything was so one-sided. He either showed her the world’s most seductive, attentive Prince Charming or the world’s coldest assassin, but never anything in between. “I’m a pretty amazing person,” she said, hating her whininess. “I protect those under my care, I’m world-changing in bed, and I’m sure I have other winning attributes, too.”
“Do you want to win him?” Amber repeated.
Temper rising, ready for a change of scenery and topics, Cookie clasped the oracle’s hand and flittered to the garden she’d cultivated outside her bedroom.
Warm, dusty air became dry and smoky in an instant. Servants worked out here, smiling and laughing as they pulled weeds from a garden. Pride filled Cookie. She had created so many different kinds of plants and herbs for her prototype garden. She’d even begun experimenting and splicing. The bushes and foliage grew from the earth, thriving in the soil.
The revitalization of the land brought her a sense of fulfillment as nothing else ever had.
Grins widened as the servants spotted her.
“They aren’t being nice to you because Kaysar demanded it. Though he did,” Amber told her, urging her forward. They walked along a dirt path, bushes of every kind flourishing all around. Connected to Cookie but not, exactly as Jareth had predicted. “They know you’re the one responsible for the thriving plant life. They are grateful.”
“Oh. Well.” She cleared her throat. Because of the smoke, not embarrassment. Or need. “What am I going to do about Kaysar, Amber? Nothing is working.” So much for changing topics. “Before you answer, turn off your foresight and live in this moment, okay? So yes, I’m asking you to pretend you’re as dumb as the rest of us.”
“Very well. Here’s something even a fool should know. To get what you want, you’ll have to fight and fall and stand and fight—and accept help when it’s offered.”
Marched right into that one. See? Hadn’t taken long for the oracle to talk her around. “Fine. I’ll peer into Kaysar’s past. But if he protests about it, you’re getting full blame.” She fluttered a hand over her throat, pretending to be scandalized. “Kaysar, darling, Amber forced me to watch.”
The oracle rolled her eyes. “As if you can do any wrong in his mind.”
True. A definite mark for the pro column. “Why do you need to show me this, anyway?” Amber might be a gifted talk-arounder, but Cookie was an excellent staller.
“Did I forget to tell you? King Hador and King Micah are on their way to the palace. They’ll arrive later this evening with thousands of trolls. That’s the bit of news that is currently occupying Kaysar.”
“What?” She spun into the other woman with her skirt, then gripped her shoulders and shook. A habit she’d picked up from Kaysar. “Why didn’t you start with the headline, you exquisite nut? Tell me everything.”
“I’ll give you the highlights of the future, so we can return to the business of the past. The two kings will arrive and seek an audience. They’ll offer a truce Kaysar will refuse.”
“Shocker.”
“This will mark a crucial moment in your relationship with him, and I want you prepared.”
Crucial moment? Gulp. “Are you gearing up to tell me I...lose?”
The seer gave her a pitying look. “That depends on you. And no pressure, but your actions with Hador and Micah this day will have eternity-long consequences.”
No pressure. Right. “I swear you have five seconds to explain what—” Cookie went silent, her spine bowing, throwing back her head. A scream ripped from her.
“Oh, yes,” Amber said with a sweet smile. “I probably should have warned you. Accepting an image or two is easy. Receiving an entire memory is not.”
“You’re the meanest of us all, aren’t you?” she asked between wheezing breaths.
The oracle’s smile widened, her eyes twinkling. “Probably.”