I shared a glance with Ash, and he nodded. But before we could step forward, the oracle spoke again. “Only the Iron Queen,” she said, as I looked up sharply. “I can take only one with me into the pool. This is the queen’s decision, no others’.”
“This is Ash’s son, too,” I protested. “He deserves to see this.”
“I cannot,” the oracle said simply. “I can show only one, and you are the queen. This responsibility, and the choice that comes with it, falls to you.”
Ash took my arm, gently drawing us away from the shimmering light of the pool. Puck nonchalantly moved between us and the oracle, crossing his arms and smirking at her, making sure she didn’t follow, but she did not move.
I looked up at Ash, and he offered a faint smile, taking my hands. “It’s all right,” he murmured, gazing into my eyes. “I trust you. I know you’ll do what’s best for our son, even if I can’t be there. Just remember this, Meghan.” One hand rose to cup my cheek. “Whatever the oracle shows you, no matter how bleak or terrible or frightening, it hasn’t happened yet. Don’t let her terrify you into doing something we’ll both regret.”
I nodded, my heart pounding. Ash lowered his head and kissed the side of my neck, right below my ear, and I shivered. “I love you,” he whispered. “Know that I’m with you always, even if you can’t see me.” He pulled back just enough to place a soft kiss on my lips, his gaze intense. “Whatever you discover, you’re not alone. You have me, and Puck, and a whole kingdom, ready to stand beside you at a word. There is nothing the oracle can reveal that will make us abandon you.”
My throat felt tight. I wanted to fall into him, to curl into his arms and shut out the whole world. But the oracle was watching us; I could feel the hollow pits of her eyes on the back of my head, and I could not appear weak, not now. So I pressed a palm to Ash’s cheek, trying to convey what I felt without words. He covered my hand with his own and smiled.
Then I turned, raised my chin and walked back to the oracle.
She was no longer in the same spot but had drifted out into the center of the Dreaming Pool, still watching my every move as we joined Puck at the edge. Our reflections gazed back at us, perfect mirror images on the glassy surface: the Iron Queen, her knight and the infamous Robin Goodfellow, smirking at the hag in the center of the pool. The oracle stood on top of the water, as if the pool was only an inch deep. Though the water was so still, it was impossible to discern the bottom; all I could see was the brambly roof of the grotto, reflected back at me.
“Step forward, Iron Queen,” the oracle beckoned. “Come to Anna, and I will show you your son. Remember, only you are allowed this privilege. Your knight and the Summer prankster must stay behind. Do not worry, it will not take long.”
“Oracle,” Ash said in a deadly calm voice as I took a step forward, halting at the water’s edge. “I am trusting you with the well-being of my wife and a queen of Faery,” he continued as I hesitated. “If she returns harmed in any way, not only will you face the wrath of the entire Iron Court, you will have to deal with me, personally.”
“Yeah, and he won’t be alone, either,” Puck chimed in, sounding more serious than I’d heard in a while. “You’ll have to deal with both of us, not to mention a very pissed-off Summer King. And probably the entire Seelie Court.” He grinned then, but it was one of his scary, evil smiles. “Just a friendly warning to bring her back unscathed.”
The oracle pursed her bloodless lips. “Your queen’s physical body will be in no danger,” she said reluctantly, as if being forced to read the fine print of a contract. “However, glimpsing the future, even a small part, is a serious matter, and can be traumatizing for weaker minds. I cannot promise that your queen will not be changed by what she will see. I can only show her the future. I cannot be responsible for how it affects her.”
Puck turned a worried gaze on me. “Sure you wanna do this, princess?”
I felt Ash at my back, remembered his words, the look in his eyes, and felt no fear. “Yes,” I said firmly, facing the pool again. Ash had seen our future, a possible one, anyway, and it hadn’t stopped him. I needed to do this, to discover everything I could about my child, our son. “I’m ready,” I told the oracle. “Show me what you’ve seen. I want to know.”
“Then, come,” the oracle whispered, holding out a hand. “Step into the Dreaming Pool, Meghan Chase. Step into the pool, and I will take you to your son.”
I walked forward, expecting the sink below the surface, to wade out to where the oracle floated above the water. But the pool was only an inch deep, after all, because the water didn’t even come past my ankles, barely soaking the hem of my jeans as I walked out to the middle of the pool. The water barely rippled as I passed, maintaining its near-perfect glassiness even when my footsteps broke the surface. By the time I reached the oracle, waiting in the center, the pool had returned to absolute calm once more.
The oracle’s eyeless holes scanned my face. “Are you certain this is what you wish?” she asked, as if this was the last formal courtesy she had to get out of the way. “You cannot unsee what you are about to discover.”
“I’m sure,” I said.
She nodded once. “Then look down, Iron Queen. Look straight down, into the water.”
I looked down.
My reflection stared back at me, perfectly clear. I felt like I was standing on a piece of glass or a giant mirror, rather then the surface of a pool. But, then I stared past my image, past my head, to where the ceiling of the grotto should’ve been reflected in the water’s surface.