“I learned of her deception and sent my shadows deep inside her mind. She was mine again and was going to give the baby to me. She had all but completed her bargain when the father interfered. I had not known about the ring then and had underestimated the Tink’s abilities and efforts to keep the child hidden. I didn’t expect a man to feel his daughter was worth the wrath it would bring upon him. Selflessness is such a rare and troublesome quality to find in someone.
“So, I unleashed my vengeance on the world. I allowed a mad emperor to rule and crush the land he once claimed to love with a prophecy of my design. I encouraged you and others to kill all the Tinks, except for those who showed promise. Those rare individuals, I twisted to my will before sending them to hunt the one thing their kind had dared to hide from me.
“I surrendered the empress to her fate and then had her very essence drained from her body. The empress’ last gesture was to feed the prowlers’ hunger and mine. Her blood augmented the unyielding appetite the prowlers possessed to hunt her daughter—the very child she risked everything for. Finally, I let fear and evil wash over the land as I sent my fingers deep into the mind of a man who was hungry for power.
“Surely, you have felt me pull the strings of your thoughts from time to time. Perhaps when you and Malicus were so certain that you should rise against the empress? Or that the Tinks and young women were a threat? Or when you hunted for the very thing you insisted didn’t exist? You have been mine for so long you’ve forgotten what it is like not to have me in your head,” the Oracle explained with an icy and callous tone. He grinned with delight as Razine slowly began to realize the truth of it all.
“You used me. All the death, all the suffering… it was because of you?” Razine asked in disbelief, feeling like a fog was finally beginning to lift from his mind.
The Oracle cackled and corrected, “Ah, I am powerful. But I cannot make anyone do anything. I simply encourage and nudge in the direction I wish them to go. Any cruelty you have unleashed, it was your doing, not mine.”
“If that is true, then I can undo it. I can stop this madness,” Razine declared firmly and decisively.
“I’m afraid it is too late for that. The one that has been lost to me for so long is returning. She’s grown very powerful. I will take her, shape her, and then the cycle will continue. Perhaps I will even let her keep her Tink, for a time. Their children would encompass great power. They would present a risk, of course, but their strength might prove able to sate my appetite. Once she sits upon the throne that I created for her ancestors, my connection to her will be complete. I will not be fooled or let her slip through my grasp again. And I will not make the same mistake I made with her mother. Her blood will flow, and it will feed me for generations to come,” the Oracle proclaimed with a sinister grin.
“No! I willhelp her when she comes. Then I’ll help fix what you have done and send you back to whatever evil rock you slithered out from,” Razine declared decisively.
“No, you won’t. A promise was made, and her ancestral blood will flow to fulfill it. Now, she is coming. And you should be silent,” the Oracle hissed before glaring at Razine. He watched as the throne room’s attendant scurried into the room and swiftly pierced Razine’s neck with a small dart. “Everyone desires something, even the lowly servants. And even the noblest of desires can be twisted. Know that the poison he gave you will not kill you, just keep you from interfering. You will be a gift—The first gift to the new empress. Now, to learn what our new empress desires and bend her to my will.” Sensing her immediate arrival, the Oracle savored the sense of rapidly growing anticipation.
The attendant ignored the Oracle. Instead, he leaned close to Razine and watched him crumple to the floor. “Always ignored me. Now you see me,” he said, before scurrying out of the room laughing.
Razine felt his eyes grow weary, and the air thick. He’d been determined to resist slumping onto the ground. Even so, he found himself too tired to move. Stand! You must not succumb to this. To him, he thought as he felt his muscles become heavy and unresponsive. Despite his body becoming still, his senses remained aware.
In a flash of light, Nev and Wyatt appeared in the throne room. She opened her eyes and was relieved to see Wyatt standing across from her, his hands still wrapped around hers. Not waiting for Wyatt to open his eyes, Nev scanned her surroundings rapidly. Peering behind Wyatt, she saw a man that appeared to be General Razine. He was awake, but lying several feet away and unmoving. She’d seen him in drawings and was certain she recognized his uniform.
Pivoting to stand beside Wyatt, she let one of her hands break free from his reassuring embrace. Her eyes swiftly moved on and locked onto the throne. It was black like her dagger’s blade, but it was menacing and pulsing with energy. Beside it, stood an
