Wyatt opened his eyes when he felt Nev pull one of her hands from his. He breathed a short sigh of relief to see her still safely with him. The feeling, however, was short-lived. He followed Nev’s gaze to the person… thing standing next to the throne. He squeezed her hand tightly and whispered, “Nev, be very careful.”
The man from the throne smiled at Nev. His toothy grin and thin lips made her skin crawl. “My dear, it has been far too long. I am the Oracle, and you are the one I have been waiting for,” he said with an eerie calmness.
Nev squeezed Wyatt’s hand and then pulled away from his grasp. She took a couple of wary steps toward the throne and then stopped, studying the Oracle studiously for several minutes.
Wyatt had reluctantly let her move away from him. “Don’t get any closer to him. He is… evil,” Wyatt warned quietly.
“Evil? What is evil is the constant meddling of your kind and your continued interference with her destiny,” the Oracle sneered at Wyatt. Glaring intensely at Wyatt, he gestured with his hand. “Now, I think you have interfered more than enough.”
Wyatt felt the air grow thin around him. He moved to take a step forward and found his legs would not comply. Instead, he slid down to the ground and found himself kneeling. “What did you do to me?” Wyatt asked furiously.
“Me? I simply let you feel the true weight of the guilt you carry. Ah… human minds are so easily toyed with,” the Oracle noted, he briefly smiled at Wyatt before turning his focus back to Nev.
“You, my dear, you are different, though. I can feel the strength in you. It is like nothing I’ve ever tasted. And I’ve consumed many. Since the first, I have shaped your lineage. Avoiding the unpredictability of Tinkerer blood, but now I see that may have been a tragic mistake. You are truly special,” the Oracle surmised, his voice dripped with hunger as he walked closer to Nev.
Nev was standing still and did not seem to see or care that the Oracle was now only inches from her. She stared at the throne, entranced by it.
“You hear it, don’t you? It calls to you. It is not just in your blood, but of your blood. All blood holds power, but some more than most. Tinkerers dabble in this power. You, Nevara, and your family have reveled in it and devoured it for generations,” the Oracle explained softly. Walking up behind Nev, he let his hands idly push her hair across her back.
Seeing that thing touch Nev, sent chills through Wyatt. “Don’t touch her! Nev, listen to me—please! You need to walk away from him… and it,” Wyatt pleaded, his face panicked and angry.
“I can hear it, Wyatt. It’s like the amulet, but so much stronger. It wants to show me things. It will help me unlock my potential, and it knows the truth of my mother and father. It possesses every answer I’ve ever sought,” Nev said, her voice sounding lost.
“I can hear it too. But it is dangerous—evil. And it is not you,” Wyatt warned, his voice desperate. He could sense the malevolent energy emanating from the man and the throne. Its pulsing was loud and unrelenting. Most frightening, however, was the sense he had that Nev was being drawn into it. She was already feeling more distant, and the chasm growing between them was terrifying.
“He is wrong,” the Oracle contradicted. “It is you. You are Nevara. You are a raven. The raven. And this is your destiny. Your mother named you to empower herself, but she was wrong. Your name does hold immense power. But that power always belonged to you, not her.
“Your mother tried to deny what she was as well… for a time. She ignored her destiny and chose your father. Then you were born. She could sense the power within you. As could I. The daughter of a Colfax and a Tinkerer. Such a child had never existed before. You are special. And soon, the lure of that power became too much for your mother to resist.
“She offered you to me. Your mother wanted to use you, use your blood to galvanize her weakening reign and herself. You were to be her ultimate offering, but your father interfered. I thought all was lost. I thought you were lost until I sensed whispers that you were alive. I created the prowlers to find you and allowed Malicus and Razine to feel like they pulled the strings. However, they were simply the tools I forged and used to attain my goals. In the end, they all proved less than reliable and outlived their usefulness.” The Oracle whispered in Nev’s ear as he sent his shadowed fingers deep within her mind.
“My mother… father… I,” Nev’s voice faltered as her mind desperately tried to find another explanation that fit. Her heart ached as the truth pierced through her.
“You sense the truth of it, as you have sensed many things. You are so much more than either of your parents could have ever imagined. You’re to be empress. You’re to sit upon the throne, and you are to be mine. Give yourself to the throne, to me, and to your fate, and I will give you such power in return. Your descendants will feed a new age in Obsidia. There will be peace. You will have peace,” The Oracle said softly. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gently began walking her towards the throne.
Wyatt could feel the Oracle’s presence in his mind, planting doubts and urging him to just let go. Desperately Wyatt tried to stand. “Nev! Please… you must listen to me. You have to stop!” he screamed with anguish. His eyes flashed with terror as he watched her being led towards the throne.
“No, no… this can’t
