Nineteen

The Oracle extended the orb to me, her eyes aflame with urgency, as if expecting me to know what to do with it. “Go on,” she pressed, her voice thick with determination. “Take it. Unlock the secrets and see your destiny.”

I clasped my hands behind my back as apprehension stiffened my body. My eyes fixed on the orb.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” I whispered, choking back the acrid taste climbing up the back of my throat.

The Oracle flashed me a look filled with both confusion and annoyance. “You will see.” She grabbed my arm and yanked my hand free. Her eyes set on mine as she placed the orb in my palm. “Look into the orb.”

“How do I know it’s not a trick?” I asked, frowning.

The Oracle shook her head. “Why would anyone trick you about something so important?”

“I don’t know,” I said, holding the orb out in front of me as if someone had placed a tarantula in my hand.

“Look into it,” The Oracle said with more force.

I took her hand and pressed the orb against her palm. “No. This isn’t right. I want to go home.”

I ran out of the building and stopped in front of the shed. Darkness somehow managed to beat me to the shed and stepped in front of it to block me from attempting to use it.

“You don’t know how,” Darkness said, his eyes dark.

“It can’t be that hard. You step inside, and it takes you somewhere instantly,” I said, crossing my arms. I shifted my weight from one leg to the other. “You know what? I’ll walk.”

Each hasty step I took scratched against the pebbly ground as I stormed away from Darkness. The anger brewing inside me surged like a relentless storm in my chest, threatening to consume me. I refused to look back at him… at The Oracle. I just wanted to go home.

My pace quickened, but I could hear Darkness following close behind. The heavy silence between us was unbearable, and I fought back the scalding tears that threatened to spill from the corners of my eyes.

“Remy, please,” Darkness begged, stepping up beside me. His long legs made it easy for him to catch up without even trying. “You don’t know how to leave this place. I don’t want you to leave this place. If you’re out there, I won’t be able to keep you safe.”

“I’ll figure it out,” I said, ignoring the tension in my jaw. “I’m not your problem. I’m not someone you need to protect.”

“Why are you doing this?” he asked, his voice hard but quiet. “Why are you afraid?”

I stopped and sucked in a sharp breath. “I am not afraid.”

“Then what is it?” he asked, placing a hand on my shoulder. “Let me help.”

“It’s not something you can help with,” I said, pressing a finger to my temple. “Look,” I sighed, “I’ve already done enough harm here. Let me go home. I miss my aunt. I miss my room.”

“You miss hiding away from what you were meant to do? Who you were meant to be?”

I ground my teeth. “There is no such thing as destiny.”

“Then hold the orb,” Darkness challenged with firm resolve. “Prove it to all of us that you are not The Bringer of Balance. It will not change how I feel about you. You are mine now to take care of, regardless of what you are or what you are not. We are bound to each other for eternity.”

I exhaled slowly. “This has nothing to do with how you feel about me.”

“Then what is it about? Help me understand.”

“You can’t understand.”

“Why?”

I threw my hand in his direction. “Because look at you. You’re respected and powerful.”

Darkness wrapped his arms around me. “I did not start out this way. Some say I’m cold… heartless. I think you do not see yourself the way I see you. Tell me, Remy, what is stopping you from holding the orb?”

“I don’t want to let everyone down,” I said, looking at my feet as I bit my lip to stop the burning in my eyes and the scratching at the back of my throat. After several breaths, I looked into his eyes. “You all want a savior, someone that can end this with a snap of their fingers. But I am not the one you are looking for. Even if that orb says I am something special, I know better. I’ve been me for all these years, and there isn’t anything in here that can stop the apocalypse. No one knows me better than I know myself.”

“I can’t make you do anything,” Darkness said, squeezing me tight against his chest. “Is it not possible there is something hidden deep within that you just haven’t found yet?”

I quickly wiped away a tear rolling down my cheek. “I met every part of myself the night my family was killed. And every day after that.”

“Perhaps—”

“No,” I said, pulling back to look into his eyes. “I’m nobody. Can you please take me home now?”

“If that’s what you truly want, then I will make it so,” Darkness said, tensing his jaw.

I released a shaky, unsure breath. “I want to go home.”

Chapter

Twenty

My eyes snapped open, pierced by the morning light filtering through the curtains. Distant floorboards creaked beneath the weight of approaching footsteps.

I jolted upright, my heart thudding inside my chest. Each breath came fast as if I’d woken from a nightmare.

I was in my bedroom at Aunt Joyce’s house. My body shivered with the gentle knock at the bedroom door, a voice seeping through the thin wood.

“Remy, sweetie, are you up?” Aunt Joyce asked.

I vigorously rubbed my eyes, grappling with the confusion clouding my memory. I couldn’t remember coming to the house… or getting into bed. The last thing I could remember was standing with Darkness outside of The Oracle’s house. Had it all been a dream?

“Yeah, I’m awake,” I croaked, my voice hoarse.

Aunt Joyce gently opened the door, flashing me a bright smile. Her warm expression warmed every inch of me, and I felt safe.

“Oh, dear. It’s so nice to see you, but you had me a little worried,” Aunt Joyce said, handing me a glass of water. “You should have called first.”

“Why?” I asked.

Aunt Joyce cocked her head. “You don’t remember, do you?”

“No, sorry.”