“Now, don’t be mad at me, okay?” he asked, grinning as he glanced toward the hallway.

The whites of The Oracle’s eyes glowed like little flashlights as she stepped out of the shadows. She approached with caution as she held out the onyx orb. The Oracle stopped abruptly when I got to my feet and looked toward the front door.

“Stay, my child,” The Oracle whispered.

“Did he put you both up to this?” I asked, shaking my head as my hands balled into fists.

The Oracle scoffed as Nightmare dashed to stand in front of the door to block my exit. “Darkness had nothing to do with this.”

“It was my idea,” Nightmare said proudly. “Darkness wouldn’t make you see if you didn’t want to.”

“So you’re going to force me?” I asked, clenching my teeth.

The Oracle held up her hand. “No one can make you do anything, but I would like to encourage you. Do you not believe that we should at least know the truth about you? You are not forced into doing anything you don’t want to, but for us, knowing the truth could help us stop the war. With or without your help.”

“So, you’re going to guilt me into it,” I said, releasing a heavy sigh. I held out my hand and groaned. “Fine. Give it to me.”

“Mmm, yes,” The Oracle said, smiling.

I was tempted to take the onyx orb out of her hand and throw it against the wall, but I didn’t get the chance. My body froze as soon as she placed the orb in my palm.

It was a blink in time, but I saw it all. Everything.

Chapter

Twenty-Two

My knees gave out as blackness swirled around my head. There were arms around me, carrying me somewhere, but I couldn’t see anything. Everything that had ever been contained in my brain was swimming around, trying to fall back into the right place in the time of events in my life.

It wasn’t just my life that flashed through me. I’d caught a glimpse of the person who was The Bringer of Balance.

She was incredibly gorgeous with long, wavy black hair. Her body was slim but muscular, with every small curve well-defined in her dark green bodysuit.

Balance looked at me, offering me a warm, welcoming smile. “It’s taken you too long.”

“I… I don’t know what you mean.” The words floated through my head, but my lips didn’t move.

“To replace me,” she said, her brown eyes warm like melted chocolate. She held out her hand. “Here.”

I took her hand, feeling the warmth against my skin. She brought me to the edge of a cliff overlooking a massive body of water.

“Beautiful, isn’t it?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied, my voice floating from my head.

“It used to be like that here,” she said, the wind blowing her hair around her face. “They took the artifacts. They invaded our sacred lands, and they tortured and eventually killed me.”

I brought a shaking hand to my mouth. “It’s not me.”

“It is you.”

“I don’t know what to do?”

She gave me a smile that warmed my soul. “There is nothing you have to do. Being you is what brings balance, and that is all that they need. You alone can stop the war by being you.”

“They’re all so powerful and strong and have these abilities,” I said, swallowing hard. “I can’t do anything.”

“Everyone starts out the same,” she said, giving me a quick hug. “It all comes with time.”

I snorted. “I don’t have time. It’s like they expect me to know how to stop the war.”

“No one expects anything. You can only be what you are, right?” She looked off in the distance and waved at something I couldn’t see. “I must leave you. We will never speak again, but it was very lovely to meet you, Bringer of Balance.”

Before I could object, my eyes snapped open. I inhaled a sharp breath as if I’d been deprived of oxygen for several minutes too long.

“Well?” Nightmare said, his eyes wide.

With a sigh, I sat up, leaning forward to rest my elbows on my knees. There were flashes in my mind as I recalled everything that had just happened. I’d had visions of my parents knowing they were bringing someone special into the world.

They concealed me from everything and everyone, assuming no one would ever find me in the real world. I hadn’t thought about it, but before their murders, I hadn’t left the house even then. I’d always been locked away. Hiding in my room to stay safe had been etched into me long before I lost them.

“I don’t have any special abilities, so I don’t know what you all want from me,” I said, my leg bouncing.

Storm stepped into the room from the hallway, flicking me a look. “So, it’s true?”

“If we are to believe the orb, I guess it’s true,” I said, exhaling loudly. “But I’m not sure I do.”

“We definitely believe the orb,” Storm said, tilting her head. “Guess I was wrong about you.”

I laughed. “You’re not wrong. I have no special abilities.”

“You do, though,” she said with a shrug. “You bring balance to everything around you.”

“It doesn’t feel that way,” I said, turning to The Oracle. “What am I supposed to do?”

She cupped the orb and closed her eyes. With a groan, she squeezed her lids tighter.

“Nothing. I can’t see anything,” she said, frustration causing her to throw her hands in the air.

“You don’t see anything at all?” Nightmare asked, pressing his fist to his thigh.

The Oracle’s eyes bore into him. “I only see all the artifacts gathered together in one place, but I can’t even see what that place is!”

“When Darkness returns, we can get them all together here,” Nightmare said, his head bobbing confidently.

“That sounds like a catastrophic idea,” Storm interjected, forcefully expelling an annoyed breath.

Nightmare’s gaze hardened. “How so?”