The Final Prophecy (The Oracle Series Book 3)

by N. J. Cooper

  Kyla gasped and awoke to another yellow serum being shoved at her. She sighed and took it with a shaky hand before looking at Zarek’s encouraging nod and fell back into her memories.

  She was back in front of the screen that showed her memories and just like last time, it flickered to life with a memory of her. She was with King Carrick and he was telling her about his imminent death. Kyla sniffled as tears sprung. He was asking her not to tell Zarek and she agreed. The next memory was just as hard to watch, it was her letting Zarek go. When she had let him go back to Elanor at the alter. The final one was her fighting Onyx and then sending the broadcast to the realm for help, asking for aide in the battle for the mansion. The memory clicked off and she was once again thrust back into reality heaving. She was taken back into the other room just as the day before and when her IV was connected, she sighed. The feeling was instantaneously better. She leaned her head back and let the fluids make her body feel normal again. When the Queen came in, Kyla was already finished and didn’t bother saying anything. The Queen was weaker than the day before and Kyla took that as a good sign. She went back to her room and called Sky and Wyatt to update them. She was allowed to tell them what she saw, and they were ecstatic that it was working but she quickly told them not to get too excited.

  “Guys, stop. The whole point to this is getting proof. We can’t do that if the Queen is as good at acting as she says.” Kyla admitted, leaning back on her freshly made bed, holding the phone above her so she could still see the video chat.

  “She won’t pass. Even if she acts it out, tomorrow is morality and your memories will expose her anyway.” Sky said. Kyla frowned.

  “How so? Morality is like what I stand for and I don’t even know what that is. How can it expose her?” She asked. Sky rolled her eyes.

  “There you go being all naïve again. Kyla, you have been moralistic in saving everything here no matter what and she has such low morals that she has done the opposite, at some point those two points had to have crossed paths. The serum will find it.” Sky replied. Kyla shook her head.

  “You don’t know that though.” she replied. Wyatt interrupted then.

  “Just believe in the realm, Kyla. One more test and everything will come out, you’ll see.” He said. Kyla nodded and let them go but she didn’t have the same optimism. She hoped of course, but the definitive way they thought just didn’t reach her. She wasn’t sure how the tests were going to reveal everything, especially if the Queen was as good at acting as she said. Kyla sighed and put on her optimist hat to match her friends.

  “Okay, whatever you say Queen.” Kyla teased. Sky laughed.

  “Technically not the Queen anymore but I do make sure there is no crap going on over there. Like a policewoman of some kind. Like a guard, I don’t know.” Sky rambled then took a deep breath and continued, “Kasyn and I take the dicks from your world, through our world into the Outlands and are the only ones with the magic to do it.” Sky finished. Wyatt scoffed.

  “Right, you’re like the ferryman to hell. Sounds like a great job for my little sister who is prone to turning into a dark Queen.” Wyatt growled. Kyla chuckled.

  “Hey, it’s an important job and that amulet makes sure she won’t turn into the dark Queen by absorbing the dark magic that tries to get to her.” Kyla explained for the millionth time.

  “Yeah, until it doesn’t.” Wyatt whispered.

  “It will.” Kyla promised.

  “It will, Wy. I’m safe and I am myself again so lets just be happy about it instead of questioning it.” Sky snapped. Wyatt looked away, trying to hide his scowl but Kyla wasn’t fooled and if Sky saw it, she said nothing.

  “Alright well, I have to go.” Wyatt muttered.

  “Same, I have to go and patrol the realm. I’ll see you guys at the morality test tomorrow.” Sky said then waved and hung up before either of them could answer. Kyla waved to Wyatt.

  “See you tomorrow.” She said. He nodded grimly.

  “Yeah, see you then.” he said and hung up. She dropped her phone back on to the blankets then sighed. She was about to get up when there was a knock at the door. She grinned, knowing exactly who it was. He came to her every night, but when she opened the door, it wasn’t the usual grin that greeted her. Zarek’s face was grim. She frowned as he walked in without an invitation and she shut the door behind him.

  “Something wrong?” She asked knowing the answer by the pursed lips on his frowning face.

  “Yeah,” he said and rubbed the back of his neck then looked directly at her, not easing the tension in the air at all, “I’m just…worried.” Zarek bit. Kyla walked forward and wrapped her arms around him.

  “Worried about?” She prompted.

  “It’s the morality test tomorrow. The last test and then I have to see what everyone really thinks of my rule and my fathers and all their secrets laid bare. Including yours and I have to decide based on that, who deserves a title that screwed us over last time. How am I meant to do that Kyla? They are all so nice and friendly, how do I know which smile is a real smile?” Zarek worried. Kyla tightened her grip around him.

  “Believe the test. It will choose those who are faking, and they will fail.” She tried, hiding the fact that she was worried about the same thing.

  “And what if you fail? You’ll never be accepted if you do. Or my mother? What if she fails one test and the realm hates her for it? She’s already taking these tests hard, getting sicker and the whispers are already starting.” He winced. Kyla frowned and pulled away.

  “Why is she getting sicker? What whispers?” She demanded. Zarek sighed and pulled away, going to sit on the end of her bed. Kyla stood before him, her arms folded waiting for an answer.

  “It is said that when a nominee is failing the tests; the more they fail, the sicker they will get so that by the end, if their failure is so bad that it requires consequences, then they can be taken into custody easier. The serum breaks down their will, their walls and sees every truth they try to hide and the harder they fight, the more it sees. Some are starting to whisper that my mother is weaker, that she is looking worse and wonder whether she has something to hide. She of course denies it, saying that she is weary with grief and shouldn’t be subjected to these trials because of it but I’m worried that maybe this will not be the outcome I hope for.” He explained. Kyla nodded along and moved in to hug him tightly, hiding the glimmer of hope that erupted in her heart. She hated that he was going to hurt so much when he found out, but she had to prove the Queen’s betrayal before she sought other ways to silence Kyla or even betray Zarek. Kyla pressed a light kiss on his lips then pulled back.

  “It will work out, Z. However, it is meant to.” Kyla promised, and it drew a small smirk from him.

  “Sounds like something my dad would say.” He snickered. Kyla chuckled and nodded.

  “It probably is what he would say, and would you listen to it?” She asked. He nodded.

  “Yes.”

  “Then listen to me now.” Kyla smiled. He nodded and smirked back at her, pulling her over him, pressing his lips to hers. Kyla grinned against his mouth, ready to end their conversation with him but he pulled back and brushed the hair from her face, tucking it behind her hair as she looked down at him.

  “I hope you pass, Kyla.” He whispered. She kissed his hand.

  “I will.” She vowed, hoping like hell that she wasn’t lying to him.

  “My mother is really angry about this Kyla; about her name being put in. She has asked me to find out who did it and use my authority to put out an official investigation. I don’t want to, I think maybe the realm was scared and needed reassurance in who was in charge and that maybe her name needed to be in there and I don’t want to punish anyone for that, but she has said it is treason and qualifies as an accusation. I think I might have to pursue it.” He cringed. Kyla frowned and leaned back, sitting on his lap.

  “Or maybe they thought that she would pass without any problems and wanted her put on the High Co
uncil to have some power over what happens now that you are in charge?” Kyla deflected, hoping that he would see it from the point of view that someone did it because they were on her side, so he didn’t pursue the issue. She already had the pressure of the trials; she really didn’t want to be nervous about being arrested for trying to out the Queen. Zarek considered her opinion with a thoughtful eye then nodded slowly.

  “Maybe. I don’t think she saw it like that but that could be true I suppose. I’ll put it to her and maybe I can get out of it, thank you.” He smiled. Kyla offered a half-hearted one in return.

  “Anytime.” She smiled then bent down and kissed him again. This time he kissed back with no intention of talking again and they lost their thoughts and words to a language that only their bodies together could speak.

  ~ 16 ~

  “You ready?” The lady asked, holding the serum in her manicured hand as Kyla laid strapped to the vinyl, dentist chair for the third day in a row. The morality test. She was pretty sure she could pass that. She had morals, she knew that, but she just wasn’t sure what kind of morals they needed, to benefit the realm and whether anything she had done reflected that. Kyla nodded anyway and held out her hand for the little plastic cup, swallowing down the liquid in one gulp. Kyla handed back the cup, leaned back and closed her eyes, falling back into her mind as the serum took it over. When Kyla opened her eyes, she was staring up at an intricately designed bed canopy that she recognized. It was from her suite that she had shared with Wyatt at the mansion. Kyla frowned and sat up, checking her surroundings and what kind of practical morality test she was being thrown into. She was in bed, the white puffy blankets across her stomach, but it was the rest of her that had her gasping and clutching the blankets. She was almost naked. She had on a provocative bra and underwear set that was the most seductive under garments she had ever worn. She tucked the blankets under her arms then brushed her hair through with her fingers, looking around for some clothes. There were none. Kyla frowned and tried to find some clues as to why the hell she was in bed, half naked and what it had to do with morality when the answer walked through from the bathroom.

  “Hey gorgeous.” Wyatt winked with a towel around his waist, using a smaller towel to rub his hair dry. He chucked the towel into the bathroom and then climbed onto the bed, grinning as he crawled over her, leaning in. Kyla gasped and scrambled back, holding her hand out.

  “Woah, what are you doing?” Kyla asked, her stomach knotting as his glistening skin came close enough to touch and his wide face with green eyes, moved in again.

  “I thought that would be obvious, babe.” He grinned then went to kiss her again. Kyla frowned and shuffled back until her back hit the headboard then turned her head, so his lips pressed on her cheek. She held the blanket tighter to her.

  “I think you’re confused. I don’t want to kiss you, Wyatt.” Kyla bit. Wyatt wasn’t fazed as usual.

  “Of course you do. Your boyfriend isn’t allowed to sate your desires, but I am and we both know that is what you really want.” he tried but she put her hand out before he could lean in again.

  “No Wyatt. I’m not interested in you in that way. Zarek is the only one I want a kiss from.” Kyla said forcefully, knowing that her morality was iron tight when it came to cheating on Zarek and kissing anyone that wasn’t him. Of course, technically they weren’t together, but she would be hurt if he was sleeping with someone else while they were sharing a bed every night, so she wasn’t about to do the same thing to him. Wyatt pulled the blanket away from her distracted hands and grinned at her chest that was barely covered. Kyla changed that by wrapping her arms around herself.

  “Why’d you wear that then? You knew we were going to be sharing a bed, you also knew that the Prince wasn’t going to be, which leaves me to think that you knew exactly what you were doing when putting that on. Are you trying to tempt me? Trying to make me beg? Because I’ll do it baby.” he taunted. Kyla shook her head and pushed Wyatt back more forcefully. She was done with this test and how ‘Wyatt’ was behaving. He would never pressure her so much into something she clearly didn’t want, and she didn’t appreciate the likeness.

  “I’ll sleep elsewhere. Goodnight Wyatt.” Kyla bit and yanked the sheet from him, wrapping it around herself and stomping to the bedroom door. She didn’t look back and pulled the door open, stepping through the threshold but instead of going out into the hall like the real bedroom led, she woke with a gasp in the chair with silence all around. She blew out a breath and blinked hard, sitting up. The lady who had handed her the serum had the next cup ready.

  “That was quick.” She smiled.

  “I know the difference between right and wrong.” Kyla snapped. She knew she was being harsh, but she was still bristling from the kind of morality test they had given her. Was cheating the only moral that mattered? How did it prove her realm loyalty? Brushing it off as a minor detail and one she was sure would be explained when the tests were watched, she took the next serum and laid back.

  Her mind opened into a blank space where she stood in the darkness waiting for the screen to flicker to life as it always did, thankfully this time she was wearing her clothes. Finally, the screen lit up and she was met by her memories. The serum leaked on all of them, spinning her mind like a merry-go-round until it found the ones it was looking for, playing them on the screen as they had done before.

  The first memory was of when she had spared Onyx’s life the first time, she had caught him and had shown him mercy, despite the fact that now she regretted it, the memory was exactly as she remembered. The second memory surprised Kyla. It was when she had convinced the King to change the law to allow hybrids and their offspring to come out of hiding. They were only allowed in the human realm and Kyla had wondered if it was the right thing to do, despite her gut instinct telling her it was and she guessed this was the realm’s way of telling her that she had done the right thing. Kyla smiled, watching her and the King by the lake, their feet in the water, their faces serene and calm from it and the urgency with which Kyla had explained her solution to the Kalani problem. Righting an age-old wrong and taking away the prejudice of the supernatural realm was a show of morality and it made her smile at how the realm recognized it as such. The next memory had her face dropping though. She gasped and stepped back as the screen flashed to the goblin hotel they had stayed at. She was sneaking downstairs with Wyatt, creeping in the shadows and hiding behind the concrete pillars that made up the archways. It was when they had heard the other goblin coming down the stairs and panicked, thinking they were going to get caught. It was the moment Wyatt had kissed her. Kyla watched as Wyatt pinned her against the wall, pressed his body against hers and kissed her. She had kissed back, if only for a second but it was a memory that she didn’t want broadcasted. Kyla winced at the pain that Zarek was going to have, after seeing that and wrapped her arms around her, chewing on her lip. Why was it showing her that? She wasn’t with Zarek so it wasn’t technically cheating but she had felt like it was and as the video was showing, she had explained to Wyatt that she didn’t want that happening again, but did it have to come up now? Zarek was going to see it. Kyla knew the kiss was only a way to get out of being seen and to hide them in their shadows but why was it in the moralistic test? She hadn’t made the decision to do that, Wyatt had. If it had been her making that split-second decision, she would have tried something that didn’t involve kissing someone that wasn’t Zarek because the thought hadn’t even crossed her mind until Wyatt had done it. The memory ended and Kyla’s mind went spinning again until she woke with a gasp and attached to the chair in front of all the watchers and feeling sick to her stomach as usual. She was helped to the medic room where they attached her IV like every other time and she clutched her stomach, waiting for the nausea to pass. Kyla breathed in and out slowly, still reeling over what she had seen this time. She had to tell Zarek. She had to warn him, so he wasn’t as hurt. Kyla was almost done when the Queen was brought in and Zarek had been right.
She was sick. And not sick from the serum, she was frail with dark under eyes and heavy lids. Her skin was more wrinkled than she ever remembered it being and Kyla held hope that it was because she was going to get caught.

  “Don’t pity me, child. You know nothing of the demons I face.” The Queen spat as she caught Kyla looking. Kyla scowled and pursed her lips.

  “It’s not pity. It’s hope. Because tomorrow is your last day running this realm for your own benefit. Because tomorrow they will all see the face behind the Queen’s mask. Maybe I would pity you for that if Orion wasn’t dead, or if Tyrone hadn’t been killed.” Kyla whispered harshly, leaning closer so they couldn’t be overheard. The Queen snickered.

  “You think you have a chance at actually passing these tests, don’t you?” The Queen said in shocked awe that had a half smile playing on her thin red lips. Kyla glared.

  “So, what if I do? I have done nothing but fight for this realm since I got here, and I will keep doing that until all the threats are gone.” Kyla snapped, her nausea finally breaking and giving way to a searing anger that bubbled red hot in her blood. The Queen widened her smirk into a malicious smile.

  “You directly put the King in danger by bringing Kalani through. You took the Prince on all your little quests in which he was tortured and almost killed. And you have disrupted the laws of our world ever since you got here. Those things are not in the best interest of the realm, they were for your own ego, nothing more.” The Queen huffed. Kyla offered a half-hearted smile, if only the Queen knew what Kyla had seen, the memories that proved her loyalty, her humanity and hopefully her morality; a test she wasn’t completely sure she was going to pass now. The Queen must have seen something that worried her because she had never baited Kyla so much and she knew it was because Lena was scared. The pulse in her neck was beating faster and harder under her skin, her face was still pale, and Kyla just had to wait to find out the results, then she could finally be honest with Zarek.