Suspecting this situation was what the Oracle had alluded to, he needed to find out for certain what had happened. Thus, Razine checked in at the inn’s best room and retired for the evening. With a thick sense of anticipation, he began his wait for the operative that was due in the next day or two. Until that time, he had plenty of reports to sift through. Pouring himself a glass of his favorite red wine, he got to work. His duties would help focus his mind and prepare him for whatever news Sagrine brought him.
Chapter 25
Wyatt and Addi quickly made their way outside of the city. As they traveled the alleyways, whispered rumors stirred of someone high up the chain of command arriving soon. Perhaps their impromptu decision to leave tonight was wiser than they had realized. It would undoubtedly behoove them to not cross paths with any emperors or generals.
As they reached the outskirts of the city, Wyatt became less certain which way Nev had gone. Remorse and fear were clouding his ability to sense her. He kept second-guessing himself as doubt ate at him.
Addi saw his hesitation and grabbed his shoulder, “Wyatt, you can do this,” she assured him.
“I can’t,” he rebuked. “I feel Nev slipping farther away.”
“Remember when we were little, and we would play hide-and-seek? You always found me, despite me picking the best hiding spots. How did you do it?” she inquired in the hopes of jogging his memory.
Wyatt nodded. Using his gifts so rarely before meeting Nev, he had forgotten. Now he suddenly remembered like it was yesterday. Wyatt closed his eyes and concentrated on the energies and particles that were constantly present around him. He could feel them as they bounced and swirled in endless serene waves. Sometimes, however, their movements were abrupt. Like when someone ran through them with great urgency. Then he saw it. It was like a road of lights, and it all pointed the same way—towards the lake. Sure, it could have been caused by something or someone else, but he knew it wasn’t. Nev had been through here. Droplets of her scent still clung to the air, and he could feel the faint pulse of their connection beginning to hum louder as his misgivings faded. “This way,” he stated with growing conviction, while he took off running.
Dawn was just beginning to breach the horizon, and Wyatt pushed himself to move even quicker. He knew they needed to reach Nev before she started moving away again or before danger found her. “At least you aren’t a morning person,” he joked. Within a few minutes, they came to the shore of Lake Abanyss, and Wyatt scanned the horizon for any sign of her.
Addi was walking down the shoreline towards something that had caught her eye. It was a derelict boathouse and dock. They were the only structures nearby, and Addi hoped they had drawn Nev’s attention the way they had hers. “Wyatt!” she hollered.
Wyatt ran to catch up with Addi. “I don’t see her or her trail, but I can feel her somewhere nearby,” he stated, sounding distressed.
“Maybe that is because she took a boat,” she suggested, pointing at fresh drag marks on the shore.
Wyatt sighed. “Maybe, but how do we follow her if she did?” he asked before indicating the distinct lack of boats.
Addi scanned the area. In the tall grass surrounding this side of the lake, she spotted the nose of a canoe. “Here!” she shouted as she took off into the grass.
Wyatt helped her pull the boat towards the shore. “Umm, not that I’m not appreciative of your resourcefulness. But, are we sure this is going to float?” he asked, gesturing towards a large hole in the bow of the canoe and a large crack down the starboard side.
“It will float, enough. Plus, you can still swim, right?” Addi asked.
Wyatt let out a small laugh. “Yeah, I can still swim,” he replied as a memory flashed in his mind.
Addi and Wyatt pushed the canoe into the water and swiftly climbed in. Wyatt had managed to find two oars; one wasn’t even broken. They paddled straight out from where the drag marks had been. After many long minutes, the shape of a boat came into view.
“Maybe she is still sleeping,” Addi suggested, after seeing the lack of a person’s silhouette within the nearing boat.
Wyatt chuckled a bit, “If she is in that boat, which I think… which I know she is, then she is definitely still sleeping. She almost always hates mornings,” he noted.
“Almost always?” Addi inquired.
“In my experience, she always hates them. Unless you are in a cave. Then you have a 50/50 shot at her being a morning person,” he explained, grinning to himself.
“Umm… good to know,” Addi reckoned, feeling like she had missed some part of an inside joke.
Wyatt pulled their canoe up next to the dinghy gently before leaning in and reaching a hand down inside the boat. Touching Nev’s face lightly, he whispered, “Rise and shine.”
Nev blinked the sleep from her eyes and saw Wyatt’s face. She rubbed her eyes and opened them again, but she still saw him.
“Good morning, beautiful,” Wyatt marveled, with a warm smile.
“Wyatt?” Nev asked, shakily.
“Afraid so. You didn’t think I had forgotten my promise, did you? Besides, what kind of man would I be not to chase after the woman I love… and who loves me back,” he queried while grinning at her.
Nev sat up and just blinked at him again. She was still trying to believe what she was seeing and hearing. “But I was certain you… you hated me. Or
