Nev smiled slightly before sighing, “Maybe. Although it isn’t always good. I’m pretty sure it is why the prowler can sense me. I don’t know, but it must be something I’m doing that keeps helping him find me. Like I’m inadvertently luring him to me with my abilities and my blood.” The thought settled heavy on her and caused her to shudder.
“Nev, you know what is happening is not your fault. None of us blame you,” Wyatt insisted as he nudged her right shoulder gently.
“I know,” she whispered. “I just wish I didn’t feel a bond with him.”
“Even if you didn’t, he is beyond dangerous and needs to be dealt with. I have felt him pushing into my mind. He can see my thoughts and sense my feelings. Making things right starts with stopping him,” Wyatt said, lost in deep thought for a moment.
Addi was trembling and had grown very quiet.
“Sis, you okay?” Wyatt asked, growing concerned.
“I didn’t want to tell you, Wyatt. You have to know you are nothing like them. Neither of you is like them,” Addi stammered, staring at Wyatt and then at Nev.
“Tell me what?” Wyatt questioned as he stared at his sister.
Addi sighed, and she felt Nellis put his hand on her arm. “You should tell them, lass,” Nellis suggested gently.
“Addi?” urged Wyatt, his voice full of worry.
“I never told you because I wanted to protect you from it, but I had to tell someone so, I told my fiancé,” she said, glancing at Nellis before locking eyes with her brother. “Wyatt, the testing they perform on the Unmarked is a lie. It is not a test. It is for practice. They pushed us and pushed us until we broke. But they never wanted anything else from us. They were just using us to prepare. The prowler we killed was right, they only want the lost heiress. They lust after it, after her. And rightly or wrongly, they think the lost heiress is Nev. We were probably lucky the one we just faced didn’t realize who she was right away,” Addi explained, looking over at Nev with remorse.
Addi took a deep breath. “And there is something else, I recognized some of the things they did when they tested me. Like how they made me feel, hear, and see things that weren’t there. They could also push into my head and know how I was feeling and what I was thinking. I think that is how I resisted better than most. It was because, in a way, I was already accustomed to it. It was never the same as you. I know that. But it was similar enough that I was able to survive more intact,” Addi recalled, her eyes full of tears as she looked at Wyatt.
“Wait. You’re saying that prowlers are what? That they are Tinks?” Wyatt asked, feeling himself growing more and more upset. His hands reflexively clenched, and his heart raced. He could feel Nev attempting to uncurl his angered fingers from under the table. Wanting to think clearly and calm himself, he surrendered to Nev’s efforts and soon felt her clasping each of his hands in hers, their fingers intertwining.
“They are not like you, Wyatt. They have been twisted. And when I saw them, I knew I had made the right choice. So, I survived, and then I made sure to keep you hidden from them,” Addi assured, her voice full of regret.
“My father was a Tink. That is why we are so connected. Me, you and Sagrine,” Nev theorized, her voice barely audible as she tried to put the pieces together. “It’s not just me that can sense him. He feels a bond with me as well.” The thought caused her to feel ill to her stomach. Instinctually, she squeezed Wyatt’s hands. Nev sighed with relief when she felt him return the gesture and provide her with the reassurances she’d been seeking.
Wyatt reluctantly pulled his hands from Nev, before sinking his head into them. Sighing deeply, he rubbed his face. “Damn it. That is what the prowler meant. That is just great,” grumbled Wyatt. Looking up at Addi, he managed a half-smile. “Also, it sounds like I owe you another one, sister,” he reasoned, his voice sounding heavy.
“I will give you a pass this time,” Addi offered, giving Wyatt a little smile.
“So, he didn’t just miss me. He couldn’t see me, even though he should’ve been able to,” Nev mumbled to herself.
Wyatt raised his head up and looked at Nev. “Yeah, I already told you that I kept him from seeing you,” he noted with a confused look.
“What? Oh, no. I meant when I was little. The night he came to the cabin. My father told me not to come back, but I did. I thought Sagrine just missed seeing me, but he didn’t just miss me. He couldn’t see me, even though he should have sensed me. He should’ve found me, but I was hidden. My father kept me hidden, just like you did. I never realized before just how close I came to being caught that night,” Nev theorized, still lost a bit in thought.
Listening to Nev, Wyatt was struck by an idea. “Hidden? That’s it. Nev, you are a genius!” he exclaimed, pulling her close and kissing her.
Nev looked at him, perplexed. Even as he kissed her excitedly.
Pulling back from her and smiling at her stunned look, he chuckled softly. “Look, this prowler wants you. But he must be pretty annoyed that I keep interfering. So, we let him think he has caught just me. Addi and Nellis can be there, he will mostly ignore them. No offense, you two. And you, my beautiful genius, will be there too… but he won’t see you,” Wyatt said, grinning.
“Catch this prowler by surprise. I like it, and it might just work,” Nellis pondered, nodding at Wyatt.
“No, it is too
