Saluting again, Liam turned and left the throne room.
Razine, with no emperor, Oracle, or lost heiress, assumed a role familiar to himself. “Well, as the face of the Obsidian Empire, it would seem I have a lot of messes to clean up. I’d better get started,” Razine said prior to heading out of the throne room and towards the formally emperor’s—now general’s—study.
Epilogue
“How much further?” Nev inquired as she continued to be led forward by Wyatt through the woods blindfolded.
“You aren’t peeking? Are you?” Wyatt questioned.
“What, me? Of course not,” she responded innocently.
Laughing, Wyatt replied, “You are terrible. And no peeking. Also, no attempting to sense where we are going. It is supposed to be a surprise.”
Nev sighed, feigning annoyance. “Fine. I’ll do my best to let you lead me blindly into goodness knows what. Just know, you will owe me,” she joked before giggling.
Wyatt shook his head and noted, “I think you and my sister have been spending far too much time together. Of course, after living at Nellis’ for a little over two months, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.”
“You know. This is all your fault. You and Nellis always running off and leaving me alone with your sister,” observed Nev. “So, does this surprise have anything to do with your constant disappearing?” she questioned.
Chuckling softly, Wyatt asked, “You do know how surprises are supposed to work, don’t you? Now, no more trying to get hints out of me. We are almost there. So, just trust me.”
“Hmm… almost? We’ve been walking like this for almost an hour. You aren’t taking me back to our cave, are you? I mean… I should’ve probably packed a snack if that is the case,” Nev teased playfully.
Pulling her close, Wyatt stopped their progress and wrapped his arms around her waist. Without removing his sash that was being used as a makeshift blindfold, he kissed her deeply.
Nev relaxed into his embrace and eagerly returned his kiss. The questions and innocent kidding all fell from her mind. Quickly finding a curl of his hair to twirl with her fingers, she pressed her lips to his.
Sensing her mind and body relax, Wyatt pulled back from her and grabbed her hand again. “Much better,” he grinned before bringing her hand to his mouth and gently kissing it. “Nev, your appearance in my life was the best surprise I’ve ever gotten. Please let me have my turn to surprise you,” he whispered lovingly.
Smiling sweetly, Nev replied, “You know I can’t resist you, especially when you ask like that.”
With Nev now happily following him blindly, Wyatt quickened his pace. He was careful not to let Nev trip or stumble as he swiftly led her towards his destination. It had been challenging to keep a secret from her. Their recent encounter at the palace had been a catalyst for her latent Tinkerer abilities. Wyatt, and perhaps even Nev, were still not entirely certain just how powerful she was or would become. Still, it was already clear that her skills were quickly surpassing his. There were no feelings of envy on his part, however. Instead, he was constantly in awe of her, proudly watching and helping her powers develop. He had always found her to be amazing, now he marveled at her. It wasn’t just her skills that left him stunned.
Wyatt also felt like he was living in a dream—a very pleasant dream. Every day he woke in wonderment that they’d survived their journey and that somewhere along the way they’d fallen in love. Falling for her had been an easy and natural thing for him. Still, to see his feelings reciprocated by Nev left him astonished. Perhaps she’d been right when she’d first told him she was lucky, he certainly was.
Smiling to himself, he led her further into the woods. The surprise he’d been working tirelessly at was finally ready. He had needed Nellis’ help and Addi’s blessing, neither of which had been hard to secure. Addi was possibly a little too grateful for Wyatt’s suggestion, and Nellis was only too happy to help. Nellis’ knowledge and advice had also proved invaluable in assisting Wyatt’s idea to actually take shape. Overall, it had proven to be an excellent opportunity for him and Nellis to reconnect as friends.
After all, Wyatt had always liked Nellis and viewed him like an older brother. Now that he was a sibling more officially, Wyatt was glad to spend some time with him. It was still a little surprising that Addi and Nellis had gotten married so quickly after Wyatt and Nev had returned. For all of Addi’s bluster and tendency to grumble, she was actually a hopeless romantic and a bit of a softy. At least she was where Nellis was concerned. As far as Wyatt could tell, her absence from Nellis seemed to almost instantly become a distant memory.
As Nev and Wyatt came to the end of the path, Wyatt squeezed Nev’s hand tightly. It was a gesture they had done countless times to reassure one another. This time, it was his nerves that needed her help to become steady. He had taken a gamble, and he was about to learn if she would approve. He had risked time, effort, and expense to hopefully surprise her pleasantly. To help ease his mind, Wyatt repeated the words he’d heard Nev say many times, The risk worth taking. As he felt Nev squeeze his hand, he smiled. Moving to stand beside her, he made sure to keep her hand firmly in his.
Nev could sense Wyatt tensing, but kept herself from feeling anything more. She honestly had no desire to spoil the surprise. Gently, Nev urged Wyatt’s anxiety to ease. Around her, she could hear the trees gently swaying in the breeze and the sound of a babbling creek. Nev could feel the warm
