Minutes passed by—one by one—and soon turned into hours. Resting near the border, neither Nyx nor Avelyne made any move to continue their journey. They were waiting until one of their predators moved first.
But the Broodweaver never came into the range of Nyx's senses, and the few people in hiding made no move to abandon their cover. By now, the sun had already started to set, and the night was slowly approaching.
Nyx had no idea why the Broodweaver took so long to reach them. Maybe it was really gravely wounded by Caelia and needed some rest—or it hadn't been such a strong monster as he thought in the first place.
Whether it was the Broodweaver or the poor guys who moved first wouldn't matter much anyway. But Nyx was pretty sure that at least one of them would approach them at night.
Being curious about Avelyne's thoughts on the matter—and because he was bored to death—Nyx glanced her way.
"Wanna bet who will be the first to make a move?"
All his question met was silence. Avelyne didn't seem to have any thoughts about answering him, as she just continued to lie on the ground. Nyx was starting to wonder if she had fallen asleep when she opened her mouth at last.
"Does it even matter?"
Hearing her tired and quiet voice, which carried a trace of amusement, Nyx knew he had her hooked already.
"Of course not. That's why we should make it matter with a tiny bet. Don't you agree? Waiting without anything good to expect is rather uncomfortable, I'd say."
The bait was rather obvious. Nyx was sure that under normal circumstances, Avelyne would never agree.
Which was why her answer surprised him a little bit, even though he already knew that she would most likely agree.
"Alright, what do you want, and who will you bet on?"
Her voice still sounded tired and drained, but the anticipation in it was unmistakable. It seemed that his reasoning resonated with her boredom.
"I think the Broodweaver will show himself first, so I will bet on him. About what I want—"
Nyx had no real idea of what he should ask for. He just wanted to scam her in a friendly way. He also didn't want to ask for too much, as he was only alive because of her.
It took a few minutes until Nyx was able to continue and tell Avelyne what he desired. But he managed to come up with something reasonable that wouldn't hurt her too much and would be of great help to him.
"How about this—if I win, you have to answer one question of mine with the whole truth. No matter what I ask. If I lose, you can ask me anything, and I'll answer the truth."
It was a reasonable request and something Nyx could pay back. He hadn't much—well, to be precise, he had nothing besides that to offer Avelyne.
So, in theory, they would have a bet with equal standing. But Nyx knew it wasn't. Her knowledge was far more valuable than his. He knew nothing besides some basic knowledge everyone on Earth knew.
To tell the truth, the game was rigged. Avelyne probably already suspected as much, but how rigged it was was a completely different matter—something she could have never anticipated.
What Nyx hadn't told her—well, he hadn't told her anything, rather shown her—was that he was able to sense his surroundings.
But that was it. Nothing more.
Which was only half of the truth. His shadow perception didn't just let him perceive his surroundings and the movements within—no, he was even able to feel the emotions of every being whose shadow he was able to sense.
Nyx hadn't noticed it before and wasn't even sure if it had been like this from the moment he discovered his shadow perception or if it had forcefully evolved through his near-death experience.
It was the reason why he made the bet in the first place. Knowing from their emotions that the people hiding in the woods would never take the first step and leave their cover gave him an almost guaranteed win.
At least as long as the Broodweaver was still alive and hunting them. If it didn't and never showed up, the game would end in a draw.
But even that was highly unlikely.
The shadows felt like they were a part of him. Not just some extension of his arms or eyes—no. The reason why he was able to sense so many things through the shadows in the first place was that they all felt like they were a part of him.
A part of his body and very being.
Through that, Nyx knew the Broodweaver would come. He even knew that it was probably waiting for the night to arrive before it showed itself. Even if it hadn't entered his perception range, the shadows were warning him, as if concerned about his well-being.
Thanks to the same connection, he already knew Avelyne's answer before she said it.
"Sure, let's do it. If you bet on the monster, I will bet on the people and see if they dare to commit high treason."
Her voice had a slightly dangerous and chilling tone near the end, and Nyx was pretty sure that she had a devilish grin on her face right now. Even her own shadow seemed to tremble a bit.
Feeling slight goosebumps all over from this observation, Nyx couldn't help but pity the people. Even if not all of them had the intention to harm them, as he could tell, they were still part of the group and would not see another day, even if they survived the Broodweaver.
But that was not his bread, so he couldn't care less.
The last rays of the sun were about to dim, and they had to brace themselves to act swiftly—to not miss any movement and be ready to set their plan into motion.
Normally, Nyx felt pretty comfortable and at home at night. It gave him the same feeling as the shadows, but on a much deeper and bigger level.
But not this time.
The moment the last ray had vanished and the night fell upon them, Nyx froze.
He felt a dread he had never felt before. It seemed as if the night was screaming at him to get out of there—to move his body.
Nyx had felt the rising anxiety of the shadows since the moment they had lain down, and he had even anticipated some stronger warning the moment night set in, but nothing could have prepared him for such a strong reaction.
His perception still wasn't able to pick up the Broodweaver, but the urgency he felt within him—coming from the night and shadows—made Nyx decide it was time to get moving.
"We have to move now!"
A bit lost in the dread he felt, Nyx practically yelled at Avelyne, which made her jump up in no time.
Picking Caelia and Nyx up as fast as she could, Avelyne rushed toward the green border. She hadn't even questioned his sudden outburst and didn't need to.