Chapter 27.4- The Seadragon's Roar

We reached the boat in a matter of minutes and then I knelt to examine it. It was made by hand, that was clear enough. My experience making one allowed me to see that much. It was more a raft than a boat, if I was being honest with myself. But how had Pate built this under everyone’s nose? I wouldn’t accuse us of being the most attentive of people, especially when it came to the serving staff, but I could authoritatively say that there was no chance I had ever run into him on his way out of the castle. What were the chances of that?

“Well, this wouldn’t have taken him very far” Bernard said with a hum.

“Indeed. And then that raises the question. Was Pate just an idiot, or was he never supposed to make it all that far in the first place? But that would have meant working with someone. His journal made no mention of that, and considering all the other things he had put down there, I doubted it was because he was scared of being caught. The fact that he had described the feeling of masturbating to a drawing he had made of my mother made me want to bring him back to life to have Igneel roast him to death.

Speaking of Igneel, I could finally hear his wingbeats again. That meant he was close. I didn’t need to turn to watch his approach. I just studied the boat as best as I could. It was clearly made by hands that were not too large, and not too small either. Like the kind of hands a person in his late teens— like Pate had been— would have. Every single sign pointed at the first explanation. Whether I liked it or not, there was no sign of conspiracy, and that meant only one thing.

I had been careless. I had failed. And today it was fine because Daemon had been the only one to suffer for it, but that would not be the case next time. If I allowed a next time. If I failed to secure and ensure the loyalty of those who served us,. Then this was practically guaranteed to happen again, and I would not be having it. I felt it when Igneel landed. Both internally through our bond, and externally, as the ground shook. I turned to him.

He had leaned a bit, loosing muscle mass in some places. It was probably to improve his endurance more than anything else, especially considering the long flights we had been taken. I wouldn’t take it as a nutrition issue. From what I knew, he and Meleys had turned into expert fishers while we were here. So he had to be getting enough food yeah.

I turned towards him, and reached my hand towards his snout. He was happy to see me..