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CHAPTER TWELVE

Ryker

Despite being surrounded by the enemy and swamped by chaos and death, pride bloomed in my chest as Ellery rose above the ground with lightning emanating from her. She had to be terrified, but she was also so beautiful it made my heart hurt.

That hurt wasn’t just from pride but also fear. If the riders or guards got to her before me, or if she couldn’t return from what she was unleashing, I could still lose her.

She can take care of herself. She can defeat them— something she proved by taking out three more riders as many of the prisoners looked on in awe.

The female lightning bearer had been revealed. Now the whole realm knew who she was, and they were about to learn what she could do for them.

Many of the women, and some of the guards, stopped to stare at her. They were statues as they formed a wall between me and Ellery.

Lowering my shoulder, I ignored the pain in my battered body as I shoved through the crowd to get to her. She could take care of herself, but she also required help, and I had to pull her back if necessary.

When some riders turned away from me to focus on her, I spotted Gaius. He’d been approaching me, but Ellery’s rise above the crowd had halted him.

Sitting tall on his horse, with his hand on the pommel, he watched her with fascination, alarm, and finally lust. I snarled as I shoved my way forward.

That fucker would do whatever it took to get his hands on her and bend her to his will. I’d tear his hands off before I ever let him touch her again.

The idiot didn’t know he had a line of aristocrats he’d have to get through when it came to claiming her… including my father.

My father … I could only imagine his reaction to all of this and the realization that Ellery and I had been keeping our relationship secret for months. While he’d initially ended us, we’d come back together and were stronger than ever.

That she , the woman he despised and was determined to destroy, was the woman he sought for himself. And she belonged to me, the son who’d betrayed and would gladly kill him .

I could only imagine the reaction of his fellow aristocrats. They might kill him themselves.

While I wanted the pleasure of doing that, having his fellow noblemen and women turn against him was a poetic justice I admired. However, knowing my father, he’d seize control of the realm and the nobles before they could plot against him.

He was a slippery monster straight from the bowels of hell. Those cowards had no chance against him.

As the crowd became aware of me again, they fell back and gawked at the ball of energy encompassing me. I kept it reined in to avoid harming them, but lightning snapped at the air around me.

That glow not only invigorated my power but also my healing. I’d been run through with a sword, sliced open, and shot with an arrow, but my muscles and skin were knitting together at an accelerated speed. Blood had stopped running down my side and now oozed from the closing wound.

My power entwined with Ellery’s, and hers was fueling me. I was sure mine was doing the same for her.

I’d never experienced this level of power before, but it was as frightening as it was amazing. I understood why Ellery feared she might not pull back from this, and what was happening to me wasn’t as strong as what occurred with her.

When more lightning flashed across the sky and zapped a few more riders on the field, Gaius slid off his mount, his sword in hand. He intended to hunt her from the ground.

The lightning made me an easier target while also keeping me safe. I couldn’t sneak up on the man like this, but I could kill him… if I could get to him.

And when I did, I’d gladly tear off his head and shove it up his ass… maybe I could even shove it up his ass without tearing it off first. That was a happy picture.

Despite the lingering discomfort in my side and thigh, I ran through the crowd scrambling to get out of my way. They’d recovered from their astonishment over seeing Ellery and were again trying to flee.

I didn’t look back to see if the archers were reloading; Ellery kept them distracted. The riders used that opportunity to terrorize the crowd again.

When hoofbeats shook the ground behind me, I twisted my head to see two riders barreling down on me. With their swords at the ready to cleave me in two, they leaned to the side in their saddles.

Planting my feet, I lifted my hands and released two bolts from my palms. The lightning shot through the air before smashing into the guards’ heads and knocking them from their mounts.

More women screamed as they scattered away from the falling bodies and out-of-control horses. Smoke curled from the guards’ eyes and mouths as they lay on the ground with their faces turned toward the sky.

I drew my arms against my side and didn’t move as the horses raced past me. Foam frothed from their mouths as their eyes rolled. It would be a while before they stopped running.

“Keep going!” a woman cried. “We have to keep going!”

Many riders had entered the field, but I couldn’t see most of them anymore. They’d either returned to the palace, dismounted to blend into the crowd, or were homing in on Ellery.

Lightning sizzled over my head before crashing into the parapets and rods again. Stone cracked as she succeeded in taking down more of the wall.