Page 40

CHAPTER FORTY

Ellery

The next week passed in an almost blissful haze of oblivion. I shouldn’t have been so happy to have lost my home and to be living in the Revenant Woods with, in the beginning, only Ryker’s shirts and pants to wear.

Ropes cinched the pants at the waist. They were rolled up so many times at the ankles that they were bulky, but I didn’t mind.

In the woods, amongst amsirah who were driven from their residences by Ivan’s greedy policies, I’d found a place of family and love. For so long, I’d feared the duke, Ivan, or Gaius would arrive and take me or my loved ones away.

In Gaius’s case, I worried he’d bring his things and try to move in with me. I tried not to think of the manor and all I’d lost, but I did wonder if he’d claimed it as his. I couldn’t stand the idea of him sleeping in my parents’ bed, touching our things, and taking over my home.

I tried not to dwell on the possibility that he’d moved in. It didn’t matter who lived there now; it was no longer mine, but I hoped it wasn’t him.

Instead, I focused on building a new home in the Revenant Woods where we were safe, and the sound of hoofbeats didn’t send my body into a panicked state—or at least we were safe for now.

Things would change, they always did, but I was determined to enjoy this reprieve from the terror that had weaved its way through my days since King Leo died.

In these woods, surrounded by those who were happy to have a place to belong, I felt the same. Not to mention, I got to wake up beside Ryker every morning and sleep with him every night.

I didn’t have to fear someone would discover us; they all knew about us and embraced our relationship instead of trying to destroy it. It was such an amazing change that I almost couldn’t believe it was real.

I also got to spend my days with him, either working to build more tree houses, hunting, on guard duty, or simply enjoying our time together. We’d followed Farley to two more encampments over the past week and returned with twenty more amsirah.

The building never stopped in the encampment, and the boundaries grew bigger as the tree houses spread deeper into the forest. Even now, hammers pounded nails as the September sun filtered through the branches.

The nights were getting cooler, but the summer was reluctant to give way to the approaching fall. I was okay with that as I wasn’t in a rush for winter. Those months wouldn’t be kind to us, but we’d get through them.

That was if we were still here by then. Things had been quiet this week, and I’d enjoyed the bubble of peace surrounding us, but I didn’t doubt the duke was plotting a way to make his son and me pay.

We’d made him look like a fool, and he wouldn’t let that go unpunished. And we knew the aristocrats hadn’t killed him for Ryker’s regicide. Some of the new arrivals had told us he’d assumed the throne.

Despite his son killing the king, the duke was still the highest-ranking noble in the realm and the most dominant. His overbearing, vicious personality had probably silenced any aristocrats who’d tried to stand against him.

According to the new arrivals, the nobles hadn’t secured his position on the throne, as they were holding off on coronating him. They’d kowtowed to his overbearing ways but hadn’t given in completely.

Now that they’d let his ass touch the throne, they’d have to pry it from his cold, dead fingers. They could hold off, but the duke would become king… even if he had to kill all of them to gain the crown.

Movement from the corner of my eye drew my attention from the shirt I was sewing to Xanthus. The black stallion flicked his white tail while munching on some hay.

Ryker had returned to his father’s property the day after he killed Ivan to claim the stallion. It was easier for him to do so as Xanthus was never stabled or fenced; he lived in an open pasture outside the castle.

Ryker had stood at the edge of the Revenant Woods and whistled for the horse. He only had to wait a minute before Xanthus galloped into view.

The forest wasn’t a good place for Xanthus, but he was safer here than on the duke’s property. Few knew Adira was my mare; the duke was very aware Xanthus was Ryker’s, and only Ryker could control the horse in any way. The duke would gladly slaughter the beautiful animal.

I’d briefly debated going back for Adira again before deciding against it. Xanthus would survive these woods; Adira was tough, but the forest would break her down. No one would hurt her, and maybe one day, I’d see her again.

Laughter sounded from where Ryker, Ianto, Tucker, and some other amsirah were high in a tree, assembling a new shelter. Perched in the tree, with the sun shining on him, Ryker looked younger and more carefree than I’d ever seen him.

Joy shone from his mercury-colored eyes and radiated from him. His laughter brought a smile to my lips.

When my gaze traveled lower, I bit my bottom lip as I took in his bare chest. The sweat glistening on his corded muscles made them stand out more.

A bead of sweat traveled down his abs toward the edge of his low-hanging pants. The V of his hip muscles pointed toward the large cock concealed under his pants, but I was very aware of what lay beneath.

We’d spent a lot of time working this week but also entangled in each other. While we both had much to do, I yearned to slip into the woods with him.