Page 99

CHAPTER NINETY-NINE

Ellery

I glanced at the men and women gathered around me. Because the grass was still green, we’d matched our clothes to it. Our hoods covered our heads, and mesh hid our eyes; the only openings were for our mouths.

The duke would know Ryker and I were involved in this; there was no avoiding that, but we couldn’t put targets on our backs by completely exposing ourselves to the guards.

They would most likely figure out who Ryker was because of his size, but hopefully, in the confusion, they wouldn’t pay attention to that.

When Ryker grasped my hand, my gaze fell on the metal band encircling his ring finger. It was a band that symbolized our love, and one he hadn’t worn for long.

He was my husband, my everything, and because of greed and cruelty, we couldn’t live the simple life we would have much preferred. It was unfair, but I didn’t wallow in it; many things in life were very unfair.

My thoughts shifted to the gargoyles trapped beneath the earth. They considered what was done to them unfair, and maybe it was, or maybe our ancestors had a reason to lock them away.

We’d never know the truth unless we unlocked them and saw how they reacted. However, they might have been unfairly imprisoned, and while they were once our allies, they could kill us the second we freed them because of what happened to them.

And who could blame them for doing such a thing? Not me. I’d be pretty murderous too if someone unjustly locked me away for unknown millennia.

If they were innocent in all this, then we were continuing the injustice forced on them; yet, in many ways, they were just like us. They sat in the dark, waiting and hoping someone would free them from their oppression… like many of the Tempest residents.

The gargoyles were trapped by amsirah as selfish and out of control as our current leaders. Was it a deadly cycle we were doomed to repeat? Would we save Tempest now only to have it fall into this horrible cycle again thousands of years from now?

I didn’t know the answers, but I also couldn’t let my mind fester on the possibility, or I’d lose all hope. That would be the deadliest thing of all.

Do the gargoyles retain any hope? Are they still yearning for us to return, or have they given up?

I closed my eyes against the guilt as I ached to set them free. We already had vicious monsters ruling this land; what harm would a few more do?

But I knew the answer to that… a lot . Those flying beasts beneath the earth could do a lot of damage.

If they choose to do so, they could destroy so many amsirah before being stopped. Or they could help save us all.

That possibility niggled at me every day, but while my heart desired to free them, my brain knew it was best to leave them alone. I was surviving with the guilt of having them down there; I’d hate myself forever if I freed them and they slaughtered countless innocents.

When Ryker slid back on the hill, I tugged on his hand to stop him. “I love you,” I whispered.

His silver eyes warmed as he leaned forward to kiss my temple. “I love you too.”

Together, we slipped away from our hiding place and made our way over to the section of hill where we’d decided to stage our attack. We settled near the top of another hill, and I leaned over to study the hardpacked sand spiraling through the mounds of earth surrounding us.

It was a twenty-foot drop to where the caravan would pass through; we’d cover that distance in no time. If all went well, there wouldn’t be any need for the weapons we carried, as the plan didn’t call for them.

Our first step would be to descend as silently as possible and cut the reins. We’d turn the carriages into useless barricades that would block all those ahead and all those coming from behind.

While that was happening, Tucker would open a portal into the Revenant Woods. When we finished here, we’d all flee through the portal with whatever carisle we stole.

Once free of here, we’d break into teams whose size would depend on the number of chests we carried. Those teams would move on to the towns and villages before the guards or anyone else could devise a plan to stop us from spreading the money around.

It was simple and should be over fast, but terror churned in my belly like a tornado ravaging the land. I’d never been this rattled before a robbery, and I couldn’t get my riotous heart under control.

I rested my forehead against the cool grass and inhaled deeply as the thud of hoofbeats pounded in my head. The approaching contingent vibrated the land beneath me.