Page 10 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER TEN

Ellery

“I don’t know,” Ryker answered. “I have to go find out.”

My hand fell to his on my waist, and I squeezed it. “I don’t want you going anywhere near there.”

He lowered his head to kiss my neck. “It will be okay, but I have to know what they’re burning.”

“You don’t think….” I had to swallow to wet my parched throat so I could continue. “You don’t think Ivan would burn the whole town, would he? Did we piss him off enough for that?”

Ryker stiffened against me before relaxing a little, but the subtle shift in his body told me all I needed to know. “I’m not sure, but I have to find out.”

I bit back my argument for him to stay. He was right; he had to go.

“I have to get to work. I shouldn’t have slept so late,” I whispered.

“You needed the rest.”

“We have to keep this place running, and I can’t expect Scarlet and her family to do it on their own.”

“Do you need more carisle?”

“No.”

“Ellery—”

“We’re okay… for now,” I assured him.

“There’s no reason for you to go without when I can help.”

“I know, and we’ll need it soon, but we have to do the work. We can’t let the horses go unfed or the honey and crops go unharvested. This is my life; it’s what I’ve always known.”

“Hmm,” he grunted. “I’ll bring back some carisle for you. You’re going to take it.”

“I’m still going to have to work.”

“I know, but it’s a cushion you deserve.”

I decided against arguing further about it. “I also have to tell Scarlet what happened last night. She doesn’t know I’m a lightning bearer, but she’ll find out soon; it can’t be from someone else.”

Ryker pulled me against him until my back was flush to his chest. I fit perfectly against him.

“What did we set into motion?” I whispered.

“It was only a matter of time before your existence came out; at least they don’t know who you are.”

“Yet.”

His fingers curled into me before relaxing again. “We’ll keep that hidden for as long as possible, but if we’re going to take this realm from them, then we have to fight for it, and that fight is coming. We knew Ivan would be irate if we succeeded in freeing the prisoners.”

We had known that, but… “I didn’t expect him to burn the town down.”

“I don’t think he did. There’s not enough smoke for that, but I’ll find out and meet you in your barn later.”

I rested my hand over his as I bit back the words to tell him to stay. He had to go, but I wasn’t ready to part with him.

“Before I go, we should discuss what happened last night,” he said.

“I made my own decision about helping you, and I don’t regret it.”

“I know,” he sighed. “But I’m not talking about that.”

I frowned as I tipped my head back to look up at him. The silver flecks in his eyes were more visible in the morning light, and black stubble lined his chiseled jaw.

“When you revealed your lightning,” he continued.

My spine stiffened. I didn’t know what he was about to say, but I suspected it might lead to an argument. “I did what was necessary to save you and the others.”

He smiled as he stroked his fingers down my cheek. “Easy, I’m not arguing with you about that, but I’ve never seen your power like that before. I’ve never seen my power like that. You were surrounded by lightning and levitating . Your eyes were also white… completely pure white.”

My fingers went to the corner of one eye as he revealed this last bit. “They were?”

“Yes. I’ve seen your eyes when you’re using your power, and they normally turn black with lightning flashing through them, like mine, but not last night.”

My gaze flicked to the window as I recalled the feeling of my power swamping me, taking over, and becoming… “Something more.”

“What?”

“It was becoming something more . I’m not sure what, but it felt like my power was taking me over.”

A muscle twitched in his jaw, but their steely gleam had eased. He wasn’t upset; he was concerned. “Has that ever happened before?”

“No, but outside of our training, I’ve rarely used my lightning ability, and I’ve never used it in a battle like that before… unless you count when we fought off those trees together.”

“That was a fight but not quite the same.”

“When we fought those trees and our powers fed off each other, my ability felt a little out of my control, but it also felt right .”

“It did,” he agreed.

“Did you feel a little out of control that day too?”

“Yes.”

“But you could rein it in.”

“You did too. And you did again last night.”

“With your help.”

“We’ll train more and try to get you to feel that intensity again. That way, you can learn to control your power better,” he said.

“And what if I lose complete control and can’t come back?”

“I won’t let that happen.”

“Ryker—”

“If you lost complete control, do you think I could still get through to you?”