Page 17 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Ryker

It was time for me to leave Nottingshire. I’d learned what had caused the smoke and was impatient to return to Ellery to ensure she was safe.

“Where were you last night?” Gaius inquired.

I leveled him with a disdainful stare. “Do I look like I have breasts to you?”

Samael tittered, and Gaius shifted uneasily as he realized that while he didn’t like me, he had to tread lightly. I was the son of a duke, after all.

“No, but you must have known about her,” Gaius said.

“And why is that?”

“Because you’re both lightning bearers.”

“And what weathers can you control, Gaius ?”

The way I said his name caused the corner of his mouth to twitch. “Wind, rain, and snow,” he bit out through his teeth.

So, three weathers meant he had some power, but not as much as I did, and certainly not as much as Ellery. “And do you know every amsirah who can control the wind, rain, or snow?”

“Of course not, but there are far more of them in Tempest than there are lightning bearers.”

“You don’t say. Well, thank you for bringing that to my attention; I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”

Samael’s mouth twitched toward a smile before he suppressed it. I sensed Gaius’s irritation rising, but he wasn’t stupid.

I was more powerful than him and the only son of the only duke in this realm. He knew better than to take me on, though I was certain he’d like to try.

I barely knew him, but I had no doubt Gaius was like my father… thirsty for power and control. And he would do whatever it took to gain more of both those things.

He also desired Ellery. I’d seen it on his face and in his eyes when he interacted with her. That alone was enough for me to hate the man, but there was plenty else to despise about Gaius.

I didn’t trust him; it was impossible to trust someone who would do whatever it took to benefit themselves. He’d said he left Tempest after the Ghoul War and returned when he heard rumors about the realm being shut off from the others.

What was he doing while outside of Tempest?

It certainly wasn’t anything benevolent. He was too much like my father for that.

Beneath his polished exterior and smooth smile was the putrid soul of something malevolent. He may fool others, but he’d never fooled me, and it wasn’t just because he was interested in Ellery.

“So, you can’t tell me every other amsirah who controls the wind, rain, or snow but expect me to know another lightning bearer when I see one?” I pressed.

When his lips flattened into a smooth line and his hands clenched, I knew he wanted to punch me. It would be the last thing he ever did.

“Of course not, milord.” He composed his face into a fake smile. “But my abilities aren’t so rare or extraordinary as yours.”

Ah, he’d decided to take the ass-kissing route. I didn’t know if he realized how much his dislike for me had shown through for a second, but he was determined to forge ahead as if it hadn’t. The man switched tactics faster than a soldier fighting for his life.

I smiled at him, but I was sure it didn’t hide my dislike of him. “Of course they’re not.”

He kept his pleasant expression in place, but something sinister flashed through his eyes. The second he got the chance to try to kill me, he’d take it… and die.

Standing at my height, Gaius had a more slender build than me, but that wasn’t why I’d win a fight with him. I’d win because I simply wouldn’t lose to him. He had no idea I stood between him and Ellery now, but he’d learn it one day.

“I can assure you that I had no idea another lightning bearer existed in this realm, let alone a female one,” I lied. “I still don’t completely believe it’s true.”

“Neither do I,” Samael said, “but King Ivan does.”

And that was the biggest problem. If Ivan believed it was true, he’d do everything possible to find Ellery.