Page 26 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

Ellery

I kept my smile in place while approaching Gaius. I had no idea why he was here, and while I was a little uneasy it might have something to do with what happened last night, I doubted it.

If they’d somehow figured out I was the female lightning bearer, they’d have a whole army here, not just Gaius.

I stopped a few feet from the tall man with light brown hair and golden-brown eyes. He was a handsome man with an affable demeanor, but something about him made me uneasy.

It took all I had not to glance back at the barn and the window where I knew Ryker sat. I wouldn’t be able to see him if I looked toward him; he was too good at being discreet for that, but I felt his growing wrath while he watched us.

Ryker didn’t trust this man, and I was sure his arrival here would only intensify his dislike of him. I hoped he remained calm.

We’d both promised not to do anything foolish, but he’d warned me to stay away from Gaius and believed he was a lot like his father. Since his father was a monster, I didn’t know how he’d take Gaius being this close to me while I was supposedly alone.

I had to get him out of here as soon as possible.

“Good afternoon, Gaius.”

“Good afternoon, milady Marian.”

“To what do I owe this pleasure?”

His visit was anything but a pleasure, but I had to play nice. He expected it of me.

“I came to make sure you were okay after what happened last night.”

“What happened last night?”

His smile vanished as a look of sadness replaced it. “You haven’t heard about the vicious attack Ivan’s guards experienced in Nottingshire?”

My hand went to my mouth as I feigned concern and dismay. I felt like a fool, but hopefully, he was buying it. “No! How awful! The road has been unusually quiet today, and we haven’t gone to town.”

Apparently, I wasn’t the worst actress in all the realms as he nodded his agreement before speaking. “Ivan has set up roadblocks and is only allowing those he trusts through them… such as myself.”

I resisted rolling my eyes, but that explained why there hadn’t been any riders, other than him, on the road. If the residents of Nottingshire couldn’t travel, and the other towns had heard about the lockdown, no one would be going past my manor.

Ryker hadn’t told me this detail, but he might not know. And if he did, we didn’t get much chance to talk about what happened in Nottingshire before Gaius arrived.

“The residents of Nottingshire have been ordered to remain in town until they’re all questioned. That questioning has ended, but they’re still on lockdown,” Gaius said.

“How long will that last?”

“I don’t know.” His gaze traveled past me to the barn and the rolling fields of crops. “It is very remote out here.”

My skin prickled at the keen interest in his eyes. This was my land… for now. “That’s often the plight of living on a farm. Sometimes, we can go days without seeing anyone, especially in the winter when trade is slow.”

“I’ve always wanted a home like this and my own land to work.”

Unable to control it, my eyes bulged a little before I suppressed my astonishment at his words. I couldn’t let him know he unsettled me; he’d take advantage of it.