Page 50 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)
CHAPTER FIFTY
Ellery
When Ryker returned with a towel and fresh clothes, he smiled as he hooked his arm through mine. The woods remained tranquil as we slipped through the trees toward the water.
Once there, I stood on the shore, keeping watch while Ryker stripped, waded into the water, and washed his friend’s blood from him. Normally, seeing him like this would cause me to focus on him , but I was too afraid of what was coming to enjoy the way the water ran down his chiseled muscles and caused his skin to glisten in the moonlight.
Okay, maybe I wasn’t too anxious not to notice, but I didn’t take as much joy in it as I would have. And I didn’t wade into the water to join him like I yearned to do.
When Ryker emerged from the water, he took the towel from me and dried off. “Everything okay?”
“Um, yeah,” I muttered. “Why?”
“You’re quieter than normal.”
I bit my bottom lip while he dressed. I glanced back toward the encampment; we were still too close to have this conversation.
After I revealed what happened today, his reaction would be volatile. The amsirah in the encampment had been through enough without Ryker accidentally leveling the place tonight.
“We have to talk,” I told him.
Ryker finished slipping his foot into his boot and rose to tower over me. The joy that had brightened his eyes after Tucker started moving faded. “What is it?”
“We should go deeper into the woods for this.”
His forehead furrowed as he glanced at the encampment. “Why?”
“I’ll tell you once we’re a little further away.”
With dread filling my heart, I turned and started further into the woods. Ryker caught up to me, and I felt his gaze boring into me while we walked, but I couldn’t look at him.
I kept telling myself this had to be done, that it was better to get it over with, and that everything would be okay, but I had no idea what would happen afterward. The one thing I did know was I had to keep him here; I couldn’t let him leave.
Certain Ryker’s reaction to my revelation would be volatile, I made sure we walked far enough away not to disturb the encampment. When I glanced over my shoulder, the dim glow of the fires had vanished, and trees enveloped us.
We were alone. When I stopped walking, Ryker turned to face me.
“What is it?” he asked.
The low, gravelly tone of his voice made me gulp. “No matter what I tell you, you have to promise me that you won’t leave here. I mean it, Ryker, you have to stay here.”
When his eyes narrowed, the lighter flecks of silver in their mercury depths glinted in the moonlight. “Ellery?—”
“We promised no more secrets, but I need you to promise you won’t leave here tonight.”
His jaw clenched as he folded his arms over his chest. Ryker didn’t take orders.
“What. Happened?”
“Promise me, please,” I whispered.
The pleading tone of my voice softened his face. “I promise.”
“You’ll stay with me, no matter what.”
“No matter what.”
I studied him as I clasped my hands before me. I squeezed them until my bones ground together, but I couldn’t stop.
He grasped my hands, halting the motion. “Ellery, tell me.”
“Stay with me.”
“I’m always with you.”
Unexpected tears burned my eyes before I blinked them away. I was exhausted and scared, and it had been a horrible day, but he was always with me.
I squeezed his hands before releasing them. Rip the bandage off; it’s better that way.
“Gaius came to the manor today.”
Ryker’s eyebrows rose. I could tell this wasn’t what he’d expected me to say; he’d probably suspected it would be something to do with his father.
“What did he say?” he asked.
Taking a deep breath, I braced myself before I blurted out everything… or at least most of it. I wasn’t ready to talk about that awful kiss.
In the beginning, while I spoke, Ryker remained unmoving. As I continued talking, he walked away to pace through the trees before coming back again.
When I got to the part where Gaius wandered into my home and I had no idea where he went, Ryker’s eyes turned black, and lightning sparks flew between his fingertips. The sight of his unraveling caused my words to come faster until almost all the story was out.
When I finished talking, Ryker stopped ten feet away from me. Lightning filled his now black eyes and danced around his wrist. The sparks illuminated the trees surrounding him and lit the otherwise dark woods.
“He wants my land,” I said.
“He wants you as much as the land, maybe more so.”
“I’m not… I, uh… yeah… maybe.”
Before yesterday, I would have said he was wrong, but I could still feel Gaius’s tongue thrusting against mine. And I could still see the fury in his eyes when Ruby interrupted us.
“What aren’t you telling me?” he asked.
Unable to look at him, I stared at the trees and started wringing my hands again. “You have to promise me you won’t go after him.”
He went so still that the lightning around his wrists stopped moving. A hush fell over the forest, or maybe I blocked all sound out as I held my breath and stared at the powerful, incensed man across from me.
He was a ticking time bomb, and I was terrified I was about to light the fuse.