Page 86 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER EIGHTY-SIX

Ryker

I frowned at the man. “What do you mean gone ?”

They certainly hadn’t left the realm; none of them could do so.

“Your friends came and took them,” one of the patrons snarled at me. “Loaded them all up and took them away.”

Since they were still sitting here, I couldn’t have heard him right. “They loaded up everyone in town?”

“Would we still be here if they took everyone?” another man snapped at me.

The first man groaned while the second gave a warning shake of his head. There was a difference between hostile and blatantly disrespectful behavior toward an aristocrat. Both actions could get them killed, but the second was more likely to.

I ignored their antagonism. Whatever happened here had left them rattled, and I had more things to care about than disrespect from a townsman.

“Then who did they take? And who took them?” I asked.

“The king’s men took them,” the bartender answered. “They came and rounded up all the women and any girl over twelve.”

My stomach fell as a chill ran down my spine. “ All of them?”

“I’m sure a few got away. Where they went, I don’t know. If it was in the woods, then they’re probably dead. If they’re captured and can’t throw lightning, they’ll die. The guards throwing them into prison carriages and chaining them to horses made it clear that if they tried to run or open a portal, they’d suffer the consequences. Anyone who tried to interfere is burning in the green.”

The smoke. It wasn’t coming from businesses or cooking fires; Ivan’s men had set fire to more amsirah.

A chill seeped through my skin, into my muscles, and punctured my bones. I’d come here looking to see what the townspeople knew; what I’d discovered was far worse than anything I could have imagined.

Ellery!

“What are they going to do to them?” one of the men demanded of me.

“I don’t know.”

But I worried I did.

I didn’t bother to gather my remaining carisle as I rose so abruptly that my stool skidded across the floor. My heart raced as adrenaline pounded in my temples, and fear for Ellery spurred me onward. I couldn’t move fast enough to get out of this building and somewhere I could open a portal to her.

I knew my actions would only make the patrons curious and cause them to talk. It didn’t matter what they said about me; if I didn’t get to Ellery in time, they’d have a lot more to talk about.

I was almost running when the door opened, the bell rang, and Samael entered the tavern. My gaze shot past him to the doorway and freedom when I stopped.

I struggled to keep my face composed as some of his men entered behind him. They fanned out to ensure I couldn’t get past them.

What the fuck?

Are they here because of me?

As I scanned their steely faces and lifted chins, I understood that’s exactly why they were here. I recalled that man from earlier who’d turned and run in the other direction when he spotted me.

He hadn’t been avoiding coming closer to me; he was going to report me … to them .

That told me where I stood with at least one amsirah in Nottingshire, and I was sure plenty of others too. I quelled my fury over this. The townsfolk couldn’t know I was working to help them, but they knew Samael wasn’t.

“Ryker,” Samael greeted.

“Samael,” I said.

I didn’t acknowledge the rest of the guards. It was taking all I had not to shove my way through them and outside to open a portal.

“To what do I owe this pleasure?” I asked my former friend.

His yellow-brown eyes darted past me to the men at the bar. He studied them before his attention shifted back to me. “King Ivan would like to see you.”

“Is that so?”

“It is.”

The panic inside me rose as I dug my nails into my palms. “Why?”

“That’s between you and him, but we have standing orders to bring you to him if we see you.” When my eyebrows rose, Samael held up his hands in a “what do you expect me to do?” gesture. “Those are the orders, Ryker.”

I didn’t know if those orders hadn’t made it to Windruff yet, or if I’d been fortunate not to encounter any law before leaving. The women also hadn’t been taken from Windruff before I left; I wondered if that was still true. If Ivan had taken the ones from here, he’d have taken more.

I didn’t ask what they’d do if I refused to go with them; I didn’t have that option, and we all knew it. I could refuse to lick Ivan’s boots like many others did, but I couldn’t rebuff his orders without putting my head on the chopping block.

And while I fully intended to stick my head there one day, today wasn’t that day… not if I’m going to save Ellery.

There was a chance Ivan had her already too. If that was true, and I refused to go with Samael, I might never get her back.

There was also a possibility that once I returned to the palace, I might never escape it, but it was one I was willing to take, but I wasn’t going alone. I’d opened too many portals today.

I had enough energy for one more; after that, I didn’t know if I could open another. I wasn’t about to waste my last one on a portal to Ivan.

“Are you going to escort me there?” I asked Samael.

“Yes.”

“Then let’s go.”