Page 89 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE

Ryker

Samael and several of his men went with me through the portal Samael opened onto the side of the palace road. I failed to hide my shock when, from fifty feet away, a contingent of carriages rattled down the dirt road toward us.

“Tell Ivan we’re on our way,” Samael commanded one of the men.

The man nodded before jogging down the road toward the palace. The carriages veered off the road before reaching us.

They clattered onto the grassy lawn and green fields beyond the palace, but those fields were getting torn up, and the grass turned to dirt beneath the wheels, hooves, and feet traversing them. Hundreds of conveyances rolled down the road and over the hills as they moved onward.

What the fuck?

Along the road, dust from the wheels blocked the blue sky and turned the sun into a hazy, distant orb that barely pierced the unnatural clouds. The commotion of the wheels, harnesses, and horses’ hooves drowned out most other sounds.

Hundreds of women, chained to the backs of the vehicles, labored to keep up as thousands of guards rode amid the chaos. Those guards weren’t all King Ivan’s men, as they bore the colors of other aristocratic families in the realm.

More women and guards were coming through portals near where we stood. Chained together, they led the women across the fields and toward the lake beyond the palace. I couldn’t see what awaited them there, but it couldn’t be good.

While the nobles had women in their guard, none rode amid those in the fields or on the road. Unwilling to trust them, Ivan must have separated the women from the men.

Whether they were on the field or not with the others, I didn’t know, but after the rebellion at the earl’s and what we’d done to free those rebels, he wasn’t taking chances with any women. I suspected those women were either chained up and out there or waiting in a cell until he found his lightning bearer.

“What’s going on?” I inquired.

Samael stared at the carriages for a minute before turning away. “King Ivan will explain.”

When Samael rested his hand on my shoulder, I gritted my teeth against shoving it away. We played the game of remaining friendly with each other, but we weren’t friends and didn’t touch.

“Let’s go,” Samael said.

My feet remained planted, my attention on the carriages. Ellery was out there; I was certain of it.

I sensed her somewhere amongst the carriages and amsirah. She was out there, chained, frightened, and vulnerable, and Samael was trying to take me from her.

“Ryker, we have to go,” Samael said. “King Ivan is expecting us.”

I couldn’t get Ellery out of here now, but I would find her. Until then, I had to keep pretending.

I had a feeling that pretense would soon come to an end.