Page 9 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER NINE

Ellery

When I woke the next morning, I rolled over and reached for Ryker, but he was gone. My hand landed on the empty bedsheet, and my eyes flew open.

He wouldn’t have left me behind again; we’d moved on from that awful stage of our relationship, but I didn’t know if something had pulled him from the bed. Sitting up, I glanced around the room before discovering him standing at the window.

He had his arms on the sill over his head as he leaned toward the glass to gaze out. The sunlight bathing him told me I’d slept later than I should have.

Inwardly cursing, I tugged the blankets up as I leaned against the bed frame. After my revelation last night, I had to be more vigilant and maintain my daily routine; any deviation might seem suspicious.

I should get out of bed, but I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. The hundreds of scars crisscrossing his back were clearly visible in the morning light.

Those scars, and the ones covering the rest of his body, were a testament to all he’d endured at the hands of his father, during battles, and while imprisoned by the ophidians. And now, he might have a new one under the white bandage on his neck.

Those marks were why he’d been so adamant about rescuing the prisoners and why I’d supported him in the endeavor. And now, everything had been thrown into a tailspin.

We’d talked about how the day would come when I’d have to reveal I was a lightning bearer and how we would use my ability to gather others to our side, but I’d expected it to be far in the future, when we were better prepared.

That future had slapped us in the face and become the present. It was here, and I wasn’t ready for it, but I would have to deal with it.

At least they didn’t know who I was, and Ryker’s secret that he was working against the king was still concealed. And he was still alive.

That was what mattered most. I didn’t know what I would have done if I’d lost him, and after the way my power felt so out of control last night, I couldn’t think about it.

“Anything interesting out there?” I asked.

Ryker didn’t look at me; he’d most likely known I was awake. I wasn’t sure how, but I would have known it about him if our roles were reversed.

Somehow, maybe from our lightning joining or our love deepening, we’d become connected on a different level. I sensed him without seeing him, and he did the same with me.

“Smoke,” he answered.

“What?”

Tossing the blankets aside, I nearly tripped over my sheet when my foot caught on it. Jumping on one foot, I tugged the other free.

My steps didn’t make a sound against the hardwood floor as I crossed to Ryker. He lowered one arm and pulled me in front of him when I stopped beside him.

“Oh,” I breathed when I spotted the thick gray smoke spiraling into the air.

Coming from what could only be Nottingshire, the smoke rose above the farmland and trees to choke out the clear blue sky above it. It spread like a malevolent spirit looking to devour our realm.

That awful gray cloud had extended its putrid hand almost to the manor. While it was a malevolent blight, the world below remained normal as Scarlet and her father, Mr. Fletcher, gathered eggs from the chicken coop.

They sometimes looked at the sky but mostly remained focused on their work. I wanted to shout at them to get away from the creeping malevolence, but it was just smoke… or so I hoped.

“What’s burning?” I whispered.