Page 90 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)
CHAPTER NINETY
Ellery
We were shuffled across the vast green lawn and over the hills. Beneath the thousands upon thousands of feet treading it, the grass was turning into churned-up dirt that would become a field of mud after the next rain.
The sun beating on my nape burned my flesh and dried my throat. I was still in my loose-fitting, brown farm pants, short-sleeved work shirt, and boots, but with no shade and far more bodies pressing against me, the sun felt hotter out here than at the manor.
Sweat beaded my brow, slid down my face, and dripped onto the earth. The crush of amsirah reeked of body odor, panic, and urine. They were herding us like sheep to the slaughter, and none of us were ready to die.
When a woman attempted to open a portal, nothing happened. I glanced at the chains on her wrists before focusing on my own. They’d ensured we were trapped here.
As the woman stood there, frantically trying to leave and refusing to acknowledge that she couldn’t, a guard swung a metal pole into the back of her head. The blow knocked her face-first into the ground. The woman’s arms and legs sprawled out, and she didn’t move again.
The crowd pushing against me propelled me forward when I grasped for the woman’s arms. My fingers skimmed hers before I was ripped away.
“Wait!” I gasped.
But no one heard me, and if they did, they didn’t slow their forward momentum. They were too afraid that if they did, they would become that woman.
Others tried to avoid stepping on the woman, but many failed and pushed her deeper into the ground. No!
I wouldn’t let them trample her. Pushing against the crowd, I fought my way back and was reaching for her again when a metal pole came down across my forearm.
I bit back a scream as bone gave way with a sickening crunch. Snatching my hand away, I cradled my broken arm against my chest.
My vision cleared, and the pounding in my head eased as I glowered at the guard who’d maimed me. While misery battered me and the bones in my arm grated together, a steely resolve slipped through me.
They’d most likely discover who I was and take me today, but it wouldn’t happen without a fight. I’d make them pay before they ruined me.
Clenching my teeth, I restrained myself from shooting a bolt of lightning straight into the guard’s dick. I’d love to see that smug smile vanish when I turned him into a soprano.
“Move!” the guard snarled and shoved my shoulder.
Another guard bent, grabbed the woman’s arm, and dragged her up from the ground. I smiled at the man who’d broken my arm before turning and blending back in with the crowd.
I kept my broken arm against my belly as every step brought a wave of agony with it, but I used that pain to stoke the fires of my fury. It was difficult to get an understanding of the exact number of women here, but on the sidelines, portals opened and more chained women, led by guards, joined the crush of amsirah.
It seemed Ivan had decided to bring every woman in Tempest here, which would be hundreds of thousands, if not more. The number of amsirah in the realm had taken a hit during the ghoul war, but many of us remained.
Unable to do anything more, I let the mob propel me onward. Thousands more women came into view when we crested the top of a hill.
Like ants swarming over food, they covered the grass and lined the shores of the lake I’d once seen through the palace windows. Unicorns, phoenixes, and other assorted magical creatures lined the shoreline then, but they were gone now. Notoriously shy, they’d probably fled from the noise and confusion.
The thud of hammers hitting nails echoed over the land. It mingled with the weeping, cries of suffering, and mutters of confusion as Ivan’s men worked to assemble the gallows below.
Ryker
A servant led us to Ivan’s private chamber before bowing and seeing himself out. He was eager to escape, and I understood why as soon as the door shut.
Tension hung heavily in the air. It was so thick it crept over my skin like a ghostly hand, spreading its angst through all those unfortunate enough to be here.
Across the way, a large, plush chair faced a solid glass wall. I couldn’t see his face, but the hands gripping the arms of the chair were white, and the muscles in Ivan’s slender arms stood out.
My father stood beside him. The duke’s eyebrows rose slightly when he spotted me, but his face remained impassive.
Spread throughout the room, more aristocrats gathered in the shadows or off to the side of the room, near the open drapes of the window. None looked like they wanted to get any closer to Ivan.
Behind me, the door opened, and Gaius swept into the room with four guards trailing him. My hands fisted before I eased them open.
I owed this man for what he did to Ellery, and one day, I’d make him pay for it. When Gaius’s gaze locked on mine, I glanced disdainfully over him before turning dismissively away.
Gaius continued forward to stand protectively behind Ivan, but I sensed his displeasure. He believed he was king shit now and expected others to treat him that way; he’d soon learn he was little more than a tiny fucking rabbit turd.
“Milord,” Samael greeted. “I have brought you Ryker Locke.”
Ivan’s fingers flexed on the chair, but he didn’t turn to greet me. It was my duty to go to him.
“Milord,” I greeted as I approached the chair. “I’ve been informed you wish to speak with me.”
When Ivan’s fingers flexed again, my father gave a small shake of his head. Things must be bad with Ivan if my father was trying to caution me.
“Did you know?” Ivan growled.
“Did I know what, milord?” I inquired.
“Did you know there was a female lightning bearer in the realm?”
“Not until I heard the rumors about one.”
“They are not rumors!”
Ivan’s raised voice, rebounding off the walls, caused some of the nobles to flinch. I didn’t react to it.
“Come here,” Ivan commanded.
I bristled over the order but had to play the game to survive. And I had to be smart about my moves to get Ellery out of this mess.
I stopped next to the left-hand side of his chair and stood across from my father. Ivan didn’t look at me as he remained focused on the large window.
His pale skin was pulled taut over his skull to reveal the sharp edges of his bones and the red splotches on his cheeks. His pale blue eyes glinted with rage, and his jaw worked back and forth as he glared out the window. Compressed into a flat line, his lips were nearly impossible to see.
When my attention shifted to the window, my heart sank. Thousands upon thousands of amsirah women filled the fields below.
I’d known I couldn’t see them all while standing on the road, but I had a good view of them now and suspected Ivan had plotted to bring every woman in Tempest to this place. I didn’t know how this nitwit managed to pull it off, but more of those emerging from portals were led forth by the guards holding their chains.
Every one of them had their wrists shackled with chains, most likely made by the metalsmiths he’d gathered at the palace. And I suspected they were all enchanted to prevent amsirah from using their abilities.
Ellery was as trapped down there as I was up here. The only difference was that one of us could still use our abilities, and I would do whatever it took to free her, even if it meant sacrificing myself.