Page 91 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

CHAPTER NINETY-ONE

Ryker

Ivan had plotted, planned, and used a lot of power and money to pull all this off, and the men gathered in this room had helped him do it. I noticed none of their wives and daughters were here, and while I doubted they were below, they weren’t roaming free either, of that I was certain.

Fuck!

I’d underestimated the idiotic shithead sitting beside me. I’d been certain he could barely wipe his ass on his own, let alone pull off anything of this magnitude, but he’d proven me wrong… with my father’s help, of course.

My gaze flicked to the duke standing beside Ivan, staring down at the land with pride and determination. My father wanted the female lightning bearer as much as Ivan; he’d lose his mind when he learned he’d once had her in his carriage and let her go… after threatening everyone she loved and everything she held dear.

The numerous guards on the fields herded the women toward the gallows near the lakeshore. Next to the rising gallows, builders had also erected a stage that rose twenty feet in the air.

Those builders were putting the final touches on that stage… dozens and dozens of lightning rods. I studied those rods as I contemplated how I could free Ellery.

Ivan and the nobles didn’t know my power had grown enough that I didn’t require the earth or sky to wield it anymore. That was a secret I would have preferred to keep for a while, but I had a feeling many secrets would come out today.

I flexed my hands as I studied the crowd. Had they harmed Ellery to get her here? She had to be terrified, and she had to know why they were all here.

And I had to get to her before she handed herself over to save the others, and she would do it. The possibility of that happening before I could do anything to save her made my blood run cold.

I didn’t have much time to find her, and once I did, I had to get her into the Revenant Woods. I’d never tried to open a portal down there, but the field was close enough to the palace that I doubted I’d be able to create one while on it.

The forest was on the other side of the lake, about half a mile from the field. We’d have to get past the guards, through the crowd, and to the shelter of those trees to escape.

Fuuuuuuck.

“Did you know?” Ivan asked again.

His harsh, dry tone ripped my attention away from the chaos below. “About a female lightning bearer?”

Ivan sneered as his head turned toward me. Lesser men might shrink from the madness churning within his eyes; I didn’t.

It was clear Ivan had been pushed to the brink of insanity and was teetering on the edge. I wanted to watch him fall but couldn’t shove him over yet.

“Yes,” he snarled.

“No, I didn’t know.”

“How could you not know?”

I schooled myself to remain calm and not poke the bear. I couldn’t do anything for Ellery if I was chained or in a cell.

“The same way you don’t know every amsirah who possesses your abilities.” How many times would I have to explain this to these idiots?

“ Many other amsirah have my abilities too. Only one other has yours.”

“As far as we know,” my father murmured.

Ivan’s head swiveled toward him. “There aren’t any more of them!”

His tone told me they’d had this discussion before, and Ivan wouldn’t rehash it. To Ivan, the idea of one lightning bearer slipping past him, especially a woman, was enough of an insult without adding more to it.

My father bowed his head in acquiescence. I was sure it killed him to do so.

“Your brother knew nothing of her existence either, milord,” Gaius murmured.

Ivan’s hands flexed on the arms of his chair. “As far as I know. That asshole might have kept her from me.”

A hush descended over the room.

Ivan’s eyes bore into me. “Do you think there could be others, besides this woman?”

“I’m not convinced this woman exists,” I lied smoothly.

“Over a hundred witnesses saw her. She exists.”

“Then she’s a fluke. There are no others.”

“What makes you so certain?”

“Because eventually, they would reveal themselves… as this woman has done.”

“Hmm,” Ivan grunted. “Perhaps. Do you think you could sense her and bring her to me if you were near her?”

I opened my mouth to say no but hesitated before responding. Ellery was down there, and if I told him yes, he might let me down there to search for her. It could help me get her out of here.

However, I’d told my father and Ivan that I wouldn’t sense another lightning bearer. This was a path I had to tread carefully.

“Doubtful, but what do I know? There’s a chance I’ve never encountered this woman before; I certainly don’t know everyone in the realm,” I said. “So maybe if we were near each other, I would recognize her.”

“Hmm.”

Ivan sat forward on his throne as he surveyed the chaos below.

“What’s going on down there?” I couldn’t stop myself from inquiring, even if it was obvious, I wanted to know the plan. Besides, it was a normal question for someone to ask.

“All the women in Tempest are being brought here,” my father answered.

“We will uncover the lightning bearer,” Ivan murmured, his eyes feverish and the red in his cheeks creeping higher.

“ All the women?”

“Anyone over the age of twelve.”

There were twelve -year-olds down there. Why did they have children here?

But I suspected I knew the answer as the uneasiness in my stomach grew. Ellery was smart, but she wouldn’t let others suffer in her place… especially not children.

I had to get down there before she handed herself over to them.

“Why not just bring the women who have lightning bearer genetics?” I inquired.

“That wouldn’t be as much fun,” Ivan murmured. “They will all suffer. They will all see what it means to go against me .”

I was sure he was about to start salivating as he surveyed the scene below.

“I will uncover her,” Ivan stated.

“By killing them?” I inquired.