Page 95 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

Ryker

There was Ellery. Finally .

I’d felt her out there, amongst the crowd, lost to the crush of unsuspecting victims and me… until now. While I couldn’t make out all her details, I’d know her anywhere. It was impossible for me not to; she was my heart, soul, and everything good about me.

She was the one I loved above everything else. The one I’d die for. The one I’d kill for.

My attention shifted back to the archers on the walls and parapets. While they’d shoot at the crowd, they wouldn’t shoot at the stage, but I couldn’t stay here.

I had to get to her. I’d told Ivan I might be able to sense her, and I could pull on that possibility to enter the crowd, but he didn’t want me to find her.

He was determined to see these women suffer. Determined for them to see how much power he wielded and how few shits he gave about them. They’d torture these women no matter what.

Even if Ellery came forward, it wouldn’t be enough to stop him, and I couldn’t let that happen. I needed a big distraction that would draw every amsirah’s attention, create chaos, and give Ellery a chance to flee.

On the stage, I couldn’t feel the current flowing through the earth, and the lightning rods would block any bolts I tried to draw, but my powers had evolved. When my power combined with Ellery’s, it increased the intensity, and I didn’t need the ground or the sky to unleash it anymore.

The electrical pulse flowed through me, and all those gathered around me, but I didn’t need them either. That would be a last resort. I’d far prefer to get closer to Ellery before anything happened.

Resting my hand on Ivan’s shoulder, I bent to speak in his ear. “Milord, perhaps I could go into the crowd to see if I can uncover this woman. She might not come forth, even if you torture these others.”

“She’ll come forth; if she doesn’t, they’ll pay for it.”

With those words, I knew what I had to do.

Rising, I kept my hand on Ivan’s shoulder as I met Ellery’s gaze again. My arms and heart ached for her, but there was a good chance I’d never hold her again after this.

Ellery

I couldn’t tear my gaze away from Ryker as his head turned toward me. A small smile flitted at the corners of his mouth before he winked.

What…?

I never finished the mental question as a flash of blinding light burst across the stage. Gasps, cries, and screams erupted from the crowd when it pushed away from the stage and turned their heads from the blinding light, but it didn’t last long before the flash cleared.

For a moment, no one moved or spoke as everyone waited for more to follow, but the day had become oddly still. Then, as if all drawn forth simultaneously, all heads turned toward where the light had been.

All that remained was a still-smoldering King Ivan sitting on the stage. Smoke curled from his eye sockets a second before his eyes burned from his head and their ashes fell in his lap.

My gaze flew to Ryker as everyone else remained unmoving. He killed the king! Ryker killed the king!

Chaos erupted as the rest of the gathering also realized what happened.