Page 96 of A Tempest of Intrigue (Tempest of Shadows #4)

Ryker

Smoke still curled from Ivan’s eyes as a stunned silence enveloped the crowd, guards, archers, and all the powerful men gathered on the stage. None of them had seen Ivan’s death coming, not even me, but I’d needed a big distraction to save Ellery, and I’d provided it by destroying the tyrannical king.

I’d killed the man who was driving Tempest to a breaking point; I’d electrocuted the king who’d dragged all these women from their homes, shackled them, and brought them here.

I’d destroyed their enemy and I did it without drawing lightning from the sky or the earth. It had come from deep within me, which was something they’d never seen before or known was possible.

Hell, I didn’t even know it was possible until I met Ellery, and the joining of our powers turned us into something stronger. Something capable of killing with a touch.

I didn’t feel bad about killing Leo’s brother or committing regicide. Not only had the fucking bastard deserved it, but I’d burn the rest of them too if it meant saving Ellery.

She was far enough away that I couldn’t make out the color of her eyes, but her mouth hung open as she gazed at me. Trapped in the middle of the crowd, she was surrounded by a sea of women and guards who had no idea the power she possessed.

That was about to change. Once I got to her, they’d know why I’d killed Ivan and who she was… but first, I had to get to her.

That seemed impossible giving the sea of amsirah separating us and the mass quantity of guards within the crowd, on the palace walls, and behind me. I wanted to kill them all, but while I’d fried Ivan with my hand, the lightning rods would divert any larger bolts I tried to throw out.

I couldn’t kill the others with my touch. They’d never let me get close enough to do so, and they’d slaughter me if I tried. Right now, shock held them immobile but they wouldn’t stand there and wait for me to slaughter them.

The astonishment over what I’d done was already wearing off as realization started sinking in. It felt like time had slowed after I fried Ivan, but only seconds had passed, and murmurs were already starting to run through the crowd as movement returned to the amsirah.

Behind me, one of the earls broke away and ran for the stairs. Another man threw himself on the ground as my father’s eyes narrowed and fury darkened Gaius’s features. Samael gawked at me.

“Kill him!” Gaius shouted at the same time my father bellowed, “Capture him!”

That would never happen. Far too often in the past, I’d been at the mercy of others; I’d die before I ever let any of these fuckers imprison me.

As the shock wore off panic started setting in with the crowd. Ivan was dead, but hell was about to unfold.

Some of the women cried out as they pushed away from the stage, but they were packed in so tight that they could barely move. I wasn’t sure if they feared me or what Gaius and my father would unleash on me, but terror etched the faces of many.

Fury darkened the faces of others. I doubted that fury was because I’d destroyed the man who tore them from their homes, shackled them to keep their powers suppressed, and forced them onto this field.

Even before Ivan did all that, he and the aristocrats had imprisoned nearly everyone in Tempest by taking away their ability to leave the realm. They’d stripped them of their rights, dignity, carisle, and livelihood.

None of them had any love for the man who still had smoke spiraling from his empty eye sockets, or for anyone else on this stage… including me. But none of them had seen this coming and while rage and terror emanated from them, so did confusion.

They had no idea what to make of what I’d done… or of me. But that didn’t matter as I had to get off this stage before they slaughtered me.

I had to get to Ellery. Our secrets were coming out, and while they would all have the truth of the female lightning bearer, they couldn’t have her.

There was no going back, but if I didn’t move, they’d kill me before I ever had the chance to free her.

Ryker

When the guards finally recovered enough to start toward me with their swords raised and wary expressions on their faces, I smiled as lightning rose from my fingertips to encircle my wrists. The guards froze as color drained from their faces.

“Fire!” Gaius bellowed.

He was shouting at the archers on the stage, but when I flicked my fingers toward the guards, waves of lightning unleashed. It splintered apart as it branched toward them; many of the bolts detoured toward the lightning rods some of them held, while others succeeded in hitting a few guards.

The impact lifted them off their feet and flung them backward. A couple toppled off the back of the stage while others bounced across the wooden planks.

Some of the remaining guards threw their lightning rods away in time to avoid being shocked. Others weren’t fast enough to avoid the blow that flung them away but didn’t kill them.

The dead guards lay in scattered locations; some of them had come to a smoking stop near the feet of Gaius and my father. Gaius and the duke both stared at the remains before stepping hastily away from them.

“KILL HIM!” Gaius bellowed.

As the new head of the king’s guard, Gaius had catastrophically failed at his position, considering he was only five feet away from Ivan when I killed him, but the guards would listen to him.

“No!” my father shouted.

I had no idea why he wanted me alive, but if he had his way, it would be a fate worse than death, I was certain of that. Turning, I sprinted toward the edge of the platform.

“Stop him!” my father bellowed.

At the edge of the platform, I leapt out into the open air and twisted to unleash more lightning directed at the duke and Gaius. My father threw himself to the ground as Gaius ducked behind Ivan’s throne.

The rest of the aristocrats screamed as they either fell over or trampled each other to get off the stage. I had only a second to see them scatter before gravity pulled me beneath the platform. Their screams followed me as I fell toward the crowd of women and the thousands of guards amongst them.

“Kill him!” my father’s scream reached me as my feet hit the ground.

Apparently, the realization that I would kill him too had changed my father’s mind about trying to keep me alive. I had no doubt I’d destroy him, and all those on the stage with him as soon as I could, but right now, I had to get to Ellery.

Ryker

The prisoners closest to me cried out as they tried to scamper away, but the crowd was so thick, and they were pressed so closely together, they had difficulty avoiding me. I didn’t blame them for being afraid to be near me as the guards in the crowd moved in on me.

The twang of arrows releasing filled the air a second before the projectiles whistled toward me. Amsirah screamed as they strained to get out of the way of the descending, lethal projectiles.

Their screams rebounded in my ears as they pushed against me. I shoved my forward, unwilling to be deterred from reaching Ellery.

They were all innocent in this, and would suffer because of me, but there was nothing I could do about that. I couldn’t save everyone here and Ellery’s was far more important than theirs.

Throwing myself to the ground, I rolled through the legs and feet scampering to get out of my way. Thuds pounded into the earth all around me as the arrows struck the dirt but none of them hit me.

Many women weren’t so fortunate as they screamed, and some fell to their knees, when arrows struck them. I rolled again and bounded back to my feet when the thuds ended.

Much of the crowd surged away from me, and the target I represented, but to my surprise, others came toward me. At first, I didn’t understand why they were closing around me until one of them hissed at me, “Duck down! You’re a lot taller than us and a far bigger target.”

“There’s a guard to your left,” another woman said.

“Get down,” I hissed at that woman.

She ducked a second before more lightning erupted from my fingers and hit the guard. Lifted off his feet, he flew only a few inches backward before crashing into some of the women near him.

Twisting in the crowd, I raised my hands and unleashed more lightning toward the archers on the parapets. Some of them were preparing to fire again, but many were still reloading when I brought lightning down from the heavens to unleash my wrath on them.

The dozens upon dozens of lightning rods lining the parapets drew most of my fury. Sparks shot into the air as my electricity smashed into the metal rods.

Upon impact, lightning fizzled in all directions as it was funneled away from those I sought to destroy. While only one of my bolts succeeded in hitting a guard, the others shouted as they threw themselves away from the light flashing all around them.

Turning in the crowd, I brought more lightning down on the stage and the archers lining the edge of it. They screamed as they dodged my bolts but, like what happened on the parapets, the numerous lightning rods drew my lightning away from the men I sought to kill.

It flashed so brightly around them that it engulfed the stage in an intense white glow that made it impossible to look at the stage. I turned my head away until the blinding intensity of it faded.

When I turned back, my father was standing near the stairs. The thunderous expression on his face told me he’d gladly carve out my heart and stomp it into the ground, but that would make my death way too fast for him.

If he got his hands on me, he’d make me suffer far worse than he ever had when I was a child. And once he learned Ellery was the female lightning bearer, he’d probably burst more than a few blood vessels in his fit of rage.

That thought made me smile as I waved at him before turning and sprinting into the crowd. Though everyone remained jammed together, they did their best to part before closing around me again.

“Stay down,” another woman hissed at me, but it was nearly impossible to stay hidden while also trying to get to Ellery.

Through the crush of women, I spotted more guards shoving their way toward me. If they were closer, I could unleash my lightning on them, but I couldn’t do so now with all of these women surrounding me.

I had no weapons; they were taken from me before I met with Ivan. All I had was my weathers, and while bringing forth some rain would provide a distraction, it wasn’t enough of one to risk stopping to create it.

I was sure some of these women wanted to help but their chains kept their powers suppressed and hindered their ability to fight. If the opportunity arose, I’d get a weapon, but I wasn’t going to stop trying to get to Ellery to find one.

The twang of strings and whistle of arrows alerted me that another torrent of bolts had unleashed. Many of the women threw themselves to the ground to make themselves a smaller target.

When they did so, I leapt over their backs before leaping forward and twisting into a ball that rolled only a few feet before bodies halted me. This time, I couldn’t avoid taking a shaft to the thigh.

Gritting my teeth, I bit back a grunt of pain as I grasped my leg. Screams filled the air as the rest of the arrows thudded into bodies or pounded into the ground.

Those screams resonated in my ears as I grabbed the shaft and snapped it off. It would be a bitch to cut out later, but I didn’t have the time to dig it out now, and I couldn’t have it getting in my way.

I was tired of being a fucking pincushion to arrows, but it could have been worse. Raising my hands, I unleashed more lightning on the archers as they reloaded.

While the bolts crashed into the rods again, it took out two more of the archers and forced the others back. Some ducked behind the wall, but they wouldn’t stay there for long.

As I was turning away from them, another guard emerged from the crowd with his sword

Raised as he charged at me. Electricity flowed through me as his blade descended in a deadly arc toward my head.