He released my shoulder. “It’s tough, but we’re making our way through. Thankfully, the crops are mostly established and growing well, and we managed to get most of the repairs from the magnetic storm done before this happened. Don’t worry about what’s happening here; we’re taking care of everything. If you need help getting your mother back, we’re here for you.”
“Thank you. Keeping this place going is the biggest help; I hope you know how much I appreciate all you and your family do.”
“This place means a lot to us.”
“I know. Where’s Scarlet?”
“She went into The Hollows to sell some honey. She should be back soon.”
“I’m going to shower and change before going to speak with someone; I’m hoping they can help.”
“We’ll be here when you return.”
This time, I gave in and threw my arms around him. I embraced him, but as he raised his arms to hug me back, I stepped away.
“Thank you, Mr. Fletcher. Could you please take Adira to the stables for me?”
“Of course.”
“I’ll see you all again soon. I won’t be gone as long this time.”
“Take whatever time you need.”
I knew he meant that, but I was out of options if Tucker couldn’t help me find Ryker. I couldn’t spend more time camping outside the duke’s castle while Mr. Fletcher and his family ran the manor.
If Tucker couldn’t help me, I’d have to find another way to save my mother, but after five days of thinking about it, I could only come up with the idea of sacrificing myself. I’d do it if necessary.
Turning away, my bow and quiver bounced against my back as I jogged across the lawn to the front steps of my home. Without my mother here, it didn’t feel as warm and inviting when I opened the door.
The darkness inside, its musty scent from being shut up, and its lack of cooking aromas all hammered home that my mother wasn’t here. I stood in the shadows, surveying the house that had ceased feeling like one.
Once I get her back, it will be a home again.
With that resolve in mind, I ran upstairs to shower and change.
CHAPTERSIX
Ellery
I optedto travel by portal this time and didn’t take Adira into the forest with me. I planned on going to Tucker’s camp, where he stayed with other amsirah who had fled their homes for the Revenant Woods. There was no reason for the mare to enter the haunted forest again.
My hair was still damp, and my weapons were in place, when I opened a portal from my bedroom to emerge at the edge of the clearing Tucker and his followers had created in the woods. Since the last time I was here, they’d cut down more trees and built more tree houses.
The group looked to have swelled to almost fifty, but there could be more hunting in the woods or in the tree houses. They’d added a pen and erected a barn.
Some sheep baaed from within the pen while chickens pecked the ground around it. A separate pen contained a dozen calazars, the small brown creatures native to Tempest that had been tamed into livestock and were delicious when cooked.
Goats stood in a separate pen, and a horse stuck its head out of the barn. The amsirah living here were turning this place into a little town.
The thuds of a hammer striking nails reverberated through the clearing as some amsirah worked to build another tree house. A dozen more stood guard while others tossed food for the chickens and tended the goats.
Across the way, ten amsirah practiced with bows and arrows. Unlike the last time I was here, Tucker had given them arrows to shoot at the targets he’d created in the woods. Bow strings twanged, and arrows thudded as the amsirah trained to become fighters.
These men and womenloathedthe king. Most had been simple farmers, workers, merchants, or wanderers who bounced from one job to another. Then, unable to pay their taxes, they were driven from their homes and livelihoods and turned into fighters.
I hoped these amsirah one day made King Ivan pay for his choices. I didn’t know how they would do it, but they were becoming warriors under Tucker’s guidance.
Tucker, a tall, lean man with thick stubble lining his high cheekbones and narrow jaw, walked behind the amsirah as they practiced archery. Sometimes, he paused to fix how one held a bow, lifted their hands higher, or adjusted their stance.
