It had been over a month since I last saw him. In that time, his dark blond hair had grown past the collar of his shirt.
I looked around the clearing but didn’t see Ryker anywhere. I didn’t let that dissuade me; Tucker probably knew where he was.
When I emerged from the shadows, one of the guards noticed me and did a double take. He stepped toward me, and I held up my hand in a pacifying gesture.
“I mean no harm; I’m just here to speak with Tucker.”
He shifted his grip on the spear. I couldn’t recall him from the last time I was here, so he could be new, but I also hadn’t met everyone.
“I’ve been here before,” I continued. “How else would I know your location?”
The man grunted.
“I came with Ryker last time.”
“How come you’re not with him now?”
That was a lot of history I wasn’t about to unload on this guy, but his words intrigued me. Had Ryker returned here since the man remembered him?
“Because I’m allowed to walk the woods freely and came by myself,” I retorted.
When his eyes narrowed further, I wasn’t sure he could see out of them anymore.
“Look, I’m not here to argue; I’m going to talk to Tucker, and I’m not leaving until I do,” I told him. “You can drag me into the woods, but I’ll return.”
I rested my hand against the bottom of my bow; I was better with it thaneveryonehere, including Tucker. I couldn’t kill them all, and didn’t want to, but I could incapacitate more than a few.
If push came to shove, I’d unleash my lightning on them too, if it meant getting to Ryker. No one in this clearing could help me with the king and his father, but he could, and I would do whatever it took to find him.
I’d much prefer to keep my lightning a secret for the rest of my life. I doubted it would happen, but I could hope.
When I stepped forward, the guard moved to block me, and my fingers twitched on my bow. I wouldn’t mind shooting an arrow straight into his foot to keep him in place, but making enemies here wasn’t the best way to get help.
Taking a deep breath, I forced a smile that was more like a baring of my teeth as I shouted, “Tucker!”
When the guard’s lips curled into a sneer, I grinned at him. I didn’t dare take my gaze away from the man, but I saw Tucker turn toward us from the corner of my eye.
Irritation swiftly replaced the confusion on his face. He stalked across the clearing toward me and the guard.
I kept my chin high and my jaw set. This was going to be ugly, but I’d get through it.
I would again pay the price for what I’d done to Ryker, this time, with his best friend. No matter what Tucker said or did, I wouldn’t leave here without learning Ryker’s location.
CHAPTERSEVEN
Ellery
Turning away from the guard,I kept my chin high and shoulders back as Tucker stopped before me. I contemplated releasing my bow as a muscle in his jaw twitched, and he glared at me.
He was furious, but being defensive against him wouldn’t help me. Besides, no matter how mad he was at me, he wouldn’t harm me.
Ryker may hate me now, and Tucker too, but neither of them would want to see me dead… I hoped. My fingers briefly tightened on my bow before I released it.
The last time I saw Tucker, things were far different between us. Then, he’d grinned at me and asked,“And you’ll take care of him?”
I hadn’t known how to respond, so I’d nodded. But I hadn’t taken care of Ryker.
Ryker and Tucker shared a deep bond forged through suffering and desperation to survive the torment of the ophidians while so many of their friends perished. They were closer than friends, possibly closer than brothers, and while Tucker had liked me at first, he didn’t now.
