She stopped and bent to pick something up. Whatever she lifted, she dropped it into something I couldn’t see beforevanishing and reappearing with a broom. She brushed some of her hair back before starting to sweep.
Sitting back on my heels, I studied her. I couldn’t open a portal into her manor; if I could, I’d be in there. I would have to get across the road and up the stairs without being seen if I was going to talk to her tonight.
I couldn’t consider making that move as more riders thundered past and another group stopped. They didn’t ask for water but dismounted to stretch and walk in circles before mounting and riding off again.
I’d spent some nights in this manor, and the road was never this busy. We’d stirred up a hornet’s nest when we robbed the king, and the effects were rapidly spreading across the realm.
I studied the road and the constant flow of travelers. I’d already been gone longer than I should have been, and another rider pulled up as the group in the stables was leaving.
It was pointless to stay here; I’d never get to talk to her tonight. I could try coming back later, but I had a feeling my father would keep me occupied well into the night, and it was doubtful that, after opening a portal back to my father’s castle, I’d be able to create another so soon afterward.
My fingers dug into the earth. Deep in the dirt, lightning danced across my fingertips as my irritation grew.
I’d spent far too much time trying to deny my feelings for Ellery, and now, when I’d finally come to terms with her secrets and lies, I couldn’t talk to her about it. She was hurt and angry, and I couldn’t tell her I’d only left this morning to get her breakfast.
I’d intended to spend the day in bed with her, not living out a nightmare in my father’s castle. And something had happened here. I didn’t know what, but I was sure of it. She looked far too tired and beaten for it to have been a normal day.
Plus, there was a bandage on her hand.
“Fuck,” I hissed through my teeth.
I hated this helpless feeling. Everyone in all the realms would know she was mine one day, but no matter how badly I desired it, it couldn’t be today.
We’d come too far for me to expose our relationship now. My father would go after her with everything he was, and while she could live in the Revenant Woods, she wasn’t ready to live the life of the hunted.
I wasn’t ready for her to live it either. My father still had her in his crosshairs, I was sure of it, but for now, he was biding his time, plotting his moves, and occupied with Bria.
Ellery was safer as a free woman than a criminal, and I couldn’t tear her home away from her. One day, she would have to leave it, but neither she nor her mother was ready to do so.
Reluctantly, I unfurled my fingers from the dirt and slipped further into the shadows. When I was safely away from the road, I took a deep breath and opened another portal.
It would be my last one for a while, but it would get me back to the castle. Though I couldn’t see it anymore, I glanced back at her manor before entering the portal.
I didn’t know how, but I’d find a way to talk to her tomorrow at the earl’s ball. I wouldn’t tolerate being apart from her anymore.
When I emerged back in the bathroom, I closed the portal, unlocked the door, and returned to the dining hall. I didn’t speak to the loving couple as I reclaimed my seat and downed my glass of cartha.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ellery
It took mostof the night, but eventually, we pieced what was left of our home back together. As we worked and the pieces of our lives filled trash cans and boxes, my eyes burned with tears I never shed.
Thankfully, the portrait survived. They’d cracked the frame, and we would have to fix it, but the picture survived.
I almost hugged it against my chest when I discovered it wasn’t ruined. Instead, I placed it against the fireplace and resumed sweeping up the pieces.
A few times throughout the process, Ryker crossed my mind. I always shoved him aside when he did.
I should have gone to meet him in the Revenant Woods; we had a lot of things to figure out, but I couldn’t bring myself to leave my mother for the five minutes it would take to tell him that I had to return home. I was also okay with avoiding him for a while. I’d had enough heartache for one day.
I had no idea what time it was when I trudged upstairs to my bed. I didn’t bother undressing as I still wore the black pantsand didn’t dare take them off until I could get rid of them; those assholes might return.
Even if I put something more comfortable on, I doubted I’d get much sleep. This was not a night for sleep.
And I wasn’t wrong about not sleeping. I tossed and turned while trying not to cry over everything they’d taken from us and the stark reality we werenothingin this realm.
No, that wasn’t entirely true; we weretoys. Fun little trinkets for the king and nobles to play with whenever they grew bored.
