The room was still full of chaos, but some of the rain had eased, and there weren’t as many tornadoes as before, as some of the amsirah who once controlled them either perished or fled. Hail continued to pelt me and the room, but it had eased.
I had to find Ellery before everything settled enough for others to pay attention to me again. That meant I had to pull in my lightning because it was a beacon that would lead them to where I was.
It took some time, but I retracted it while searching for Ellery, but I didn’t see her anywhere on the dance floor. Chaos still reigned, but it hadn’t been long enough since I last saw her for them to vanish into the crowd.
And a rebel wearing a hood wouldn’t blend in easily with the guests and guards. My gaze fell on the pillar thirty feet from where I last saw her.
It would make sense for the rebel to take her there. I believed the rebel was probably trying to leverage her for their freedom, but if I was wrong and they planned to harm her, then I could be far from Ellery by the time I realized I’d chosen wrong.
However, once she was free of this place and all these immortals, she could draw electricity again and torch whoever had taken her.Ifshe was in the right frame of mind after what happened with her mother, andifthe rebel hadn’t somehow suppressed her abilities.
With no other options, I decided the pillar was my best choice. When I released my hold over the tornado, my last tether to the lightning I’d managed to suck in from outside vanished.
Sprinting toward the pillar, I didn’t look back as I ducked into the alcove. The tapestry, once covering it, had been ripped free to expose the space, but no one was inside.
Kneeling at the edge of the trapdoor, I found the small latch to lift it and pulled it free. The dim glow from below illuminated a set of stone steps, but no Ellery or rebel.
If she was down here, I’d find her, and I’d kill whoever had taken her.
CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO
Ellery
I feltlike I was moving through a thick paste I couldn’t escape as it clouded every part of my mind and body; I wasn’t entirely sure where I was. Everything passed in a blur of walls, openings, and more walls.
The roar of wind and tornadoes faded, and a damp chill coated my skin. The dim glow illuminating the stone surrounding me came from small, recessed lights set in the walls that pressed too close to me.
Someone held my arm, but I wasn’t sure who, and I didn’t care. All I cared about was the fact they wouldn’t let me sink to the ground and cry like I yearned to do.
My mother was gone. Dead.
The last living member of my family had been cruelly ripped away from me. I could barely breathe through the grief crushing my chest.
Every part of me felt strangely numb yet brutalized as it screamed for something it could never have again… one more hug. A sob lodged in my throat.
My mother had been a part of the very fabric ofme.She was woven into my being; not only had she given me life, but she’d loved me, raised me, and given me the freedom to be who I was. Her essence stamped every part of me, and they’d torn her away.
Yet, no matter how badly I longed to sink to the ground and cry, I kept going. I didn’t have any other choice, not because I was a prisoner, but because I needed to be free of the monsters who’d created this mess.
I craved fresh air and a place without walls and death. A place where I could escape the fear, but I could never avoid that while living in Tempest.
I wanted Ryker, but he was stuck up there with the rest of them, and I had no idea when I’d see him again. That thought pierced through the fog enshrouding me a little, and while I still felt like I was clawing my way through quicksand, I tore pieces of it away to get to the surface.
Rykerwas still up there in the place that had stolen my mother from me. I couldn’t leave him.
When I tried to plant my feet, my awkward movements caused me to stumble and nearly go down.
“Easy, Ellery, just keep going. We’re almost there.”
When I lifted my head, my wet hair fell forward to shield my eyes. I pushed it back to peer up at the man next to me.
Iknewthat voice and, because the rebel’s hoods were hastily made, their eyes were revealed. Which meant, I knew those green eyes too. I hadn’t fully acknowledged him when he first grabbed me and started speaking, but part of me must have known I was safe as I hadn’t fought him either.
“Callan.”
His eyes darted away. “Just keep going.”
“Why?”
