We emerged in the Revenant Woods, near where I often met Ellery. The songs and sounds of insects and other night creatures filled the air as a carnivore roared in the distance.
Callan jumped a little at the sound and edged closer to Ellery as he glanced nervously around the forest. He gripped his sword a little tighter as he paled.
“Not used to the woods?” I asked him as I closed the portal.
“No,” he replied. “I always went out of my way to avoid this place.”
“If they discover you were part of the rebellion, you’ll have to get used to the forest.” I shifted my attention from Callan to Ellery. “Open a portal into your manor so I can take you home.”
“You should go back. You’re risking yourself for me.”
“Always.”
“Ryker—”
I clasped her nape and kissed her forehead. “Open the portal, Ellery. I’m not going anywhere until you’re home.”
I didn’t plan on going anywhere right away either, but she didn’t have to know that. I had to return, and the sooner, the better, but I’d ensure she was okay first.
Ellery sighed before using her hands to open a portal. I let her and Callan go through first before following them to emerge in the downstairs hallway of her home.
“Stay here,” Ellery said, “while I close the drapes.”
When she vanished, Callan dropped the remnants of her skirt on the floor and ran a hand through his sweaty, blond hair. It stood out at odd angles around his pale face.
I took in the barren walls while waiting for Ellery to return. There hadn’t been many decorations in this section of the manor, but the ones here had added a sense of warmth that made the manor more inviting. Their loss was palpable.
Callan shifted uneasily and kept shooting me nervous glances while we waited for Ellery, but I didn’t acknowledge him. It took a few minutes before Ellery returned from the direction of the kitchen. She must have wound her way through all the downstairs rooms before returning to us.
My fingers clenched and unclenched as I took in her bruised face, torn dress, and bedraggled hair. The makeshift bandage on her arm didn’t fully cover her healing cut.
This never should have happened to her. I scowled at Callan, who shrank away from me.
CHAPTER FIFTY-NINE
Ryker
“Okay,”Ellery said. “I’ve closed all the drapes, so at least no one can see in.”
She didn’t say anything more before veering into the sitting room. I followed her into the room that, while it was now devoid of all the artifacts once decorating it, was still cozier than anything in my father’s castle.
A drape hung askew, they’d broken the arm of a chair, and the table that once sat before the sofa was gone. She’d told me that Samael and his lackeys had trashed the place, but seeing what they’d done infuriated and saddened me.
She’d lost so much, and I could never give any of it back to her. But I could give her freedom and security from the monsters who’d done this, and I would.
“What happened here?” Callan asked as he stopped in the doorway.
“The sheriff,” Ellery answered tiredly.
“That bastard.”
Callan walked over and settled in the chair I’d occupied the day Ellery revealed she could control all the weathers. He was far too familiar with her home for my liking.
“How were you involved in the rebellion?” I demanded.
Closing his eyes, Callan scrubbed his face with his hands before lowering them. His green eyes were wary as they surveyed me.
Ellery sat on the sofa, clasped her hands before her, and hunched forward. Her eyes were on Callan, but her posture screamed of sorrow.
