I started back through the corn and toward the manor. I still had to tell the rest of her family; they had a right to know, and it was better to hear about a female lightning bearer from me instead of a passing rider.
I didn’t think Scarlet would say anything to them until I did. She was mad at me, but she would keep my secret.
It felt like the weight of the world bore down on my shoulders as I walked, and I was so caught up in my misery that I was almost out of the field before I realized something was wrong. I emerged from between the stalks and stared up the hill, past the barn, pens, and coops, to the road I couldn’t see from here.
After we stole the king’s money, many travelers on the road were excited to spread the news of Ivan’s loss. We’d managed to free some of the rebels last night and revealed a female lightning bearer; travelers spreading word of this should clog the road.
What’s keeping them away?
On the horizon, the thick gray smoke was dissipating as whatever fueled it burned out.Is the cause of the fire keeping the travelers away, or is it something more?
A sense of foreboding crept down my spine as, in the distance, a single bird sang.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ryker
It wastime for me to leave Nottingshire. I’d learned what had caused the smoke and was impatient to return to Ellery to ensure she was safe.
“Where were you last night?” Gaius inquired.
I leveled him with a disdainful stare. “Do I look like I have breasts to you?”
Samael tittered, and Gaius shifted uneasily as he realized that while he didn’t like me, he had to tread lightly. I was the son of a duke, after all.
“No, but you must have known about her,” Gaius said.
“And why is that?”
“Because you’re both lightning bearers.”
“And what weathers can you control,Gaius?”
The way I said his name caused the corner of his mouth to twitch. “Wind, rain, and snow,” he bit out through his teeth.
So, three weathers meant he had some power, but not as much as I did, and certainly not as much as Ellery. “And do you know every amsirah who can control the wind, rain, or snow?”
“Of course not, but there are far more of them in Tempest than there are lightning bearers.”
“You don’t say. Well, thank you for bringing that to my attention; I wouldn’t have known otherwise.”
Samael’s mouth twitched toward a smile before he suppressed it. I sensed Gaius’s irritation rising, but he wasn’t stupid.
I was more powerful than him and the only son of the only duke in this realm. He knew better than to take me on, though I was certain he’d like to try.
I barely knew him, but I had no doubt Gaius was like my father… thirsty for power and control. And he would do whatever it took to gain more of both those things.
He also desired Ellery. I’d seen it on his face and in his eyes when he interacted with her. That alone was enough for me to hate the man, but there was plenty else to despise about Gaius.
I didn’t trust him; it was impossible to trust someone who would do whatever it took to benefit themselves. He’d said he left Tempest after the Ghoul War and returned when he heard rumors about the realm being shut off from the others.
What was he doing while outside of Tempest?
It certainly wasn’t anything benevolent. He was too much like my father for that.
Beneath his polished exterior and smooth smile was the putrid soul of something malevolent. He may fool others, but he’d never fooled me, and it wasn’t just because he was interested in Ellery.
“So, you can’t tell me every other amsirah who controls the wind, rain, or snow but expect me to know another lightning bearer when I see one?” I pressed.
