“I don’t think any of us should touch it,” Tucker said.“It possesses a lot of power, but we have no idea what it can do.Something happened to this town, and that gem is at the center of it; touching it could destroy us all.If we could figure out what it is, maybe it could help us against the aristocrats.”
“How do we figure that out?”I asked.
“I have no idea.I was going to say we should leave this town immediately, but we should keep searching it.There might be a temple here that contains its history and information about the gem.”
“We saw the whole town from up there; there is no temple,” Ryker said.
“We can’t walk away without knowing we did everything we could to uncover the truth,” Tucker insisted.
“There’s the library downstairs,” Scarlet said.“There might be something in it.”
“Yes,” Tucker agreed.“We should start there.”
I didn’t want to stay in this town or be anywhere near that stone, but they were right; we couldn’t leave without searching for answers.I wouldneverreturn to this place once I left it.
CHAPTERFIFTY-SIX
Ryker
As we moved backthrough the castle, I stayed as far from Ellery as possible while also keeping an eye on her.I didn’t think deadly creatures lurked in this town and sensed no imminent danger, but I disliked having her out of my sight.
However, I was scared if I got too close, I couldn’t stop myself from taking her, and that couldn’t happen in this place.If I started, I’d never stop after the rush I’d experienced while standing next to that gem… not after thedesire.
I ground my teeth back and forth as the cock I’d finally willed into submission started hardening again.Not here.
This was the worst possible time for me to have an erection and to be feeling like this, but that strange gem had me all kinds of fucked-up.Whatwaswith the damn thing?And why did it affect me in this way?
Ellery seemed to feel the same, or at least she sensed my barely controlled savagery, as she kept her distance and didn’t look at me.If she looked at me….
I didn’t know if I could stay away from her, and I couldn’t take her in this place.There was so much death here that no one should get an erection, but mine refused to go away.
We’d both felt the pulse from the stone differently than the others.I’d seen it on her face and felt it before she turned and bolted from the tower.
I didn’t know if we’d experienced it because we were a part of each other in a way the others weren’t.Or maybe it was because we were lightning bearers and, for some reason, the stone affected us differently.
Either way, until I regained complete control, I would maintain my distance from her.
And that control was slowly coming back to me.The intensity of my lust wasn’t as savage as it was in the tower, but it wasn’t ebbing as fast as I would have liked.
And though it was receding, I could feel its mark still etched into my bones and deep within my soul.I could control it, but it wouldn’t be sated until I was inside her.
We returned to the library on the first floor.It was a two-story room with sliding ladders to the upper shelves and books crammed into every nook and cranny.
Floor-to-ceiling shelves lined all four walls.There were no windows, probably to keep the books protected from the sun, but that made the inside of the room far darker than the rest of the castle.
Using our lightning, Ellery and I illuminated the room.The second electricity sparked to life on my fingertips, the surge of power I’d felt while standing next to the gem rushed back over me.
I stopped walking as I willed my erection away again.On the other side of the room, Ellery closed her eyes; her lightning blazed up to her shoulders before settling around her wrists.
She trembled before inhaling again and striding forward.Keeping her attention away from me, she held up her hand to reveal the titles on the numerous spines surrounding us.
It took me a little longer to feel comfortable enough to walk again.When I did, I strode to the opposite side of the room and lifted my arms to reveal the books there.Ianto and Tucker followed me while Callan and Scarlet walked with Ellery.
Tucker climbed one of the ladders to examine the higher shelves while Ianto went over the lower ones.I stayed back so as not to accidentally destroy something with my lightning.
“Judging by the titles, these are all fiction,” Tucker said.
“Same over here,” Callan called from the other side of the room.
