Fletcher and Luna nodded their agreement.
“We were at the wedding when she brought all five of them forth to join with Ryker’s abilities.”
“It wasamazing,” Luna stated.
“Not only is she the only female lightning bearer to exist, but she’s also theonlyamsirah to wield all five weathers. But more than that, she’s here, fighting foryou, during the darkest time in Tempest’s history,” I said.
While I was sure times were pretty bleak after the amsirah stole the Heart of Stone from the gargoyles and it destroyed that town, they couldn’t have been as bad as now.
As our words sank in, the faces of the amsirah changed. Their postures, so defeated before, grew stiffer and filled with some pride as fire returned to their eyes.
“And wewillfind a way to defeat the aristocrats,” I said.
Some of them smiled as they bobbed their heads in agreement.
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Ellery
For the most part,our delivery of carisle to the towns was uneventful. We left a lot of the money on the roads and raced back through our portal before most realized we were there.
The caravan hadn’t arrived in some of the towns yet. Now that it was delayed in its pickup, some of the amsirah we saw on the streets weren’t quite as deflated as others.
We didn’t see Ryker when we returned to refill our chest or when we took another one with us. They’d also returned a few times, as our supply was quickly dwindling.
We only had Nottingshire—or The Hollows as the locals called it, because of all the empty bellies—left to deliver money to as we gathered our last chest. This would soon be over, and I was fairly sure I’d collapse when it was.
Ryker and the others must be heading for their final village too, as we’d taken the remainder of the carisle. We should return around the same time.
We’d discussed the order we’d take with the towns before separating; he’d be in Harborlight now. He was aware our last stop was The Hollows.
I cradled the chest against my belly as Scarlet opened a portal. The three of us trudged on to the woods behind the veiled rock.
We had to move swiftly, stay mostly concealed, and get out fast. Nottingshire was the town closest to the palace and the one with the heaviest guard presence.
It was the place where the nobles occasionally climbed off their lofty perches to mingle with the common folk. Usually, it was because they were bored and looking to entertain themselves with the misery of others or because they were looking to get fucked in one of the bordellos.
From our concealed space beneath the trees, it was easy to see the dozen or so amsirah on the streets as they traveled from one place to another. They rarely looked up as they trudged toward their destinations with single-minded focus.
A few horses and carriages maneuvered the street. The merchants at their booths were lackluster in their calls to the passing public, but they still hawked their wares.
“I’ll take the chest out there,” Tucker offered, holding his hands out to me.
“No, we’ll go together,” I said. “No one will notice us; they’re too focused on getting where they have to go.”
“Once someone recognizesyou, they’ll all take notice,” Scarlet replied.
“Then we’ll move fast.”
“Ellery—” Tucker started to protest.
“I’m the one with the lightning and who can get us out of there with the least amount of carnage… hopefully. Besides, we only have to go fifteen feet down the road, dump the money, andrun back here. Or we can open a portal in the middle of the road and run through it. It will be fine.”
I couldn’t let him go out there on his own. We’d done all the other towns together, and wewoulddo this one too.
“If you get me killed…,” Tucker muttered.
“No one in this town is going to kill you.”
