“Hold yer horses! I’ll be right there!” the man yelled back.
Without another word, the man opened a portal. Tucker grasped my elbow and propelled me toward it.
“I’m not sure exactly where it goes,” the man said. “I pictured the Revenant Woods, but I’m not familiar with them.”
“That’s okay,” Tucker assured him. “Once we’re in the woods, we can get where we need to go.”
I stopped next to the man and grasped his arm. “Please divide the money throughout the town.”
“I will,” he promised.
I smiled at him as I squeezed his arm. His fingers enveloped mine as he gazed at me with a mixture of hope and awe. I still wasn’t comfortable with being the hope of the amsirah, but I had to act like I was.
“Thank you,” I told him.
I wasn’t expecting the sudden sadness that filled his eyes as his fingers tightened on mine. “Take care of yourself.”
“You too.”
When another loud bang rattled the door, I released the man, and Tucker and I plunged into the portal.
CHAPTER TWENTY
Ryker
I pacedthe woods while I waited for Ellery and Tucker to return. They’d only get another minute before I went after them.
I should have gone after them already, but I was concerned my arrival in Nottingshire might cause them more problems than it would solve.They could leave at any time; something is keeping them from doing so.
And I would find out what that wasverysoon. Spinning on my heel, I stomped back across the small space between the trees as the others stood in the shadows, watching me.
If something happened to her, I’d never forgive myself. Fletcher, Luna, and Callan eyed me as I turned and stalked back the other way.
I had to go; I could get them killed if I went, but I couldn’t stay here and do nothing while Ellery was in jeopardy.
“I’m sure they’ll be back soon,” Scarlet said.
The woman and her son stood close by Scarlet. She held her child tightly and looked about to flee into the Revenant Woods;the boy stared at me with wide eyes but didn’t appear anywhere near as scared as his mother.
“She wasn’t going to leave The Hollows without giving themsomething,” Scarlet continued. “She’s smart and can take care of herself.”
“She’s also reckless,” I snarled.
“Not as much as she used to be,” Scarlet said, but her tone made it clear she was trying really hard to believe that.
I couldn’t wait anymore. Lifting my hands, I started to create a portal to Nottingshire when another opened five feet away to my right.
I lowered my hands and turned to face whatever came through the portal. If it wasn’t Ellery and Tucker, I’d tear whoever emerged to pieces.
I didn’t stop to think that few others knew where we were. I was in the mood to kill something.
When Ellery emerged from the portal, her eyes landed on me, and a radiant smile lit her beautiful face. Her cyan-colored eyes twinkled in the fading daylight, and for a moment, I was struck breathless by the love filling them.
Tucker followed her through the portal before it closed. I glowered at him as I strode toward Ellery and wrapped my arms around her.
When I lifted her off the ground, she placed her hands on my chest, and I basked in the feel of holding her again. As the summer months had given way to late fall, some of her sun-kissed, golden color had faded, but the freckles on the bridge of her pert nose remained. She was so beautiful that it made my heart ache.
“Don’t rip his head off,” she said.
