I wasn’t sure I was capable of those great things. Yes, I was powerful, but I was also a woman who just wanted to be left alone with the man I loved.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t going to happen, and while I could sit here and whine about how unfair it was, I wouldn’t. Whining wouldn’t get me anywhere, but fighting might save us all.
I was terrified I’d never live up to the expectations of those who expected great things from me, and I would fail them all,but I couldn’t let that hold me back. If I failed, many would die, but they were all gradually dying beneath the duke’s control.
“Why do I have these abilities?” I asked.
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FOUR
Ellery
“I do not know,but be grateful you do,” Indon replied.
All around us, the other gargoyles murmured their agreement, but I wasn’t so sure “grateful” was the right word I’d use for this. Yes, I could do a lot of good with my abilities, but I was the most hunted amsirah in the land, children had been ripped from their families, and they were cutting Ryker to pieces.
No, I most certainly wasnotgrateful for all of this.
“Do you know what happened here?” I asked.
“We felt the sorrow of the woods as they burned,” Indon said.
This revelation both fascinated and unnerved me. “You can feel the woods?”
“We have a special bond with the forest and the land. We are a part of Tempest, and it is a part ofus. We are its guardians… or we were for thousands of years. The forest has been mostly quiet for years, but it has woken again.”
“Did it sleep with you?”
“The forest never sleeps, and neither does Tempest, but it was… quiet.”
“It was sad without you,” I guessed.
“I think so.”
“And where do the amsirah fit into all of this? If you’re the guardians of Tempest, then what are we? Its destroyers?”
“You could be, or you could be its saviors. The amsirah are also a part of Tempest. Many have forgotten that, but this land nourishes you, keeps you alive, and gives you everything it has, even if you often forget to give back. You are as much a part of this realm as we are, and together, we are meant to guard it from outside forces who seek to take its power. Some of your ancestors forgot that, and the land suffers now… as do the amsirah.”
“That’s so true,” I murmured.
I shivered deeper into my cloak when a gust of wind blew down the back of it, chilling my nape before slipping down my back. I’d give anything for some warmth, but I didn’t ask them to take me down; this was where the gargoyles were comfortable, and I needed more answers from them.
“What’s in your pocket, child?” Indon asked.
I rested my hand against my pocket. Beneath my palm, Ryker’s finger shifted.
“How did you know something was there?” I asked.
“I can smell it rotting.”
I shuddered at those words as nausea churned in my stomach. His sense of smell must be alotbetter than mine, as I didn’t smell anything… yet.
“They cut off Ryker’s finger,” I said. “It was the one with his wedding band on it. I couldn’t bear to leave it behind.”
“It’s not him.”
A bit back the retort of “no shit.” So far, we were getting along, and no one had tried to kill me. I preferred not to rock that boat, especially while perched on top of a tree.
“I know it’s not him, but it’s the only piece of him that I still have.” I hated admitting that and knew how ridiculous it sounded, but I couldn’t help the way I felt. “They mutilated him because ofme, and I know they’re still hurting him.”
