Page 67 of A Tempest of Shadows

Without a word, my mother neatly folded the sign, put it in the pocket of her dress, and walked away. Scarlet and I remained standing together, staring at the dozens of signs hanging every five feet along the trees.

There was no missing them.

“What do we do?” Scarlet whispered.

“What can we do? I can’t put the hood back on.”

“No, you can’t. You’ll get yourself killed if you do, but there has to be something we can do.”

I looked helplessly at her. “What?”

“I don’t know.”

And now a new day had arrived as Scarlet and I walked to the chicken coop behind the manor. My mother was already inside, gathering eggs in her basket.

At least, for now, we still had livestock and crops that were doing well. If the weather held, we’d have a great harvest this year and plenty of food to can and sell for the winter.

With the taxes, things would still be lean around the manor, but we should make it through. I didn’t get my hopes too high as I suspected Ivan would do something to make things more difficult before then.

I took the basket of eggs from my mother and exited the chicken coop while she remained behind to finish collecting. I closed the gate when the thud of hoofbeats caught my attention.

I braced myself for another round of soldiers but realized this wasn’t multiple hoofbeats. It was just one set.

It had been two weeks since I’d seen or spoken to Ryker, but I hadn’t lost hope he would return as promised. I hadn’t realized how much I was looking forward to his return until I stopped walking, and my heart thudded with anticipation.

It might not be him. You get plenty of solo travelers on the road.

As I thought it, the rider rounded the bend in the road, and Xanthus came into view. The beautiful black stallion’s strides ate up the distance as his white mane and tail flowed behind him with every step.

I almost released the basket and ran to him but stopped myself before I acted like a complete fool. That kiss was two weeks ago, and so much had changed since then; I had no idea why he was here. He could be carrying out some new orders from the king.

Besides, while his kiss had left me yearning for more and dreaming of him every night, it probably meant little to him. I’d seen that blonde woman’s head between his legs and later watched how he dismissed her at the coronation. And they had been a lot more intimate than a kiss.

With that disturbing realization in mind, I handed the basket to Scarlet and walked to the road to greet him. I had no idea what to expect from him and also had to keep my distance. I was glad to see him, but he was also a big threat to my freedom.

CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

Ellery

When his stallion skidded to a halt, Ryker swung off his back and landed on the dirt road. Despite my resolve to remain calm and distant, excitement flooded my body in a rush of happy emotions; my lips tingled as I recalled his mouth against mine.

He was gorgeous, and I ached to run my fingers through his hair, pull him closer, and bury myself in his arms so that I could forget the past two weeks. And he could make it happen; he had when we were in the woods.

I was tired of being strong, secrets, fear, greedy rulers, and everything being so difficult. He could shut it all out for a while… or make it worse if he learned the truth.

His long legs ate away the distance separating us as he strode toward me. I thought he would close the distance completely, but then his gaze flicked toward Scarlet, and he stopped a few feet away.

I buried my disappointment, but I couldn’t stop my lips from twitching into a smile. It was an involuntary action that I was sure made me look like a lovesick fool.

“I’m sorry it’s taken me so long to return,” he said.

“Don’t be. There’s been a lot going on.”

“There has.”

“King Ivan did this.”

It wasn’t a question, but he answered it anyway. “Yes. With help from the warlocks. The other aristocrats helped Ivan fund the project, which I’m sure cost a ton of carisle.”