Page 76 of A Tempest of Shadows

I almost protested his words, but there was a good possibility my father would have turned him away or imprisoned him. “I’m not always at the castle.”

“Oh, and now I’m the mind reader who is privy to all your actions?”

“Don’t be a prick.”

Tucker smiled at me as he drank more of his beer. He settled his mug in his lap as he stared at the fire.

“I’m not one for handouts,” he finally said, “and you couldn’t have gotten my home back; it was already sold to the Earl of Oakley so he could expand his land.”

“Maybe I couldn’t have returned your home to you, but I would have helped you find another. We went through hell together; there is no handout after that.”

“There was no other home for me. That was our land. My family and I have worked it for centuries. My blood is in that land, my heart, and my soul.”

I wouldn’t care if my father’s castle burned to the ground, but I understood Tucker’s love for what was once his home. Ellery shared that kind of love and passion for her manor.

“Besides, if our roles were reversed, you wouldn’t have come to me,” Tucker said.

He was right; pride would have kept me from asking him for help.

“So how did you end up in the woods?” I asked.

CHAPTER SIXTY-FOUR

Ryker

“I went to work on another farm,” Tucker said. “I helped turn the fields, planted the seeds, and did everything necessary to keep it running. At the time, I was debating leaving Tempest for good, even though I had no idea where I’d go, probably Dragonia.

“I wouldn’t have accepted help from Brokk and Kaylia either, but at least I had friends there, and I know there’s work in the queen’s guard. I’d go back to war for her, but there is no way I’d guard Ivan. If I ever got close to him, I’d kill him.”

I glanced at Ellery to see how she was taking his words about killing her king, but she wasn’t fazed by it. I hadn’t expected her to be; she’d made her feelings for Ivan very clear.

She looked slightly confused, but she had no idea who Tucker was talking about and didn’t ask. However, she knew where Tucker and all these amsirah lived and could bring others here.

She could report Tucker for treason but wouldn’t. She’d offered her hand instead of Mouse’s; it wasn’t in her to hurt others, even if she needed the carisle.

“Why didn’t you leave?” Ellery inquired.

“Tempest is my home, and I sacrificed everything for it. I wasn’t ready to turn away from all that… even if this place is no longer the realm I loved so much.”

“Understandable.”

“Before I could decide what to do, the curse happened,” Tucker continued, “and stole my choice about leaving Tempest. That’s when I decided I wouldn’t be Ivan’s puppet. I packed up what little I had left and entered the Revenant Woods. After days of traveling, I came across a small group of men and a couple of families who had established a home here. I joined them and taught them how to hunt and fight better.

“We don’t have much, but we have more food, water, and shelter than many others. Our numbers have grown since I arrived, and I’m sure they would be much larger, but many of those who enter the forest never make it this far.”

“So many amsirah are suffering,” Ellery murmured.

“That they are,” Tucker agreed before focusing on me. A hopeful, eager gleam shone in his eyes. “Can you still leave the realm? There are rumors the curse didn’t affect the aristocrats.”

My hands fisted at the reminder of what my father had done. “The aristocrats involved in this can leave, but my father ensured I can’t.”

“That’s more fucked than the ophidians’ dungeon. What a bastard.”

“That he is.”

Tucker glanced around the clearing, but we were the only three near the fire. When his attention shifted back to me, he leaned closer while speaking. “They all have good hearts, but they’re angry and have lost everything. They blame Ivan and his cohorts for that. They want revenge.”

“As they should,” I agreed.