Page 61 of A Tempest of Revelation
Her eyes were full of concern when they searched my face. “You’re not very good at avoiding those.”
My lips twitched toward a smile as I squeezed her hands and released them. “No, I’m not.”
“There were other guards,” Ellery said. “I’m not sure if they’re dead or not.”
“They weren’t, but they are now. I made sure of it.”
And I would ensure the two whose skulls I’d crushed were dead too. I stalked over to the sword Ellery had dropped, lifted it from the ground, and cleaved the heads from the two guards.
When I rejoined Ellery and Callan, I glowered at him. “How do we get out of here?” I demanded.
He gulped again. “I think I should have taken a right back at that last fork, but we were rushing, and I got confused down here.”
“Let’s not do that again. Take your hood off and leave it with the guards. It will draw attention to us.”
Callan untied the string and pulled it off. He tossed it onto the guard whose heart I’d torn out.
When I held my hand out to Ellery, she took it, and our fingers entwined. Callan gawked at us, but when I told him to lead the way, he closed his mouth and headed back the way we’d come.
CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT
Ryker
The exitthe servants had created emerged onto a hillside overlooking the river around the earl’s property. The water formed the earl’s moat, but it still flowed past the castle and toward the Revenant Woods, half a mile from the earl’s property.
The tails of the livestock grazing in the distance swished as three of Tempest’s moons illuminated the rolling hills before us. Screams didn’t pierce the air, but I didn’t know where we were in comparison to the ballroom; we might be too far away to hear them.
We’d been lucky not to encounter anyone else while trying to leave, but that luck might not hold out. Standing at the tunnel’s edge, I tried to open a portal, but we were still within the earl’s portal ban.
I had no idea what was above us and didn’t want to emerge into the open, but we had no choice. We couldn’t stay here.
I reclaimed Ellery’s hand, and we slipped away from the tunnel. Keeping to the side of the castle, I pressed my shoulderagainst the large, gray stones used to create its base while we edged further away.
We would eventually have to leave the protected shadows of the castle, but I hoped to find a more sheltered area before we did so. While I wished he’d find somewhere else to go, Callan followed us.
When we got to an area with a rocky outcropping only thirty feet away from the residence, I left Ellery standing in the shadows while I slipped away and down toward the rocks. The arrow holes in my thighs throbbed a little, but they’d fully closed and didn’t hinder my steps.
As I moved, I kept my attention on the castle but didn’t see anyone above. They’d built it up from a steep, downward hill in this area.
They’d erected a one-hundred-foot section of foundation before starting the main base, so everything was even. The foundation towered over the land, but there were no windows throughout the foundation. Craning my head back, I glimpsed windows, but they were so high up they didn’t have a view of me.
When I waved to Ellery and Callan, they eased away from the protection of the foundation and descended toward me. Once they reached me, we inched further down the hill, keeping to the rocks to use them as shelter from view.
From this far down, I wasn’t sure anyone would recognize us if they saw us, but I wasn’t willing to take the chance. And even if they didn’t recognize us, they would send guards.
At least, this far from the castle, I could draw more of my lightning. If I had to use it, there was no guarantee I could kill everyone who would see me with Ellery.
That was something I’d have to deal with if it happened.
The further we moved down the hill, even with the stones surrounding us, the more likely someone would spot us from a window. By now, they must have suppressed the rebellion, andthe focus would shift to discovering who was behind it. That should keep everyone from looking for stragglers for a bit, or so I hoped.
Every twenty feet, I stopped to try opening a portal, but they always failed. It was only a matter of time before the earl’s portal ban ended.
We’d traveled a few thousand feet from the castle when I finally succeeded in opening a portal. I waved Ellery through the opening before turning to look at Callan.
I contemplated leaving him behind to find his way through a portal of his making, but he’d saved Ellery, and she’d be upset if I did. Besides, he’d seen too much ofus, and I couldn’t have him wandering free with that knowledge until I knew what happened here and where he stood.
I stepped back and waited for him to enter before following him through.
