Page 103 of A Tempest of Intrigue
When I shot him a look, he leaned away from me.
“Or not,” he said quickly. “It’s probably best if we stick to the plan.”
“Thatisbest,” I growled.
Ellery set her empty plate down. “I’m going back down there, Ryker. If you want to stick with the plan for the money, that’s fine, as the amsirah need it, but don’t you dare try to go down there without me. We’re stronger together, and you know it. Hell, thetreesknow it.”
Those words drew a twitter of laughter from the crowd; I was far from amused. She was right, but I didn’t want her to endure that awful, helpless sensation of suffocating while being pulled under again.
If I went without her, I’d be going against the vows we’d made to each other—no more secrets.
“Fine, we’ll go together,” I assured her. “But not tomorrow. You need some rest, and we have the money ready to go. We’ll stick with the plan and find a better time to explore the tunnel.”
Ellery studied me doubtfully.
“I promise I won’t go without you,” I told her.
She smiled before looking at her empty plate. I saw the disappointment on her face, but she wouldn’t ask for more food. She didn’t like taking food from the encampment.
I lifted her plate and handed it to one of the men behind her. “Could you get her some more, please?”
“No, I’m fine,” Ellery said.
“I can still hear your stomach rumbling,” I told her.
The man took the plate from me and went to one of the cooking fires. He wasn’t gone long before he returned with another plate.
When Ellery didn’t take it, I did and handed it out to her. “Eat.”
She stared doubtfully at it before taking it from my hands and diving in again.
“So, we’ll get the money out tomorrow,” Tucker said. “And maybe the following day, we’ll return to the tunnel.”
“We?” I asked.
“Oh, you’re not leaving me behind. I’m dying to see what’s down there. You’ll have to hold me when the trees come for you.”
His eyes twinkled with amusement as I rolled my eyes at him.
“I’m going too,” the giant said.
“I can’t wrap my arms around you,” I told him.
Ianto grinned at me. “We’ll have to get creative then.”
CHAPTER EIGHTY-FIVE
Ryker
The next day,Tucker, Ianto, and I split up to distribute more of Ivan’s stolen money to the towns of Windruff, Calsar, and Hallsey. I’d volunteered to take Windruff, and after tossing out my purses, I visited some of the pubs.
While there, I tried to learn what the townsfolk knew about Ivan and his plans. A few of the locals talked to me, but most kept their distance.
I sensed their curiosity about me, but I was still an aristocrat, and while they didn’t hate me as much as the other nobles—I had been a big part in defeating the ghouls—they still didn’t trust me. I’d fought the ghouls back for them, but I understood why they feared my presence amongst them.
Abuse was all they knew from anyone of my rank, and my father gladly helped Ivan unleash his terror on Tempest. Of course, they distrusted me, but some of the ones with a few more drinks in them were a little chattier.
Unfortunately, none of them had any new information, though one did say he’d delivered a load of straw to the palace yesterday, and there were a lot more guards than usual. I didn’t know what that meant, but I didn’t like it.
