Page 109 of A Tempest of Intrigue
It would take a lot less for him to concentrate on Nottingshire and the surrounding towns, as that’s where the rescue of the prisoners occurred, but I didn’t think that was enough for Ivan. He’d spent time plotting to pull this off, and while it would require a lot of work, if his soldiers used portals, he could try to gather all the women in Tempest.
But would he?
Yes, I believed he would. He was humiliated when the earl’s servants rebelled at his ball and embarrassed again when we freed most of those prisoners.
He’d waited to put this plan in motion toterrorizeamsirah more than he already was. He would do whatever it took to break us, and by stealing women and children from their families, he might succeed.
When my gaze lowered from the window, it fell on Scarlet. She stared back at me with her jaw set; I couldn’t quite read her eyes before they shifted away.
Will she turn me in?
That was something Ineverwould have questioned before. However, I’d hurt her, she was still mad at me, and not only was she in peril, but so was her mother.
And they were here because ofme. All these women were.
I couldn’t blame her if she did hand me over to save herself and Ruby; I wouldn’t blame any of these women for doing so. They had families andlivesto return to; they might not be able to say that after today.
My nausea intensified as the miners started a drunken jig inside my head. I was sure they’d added dynamite to the mix as my right eyelid twitched.
I looked at Ruby, who sat with her shoulders back, her chin high, and her red hair pulled into a bun. Her brown eyes showed no hint of fear, only anger.
Would she turn me in? I knew she loved me and had watched me grow up, but Scarlet was the baby she’d carried, bore, and raised. She’d choose her daughter if it came between us, and I hoped she did.
But I wouldneverlet it come to that. While I faced a lifetime of misery by handing myself over to the nobles, I wouldn’t let others suffer because of me.
However, I wouldn’t give myself to them without learning more first. Maybe, by some miracle, we could escape this unscathed if I remained calm and tried to figure out a plan.
It was foolish of me to believe so, but I clung to the hope that itmighthappen.
The carriage came to a halt. From outside the walls, shouts rebounded, muffled sobs sounded, saddles and harnesses jingled, and hooves thudded against the dirt.
Confusion reigned out there, but in here, we were protected from it… if only for a few more minutes. Things were bad in here; they were worse out there.
Then the back door opened, sunlight flooded inside, and chaos ensued as guards barked at us to get out. The women at the end of the bench filed out first.
Since we were close to the door, I soon descended the single step to the churned-up grass. The sunshine nearly blinded me as I inhaled large gulps of fresh air and blinked to clear my vision.
It took too long for my eyes to adjust to the sudden influx of light as I was shuffled forward by the bodies surrounding me. When I could see again, my stomach sank and my distress grew.
I didn’t realize I’d stopped walking until the crowd shoved me forward. They propelled me over the field of rolling green hills filled with amsirah women.
The only good thing about it was that I didn’t see Gaius anywhere…or is that a bad thing?
CHAPTER EIGHTY-NINE
Ryker
Samaeland several of his men went with me through the portal Samael opened onto the side of the palace road. I failed to hide my shock when, from fifty feet away, a contingent of carriages rattled down the dirt road toward us.
“Tell Ivan we’re on our way,” Samael commanded one of the men.
The man nodded before jogging down the road toward the palace. The carriages veered off the road before reaching us.
They clattered onto the grassy lawn and green fields beyond the palace, but those fields were getting torn up, and the grass turned to dirt beneath the wheels, hooves, and feet traversing them. Hundreds of conveyances rolled down the road and over the hills as they moved onward.
What the fuck?
Along the road, dust from the wheels blocked the blue sky and turned the sun into a hazy, distant orb that barely pierced the unnatural clouds. The commotion of the wheels, harnesses, and horses’ hooves drowned out most other sounds.
