Page 62 of A Tempest of Intrigue
I smiled back at her but wouldn’t let myself be distracted. “So do I. Now, back to Gaius. He’sgoingto return.”
Her gaze flitted over to the doorway. “I know.”
She didn’t want to admit it, and I was sure she’d prefer to deny it, but Ellery wasn’t a fool. When her eyes returned to me, worry filled them.
“I didn’t want him to kiss me,” she whispered. “I didn’t do anything to make himthinkI did. I didn’t lead him?—”
“Stop.” My arms constricted around her. “I know that.”
She was strong, powerful, and capable but still so naïve and sheltered in many ways. She understood the wrongness of some men and women… yet she also didn’t understand the black souls of some of those who walked the realms. Gaius was one of them.
“We wouldn’t be here and we wouldn’t beusif I thought you did. You didnothingwrong; I havenodoubts about that. You don’t have to convince me of it, and you shouldn’t have any doubts in yourself.”
“Maybe I should have gone after him when he was in my home. Maybe things would have been different if I’d told him to get out.”
Terror clawed at me as I pictured her alone in that house withhim. “No, they wouldn’t have. They would have been worse. Don’teverbe anywhere alone with him.”
I didn’t think an audience would stop him if he decided to go after what he wanted… and few would stop the new head of the king’s guard.
CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR
Ryker
“He’s not a good man, Ellery.”
“I know.” She hesitated for a minute before whispering, “He scares me.”
My teeth ground together at this admission. “I’m going to kill him.”
Her fingers dug into my chest a little. “You can’t do anything foolish, Ryker.”
“It’s too late for that. I already put us all at risk by going after the rebels.”
“Rescuing the earl’s servants wasn’t foolish.”
But it was, and we both knew it. It was too late to change it now.
“We can’t stay hidden much longer,” I told her. “It’s only a matter of time before it all comes out, and when it does, Gaius is mine.”
“How much time do you think we have?”
“Not much. Eventually, someone will get caught, Ivan will do something to drive us out, or there will be a slip-up. Until then, we have to build as much loyalty and soldiers as possible. We’re getting more of the money we stole from Ivan ready to distribute to the towns again. We saved some to help finance our war against him, but the supply is running low.”
“When are you going to distribute the money?”
“Soon. I have to return to my father’s castle today. There are some things I have to do there.”
“Like what?”
“I have to learn that monstrosity better. Before the earl’s ball, I vowed I’d learn the battleground of my enemy better, but I’ve only been back once, and while I spent some time going through the upper levels, I didn’t make it to the lower ones before encountering a servant. I had to stop what I was doing afterward. Thankfully, they came across me while I was on my father’s floor, and I told them I was looking for him, but he wasn’t there.”
“Where was he?”
“At the palace with Ivan. As much as I want to search more of his castle, I also need to learn what he and Ivan have been up to. After what happened yesterday, we’ll take a little break from tracking down the other encampments in the woods. We can return to that in a couple of days, but before we do, I have to see my father.”
I’d prefer not to see him, but I didn’t have a choice. I had to keep Ellery safe, and knowledge was the best way to do that.
“What are you searching for in his castle?” she asked.
