Chapter 60

CHAPTER SIXTY

Ryker

I lowered my chin to her head and kissed her still-damp hair. Only then did I realize what remained of her clothes were still wet too.

I’d been so focused on comforting her that I hadn’t paid attention to anything else. “We should take you upstairs to clean up. You’re still wet and probably cold.”

“Not yet. I’m too tired to move. I… I… she’s gone.”

“I’m so sorry,” I whispered. “She was a great woman.”

A small sob issued from her as she buried her face in my chest. The flow of her tears dampened my clothes as I held her close and let her cry. These were the first of many tears to come.

I didn’t hear anything more from Callan and wondered what he was doing, but I wasn’t going to let her go so I could find the man. After a few minutes, Ellery regained enough control to dry her tears but remained curled against me.

Another minute passed before Callan returned to the room. I suspected he’d been listening and waiting to return, so he didn’t interrupt. His eyes were concerned when they landed on her before meeting mine.

He handed me a towel full of ice. “Here.”

“Thank you.”

He settled back in the chair while I leaned back a little to rest the ice gently against some of the bruises, cuts, and lumps on the left side of Ellery’s face. The rest of her face remained buried in my chest.

“Where are you supposed to meet your sister?” I demanded.

“We have a place,” Callan said. When I stared daggers at him, he continued. “There’s a rock at the edge of The Hollows. It has a hole inside that leads into an empty, cavernous space. We played there a lot as kids.”

“The Veiled Rock,” Ellery said.

“You know it?” I asked.

“Anyone who grew up around Nottingshire or spent time there as a kid knows it. We all carved our names inside. When we were alone, Scarlet and I pretended it was a hidden portal into a realm full of pixies. If other kids were there, we’d play with them.”

“I see.”

I’d spent some time in Nottingshire as a child but had never heard of the rock. But then, I wasn’t allowed to run free when my father took me there, and I doubted any other kids would have approached me if I had. We lived in the same realm but weren’t from the same worlds.

“When are you supposed to meet her?” I asked.

Callan glanced at where the clock sat in the corner, but it was gone too. “At five tonight.”

“And if she doesn’t show?”

Callan winced at the possibility. “Then that means they’ve captured her, or she’s dead.”

“What are your plans if she is there, and what if she isn’t?”

“I don’t know. I thought we’d win, so I didn’t make many plans beyond that.”

“You thought you would beat the earl’s and king’s guards?”

He frowned at my disbelieving tone. “I believed we had a good shot at doing so. The king never travels with his full contingent of guards, and half of the earl’s men were drugged before the rebellion started.”

At least they hadn’t been entirely stupid and planned a little better than I’d suspected. “Where were those drugged guards?”

“They were located at different stations around the property. The guards’ food was different than everyone else’s and cooked separately. The chefs laced their food with something to knock them out. We didn’t have enough of any poison to kill them outright.”

“Were those guards killed after they were drugged?”

“Yes… or at least they were supposed to be. I’m not sure if something went wrong there and they woke up and joined their fellow assholes or if they beat us without them. They were supposed to hide their bodies afterward.”

They’d also been more ruthless in their plan than I’d anticipated if they were willing to kill incapacitated men and women. While I appreciated it, their half-assed plan still irritated me.

“Why weren’t the guards in the ballroom drugged?” I asked.

“They weren’t allowed to eat until after the dance was over. That was the earl’s orders. He didn’t want them to be distracted from protecting his guests. I’m sure some of them stole food from the party, but that food wasn’t drugged.

“Not everyone was going to eat at the same time, and we knew that there was a chance only a few guests would wait to eat. That’s how it usually works at these events. That’s also why the hors d’oeuvres weren’t drugged; not everyone would eat them, and it would be at all different times. If a handful of guests suddenly passed out after eating, we risked giving our plan away. We believed if we took out at least some of the guards, we could beat them, but it didn’t matter.”

“No, it didn’t.”

The room fell silent; Ellery’s fingers dug into my chest before she released me and sat up. When her eyes met mine, she didn’t have to say it. I knew it was time for me to go, but I didn’t want to leave her.

“I’ll be safe here,” she said, “but you have to go.”

I rested my palm tenderly against the bruised side of her face she wasn’t holding ice to. “What about him?”

“What about me?” Callan asked.

“They could be hunting you right now, and your presence here puts her at risk.”

“I don’t want that. I’ll leave. I have to meet my sister anyway.”

“I won’t have you walking freely around Tempest. You know too much about us .”

His forehead furrowed as he stared at us. “Why would I tell anyone about this? You got us out of there.”

“I’ve seen a lot of immortals tortured over the years; you’d be amazed what they’d reveal to make it stop. The smallest, most inane details, that could never save them, would tumble from their mouths. Why wouldn’t you tell them about us?”

“I’ve been friends with Ellery since we were kids. I would never do anything to hurt her. Can I say the same about you?”