Chapter 13

Ellery

My heart leaptinto my throat when Lord Locke hauled the boy forward. The tiny child wore little more than a potato sack, dirt streaked his prominent cheekbones, and his dirty, black hair stood up in all directions. He was so thin Ryker's hand could have encircled his wrist three times.

"Mouse!" I blurted as I reached for him.

Ryker pulled Mouse further away, and he took his money purse away from the boy. He shoved it in his pocket.

"Let him go!" I cried.

When Ryker's impossibly silver eyes narrowed, I knew I'd made a mistake. He was the one who commanded others; he didn't take orders.

He was the son of a duke, and his father was one of the most powerful men in this realm. Not to mention, he was a general in the king's army. He'd commanded armies and fought the ghouls.

I'd stolen a lot of money from him earlier today, and now Mouse tried to steal more, and Ryker was not in the mood to be fucked with. If I wasn't careful, he'd kill the boy before I could attempt to save him.

"Milord," I said in a softer tone. "Please. He's just a child."

"He's a child who tried to steal from me," Ryker said from between gritted teeth.

Mouse's frightened brown eyes met mine, and his tiny fingers stretched toward me. My heart leapt into my throat; unable to deny him this small bit of comfort, I clasped his fingers before Ryker yanked him away.

Dangling above the earth, with his toes barely touching the ground, Mouse's lips parted as Ryker held him up by the collar of his shirt.

No! No! No! NO!

The word screamed on repeat through my head as I tried to suppress the panic rising inside me. If I wasn't careful, Mouse would pay for my earlier sins.

"He's a little boy," I whispered. "His parents are dead and?—"

"That gives him the right to steal?"

"No, of course not."

My heart raced as sweat beaded my nape. I'd throw myself at his feet and beg for mercy while confessing all my sins before I let anything happen to Mouse.

Ryker's eyes were as hard as steel, and his jaw was set in determination. Walls were more penetrable than this man, but there had to be a way to get through to him.

"Milord—"

Before I could say anything more, Ryker dragged the small boy forward and thrust him at me. I wrapped my arms protectively around Mouse as I pulled him back.

His stench made my nose wrinkle and eyes water, but I stayed close to protect him. I had to get him out of here before Ryker changed his mind… something he looked on the verge of doing as he eyed Mouse.

"Run," I whispered to Mouse.

The boy turned to dart into the crowd, but before he could escape, the sheriff emerged and snagged the boy by the back of his shirt.

I grabbed for Mouse, but the sheriff was already dragging him beyond my reach. Mouse gagged as his heels scraped the ground, and his fingers clawed at his collar to try to ease the pressure on his throat.

"Let him go!" I cried.

When the sheriff's eyes met mine, it took everything I had not to recoil from him. I'd only met the sheriff a handful of times, and that was more than enough for me.

The man's yellowish-brown eyes were unrelenting as he surveyed Mouse. His blond hair was disheveled, and his smile was too fake, too calculating, too… everything. He was tall at six foot, broad through the shoulders, and handsome as he wielded his power like an ax over the heads of anyone in The Hollows.

"Samael."

Ryker's deep voice came from beside me. The sheriff's eyes flicked to him; then the man started grinning.

"Ryker!" The sheriff dragged Mouse back toward the future Duke of Locksley. "It's good to see you, my friend. It's been too long."

The hair on my nape rose as I glanced between the two men, each so powerful and each capable of so much destruction. And between them stood Mouse, an innocent boy who sought power about as much as he wanted to have his feet chopped off.

His brown eyes bounced between the two men before settling on me. The pleading in them tore at my heart.

Most believed he was stupid because he didn't speak, but that was because they didn't bother to know or understand him. They didn't look past the grime covering him to see the wealth of intelligence in his pretty brown eyes, but I knew his sad story and how smart he was.

They'd chop off my hand before I let them take Mouse's.

Seeking to comfort him, I rested my hand on Mouse's shoulder and squeezed. His bones dug into my palm as his shoulders tensed beneath my hand.

Ryker extended his hand to the sheriff. "It has been a long time."

The sheriff clasped Ryker's hand. "I'm glad you've returned to us."

A muscle twitched in Ryker's cheek as he nodded briskly. "It's good to be home. You're the Sheriff of Nottingshire now?"

"For the past two years."

Two years in which The Hollows had fallen into further despair, but the sheriff was happy, his pockets stuffed by the prince and the people. He was probably sharing some of that wealth with his father, the captain of the guard for the prince.

"Your father must be proud," Ryker said.

I resisted rolling my eyes. I was sure he was as happy as the prince, and they were both getting richer every day the sheriff was in office and using his brutality to tax the residents of The Hollows to death.

"He is. And yours must be happy to have you home."

"Indeed."

As they spoke, I subtly tugged Mouse toward me. Maybe they'd both forget about the boy, and I could pull him away. He'd slip easily into the crowd that wasn't paying attention to us… yet.

"We'll have to catch up and have some drinks," the sheriff said.

"We will."

"Until then, I have business to take care of."

What little progress I'd made in pulling Mouse from him was ripped away when the sheriff jerked the boy toward him.