Chapter 17

Ellery

I'd never been sohappy to get away from someplace in my life, and I'd put myself in some precarious positions by robbing more than my fair share of carriages. But I'd never been so happy to run away from something as I was from Ryker and The Hollows.

Except, I couldn't run from The Hollows yet. I'd come here to figure out how to split up the money I'd stolen from the very large man whose presence haunted me even as I put more distance between us.

He'd saved me from losing my hand, and I was contemplating how to get rid of his money.

Which of us is worse?The man who thinks Mouse is nothing more than a street rat or the thief who really deserves to lose a hand?

I didn't have an answer for that. I could justify my actions by saying they helped others, but I was still stealing and wrong for doing so. The problem was, I didn't know how else to help.

Scarlet slipped out of the crowd and fell into step beside me. "I think we should leave The Hollows."

I wasn't going to argue with her. We'd come here to help others, and I supposed I'd helped Mouse, but the best thing we could do was get as far from this place as possible.

Ryker

I pulledout a scarred wooden chair and gave it a little shake. The flimsy wood didn't look like it would hold me, but it didn't fall apart when I settled onto it.

A woman in a brown dress with her hair knotted at her nape came to the table. She was too thin but still pretty, with brown eyes that sparkled.

"A beer," I told her before she could ask.

The woman disappeared into the crowd full of amsirah with shaggy hair, threadbare clothes, and bodies that had gone too long without washing. If I was going to learn anything about the Hooded Robber, it was here, amid the starving masses.

A minute later, the woman returned with my beer in a scarred wooden mug she set before me. I didn't get a chance to drink it before Samael pulled out the chair across from me and settled himself onto it.

What had started as a perfectly normal day was swiftly dissolving into a shit show I wanted no part of. Lifting my mug, I stared at my old friend over the rim as I drank.

Two of my favorite things since returning from Doomed Valley were women and alcohol. While they didn't make me forget the horrors of my past, they at least offered some pleasure.

When I finished, I set the beer down. The coldness in Samael's eyes reminded me of the snakelike monsters who had imprisoned and tortured me for months.

I'd always bear the scars of what the ophidians did to me, but I'd survived those fuckers, and I would survive whatever else life threw at me. Samael had no idea who or what he was messing with anymore.

But then, I wasn't sure about my homeland or place in Tempest anymore either. Leo was dead, my realm didn't have a king… or at least not until they officially crowned the prince, and that idiot was already running Tempest into the ground.

I hadn't realized how bad things were until coming to Nottingshire, but I couldn't deny that life had taken a downturn for the less-fortunate amsirah, and I didn't see it getting any better soon. However, there was nothing I could do about it.

I'd fought my wars against the ghouls and ophidians. In the end, I'd lost too many of my men and Leo… a man who had been more than my king; he was also my best friend and the father figure I'd never had.

Before he died, I'd promised Leo I would look after Tempest if something happened to him, but at the time, I'd believed nothing could ever happen to the man who seemed larger than life. And now, I wanted nothing to do with any of this.

I'd battled ghouls, survived Doomed Valley, been imprisoned and tortured by the ophidians, and watched Leo die. I deserved a break.

I wouldn't fight any more battles, even a small one, with this man. As the seconds ticked by, I waited for Samael to speak. I wouldn't be the first, and I wasn't.

"Things have changed since you left, Ryker."

"Have they?"

I sipped more beer and set it down to push the empty mug toward the table's edge. The woman swept it up and hurried away to refill it.

Samael's eyes narrowed on me. "They have. The prince and our future king rule Tempest now."

"I'm aware of that."

"He has given me power over the people of Nottingshire."

"Good for you."

I tossed the woman a couple of carisle when she returned with my drink and told her to bring one for Samael too. Her eyes darkened a little, and she didn't look at the sheriff before hurrying away again.

"They don't like you here," I remarked.

"Why would they? My job isn't to be their friend; it's to enforce the laws and make sure they obey them while paying their fair share… even the children."

"He's a boy."

"And he'll learn not to repeat his mistakes."

The woman returned and set a mug in front of Samael. I lifted my mug and held it toward the sheriff; I smiled as our wooden tankards clanked together. "To the new sheriff."

Samael didn't smile, and neither of us looked away as we drank our beer. Finally, Samael set his mug down.

"It's good to have you back, Ryker."

"It's good to be back."

But it wasn't. This wasn't the home I'd gone to war to protect. I'd become a stranger in the realm I'd sacrificed everything for.

Samael lifted his mug again as he held my gaze. "To friendships."

I smiled as I tapped my mug against his once more. "May they continue."

We both knew the truth; we'd never be friends again. But we could both play the game.