Chapter 20

Ellery

Oh shit.Oh shit. OH SHIT!

The words ran repeatedly through my head as I dashed through the trees. I didn't dare look back at Ryker; I did not want to see what awaited me there.

What have I done?

I had to return his lightning bolt; I didn't have a choice. I couldn't let it hit me. It wouldn't have killed me if it did, but it would have knocked me on my ass. Once that happened, he would have had me.

But while I'd stopped him from capturing me, I'd also revealed my biggest secret. And now… now… he knew.

My pulse pounded in my ears, and I was pretty sure my heart was going to rip out of my chest. As I ran, my feet slipped in the leaves and dirt lining the forest floor, something that had never happened to me.

This was my home away from home. These woods were a part of me; I knew them well, and I was slipping when I needed to be my most surefooted.

But now he knew he wasn't the only lightning bearer and would be more determined to learn who robbed him and turned his power against him.

He'd never let me go if he learned the truth. He may hate me for stealing from him, but my parents had repeatedly warned me as a child to never let anyone know about the amount of power I possessed; they would take me if they knew and find a way to use my abilities for themselves.

Because of that, I'd rarely used any of my hidden powers over the years. The more I used them, and the more practiced I became with them, the more likely I would be to unleash them when I shouldn't.

I'd used them to protect myself while in the woods, when necessary, but I'd relied more on my arrows and knives for that. And now I'd just gone and fired a lightning bolt back at the man most determined to destroy me!

If word got out that another lightning bearer resided in Tempest, and it was also the Hooded Robber, they'd relentlessly hunt me'. I was powerful, but my power was nothing compared to those who controlled this realm.

Being under the thumb of powerful men was a fate worse than death; I couldn't face it. Plus, my mother would learn that I was the Hooded Robber, and Scarlet would discover the secret I'd kept from her for years; I couldn't stand the idea of their hurt and disappointment.

That was something I'd have to worry about later though. For now, I had to escape or I'd never see either of them again.

Gathering my wits and grace, I leapt over a fallen log and dashed around a tree. The tree groaned, and the roots that had descended from its branches to implant in the ground creaked as the tree swayed.

There were so many branches with roots that many would think they created a solid wall, but I knew how to dance through the roots to avoid their confines. Ryker didn't.

Turning sideways, I twisted through the thick curtain as leaves rustled and ghosts howled. Free of the maze of branches, I drew on the power of the earth beneath my feet and darted around a boulder as fog rolled in to surround me.

Swallowed by the thick mist, I sprinted through the woods, plunged into the icy river, and dove beneath its racing current. I kicked into the flow, letting it sweep me downstream, around some rocks, and past the trees whose roots drank from the water.

After a few minutes, I broke free of the surface, sucked in greedy gulps of air, and snagged a tree root before I was sucked further toward the waterfall ahead. Pulling myself from the river, I crawled onto the shore and collapsed there.

I gasped air into my cold, burning lungs. Water slid down my face and past my lips; I drank it as I licked my lips and tried to get my arms under me again.

I couldn't stay here. I'd gained some distance on Ryker, but he was determined and would track me down.

When I glanced back, my fog remained over the river. It blocked my view of Ryker and the path I'd taken here, but that didn't mean he wasn't there, closing in on me.

Pushing myself to my feet, I raced into the trees to hide with the ghosts and creatures.