Chapter 56

Ellery

When his stallionskidded to a halt, Ryker swung off his back and landed on the dirt road. Despite my resolve to remain calm and distant, excitement flooded my body in a rush of happy emotions; my lips tingled as I recalled his mouth against mine.

He was gorgeous, and I ached to run my fingers through his hair, pull him closer, and bury myself in his arms so that I could forget the past two weeks. And he could make it happen; he had when we were in the woods.

I was tired of being strong, secrets, fear, greedy rulers, and everything being so difficult. He could shut it all out for a while… or make it worse if he learned the truth.

His long legs ate away the distance separating us as he strode toward me. I thought he would close the distance completely, but then his gaze flicked toward Scarlet, and he stopped a few feet away.

I buried my disappointment, but I couldn't stop my lips from twitching into a smile. It was an involuntary action that I was sure made me look like a lovesick fool.

"I'm sorry it's taken me so long to return," he said.

"Don't be. There's been a lot going on."

"There has."

"King Ivan did this."

It wasn't a question, but he answered it anyway. "Yes. With help from the warlocks. The other aristocrats helped Ivan fund the project, which I'm sure cost a ton of carisle."

"That's why he increased the taxes. It wasn't to ransom King Leonidas; he never had any intention of doing that. It was for this."

A vein in Ryker's temple twitched. "No, he never had any intention of freeing his brother."

"Was he paying the ghouls to keep King Leonidas?"

"The ghouls didn't have Leo in the end; the ophidians did."

"Who?" Scarlet asked.

I hadn't realized she'd come closer until she spoke. She stood only a few feet away, her brown eyes wide as she listened to Ryker.

His gaze flicked to her. "The ophidians. They were half-snake, half-man monsters who resided in Doomed Valley until we led an army against them. They're all dead now."

That's why he hates snakes,I realized.

"Are they the ones who killed King Leonidas?" I asked.

"Yes."

The clipped tone of his voice told me this wasn't something he would discuss.

"Can King Ivan still leave Tempest?" I asked.

"Everyone who helped fund this disaster can still leave. Including offspring, there are one hundred and two who can still leave. All with their own armies and guards prepared to defend them to the death."

"Oh," I breathed, unable to form any other words.

"My father is one of them, and some are married couples, and they all ensured their offspring could still leave. In total, seventy-three families joined together to accomplish this. Maybe some of them didn't want to go along with it, but if they said no, Ivan would have killed them, and they know that. It's impossible to know if that's true, as none of them would admit it if it was."

My blood ran cold as the color drained from my face. Scarlet made a sound of dismay as her hand went to her mouth.

I'd never wished death on anyone before, but I hoped those seventy-three families roasted in Hell.

"Is that all of the aristocrats?" I asked.

"Yes."

"But you can't leave," I stated.

"My father has informed me that he is the only one in our family who will ever be allowed to do so. I can travel through portals he opens for me, and once I'm out of the realm, I can open a portal back into Tempest if necessary, but I cannot travel on my own."

"Ryker," I breathed as the implication of those words caused my heart to ache.

I had to resist going to him to comfort him. I didn't know if he'd welcome it, and my mother had joined the group. She'd probably die of shock if I did such a thing.

My mother and father never would have done something like that to me. The level of control his father had established over him was cruel and spoke volumes about their relationship.

Ryker didn't deserve to be treated like that, and I hated his father for it. That amount of hatred made me realize how much my opinion of Ryker had changed from when we first encountered each other again to now.

I had to say something; this silence with us staring at him couldn't continue. "If you could leave, why would you come back?"

"And that's probably why I'll never be allowed to leave again."