Chapter 14

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Ellery

Helplessness and a sense of defeat welled inside me as Ryker refused to look at me. He was much like the man I encountered after he returned to this realm.

Then, he'd been indifferent to everything around him and willing to walk away when the sheriff planned to cut off Mouse's hand. I'd considered him cold, but that was nothing compared to the man before me now.

Back then, he'd been detached and trying to piece himself together after the Ghoul War, the ophidians, and King Leonidas's death. Now, he hated me .

A lump lodged in my throat, and tears burned my eyes. I'd known this would be tough, but I hadn't expected this stone wall of nothing .

There had to be some way for me to get through to Ryker, convince him to help me, and get him to look at me again. I did this to him… to us … and that stung almost as bad as standing here and watching the woman gyrating on his lap.

I'd pushed him away, and he'd turned to another. A fist smashed into my chest, crashed through my ribs, splintered them apart, and wrapped its cold, ruthless fingers around my heart before squeezing.

I couldn't breathe through the sorrow as my shattered ribs dug into my lungs, but then, because it was only an imaginary fist, air sucked into me. My lungs greedily accepted the oxygen, and my battered heart continued to beat its broken rhythm; I was certain it would never beat right again.

I tried to hide my devastation, but I couldn't be mad about this. When I told him to leave, I'd known he wouldn't remain loyal to me. That he would go out and find someone else.

We'd never established the boundaries of our relationship, and of course, he wouldn't pine for me for the rest of his life like I would for him. I didn't want that for him either.

I hated seeing him with another woman but wanted him to find someone to make him happy. Someone who could tell him all her secrets and his father would approve of for him.

I didn't know if that last thing was possible, but I could hope for it… for Ryker. While I wanted him to find happiness, I hadn't expected him to move on this fast.

My nails bit into my palms as I battled my impulse to run. I couldn't wait to leave this place, but I didn't move while he refused to acknowledge me.

I was here for my mother. My anguish didn't matter.

"I wouldn't be here… I wouldn't bother you if it wasn't important," I told him.

When his head finally turned toward me, my breath sucked in. His beautiful, silver eyes were a deeper shade of mercury as lightning flashed across his irises.

Normally, a lightning bearer's eyes turned black before the bolts emerged, but he was enraged enough to reveal the lightning now. Beside me, Tucker shifted uneasily.

"You're not a bother, Ellery. You're not anything to me," he stated.

He was the imaginary fist inside my chest, and with those words, he squeezed until my heart burst. What am I doing here?

I'd made a mistake by coming to him for help. I'd known things would be bad, but I'd wrongly believed I could somehow make it better. That I would somehow find a way past his anger to make him understand or at least hear me out, but I didn't know how to do it.

I couldn't walk away. I'd come this far and had to at least try.

"Can we go somewhere to talk?" I asked. "Somewhere quieter."

"No."

He shifted his attention to the woman; she giggled and draped her arms around his neck. I looked at Tucker, but I knew he couldn't do anything either; I hated the pity and sadness in his eyes when they met mine.

"We should go," he said.

Panic flared inside me, and I focused on Ryker again. If I left here, the only option left to rescue my mother was me .

I couldn't leave without doing everything I could to make him see. "They took my mother," I blurted as I focused on Ryker again. "The king's guards came, threw her into one of those prison carriages, and took her to the palace. They did that because of me ."

The woman leaned back a little to peer at me; her forehead furrowed, and her lips compressed, but Ryker didn't acknowledge my words. A muscle twitching in his cheek was his only response to my words.

"They took her on your father's orders!"

The woman's mouth parted as Ryker's head finally turned toward me again. His countenance remained stony and his eyes that darker silver, but at least he was looking at me.

"How do you know that?" he asked.

"Because he told me he would… if I didn't end things with you ."

"Oh," the woman breathed.

I considered asking her to leave, to give us some time alone, or to shut up, but I held the words back. Ryker wouldn't let her go, and it might distract his attention if I spoke.

I didn't know what to expect or how he would react to my words, but the ice in his eyes chilled me to the bone.