Chapter 22

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

Ryker

"Did she tell you who the Hooded Robber is?" Tucker demanded as soon as I emerged from the woods.

"Yes," I grated through my teeth.

Tucker stepped away from me. I didn't know what he saw on my face, but it made him uneasy. "Who is it?"

I glanced around the clearing outside the bordello. I'd like nothing more than to go in there, drink myself into a stupor, and finally fuck someone else as I'd planned, but that was before discovering Ellery was the Hooded Robber and a lightning bearer.

I had no idea what to do now, but I was afraid if I entered the bordello, I'd end up killing someone. Tucker was safe… few others were.

My nails peeled back more of the flesh from my palms. Blood welled forth and dripped onto the forest floor as the sun filtering through the trees beat down on me. Sweat beaded across my forehead and slid down my nape.

"Stay here," I told him.

Instead of going inside, I opened a portal into an overgrown section of forest and closed it behind me. I stood, listening to the rustle of the leaves and the distant call of something deadly before I unleashed my fury and despair on the trees and bushes surrounding me.

Electricity shot through my fingertips as lightning rained down from the sky, pummeled the earth and exploded the towering structures around me. Fire rose from the ground, devoured the bushes, and crackled as it enclosed me in a wave of heat.

I relished its fury and fed on it as lightning pummeled the earth. Craters indented the ground around me as lightning zipped from one tree to another; electricity circled me, creating a ball of white-hot energy.

I couldn't hear anything beyond the crackle and pop of my power as all my hair stood on end and my body vibrated from the power encapsulating and unleashing from it. The lightning became a firestorm that swelled higher into the trees.

It towered over me as I continued feeding it. I'd never unleashed myself in this way before; not even after Ellery ended things with me did I become this savage.

What has she done to me? What did I let her do?

All the lies, all the betrayals, and all the secrets churned through my mind as the growing fire roared and lightning snapped around me. I couldn't hear anything beyond the cacophony encircling me and the chaos inside my head.

How did I let myself trust her? How did she fool me so completely?

I'd believed she was sweet… well, not sweet; she was stubborn, determined, and fierce, but I'd thought she was someone I could trust and who didn't have any secrets from me. A bitter laugh escaped me at how wrong I'd been.

The woman was nothing but secrets and lies. And all of them had worked to destroy the heart she'd helped repair.

"FUCK!"

The word tore from my throat as I threw my head back and arms wide to bellow it. Not even the wrath of the lightning could drown it out.

My head bowed and shoulders heaved as I released the lightning and drew on my control over the rain to pull it from the sky. I stood there, unable to move as the immensity of Ellery's betrayal sank in.

The cool rain against my skin felt good after the inferno. It slid down my back and dripped from my hair as the fire sizzled and hissed against its assault.

Soon, all that remained were the steaming remnants of this ruined section of woods. The smoking ash beneath my feet and the broken, barren landscape matched my bleak soul.

Feeling a little more stable but more desolate than ever, I opened another portal and returned to Tucker. He remained waiting for me among the trees where I'd left him.

The poltergeist who watched over the building remained on a rock twenty feet away, watching us as he flipped his knife. I may not be able to kill the already dead bastard, but if he came at us, I'd find out what lightning could do to him.

I cast a glance at the bordello as I debated returning to it. I was calmer and might be able to return to the building and booze I craved, but Tucker and I couldn't have this conversation there.

I didn't give a shit if Ellery burned in Hell, but I wasn't about to let others know how much she'd played me for a fool. Casting one last glance at the bordello I'd return to later, I opened another portal into a section of forest near where Tucker had established his growing group of amsirah.

My power was waning, and I couldn't open another portal again today, but Tucker could take us back to his encampment. This time, Tucker followed me through the portal.

I closed it behind us and walked over to sit on a rock while Tucker remained by one of the trees. His gaze was filled with apprehension as he studied me.

"I'm fine," I stated.

"No, you're not."

I shot him a look, but he was right. Even after unleashing some of my wrath, I was not okay.

She'd lied to me the whole time.

I'd fallen in love with her while she spewed lie after lie, and I'd never sensed anything wrong. There was a time when I'd prided myself on my ability to judge others; I would question that ability for the rest of my life.

I'd let her in, and she'd torn me apart. She'd also taken away my ability to ever love again.

Immortals only ever loved once in their lifetime, even if they made the mistake of giving their hearts to treacherous, deceitful bitches. How often did she laugh at me while leading me through the woods to pursue the Hooded Robber?

The idea of it rankled, and lightning zapped between my fingers. I ran a hand through my wet hair, pulling at it as I sought to regain control over my emotions. I'd lost it once today; I wouldn't do so again.

"You shouldn't have brought her there," I growled.

"She needed to talk to you, and I… I…"

"Couldn't say no."

"No."

"Don't do it again."

"What happened?" Tucker inquired. "Who is the Robber?"

" She is."