Chapter 30

CHAPTER THIRTY

Ryker

Ellery was a slippery slope I didn't plan on riding again. I wanted her help with this, and that was it.

I looked at the bag of money on the table. "I have five thousand carisle for you and your mother."

"I can't go to the palace with your money. They'll ask how I managed to raise so much money, and I don't have an explanation for them."

"Then why did you come to me?"

"I was desperate and na?ve enough to believe you might have a way out of this mess. I thought there might be some way to free my mother without forfeiting myself or everything we've worked so hard to maintain. Now, I see the truth. I can't tell them you gave me the money; your father would burn this place down and ensure I never saw my mother again."

"My father will never learn about this because you're right; he'll come after you if he does."

"I think he has men watching over us."

"I'm sure he does."

She glanced at the money. "If they saw you come in here?—"

"I made sure no one was in the woods; he doesn't know I'm here and won't learn about this."

"Take your money, Ryker. I can't use it."

"Yes, you can because I know a way out of this. You'll keep my five thousand carisle for yourself while you go to the palace and offer Ivan half your crops for the year. They're worth more than five thousand."

"They are, but giving him so much of our future income will destroy us. We'll lose the manor anyway."

"Which is why you'll have my money to keep you going. This is only the downpayment; I'll give you more soon. Of course, you'll have to live sparsely so they don't start questioning things, but I'll get you through this."

Her eyes flickered over my face. " Why are you doing this? You hate me."

"I'm buying your loyalty. I'm after your expertise of the woods, roads, and stealing. I also want your power."

"I'm not a killer."

"No, you're something more. You're a rarity, and when that comes to light, which it will, many will follow you because of it. Tucker told me there have only been three times in history when two lightning bearers existed at the same time.

"One of those times was when I was a baby and my uncle was still alive, but I wasn't known as a lightning bearer then. And now, we're living in the fourth time, and only four of us are aware of it."

"How does Tucker know that?"

"He and his father would pass the winter months by going to the temple to read through the history of Tempest. It was a fun pastime for them."

"How… interesting. I've only ever been to the temple once before."

I'd been to that sacred place a few times throughout my life; the massive, black stone building, was well-known throughout the land. It was the oldest structure in Tempest and well maintained to keep its four jutting turrets, numerous lightning rods, and dozens of gargoyles perched over the thick, wood door and along the roof in good condition.

The building contained over a hundred stained glass windows portraying past amsirah leaders and weather formations. Built to house all the amsirah's history, it was three stories and separated into smaller, overcrowded rooms full of rolled parchments lining thousands of shelves on the first and second floors.

The third floor consisted of one wide-open space full of tables where amsirah could gather to read over the parchments. More shelves and parchments lined the walls around those tables.

The few times I was there, only two amsirah had sat at the tables. The king appointed scholars to run the place, and they spent their days ensuring the parchments remained in good condition. When they started breaking down, they either fixed them or copied the history onto a new parchment to ensure nothing was lost.

However, I wasn't here to discuss the temple with her.

"Together, if we can gather enough money and support, we can make a stand against the assholes who trapped us here," I said.

"Even your father?"

"Especially my father."

Her fingers opened and closed as she absorbed my words. "Let's say we did somehow, miraculously win against them, but we still couldn't get free of Tempest. We can't break the curse."

"No, we can't, but the amsirah won't be taxed into starvation. They wouldn't lose their homes or be tossed into cells for crimes they didn't commit or committed years ago and already paid the price for. I promised Leo I would look out for Tempest, and I will uphold that vow. I will return a just rule to this land."

"So, you will rule us?"

"The amsirah will decide the ruler. It's time to get rid of the monarchy and aristocratic system. Birth will no longer determine our leaders."

Her mouth parted, and hope filled her eyes. "The amsirah will have a say in what happens?"

"Yes."

She smiled before it slipped away. "What you're proposing will be almost impossible to achieve while we're at their mercy."

"Perhaps, but we'll never know without trying, and I mean to try. The choice is yours to make, Ellery. You can take the money and agree to help me, or you can go to the palace, tell them what you are, and spend the rest of your life on your back, beneath the king or my father."

My teeth scraped together at the idea of either of them on top of her, taking from her… destroying her. She wasn't mine anymore, but she once was, and that brief time of blissful, stupid oblivion had been amazing.

She is mine. If anyone else dares to touch her, I'll kill them.

I couldn't have her anymore and didn't want her, but I'd destroy anyone who dared to touch her.