Chapter 31

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Ryker

Closing my eyes, I inhaled deeply as I tried to soothe the beast raging within me. If she went to Ivan, I might tear the palace down to get her out of there, and in doing so, I'd ruin everything .

For my plan to work, I had to remain out of the spotlight as much as possible. I had to work in secrecy against my father and Ivan; they couldn't have any true leverage to hold over my head.

Keep your shit together. One woman, who lied to you, is not worth breaking your vow to Leo and sacrificing the amsirah of this land.

Before the truth of her actions had come to light, I might have thought differently about that, but not now. I wouldn't let myself think differently about it now.

"When you finally give them a child," I continued, "if it proves to be a lightning bearer, they'll take it from you, as my father took me from my mother. If you're lucky, they'll expel you from their lives, but I think they'll keep you to beget more offspring."

She gulped as sweat beaded across her forehead, and I tried not to think of her having a child with another man. If things were different, that could have been my baby.

"Of course, there is also another option," I said.

"Which is?"

"You could go to Ivan and tell him that I'm plotting against him. You could throw yourself at his mercy. Ivan hates me enough that this news would thrill him, and he'd happily hunt me down. Because of your loyalty to him, he might release your mother."

Her jaw dropped. "I would never do that!"

The horror in her voice and eyes made me want to believe her, but it was impossible after everything that had passed between us. It seemed like the possibility had never occurred to her, and I'd put it in her head.

I wasn't worried about what she would do with it as I knew her secrets too.

"I would never do that," she whispered. "I've messed up so much, and I know I'm the reason you doubt me, but I do love you, Ryker. I'll always love you. I never want anything bad to happen to you. I would sacrifice myself before I turned you over to them."

There was that awful twinge in my heart again. I gritted my teeth as I shoved it aside.

She spoke of love so easily now but never mentioned it before requesting money from me. I'd never believed Ellery to be manipulative, but I'd also never considered her a liar, and she'd proven me wrong.

Unable and unwilling to get into this with her, I waved a hand at the money. "What choice are you going to make?"

Ellery looked from me to the money and back again. "Your father?—"

"Won't know about any of this for a while, if ever. If he does learn of it, it will be because all of Tempest has become aware of what you can do and what my plan is. In the end, you will most likely lose your manor.

" I will wage the next war to ravage Tempest; we will fight that war at the heart of this realm and not on the outskirts like the Ghoul War. The land will be devastated; there's no avoiding it. Over the coming year, there will be far more suffering for all those who live here, but if I win, they will know freedom from oppression. Which side will you stand on, Ellery?"

As she looked around the room, her eyes lingered on some decorations before her attention returned to me. "Eventually, they're going to take it from us anyway. They're after all the power and control in Tempest, and they're gradually stealing our lives away. I hate them all."

"Does that mean you'll stand with me against them?"

"Yes, but why do you think you can trust me with all of this?"

I smiled as I draped my arm over the back of the chair and tapped my fingers against it. "Because we have mutually assured destruction. You know my secret, and I know yours. If my father and the king knew what you could do, they would love nothing more than to get their hands on you. Most of the aristocrats would feel the same way. If you turn me in to them, I will do the same to you."

"That does build trust."

"It does. Now, there's just one more thing."

"And what is that?"

"Have you revealed all your secrets to me, or are you hiding something else?"

When her eyes flicked away from me, my fingers froze on the chair as I stiffened. Her reaction to my question, though small, revealed there was more.

How many secrets does this woman have?