Chapter 41

CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

Ellery

"What did you offer to the king in exchange for me?" my mother asked as soon as she closed the portal.

"I offered him half the harvest; he took it and the first choice of three foals. We'll have to refund what we've already been paid for that."

She closed her eyes, and her shoulders hunched forward. "We'll never survive that."

"We will," I told her. "At least for a little while. We have help."

"We do?"

"Yes."

She frowned as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Who?"

I didn't have time to get into it with her about Ryker, the Hooded Robber, and all the holes I'd dug for myself. It would have to wait until later, especially since I was supposed to meet Ryker soon.

"Did they put you in the dungeon?" I asked instead.

She refused to be deterred. "Who, Ellery?"

"Ryker."

Her eyes widened. "Ellery?—"

"I can't talk about this now, Mother. I'll tell you everything soon, but not right now. Did they put you in the dungeon?"

She didn't look pleased by my refusal to talk about this, but she had no idea how unhappy she was about to be with me. I was going to put that off for as long as possible.

"No," she said. "As soon as we arrived at the palace, they separated me from the other prisoners, brought me inside, and showed me to a room. They guarded me the whole time and didn't go anywhere I could open a portal, but I was treated more like a guest than a prisoner. Apparently, the king still has some respect for our family and all we've done for this realm."

I was relieved as well as annoyed. "It's just one more mind game from the duke."

Her head tilted to the side as she studied me. "The king took me, Ellery."

"The duke had a hand in this." I was sure of it. "He was there today."

"I'm sure he was involved, but this wasn't your fault, Ellery."

She was wrong, but I wouldn't get into that either. "Were we really behind on the taxes?"

When she looked guiltily away, I knew the answer before she responded. "Yes, but not by much."

"Five thousand carisle is a lot."

"We weren't behind by that much, Ellery. They must have added penalties and interest."

I gazed at the wall over her shoulder as I tried to process all of it. "I have to go, but I'll be back soon."

"You should sit and eat; you also need to rest. You're exhausted, and you've lost weight."

"I'll do all those things when I return, but I have to go now." When I leaned forward to kiss her cheek, I inhaled her familiar scent of roses. "I won't be gone long, I promise."

When I returned, I still wouldn't get any sleep, but I could at least eat.

I opened a portal and went to enter it, but she grasped my arm before I could go. "What is going on, Ellery?"

"I'll tell you everything when I get back, I promise."

I squeezed her hand. I hated leaving her so soon after getting her back, but I had to talk to Ryker.

When I released her hand, she let go of my arm, and I entered the portal. Barely able to lift my feet, I trudged through and emerged near the spot where Ryker and I fought the black dogs.

We were here when they unleashed the curse on Tempest. Turning, I waved my hand to close the portal.

If my mother was anything like me, she might decide to follow me through, and I couldn't have that. Normally, she was far less reckless than me, but she wasn't happy.

At first, I didn't see Ryker standing amidst the lengthening shadows of the forest, but then he moved away from a tree and took a few steps toward me. Tucker was nothing more than an outline among the trees as the sun sank lower.

When I spotted Ryker, I almost burst into tears and ran to him. I longed to sob out my misery, exhaustion, humiliation, and terror, but I couldn't. Not with him… not anymore.

In my old relationship with Ryker, I would have felt secure enough to break down in front of him. Just weeks ago, his arms would have swept around me, and he would have held me close as he sought to protect me, but I'd destroyed all that.

In my new relationship with Ryker, I was faced with a statue who would refuse to embrace me. Or worse, he'd push me away and look at me with the same revulsion as his father.

My already battered heart and pride couldn't take that.

For a second, something flickered in his eyes. The softening in them made a sob catch in my throat as, for a nanosecond, he looked at me like he used to.

It vanished as quickly as it came.