Chapter 52

CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

Ellery

Over the next week, everything went back to business as usual between me and Ryker… except it wasn't. He was more short-tempered than ever and kept his distance.

I was much edgier than before. I didn't like being in these woods with him, yet there was nowhere else I'd rather be. I hated the tension between us, not just the emotional but also the physical.

Even though he stayed further away from me, energy crackled between us whenever he was close. It felt like our powers were trying to reconnect and draw us together again, but neither of us wanted that… or at least I told myself I didn't, but I knew the truth.

I'd hated feeling so alone and bereft after our last time together, but every part of me craved him. I believed he felt it too, which was why he was grouchier. Ryker didn't like anything he couldn't control, and he couldn't stop this.

"You're not concentrating!" he snapped at me.

I lowered the small sword I wielded against the dummy he'd created for my training tonight. It felt ridiculous to battle a stuffed doll, but Ryker insisted it was necessary.

I waved the sword at the dummy. "Of course I am! I've beat it into submission."

Ryker's eyes narrowed on me. "Are you going to be this funny when you're in a battle, fighting for your life?"

"I'm hilarious all the time."

I hadn't believed he could look unhappier with me, but he managed to pull it off. Stalking toward me, he stopped and reached for my arm.

The second he got close, my skin prickled and my mouth went dry. I hated my uncontrollable reaction to him and the fact I instinctively swayed closer, despite being as irritated with him as he was with me.

For the first time in a week, he touched me again as he seized my wrist and lifted it. The contact created an instant flutter in my belly.

He was only inches away, so close I could make out the individual hairs in the scruff on his chin and cheeks. I inhaled his cinnamon and horse's scent as his hand briefly contracted around my wrist.

When he stepped closer, his chest brushed my arm, and despite my irritation with the maddening man, my eyes half closed as pleasure washed over me. I didn't want to have sex with him again… well, I did, but I wouldn't.

I refused to experience that empty feeling after our last parting. I couldn't take that again.

Ryker would always hold my heart, and he'd also always have power over my body, but I had to protect myself from him and the damage he could cause. I couldn't survive having my heart repeatedly broken because I wanted contact with him.

Closing my eyes, I gulped before stepping away from him. When I tugged at my wrist, his hand constricted on it.

"Keep your wrist strong. You're not going to do any damage if your wrist is flopping all over the place," he instructed.

"Yeah, sure, no floppy wrists," I muttered.

When I tugged at my wrist again, he released it. I couldn't look at him, but ignoring his heat and scent was impossible as he stood only a foot away.

Too many seconds passed before he finally spoke again. "Lift your arm."

I did so as I stepped closer to the dummy. Gritting my teeth, I tried to shove down my desire and concentrate on killing the target. It was impossible when he was so damn close.

He's doing it on purpose. I had no way of knowing if he was tormenting me intentionally, but it sure felt like it.

I jabbed at the dummy as I focused on massacring it. Maybe it was him that I was pretending to stab, and maybe it wasn't, but I sure enjoyed it.

Just as I started getting into it, Ryker stepped forward and clasped my wrist again. He used his feet to nudge my legs further apart as he adjusted my stance.

"Sharp, quick thrusts," he instructed. "You're not strong enough to take on many in the king's guard, but you're fast enough to do some damage. Go for fast jabs against them and move on. You may not kill them, but you can disable them enough to escape. If, for some reason, you can't use your abilities against them, you'll have to rely more on your speed than your strength."

"I know."

"Stay on the balls of your feet when you attack."

"I feel stupid attacking a dummy."

"Most of the enemies you'll face are dummies."

My mouth twitched toward a smile as I glanced at him. "Did you just make a joke?"

He smiled back at me. "I'm hilarious all the time too."

I laughed, and for a second, all the tension between us melted away, and his eyes sparkled like they used to when he looked at me. Then he recalled himself as he released me and stepped away again.

"Get to work," he said.

I rolled my eyes but focused on the task at hand. I couldn't let Ryker distract me from the mission; we were working together for the good of Tempest. Together, we might be able to fix all the wrongs, or at least make it a little better for those who lived here.

Taking his advice, I went in for short, quick thrusts that sliced through the tattered clothes and spilled straw across the ground. The night was cooler than the day, but not by much, as sweat beaded my brow and slid down my nape. With one final blow, I disemboweled the dummy.

"I won!" I shouted as I lifted the sword and danced around the moonlit clearing.

The animals ignored me as they continued to sing their songs, but I lifted my sword up and down as I moved. I spun in a circle before stopping between two trees.

When I finished my victory dance, I turned to discover Ryker watching me in amusement, which he rarely did anymore. I lowered my sword as I beamed at him, but his smile faded.

"We'll meet here again tomorrow," he said.

I saluted him before slipping the sword into the holster he'd given me for it. The weight of it wasn't bad on my waist. "When do you plan to make a move against someone?"

"I'm not sure. I want you as ready as possible before we do anything."

I didn't know how long it would take him to deem me ready, but I wasn't in a rush. Once we started attacking the king and aristocrats, things would turn bloody real fast.

I was ready for things to change in Tempest, but I was not prepared to lose anyone I loved. It was only a matter of time before it happened.

One didn't go to war without sacrificing far too much. I hoped I could survive those sacrifices.