Page 7 of A Tempest of Shadows

Sampson’s jaw clenched before he shifted his attention to the horses and petted one’s head. I stared at the woman as I tried to recall why I’d decided to bring her on this trip.

She’d been visiting my father with her family, which was a fun distraction last night, but why did I extend my time with her? For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out the answer to that question.

Instead, I studied the town below. When I was still in Leo’s military, I’d gone to Nottingshire often. It was the place to go for answers or to go unnoticed while looking for a good time, and I’d had many of those in the village.

According to Sampson, it had gone from a place of debauchery to one of despair during Leo’s absence and death. I couldn’t see that from here, but I had to know the truth.

“Stay with the horses,” I said to Sampson. “I’m going to Nottingshire.”

There was no way I would take the carriage into town. That wasn’t the way to go unnoticed in a place that thrived on anonymity.

“I am not going down there with you,” Dorothy stated.

“Then it’s a good thing I didn’t ask you to.”

I unbuttoned my coat, shrugged it off, and threw the red jacket into the carriage. I didn’t bother to look back at Dorothy as I left the bailey and struck out for Nottingshire.

CHAPTER SEVEN

Ellery

I sprinted through the woods with Scarlet on my heels. We traveled at least a mile with my arms aching and lungs burning before I set the chest down.

Ghosts hovered and floated nearby, but for the most part, they didn’t pay any attention to us. Their chilly presence caused the hair on my arms to rise.

However, I grew up in these woods, and these apparitions didn’t scare me. They’d frighten others away, but not me or Scarlet.

My friend removed my bow and quiver from her back as she knelt across from me. I pulled out my knife and jammed the point into the lock on the chest.

I wiggled it around until something clicked. The lid popped open a fraction of an inch, and I replaced my knife in its holster.

Scarlet pulled the chest the rest of the way open and breathed a low, “Wow.”

With my knife tucked away again, I shifted my attention to the chest. I nearly fell over when I spotted the amount of gold and jewels inside. I’d robbed over a dozen carriages since first starting this, but I’d never succeeded in taking this much before.

“We have a problem, Ellery,” Scarlet whispered. “Whoever this chest belonged to is going to be pissed.”

“Ryker Locke.”

“What?”

“The chest belonged to Ryker Locke. I saw him in the carriage.”

The color drained from Scarlet’s face as she leaned back on her heels. “Ellery⁠—”

“It’s fine, Scarlet. He’s no different than any other aristocrat or amsirah.”

“But he is.”

And that was the truth. He was different; everyone in the realm knew it. Ryker was one of the few amsirah who could wield four out of the five weather elements.

Most other aristocrats couldn’t do that. I could, something I kept hidden from most, but so many, including my parents, could only wield one or two weathers.

Having control over three weathers was considered a powerful gift, but four of them… well, four made for something truly special in our world. And all five… no one could wield all five… until me.

If anyone found out what I could do, since our abilities ran along genetic lines, I’d probably be married off or bred as soon as possible, and I wouldn’t be anyone’s bride or conquest. I’d die first.

Immortals almost always married for love and some, like the vampires and lycans, had fated mates. The amsirah didn’t have such a thing, but we did love deeply when we fell for another. My parents certainly did.