Page 80 of A Tempest of Shadows

“I don’t want to go home,” I told him. “I feel safer here.”

That wasn’t a statement anyone ever made about the Revenant Woods, or at least not until King Ivan took the throne.

“Ellery—”

“Stay and catch up,” I told him. “When you’re ready to go, come and get me.”

He hesitated before responding. “Okay, rest, and I’ll be up soon to take you home.”

I resisted leaning over to kiss his cheek before rising, thanking Tucker, and walking toward the tree house he’d pointed out. I grasped the rope ladder and climbed swiftly.

When I got to the top, I placed my hands on either side of the opening in the house and hoisted myself through the hatch. I emerged into the far corner of the building and smiled as I surveyed the small room.

It was too dark to make out much, but moonlight glinted off a lantern hanging on the wall. I walked over to it, lifted the flint from the wall beside it, and lit the wick.

Once lit, I turned the flame down and rehung the lantern before turning to survey the room. The top of a tree branch ran across the floor in the center of the structure; the limb was even with the floor and almost completely blended into it.

The door covering the hatch stood open; it could be closed and locked into place with a latch on the inside. A stuffed mattress was set against the wall across from the opening.

One blanket was pulled neatly over the mattress while another was folded at the bottom of the bed. A full water pail sat in the corner across from the hatch, and books lined a small shelf at the end of the bed.

Tucker had placed his clothes neatly on the eye-level shelves running around most of the room. His space was sparse but comfy, and I liked it.

While sitting below, I hadn’t noticed the thick canvas covering a doorway at the front of the structure. I unlatched it from the floor and walls before rolling it up to reveal the small doorway leading onto the branch encased in the flooring.

This door offered another escape from the structure or a place to sit and relax while basking in the beauty of the forest and stars. The canvas was thick enough to keep the winter air out when the time came, but once opened, it would provide a nice breeze in the summer.

Using the straps attached above the door, I secured the canvas, removed my boots, shoved my socks into them, and sat to dangle my feet out the doorway. After sitting close to the fire, the night air felt chilly but welcome against my bare skin.

Situated at least forty feet in the air, the tree house offered a spectacular view of the forest and sky. I could also see into the other homes with their doorways rolled up as the tree houses were all built to face the clearing.

Some of the others were dark, but a couple had the warm glow of lanterns illuminating them. Stars filled the night sky, and two of Tempest’s six moons were visible.

One of them was a full moon, while the other was barely a sliver of a crescent. The six moons were always in different phases as they moved around the realm. All six could be visible from my home at various times throughout the year, but it was rare.

Smiling, I leaned against the wall while the hum of the conversations below and the crackle of the fire further calmed me. I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the night than in the safety of this tree.

CHAPTER SIXTY-SEVEN

Ryker

I had no idea what time it was when I made my way up the ladder to Tucker’s home, but the fire had died down, and most of the amsirah were already sleeping. Tucker, me, and a few guards stationed around the perimeter of the clearing were the only ones still awake.

Though the beer had taken some of the edge off, I was far from drunk or tired. I could have stayed at the fire with Tucker, but I wanted to make sure Ellery was okay, although she was probably sound asleep by now.

I’d planned to return home tonight. Those plans had changed with Ellery’s earlier words; they still haunted me. “I feel safer here.”

I hated that she felt safer in this place of ghosts, poltergeists, and countless lethal creatures than she did in her bed. That seemed to be the way most amsirah felt now.

I wasn’t in any rush to return to my father’s castle, but I didn’t go to sleep or wake up with the same concerns as Ellery and the others. I’d experienced that feeling during the war, in Doomed Valley, and while imprisoned by the ophidians, so I understood how they felt.

However, I loathed that they did so in a realm that had been a haven for them before the ghouls attacked and destroyed everything.

I’d hoped never to fight another battle again, but I doubted that would happen after what Ivan and the aristocrats did to Tempest. If I ever encountered the ghouls again, I’d happily carve those flesh-eating monsters to pieces.

Some of the anger the alcohol dulled came roaring back to life. My teeth ground back and forth as I climbed.

Being near Ellery right now probably wasn’t the best idea, but she was probably already asleep. I’d seen her sitting in the doorway earlier, but as I’d made my way to the tree house, I noticed the lantern remained on, and she’d vanished from the doorway.