Chapter 57
CHAPTER FIFTY-SEVEN
Ellery
On the back of one horse, I rode without a saddle as I held the leads of two others and raced them toward the open portal. Time was swiftly running out, I felt the clock ticking toward the end, and it was going faster and faster as the moons rose higher in the sky.
Ryker would never reveal where we were, but they’d taken others with them. It was only a matter of time before one of them broke. I couldn’t imagine what the duke and the others were doing to them.
I plunged into the open portal with the livestock. We thundered through the blackness before emerging on the other side.
Once there, I released one of the horses and pulled back on the reins of the animal I rode, drawing him to a halt. I slid easily off its back and landed on the ground.
“What’s left?” Scarlet asked as she ran forward to take the other horse from me.
“Two cows, some chickens, and Xanthus.” I had no idea how I was going to get Xanthus through the portal. The only one he listened to was Ryker, but I would figure it out. “Ianto was getting the cows, and some of the others were gathering the chickens. I have to return to help them.”
“No, stay, Lery. You’ve done enough. Let them bring the rest.”
“I can’t do that; Xanthus is still there too. I’ll be right back.”
Scarlet grabbed for my shirt, but I was already beyond her reach. Without looking back, I sprinted back through the portal and emerged in the encampment.
Much of the chaos of earlier was gone, as most of the amsirah, animals, and supplies had been moved to the second encampment. An air of urgency still surrounded the place… or maybe that was just me.
I spotted Xanthus standing near some trees, his head high and his ears pricked forward. He was going to hate the next encampment, most of us would, but it was somewhere safe for now, and he had to go. I couldn’t lose Ryker’s horse too.
“Xanthus,” I said as I approached him. “He’s not coming back tonight.”
A sob lodged in my throat as the horse’s ears flicked back and forth. Even if he couldn’t understand me, he was listening.
“Please. You have to come with me. I’ll get Ryker back, but I can’t do anything until everyone is safe, and that includes you.”
The dying cooking fires played off the horse’s glistening black coat and white mane and tail. His intelligent brown eyes were sorrowful, but maybe I was imagining that too.
“Please,” I whispered as I rested my hand on his velvety muzzle. “Please come with me.”
The horse refused to wear a halter, just as he wouldn’t wear a bridle or saddle. When I rubbed his head, he lowered it a little for me, and I ran my hands over his ears. He tilted his head toward me for more.
“Come on, boy,” I encouraged as I started toward the portal. The horse followed me until we were at the edge of the opening. “You’re going to hate it on the other side, but it won’t be for long, I hope.”
Xanthus stared at the portal for a second before pulling away from me to trot through it. Relief filled me, and my shoulders slumped as he vanished. I didn’t know if he’d stay in the second encampment, but at least I’d gotten him there; I’d worry about keeping him there later.
Turning away from the portal, I surveyed the abandoned camp. Sorrow filled me as the cooking fires we never extinguished burned so low they threatened to go out. A place that was usually so lively was now devoid of the laughter and merriment that had once filled it.
My gaze went to the tree house Ryker and I had shared. We’d created so many amazing memories there, but there wouldn’t be any more… at least not there.
And Ryker….
I couldn’t think about what his father was probably doing to him right then; if I did, I’d lose my mind or open a portal to the palace and hand myself over to that hideous man.
If I believed it would do any good, I’d do exactly that once all the amsirah were safe. But as much as I wanted to rescue Ryker, giving myself to them would only make things worse.
The duke might kill Ryker outright once he had me, and he certainly wouldn’t let him go. And if the duke had both of us, we’d never succeed in freeing the realm from its oppressors, but oh, how I yearned for him and would destroy everyone who’d mutilated him.
The weight of his ring finger in my pocket was a cold reminder of what they’d already done to him. And I would make them pay for it, even if I had to tear the palace apart with my bare hands.
I would do whatever it took to save Ryker and Tempest from those monsters.