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How would I know if—when—he was keeping something else from me? I wanted to trust him, but how could I when I couldn’t even trust my intuition to know the difference?
“She sprained her leg a few years back,” he continued. “King Harkin insisted we put her down. So, I took her to the healer. Watched as they sharpened the axe, but I couldn’t do it. I brought her here instead.”
My stomach dropped as I looked at the beautiful, healthy horse before me, unable to imagine how anyone could think she deserved to die. “Why would he do that?”
Watching him care for his horse pulled my heartstrings taut.
His compassion.
The gentle ease with which he mollified her.
It was an entirely different side to him, and it warmed my chest despite my unwillingness.
“Because she was King Gareth’s personal horse. Harkin did a number on her because of that.”
The horse snorted, finally settling.
“She’s skittish of strangers now, unfortunately.” Talon tipped his head toward Zephyr as he plucked a sugar cube from the pale. “Try talking to her,” he said and dropped a few cubes into my palm.
I looked from the horse to him as I chewed the inside of my lip, unsure of what to say to calm her.
“My apologies, I didn’t mean to alarm you, I’m only trying to get back home,” I tried. “My horse, Sugarfoot, is waiting for me. So is my mother, hopefully.”
The likelihood I’d find my mother in a condition less than poor was now an all too real probability—one I’d forced myself not to think about this entire time. I couldn’t escape it now. Whether I was ready to admit it, I was going to see for myself. And when I did, I’d have to learn to live with it.
Zephyr nickered, scuffing a hoof against the dirt. “It’s good to finally meet you, Elowyn.” Her voice was as smooth as silk. “Although I could do without that rodent in your pocket.”
Startled, I jumped back—moments away from ripping off my vest—when Pipion poked her head out. Her enormous eyes were apologetic as I fell against the bay wall, placing a hand over my heart to calm my nerves.
“I didn’t want to stay behind when everything went down.” Pipion rubbed a paw over her eye. “But you were so focused, there wasn’t a good time to tell you.”
“Yeah, no shit.” Pushing off the wall, I rubbed my brow. “Is it okay if she comes along?” I held a sugar cube between my fingers, and her tongue jutted out, sweeping the treat from my hand in one swift, wet motion.
“I suppose if that’ll make you happy, Elowyn.” Zephyr snatched another cube while I wasn’t paying attention. “Keep it stowed away. Stars help me if that rodent so much as touches me. I will stomp it without hesitation.”
I huffed a laugh, opening my palm to give her the rest of the cubes. “Deal. You can handle that, right, Pipion?”
She squeaked her understanding—burrowing back into my vest—as I watched Talon bridle the horse.
He latched a saddle onto her back as if he’d done it a hundred times over and swiftly mounted her, adjusting himself before extending a hand to me. “You ready, firefly?” His eyes were bright.
I swallowed, looking over my shoulder at the castle in the distance where my friends’ lives had ended too soon. A pang of sorrow twisted in my chest, and I turned around, placed my foot into the stirrup, and flung my other leg over.
For them, I told myself.
I held onto the back of the saddle, but Talon reached back and grabbed my wrists, wrapping my arms tightly around his stomach.
“You need to hold on,” he said, letting his fingers linger on mine to make sure I stayed put.
I bit my lip, ignoring how his warm scent enveloped me as I did what he ordered. Ignoring how my breath hitched as I straddled his back—bringing with it images of the last night we shared. How perfectly we fit together. How undone he made me.
I squirmed, trying to find relief from the building pressure, and he squeezed my thigh. His touch remained and never wavered. Even long after he commanded Zephyr out of the stables.
We rode for hours.
Day turned into dusk as we traveled—further and further from the castle. There was no sign of life. No forest creatures. Only towering evergreens, endless forest vegetation, and the rhythmic sound of Zephyr’s hooves clapping against the undergrowth.
Everything blurred together, flashing by at a dizzying rate, and I closed my eyes—my legs aching from sitting so long.
