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“My father doesn’t believe in magic. He’ll not enter that horse.” My words choked in my throat.
“Enter what horse?”
The moment my father exited our front door, his gaze slipped between me and the strangers, then widened as he noticed the change in my dress.
“Talia, are you all right?” He rushed to my side.
“I’m fine, Papá.” I angled away from him to try to hide the slit from his view. “Ortiz stole Sol, and he sold him, and this man saved me from…”
“Whoa, whoa.” Papá held out one hand, palm up, the way he did when calming his stallions. “Start over.”
I explained in more controlled sentences everything that had taken place after he’d left the Valencia’s ball. As I spoke, my father’s face darkened and his frown deepened.
“You mean to tell me don Samuel stole and sold my best racehorse? To this man?”
I nodded. “And then he turned around and sold him before I arrived.”
Papá scooped me into a hug and patted my disheveled hair. “I can’t believe you went after him.”
“I couldn’t let Sol get away. He’s your best horse. He was going to change everything.” An unexpected sob burst from my mouth.
Papá’s hum of agreement calmed my nerves, but only just. He held me with two hands and studied my face. “You should never have put my reputation above your own. What does it matter if—”
Rafael cleared his throat, cutting off Papá’s words. “We must leave.” His gaze remained fixed on the eastern sky, as if avoiding our eyes. “But I did promise your daughter a horse that would win today’s race. Afterwards, you may do with him as you wish.”
As my father began to protest, Rafael eased his hood back, exposing his pointed ears. Papá coughed nervously and pulled me behind him.
Unphased, Rafael continued, “But there is one condition.”
Papá stiffened, and I pressed my cheek against his shoulder. If only I could hide what came next.
“We made a bargain. A champion for her hand in marriage.”
For several seconds, my father didn’t speak. His entire body remained as rigid as a pine. Finally, slowly, he turned to face me. “Tell me you did not verbally agree to this.”
I bit my lip.
His calloused hands gripped mine. “Talia! Mi princesa, tell me it isn’t true.” He gathered me into a tight embrace as he shook with silent sobs.
“Take the horse,” Rafael said, his tone brisk. His dark eyes flickered with an amber glow, like candles frustrated by a fierce wind. He was in a hurry, that much was true, but he almost seemed eager to leave us all behind, despite his bargain to marry me.
Then, as if aware of my line of thought, he added, “But to guarantee his victory, we must be wed. That was the bargain.”
I pulled away from Papá. “How can you guarantee the horse will win, if we wed or not?”
“He runs as fast as I tell him to,” was Rafael’s simple answer. “Either I tell him to win, or I tell him to lose.”
My father breathed out a huff. He poured years of training into his horses, putting hours of study into bloodlines. His expert intuition in speculation when making deals for breeding rights and broodmares had produced winning racehorses. To have this man claim his method for training and breeding champions revolved around telling the horse to win was a slap in the face.
With a sigh, I whispered, “I already made the bargain, Papá.”
He wiped a tear from his cheek, his expression angrier than I’d ever seen it as he looked up at Rafael. “You despicable creature,” he seethed. “I wouldn’t take all the money in the world if it meant giving up mi princesa. But, as it stands, she’s already given her word. What will happen if she doesn't follow through?”
“She will die,” the fae stated bluntly, leaving me breathless. He shifted his weight, visibly nervous now, his eyes constantly flicking to the growing light over the easternmost roof.
“I will go willingly,” I said mostly to Papá. “If I stay, we will all be ruined. Ortiz will not stop until he gets what he wants.”
To show my resolve, I stepped toward the fae. To my surprise, he crushed his eyes closed momentarily before nodding firmly. Across the small courtyard, Hector smiled and patted his horse’s neck.
