They’ll exile me for this. Or worse.
But she didn’t regret it. The words repeated over and over in her head:
He’s safe.
And he was. At least for now. And she was nothing but glad.
The first hour passed in near silence, just the rhythmic thudding of hooves she’d grown used to over the last week. Although now there was an extra sound to break the quiet – the clinking of the Shards in Sebastian’s satchel. When he glanced back a blush crept up her cheeks. She looked away quickly – her stomach fluttering, traitorous and mad. Her thoughts kept circling back to the moment at the tree, the way he’d dragged her against him. She’d been right. He would never hurt her. But even when he was trying so hard to scare her, she hadn’t wanted him to let go. What did that say about her – about how far she’d fallen? Evidently much farther than she’d even admitted to herself.
I shouldn’t be thinking about him like this.
But she was.
Kara tried not to look at him, really, she did. But her eyes betrayed her, drawn to him again and again. Sienna had known this would happen. Known she’d let him go. But Kara was certain that Sebastian hated her for what she’d done. Would do long after they retrieved the final Shard. If they survived. She’d seen how he’d taken the grey valmare’s lead from her – so careful not to let his fingers brush hers. She didn’t blame him, but it hurt all the same that he couldn’t bear to touch her. She pushed the thought away – she’d earned his distance.
Her skull ached from Henry’s attack too – throbbing with each heartbeat. Her mind felt stripped and vulnerable, like anyone could walk straight into it. Her magic wasn’t working on the pain either. She hoped the damage Henry had caused wouldn’t be permanent – but didn’t mention this to Sebastian. He’d likely think she deserved it.
All in all, not the most pleasant ride.
Kara shifted restlessly in the saddle, and glanced at him again, hoping he would saysomething.Anything. But all she got was silence. Crimson occasionally lit his fingertips, like his magic was uneasy. Or maybe he was waiting for her to attack him again.
The trail narrowed as they entered Hale territory, lush greenery closing in on them. Thick bushes brushed their legs whilst wind gusted roughly through the leaves overhead. It had been like that since the theft of the Air Shard – not a natural breeze, but an unsettled, unpredictable force that had set the trees creaking against one another. But they hadn’t been downed like in Durent. Kara hoped the inclement weather had been the only consequence for her people. Finally, the silence between them became too much for her.
“Tomorrow we could cut across the ridge at Greenhollow,” she offered, keeping her voice light. “There’s a faster road.”
“No.”
She tried again, forcing brightness into her tone. “The streams here usually have wild herbs. I could find–”
“Maybe.” He didn’t look away from the trail.
She told herself she’d expected this. But it didn’t make his coldness any easier to bear.
So she focused on the road ahead. Whisper’s ears flicked forward – suddenly alert – just as a dry, sliding rustle cut through the quiet. A green-and-brown mottled snake burst from a nearby bush, and darted across their path.
Whisper reared wildly on her hind legs and before Kara could react, Sebastian’s voice came – sharp and commanding. “Get back!”
He swung down from his valmare faster than she could blink, boots hitting the ground hard, sword already drawn and half ignited with crimson. The movement sent the snake recoiling into the bushes.
He turned back to her, scanning her from head to toe. “Are you hurt?”
Kara blinked, startled not just by the snake but by the edge in his voice – not anger this time, but concern.
“I’m fine,” she said quickly.
Sebastian gave a tight nod, then swung back into the saddle, looking as if he’d regretted asking at all. She didn’t know what to make of that quick once-over to make sure she wasn’t injured – but she liked it. Him acting like he cared. They eased back into a canter, side by side.
“You need to watch the ground ahead,” he said, flatly – but there was still a faint tension in his shoulders.
“Iwaswatching,” she replied irritably.
“I thought most in Hale were experienced riders,” he said, with a trace of his old smirk.
Annoyance bloomed, but then the field ahead caught her attention – wide and sunlit, the wind rushing harder here, carrying the smell of grass and warm earth. Whisper’s ears pricked. It was the kind of open run a valmare lived for.
“We are,” she said. “More skilled than Thorne anyway.”
Really, Kara?
