But instead she took a long step back, breaking eye contact. “Tomorrow at dusk, then.”
She turned on her heel without waiting for his acknowledgment. He followed her to the door and stayed next to it even once shut, counting her footsteps as she retraced her path down the hall.
The vampire clenched his hand into a fist at his side.
But he didn’t follow her.
Chapter Eighteen
Samara
Shortly after sunset, Iwas escorted through the winding caverns of Damerel to the outside.
I tipped my head back, inhaling the night air. I hadn’t left in… months.
The three moons lit the night. Phrygia and Lagina were just slivers, while Caria was half full. Once, the sight of the night sky would have delighted me. Now it was a reminder of the fact I would only ever be outside while the moons reigned.
Demos’s was the first face I recognized, stern as ever, looking past Raphael’s shoulder as I emerged. His gaze was disapproving, which hurt, even though I should have been used to it. There was no forgiveness for my plot against Raphael—I wasn’t sure I deserved it, even if Raphael hadn’t earned my forgiveness either. A half dozen guards, all women, stood at the ready, each positioned by a night-black horse.
One horse, however, didn’t fit in with the well-groomed stallions.
“Alphonse!” I rushed to his side, stroking his mane and cooing softly. His palomino coloring stood out amongst the sea of silkyblack-haired horses, not to mention he was at least a hand shorter than the rest of the horses.
“You did keep him safe,” I murmured to Raphael. I hadn’t forgotten about the horse we’d stolen, but I’d had bigger concerns in the past few months.
“I told you I would,” Raphael said simply. As if I should have known better than to doubt him.
Something in me softened against my will.Maybe I should have.
“The southern kingdom is about three weeks’ ride away. We’ll be riding at night and through the early hours after dawn.”
I frowned. “Can the horses manage so well?” Could I?
“These are Nykta horses,” Demos said, appearing on my other side. “They’re bred to have better night vision and improved stamina. They could manage the trip in two and a half weeks, comfortably.”
I was surprised the general was actually volunteering information after how he’d ignored me over the past few weeks. It was odd to think, but I’d missed the grumpy general. Alphonse nickered, not liking my divided attention.Hewas decidedly not some well-bred stallion. Which meant if he was here, it was because Raphael had wanted me to have something familiar for this journey. I slid a glance at the vampire, the same one who for weeks had brought musicians to the castle for me to listen to without saying a word, and I softened further.
Then I realized what he’d said. “I can’t ride after the sun rises.” I’d been working on fighting that shameful compulsion, just as I constantly fought the desire for blood and proximity to Raphael. I’d made some small progress, but it was on the order of minutes and seconds, not hours.
“That’s why there’s a carriage,” Demos said dryly.
Raphael cut his general a look. “You can choose during the night hours: either rest in the carriage or ride on a horse.”
“Horse,” I said immediately. I’d had enough confinement for the past while. I wanted to savor as much of the outside as possible, and while a carriage was a luxury, looking at it now, it seemed like another cage. “But I…”
“Haven’t magically learned how to ride a horse in the past few months?” Raphael supplied.
Yes. That.
“Not a problem,” Raphael continued. “You’ll ride with me.”
“I could learn,” I protested. It couldn’t be that hard, right?
“That will slow us down more,” Demos sighed. “The carriage would be easiest.”
“Or I could ride with someone else,” I said, a little more desperately.
“No,” was Raphael’s immediate response. “What, now you’re scared to ride with me?”
