Page 83 of Wind Rider

The girls were sitting on the top lip of a tier of basins that cascaded steaming thermal water down, down, down, to a reservoir below. Long ago Herd Magenti had built a mud trap beside the reservoir—a long strip of earth that ran the length of one side of the rocky water catch and was the width of six horses. The mud trap was mixed with sand gathered from the lake and tilled daily—and daily it was also drenched with thermal water, diverted from one of the cascading basins, so that it was a sucking, muddy mess that required a lot of strength and tenacity for any horse to cross. All winter Riders brought their horses to the mud trap, exercising them so that their stay in the warm, comfortable Valley of Vapors did not make them soft.

But with the Mare Test coming the last day of spring and the Stallion Run the last day of summer, both the following year, this winter the mud trap was a proving ground for the next leaders of Herd Magenti.

“Clayton has Bard down there, of course,” River said.

“I see him. That big white blaze is hard to miss, even mud-spattered,” April said. “He is a good-looking stallion. And fast, too. Do you think he’ll win?”

“I hope not.” The words left River’s mouth before she realized she’d spoken them.

Her sister studied her. “Because of Clayton and Skye?”

River rolled her eyes. “Not you, too.”

“What do you mean—not me too? Hey, the whole herd knows that until you brought Ghost back to us Clayton had been following you around for years, totally love struck. There was even a rumor last year that you were the reason he left to spend those months training with Herd Cinnabar.”

“He trained with Cinnabar because they’re the best warriors, and Clayton thinks that training will help him guide Bard into winning the Stallion Run. Anything more than that is stupid gossip.”

“Stupid gossip that spread through the herd,” April said.

“I can’t help that.”

“True, but he was back to following you around when he returned—until Ghost. Then something changed with him, and Skye slipped rightin where everyone thought you would be—mated to Clayton: you the Rider of our next Lead Mare, and him the Rider of our next Herd Stallion.”

River made a rude noise that sounded a lot like Anjo blowing snot from her nose.

“Okay, tell me if I’m wrong.”

“You’re wrong. At least you’re wrong from my perspective. Clayton and I have been friends since we were children. He wanted more. I didn’t. It’s been hard for him to accept it.” River moved her shoulders restlessly. “But I can’t force myself to feel more for him than I do, and I wouldn’t even if I could.”

April turned to face her sister, drawing her knees up and hugging them. “River, have you ever had feelings of ‘more’ for anyone?”

River sighed. “No. Not yet. And I’m tired of people asking me about it. Maybe that’s why Ghost found Anjo and me—because I understand what it feels like to have everyone obsessed with who I’ll choose. Why can’t we not choose anyone except ourselves? What’s so wrong with that?”

“Hey, sorry. I didn’t mean it like that—like I’m one of the gossips lurking around watching every time you so much as talk too long with any one guy or girl. The truth is, I want to be more like you than her.” April jerked her chin in the direction of the mud trap, where Skye had just appeared and was already giggling breathlessly at something Clayton was saying.

“If Skye spent half the time working with her filly as she does simpering at Clayton she might very well challenge Anjo and me for Lead Mare and Rider,” River said.

April shook her head as they watched Clayton knee Bard into rearing in the middle of the mud trap, apparently just so Skye and the group of girls joining her could coo and clap.

“Sometimes I think we should go back to the way it was generations ago, when men were only allowed in our camps when they were invited by women who wanted babies,” River said. “It’s hard for me to believe how ridiculous girls act when a cute boy pays attention to them.”

“Girls who take other girls as lovers can act silly, too,” April said.

“Notassilly.”

“So, you think Clayton’s mad at you for not wanting him and that’s why he’s stirring up so much talk?”

“I don’t know. He’s been really angry since Mother allowed Ghost to winter with the Herd, and he knew I didn’t feel more than friendship for him before I found Ghost. April, he knew it well before he left to train with Cinnabar. It’s just that me finding Ghost made the knowing finally sink in. I’m not sure why.”

“Uh, River, it could be because Ghost obviously hates Clayton, and you obviously like Ghost more than him.”

River shrugged. “Horses Choose their own Riders, as well as their own friends. I wish Clayton and Skye well.”

“Why?”

River’s brows went up. “Because I don’t want him, so why shouldn’t Skye find happiness with him?”

April sighed. “No, that’s not what I meant. I meant if you don’t have any feelings of jealousy, why don’t you want Clayton and Bard to be the Herd’s next Stallion and Rider? But I also think it’s weird that Ghost dislikes him so much.”