Page 18 of When Ashes Fall

“I see,” he murmured.

He stopped outside the hall and stared at the building for a minute before resuming our walk. “It seems they’re still in discussions.”

We strolled over to where they’d tied the horses to a hitching post outside the hall. The caderns that the cyclopes rode were tied to nearby trees.

Devnair led me over to a black-and-white leopard appaloosa with soulful brown eyes. The second the horse spotted Devnair, it nickered and pawed the ground.

Devnair rested his hand on the horse’s nose. “I missed you too, Toric.”

I rubbed the horse’s neck. “He’s beautiful.”

“He is.”

“What is your sister’s name?” I asked.

Devnair’s face lit up with love. “Elora.”

“You’re close.”

“Very. She’s my best friend.”

“How lovely.”

When Toric nudged me with his nose, I smiled and rested my forehead against his as I inhaled the wonderful scents of horse and leather. Oh, how I loved animals.

“How did you manage to make friends with a lowleeto?” Devnair asked while I rubbed the side of Toric’s beautiful face.

“I gave him some food in the woods,” I said. “Gizzi became my friend after that.”

“You named him Gizzi?”

I tried not to react to his question as I realized I’d almost revealed too much. “It’s cute.”

“It’s interesting.”

“It’s a great name,” Gizzi said grumpily.

“It is,” I reassured him and pet his head.

The sound of the door crashing open drew my attention away from Toric as a cyclops turned sideways and ducked through the doorway. I tensed at the realization the meeting had ended.

When my hands fell to my sides, Toric nudged me, and I absently resumed petting him. I wish I could ride you away from here, I thought.

“I’d take you away if I could,” a voice whispered back, but this deep, soulful voice didn’t belong to Gizzi.

When I gawked at Toric, he nudged me again. “Was that you?” I asked.

Toric’s head bobbed up and down. “And that is you.”

My mouth dropped at the confirmation Gizzi wasn’t the only animal I could speak to.

CHAPTER TWELVE

Briar

“He spoke to me! Toric spoke to me!” I shouted at Gizzi.

When Gizzi’s nose twitched, his whiskers tickled my cheek. “Well, isn’t he special.”