Page 6 of What Lies Beyond the Realms

“I’ve had a couple horses prepared for us. Now let’s get going,” he says while opening the front door.

I follow after him and am immediately concerned when I see the two horses out front. I don’t know how to tell him I can’t ride a horse. I feel embarrassed, and my cheeks are already flushing with heat. I want to go on this field trip so bad . . . do I just try to get on the horse and pretend I can ride? Hope that I don’t get bucked off on my ass in the first two minutes? He must notice my apprehension, because he stops and turns to me.

“What’s wrong?”

“Well . . . umm . . . Aidan, I’ve never been on a horse before.” I’m practically red in the face. Please don’t cancel the trip. Please don’t cancel the trip.

“Relax, Lyra, you can ride with me. Just give me a minute to transfer my bags onto your horse.”

I breathe easier. “Okay thanks,” I mutter, still feeling embarrassed.

I watch as he moves around the horses and repacks the saddle bags. Both horses are huge. One is a solid chocolate brown, and the other is the same color except for a white spot on its face. They’ve both got beautiful, thick, and shiny coats.

“What are their names?” I ask.

“Well, the stable boy says this one here carrying our packs is Sadye. She’s a mellow girl, and that’s why I’ve chosen her for you to ride. This boy here with the white spot over his eye is my horse from back home, and his name is Geri. Now we’re all set. Come over here and stand by Geri,” he instructs. “I’m going to help you get on. First, grab the pommel with both hands and steady yourself. Then I can climb on behind you.” He places his hands on my hips, effortlessly lifting me onto Geri like I weigh nothing.

I squeeze the pommel tight, already feeling anxious about falling off, but Aidan gets on behind me right away and pulls me back close to him. I suck in a breath at his close contact.

“Are you comfortable?” he asks as the horses start to head down the dirt path leading away from the front of the castle.

“Yes, I’m alright,” I say through gritted teeth. I’m hunched over with my ass in the air squeezing the pommel so tight my hands are already sore. I feel like I'm way too high on Geri. The last thing I want to do is fall off. I must look ridiculous because Aidan chuckles behind me.

“Come on, Cheeks. Lie back and relax. I won’t let you fall.” He pulls me back so I’m flush against his chest. His warmth seeps into me. I try to lean into him and relax a bit.

“Why did you just call me Cheeks?”

“Whenever you’re around me those pink cheeks of yours always flush and make you look adorable . . . and now I’m learning your other cheeks are rather plump and nice too.” He places his arm around my waist, tugging me back so my ass is tight against his front. I feel heat in my core at this new level of closeness.

Instead of acknowledging the nickname, I simply ask, “So are you going to tell me where we are going now?”

“I’m taking you to the Cinder territory where I’m from. The full moon is three days from now, and there’s a festival called the Shifting Moon. I have to be there, and I figured it would be good for you to get away from the castle and have some real-life training. It’s a little over two days’ ride to get there, so we'll camp for two nights along the way.”

“What is the Shifting Moon Festival?”

“Well, you know how you don’t get your powers until you turn nineteen?”

“Yes.”

“The Lycan don’t shift into wolves until they turn sixteen and attend the Shifting Moon Festival. It’s a blessing ceremony and a celebration representing their change into adulthood.”

“Is it painful to shift into a wolf?”

“The first few times it is, but you get used to it pretty quickly.”

For the next few hours, we ride on in silence. I'm mostly enjoying the surroundings and trying to get used to the fact that my legs are killing me from riding. We’re still in the Tempest Moon territory, so everything looks pretty similar to the castle grounds. Tempest Moon is made up of a coniferous forest covering vast mountains, lots of mature pine trees that tower over everything as well as black and white spruce trees, and very little ground vegetation. The ground is littered with pine needles and pine cones. The air is crisp and fresh. Pine fills my nose, and the scent will always remind me of home. It’s almost winter, and winters are long in the Tempest Moon district. We get lots of rain and snow, and even though it’s been abnormally sunny the last couple weeks, there’s still a chill in the air. If it wasn’t for the warmth radiating off Aidan, I’d be pretty cold right now.

I must’ve dozed off at some point, because I’m jolted awake when I feel water on my face.

“Sorry I didn’t mean to sleep on you.” I feel a little awkward for using Aidan as my very own pillow and blanket.

“Don’t worry about it. Riding all day takes a toll on you if you’re not used to it. But now with the rain we’ll stop and make camp soon. The sun is only a couple hours away from setting. I want to get closer to the river where we can rest, but I still didn’t make it as far as I would’ve liked today. We’ll have to ride harder tomorrow.”

I just nod in return. I’m tired and hungry and cold. I wonder how the Lycan’s strength compares to Samael’s powers. Aidan and I are becoming fast friends, and I can’t help but think maybe if I told him about Samael he could help me do something. Who am I kidding? Samael is the prince of the Sorcerer Realm. No one would make a move against him. Maybe Aidan alone couldn’t kill Samael, but with an entire pack of Lycan behind him he could. I can try to convince all the Lycan to help me and get the packs to stand against Samael. It’d take a lot of convincing to get the Lycan to make a move on the prince. I don’t think my feelings of foreboding would hold much weight in that conversation. I need to come up with something.

Chapter Five

About an hour later we make it to the river, and I spend another thirty minutes feeling useless while Aidan tries to teach me how to set up our tent and build a fire. We share a meal of dried meat, nuts and cheese, but even out here by the fire I’m still shivering from the rain. The trees help a little to protect us, but it’s still raining, and the fire is not thriving.