Page 47 of The Jealous Girl

I flinched.

Cautiously, I turned my head.

Atlas.

My breath caught as he stepped close, his head bobbing up and down towards me.

I edged back, my gaze shifting from him to the aisle, visible above the stall door.

I was trapped.

He’s gentle. He won’t hurt you.

Ryan’s voice echoed through my memory.

I hoped he was right.

Lowering myself to my knees, I pressed myself into the corner of the stall, out of sight of the aisle.

Atlas shifted closer.

I squeezed my eyes shut, shrinking into a ball.

Footsteps stopped just outside as a beam of light swept into the stall.

‘Come on, Atlas.’ Martin’s voice was familiar even in the darkness.

My heart sank. I’d picked the wrong stall to hide in.

‘Atlas?’ Martin whispered louder. ‘Time for your medicine.’

My eyes flew open as Atlas huffed softly beside me, blowing warm breath across my cheek. I stared at him, frozen in fear, his head lowered only centimetres from mine.

Panic surged through me at the sound of the bolt rattling in the latch. Martin was coming in.

In desperation, I reached up towards Atlas’s lowered head, my hand brushing against his neck as I tried to gently push him away.

For a second he didn’t respond.

The bolt started to shift.

I gave Atlas another nudge.

This time he turned and moved towards Martin. Dizzying relief flooded through me as the bolt clunked back into place.

‘Here you go,’ Martin whispered gently. There was something so soothing about the way he spoke to the horses.

Martin reached over the stall door, his hand outstretched. ‘I mixed it with a bit of apple.’

In the darkness Atlas was little more than a dark shadow. His head dipped to Martin’s hand.

I listened to the soft shift of hooves, a gentle snort, then low steady crunching as he took the apple.

‘Right then,’ Martin said, as Atlas lifted his head with a soft huff of breath. ‘You get some rest now.’

The light shifted as his footsteps retreated towards the main door.

I didn’t move. My body stayed alert as I listened to the sounds of the door closing, and the bolt being slid back into position.