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His hand slipped off my ankle. “Call me Rafael.” Without another word, he spun away to mount his own horse.
Zara let out a small shriek as Hector assisted her into her own saddle.
Soon all five horses were tearing out across the seaside plains, back toward Leor. As we charged down the road, I had the distinct feeling the two fae riding beside me were fleeing from something as they frequently glanced over their shoulders.
By the time we slowed outside of Leor, I was exhausted from two hard rides in the middle of the night, and Corona was in no fit state to race again in a few hours. The eastern sky was already pale gray.
Rafael turned his hooded face to Zara. “Return home. Tell no one what has taken place.”
When she glanced at me, I nodded reassuringly, despite my lack of confidence that any of this would turn out well.
Rafael growled, “Now.”
She shot me a sympathetic smile before trotting down the road toward her family’s estate.
I led the two men and the spare horse around the outskirts of the city, toward the first slopes of the plains that lifted toward the distant mountains.
“Faster,” urged Rafael.
“Let them rest,” I snapped, patting Corona’s neck.
He kicked his mount into a canter, shouting at me to lead the way. I had no choice but to match his pace.
Dawn’s first deep blue hues brightened the sky as I rode directly into the paved courtyard outside my front door. My family’s home sat near the road, and dust from passing carriages coated our meager garden with reddish-brown hues. If the guard at Zara’s barn had done as I’d asked, my father might be out searching for Sol. And if the guard hadn’t sent word to my father, he’d likely be pacing the kitchen, jittery with race-day nerves.
I hopped quickly from the saddle, before Papá could emerge and see my leg hanging out for all the world to see.
Rafael dismounted as well, shooting a glance at the road behind him, then at the eastern horizon.
“What do you think is out there?” I asked. The ominous way both fae snapped their hooded faces toward me silenced any further questions.
“We are out of time,” Hector said, hopping down.
Rafael let out a small grunt. “Where is the lily I gave you?”
“I—no. I think it fell off on the ride.”
“What?”
Corona’s solid frame prevented me from backing up when he lunged for me. “It was just a flower.”
His shadowed eyes flashed gold again. “I promised I would save your family from ruin, and you go and toss my blessing aside.”
I poked a finger at his chest, not caring at that moment that he was immortal, imbued with magic, and much, much bigger than me. “You didn’t tell me your little flower was the key to your blessing.”
He grabbed my finger and held it for a moment. My shock quickly hardened into fear. Would he snap my bones for talking to him like this? Hector eyed Rafael with the hint of a warning on his pinched brow.
“We must go,” said Rafael, stepping back. “We cannot linger.”
I stumbled forward, almost colliding with him. “You promised.”
“And I intend to keep my promise.” He grabbed the spare horse’s reins. “Take this horse. Enter him in the race.”
I scoffed. “After that ride, he’ll finish last.”
“Do not presume to know more about my horses than I do.”
The emphasis on the word my reminded me that he was fae, and that his animals were likely bespelled.
