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“That sounds dreadful. Who knew having a fast racehorse would make it harder to find a decent man?”
Shrugging, Zara peeked in at a horse. “Who’s the contender?”
“Cielo, over there. But his fastest time never beat Sol’s.”
“Everything will be different by sundown, will it not?” She grabbed my hands. “The dons will be lining up for your hand!”
A short laugh escaped my lips. “Yes, money will finally garner their attention.”
“I didn’t mean it like that.”
“I don’t disagree with you. I merely dislike that it’s true.” I pulled my hands from my friend’s grip and continued to Sol’s stall. Until riches lifted me out of my current station, I was still beneath the dons’ notice. “At least, Papá will be able to buy the land outright from Ortiz. No more dreadful landlord hovering over our every move.”
Zara cringed at the mention of Ortiz, sharing my feelings about the potbellied man who’d been asking for my hand in marriage for the last four summers, ever since I turned fifteen.
“Surely, you’ll move,” she said with a pout. “But do tell your father to buy a grand estate somewhere outside of Leor. You can’t leave me.”
“Just because we stand to win doesn’t mean we’ll leave Leor,” I assured her. “My father loves it here. He says southern Avencia is the world’s best place to train horses. Not that he’s trained them anywhere else.” I traced my hand lightly along the wood between stalls as I moved farther down. “And the race isn’t won yet.”
Zara huffed. “It’s as good as.”
As I passed my father’s other horse, Corona, I nodded politely. He was fast in his own right, but no champion.
“Push him,” I told the white horse, leaning over the half door of his stall. “Push him to his best time yet.” The horse flicked an ear sideways. “I’m serious. No lounging at the back of the pack this time. You’ve got a job to do.”
I moved on to the next stall, where Sol would be sleeping before his big day. The stable was dim, the light from the moon casting only the faintest shadows through the windows, but even before I reached the stall, my skin prickled.
My breath caught when my eyes adjusted.
Sol was gone.
“What is it?” Zara asked, placing a hand on my arm.
Unable to speak, I unlatched the stall door and yanked it open, scanning the floor more times than was necessary. He wasn’t there.
Panic seized my chest, and I scrambled back out into the aisle, knocking into Zara.
“Where is he?” Zara whispered. “Wait. Look.” She pointed to where Sol’s saddle and bridle were missing.
“Someone stole him!” I shouted.
As I ran back toward the sleeping guard, he roused from sleep with a start and hopped up.
“He’s gone! Someone stole my father’s horse.”
The large man blinked, then my words registered and he gripped his rapier with one hand and raced into the barn.
“He’s gone, you idiot. Running into the barn won’t do any good.” I lifted both arms and rolled my eyes.
The sound of crunching gravel pricked at my ears. Tensing, I scanned the dark road leading away from the barn. The tiny sliver of moon wasn’t enough to illuminate the night, but I spotted a pale shape at the foot of the small hill.
“Zara! That’s him—that’s Sol. It must be!”
When the guard reappeared, I was already racing back into the barn. “There’s been a theft,” I called back. “Send word to my father.”
The guard’s quick footsteps diminished as he sped away.
“What are you doing?” asked Zara from behind me.
