AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Going after him!”
Ignoring her burst of laughter, I ripped open Corona’s stall door, reaching for the bridle on the wall. “Sorry, boy, but we’re going to have to take a little midnight ride.”
“I’m coming with you,” Zara announced from the stall’s doorway.
I heaved a saddle blanket on Corona’s tall back and narrowed my eyes at her. “You can’t ride as fast as I can. And if I don’t go…” My throat caught, and the rest of the words died on my tongue.
She yanked a bridle off the peg nearest to her. “I’m not telling you not to go. I’m just saying that you’re not going alone. Besides, it’s dangerous to ride at night this time of year.”
“Those are only stories,” I snapped.
Less than a minute later, as I led Corona out of the stables, another thought hit me, causing me to choke on my next breath. If Sol disappeared for good, my family would have to pay out all the bets placed on him. Even if we sold every item in our home—and the house itself—it wouldn’t be enough.
“I have to find him before my father wakes,” I whispered, trying to lift my foot into the stirrup. My tight dress wasn’t helping.
Zara scurried to mount the horse she’d saddled—another valuable racehorse I didn’t recognize. At least her family could afford to pay the owner for borrowing it. “You know where he’s going, don’t you?”
“Puerta,” I muttered.
The border town of Puerta de los Reyes, almost an hour’s ride from Leor, teemed with merchants and vendors of every illegal good imaginable. The weeks before and during the Festival de los Cuentos were the busiest of the year. Tradesmen from across the seas, tribal shamans from the east, and wealthy gangsters congregated in the market of Puerta to sell or trade their wares. Women of Leor were strictly forbidden from ever venturing near its gates.
I whirled around at a tearing sound to find Zara ripping the side of her dress to allow her legs space to move. “You would,” I said with a smirk.
“My hunting knives came in handy for once.”
Zara flashed her bare leg at me, waggling her brows—these festival dresses didn’t allow for the normal undergarments that we wore the rest of the year—then she flipped the blade and held it out to me. I took the knife, bent, and sliced the hem of my dress in a similar fashion. When I finished, I accepted a strappy leather holster from Zara.
“What’s this?” I glanced anxiously at the dark road where Sol had disappeared.
“It straps around your calf. Like this.” She fastened a dagger to her leg as well. “Usually goes over a riding boot, but we’ll make do.”
Seconds later, I climbed into the saddle. “All right. Let’s go,” I announced, kicking my heels into Corona.
2
Talia
My legs burned from holding a tight racing stance for so long. I knew from experience that I couldn’t hold it much longer. Zara, being less accustomed to fast rides, was already lagging behind. With a quick glance, I spotted her a little distance back, bouncing in the saddle, her hair a wild mess. Up ahead, riding at breakneck speed, was my target. He was closing in on the city gates.
Late night revelers from Leor clogged the road as they ambled toward the seedy border town to conduct business they’d surely regret come morning. With dawn still hours away, Puerta swelled like the bay at high tide.
Dust drifted sideways on the ocean breeze. The thief was riding the fastest horse in southern Avencia. If he made it to Puerta before we did, he’d melt into the crowd like butter on hot rice.
With a glance back at Zara, I waved my arm forward in silent communication before tapping my heels against my horse’s ribs, praying and cursing with alternate breaths as I sailed directly toward the one place I’d sworn never to go.
I gritted my teeth, crunching on bits of sand between my molars. “Ándale! Come o—”
The word was cut off by the chilling sound of a distant horn. My posture faltered in the saddle as I scanned the dark horizon.
Behind me on the road, screams pierced the night.
The horn sounded again, closer this time. People on the road ducked and glanced around. Several horses whinnied or reared. Corona, obedient as Papá had trained him to be, kept racing forward, but I sensed his unease as he tossed his nose up and down.
Still, I had no time to worry about any of this. Looking toward the gate, I caught a glimpse of Sol’s golden hide flying under the archway that led into the city.
Stars and suns.
Then everyone was running—panicked—toward the city gate.
