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She loosened her arms. “No.” Her brow puckered a little and she bit her lip. “The wound doesn’t hurt much at all.”
Everence leaped into the saddle of a red horse named Belleza and whispered something to Hector. I only caught one word: convincing.
Hector called out, “Who’s going to take care of that pack of hounds as we go by?” He lifted a hand to the carriage. “I’m not putting my money on him.”
“I’ll ride with Everence,” Talia announced.
Everence shook her head. “Not a horse person, remember? I’m a terrible rider. It’s all I can do to stay in the saddle when we have to hurry, much less outrun a pack of hellhounds. I’m sorry.”
Talia’s face blanched.
“Ride with me,” I muttered so only she could hear.
She shook her head.
“I’m not asking you to forgive me. Only to ride with me.”
When Sinsorias’s carriage lurched forward, the dogs again began their slavering howls. All the way down the long drive, their black figures could be seen frantically leaping at the enchanted gates.
I quickly knelt beside Lily and waited for Talia to accept a leg up. For a heartbeat, she only stared at my hands. Then, she hmphed and lifted her foot. Her dress snagged as she threw her leg over the saddle, but with deft hands I dislodged the fabric from the back of the saddle. Her eyes briefly locked with mine, and the passion I’d felt as we’d danced flared in my chest.
Sun forsake me, this was going to be a long trip.
35
Talia
The hounds threw themselves at the gates, barking madly. Sparks flew as their black bodies collided with the magical barrier. Their eyes glowed red, and their lips dripped saliva. They were twice the size of the biggest dogs I’d ever seen. My body curled into itself as fear took over. But as I pressed harder into Rafael’s chest, I recoiled slightly.
“If your brother sent them to chase us to the palace, will they hurt us when they see we’re headed that way?”
Rafael breathed hotly against my ear. “If my brother sent them, there’s no telling what they’ve been ordered to do.”
“Can you silence them again?” The sound of their snarling was raising my pulse to uncomfortable levels. Or maybe that was partly due to the fact that my would-be murderer had his arms around me.
He twisted his hands in Lily’s mane and whispered, “Don’t listen to them.”
At his words, the dogs’ barking diminished, and at once, I breathed with relief.
Everence cantered up beside us. “I will sing them to sleep.” Her words were still sharp. “And Hector will enchant the horses to keep them safe.”
“I will take care of the dogs,” Rafael called over the sound of the hooves, pressing his horse faster.
Everence started to object, but Hector thundered past her, grinning.
As we neared the end of the drive, the ornate iron gates burst apart, sparks flying as we sailed through the enchantments. The horrifying dogs flew outward as if blasted by some unseen force. Rafael’s chest heaved. His knuckles were white on the reins. The animals tumbled over each other and regrouped to charge us. Their mouths moved but my ears barely registered the sounds.
Rafael lifted a hand and sliced it downward through the air. “Enough!”
Every hound stopped, hunkered down, and tucked its tail between its legs, red eyes downcast. Faint whimpering sounds reached my ears, and I stared over my shoulder in amazement as all the black hounds cowered and ran.
Hector whooped victoriously. Everence, on the other hand, stared at Rafael in open-mouthed wonder as she hunched in the saddle beside us. She really did look uncomfortable on a horse. I nestled a little deeper against Rafael, hating the way my heart hurt at his nearness, hating the way I felt safe in his arms.
* * *
I jolted awake, and my head slammed back against Rafael’s jaw.
He let out a little grunt but said nothing. The scenery had changed from forest to flatlands, and the eastern horizon was touched with a thin orange light. The road curved. Gone were the gigantic trees of Moredo; in their place was an open expanse framed by mountains in the distance to the left and the flat line of the sea far away to the right. Color exploded everywhere, even in the pre-dawn pallor. Red poured down one hill like a mudslide. Purple bubbles rose and popped in strange little pools that dotted one low area off to the right.
