Kingdom of Sea and Stone

“That sounds promising,” I said wryly.

Grig held up his hands. “Apologies, my lady. We were in a hurry.”

I gathered the reins and found a large rock to mount from. “I’m sure it will be fine.”

“See?” Grig said to Talin.

I flashed a sweet smile. “If not, I’ll trade with you.”

Grig’s posture stiffened, but he nodded in agreement.

When we were all mounted—Zadie sitting behind Osius with her eyes squeezed shut and her arms wrapped around him so tightly it was a wonder he could breathe—we headed north to the main road through Meradin.

“Shouldn’t we stay hidden?” I asked Talin, riding up beside him.

“I would love to, but we’ll make terrible time if we don’t use the road, and we need to hurry. For Sami’s sake, and my mother’s. Our best option is to ride as fast as we can for Galeth and pray we can outrun Ceren.”

The little mare danced beneath me as we made our way through the trees, her gait light and buoyant. It was clear she was well trained; the slightest touch on the reins and she reacted, almost too much. If I so much as brushed her sides with my heels, she broke into a trot or canter. It was a good thing one of the men hadn’t tried to ride her. I doubted they had a light enough touch.

Gently, I patted her neck, whispering words of reassurance in her gracefully curved ears, which flicked toward me in response. Eventually, I relaxed into my seat, and she seemed to get used to the feel of my weight on her back.

Once we reached the road, we rode hard to put as much distance between the port and our party as possible. I was afraid for our parents, for Sami, and for myself, but the exertion of riding gave me something else to think about. There were even brief moments where I forgot why we were fleeing and could concentrate on nothing but the feel of the wind in my hair, the tension in my muscles, and the road ahead.

Despite the potential danger, I couldn’t help imagining what it would be like to finally see Galeth. I had dreamed of going there one day, ever since Sami told us the story of the Varenians who had been brave enough to escape and eventually create a society that revolved around horses. Now that I knew how to ride, the idea was even more fascinating.

Which wasn’t to say that horses didn’t intimidate me; they were enormous and powerful creatures, and it often seemed that our control over them was a mere illusion—a small bar of metal between his teeth was not going to keep Talin’s stallion, Xander, from bucking me into the next kingdom if he chose. That was why the idea of a partnership between man and beast was so intriguing. Galethians were not considered masters of their horses but equals.

An hour after sunset, we made camp among the trees. We had seen few people on the road, fortunately. It seemed everyone was hunkering down, preparing for war. We had covered more ground than expected, and the horses were still fresh, as the early autumn weather was ideal for riding.

“You did well,” Osius said as he helped Zadie down from his horse’s back.

She landed with a small groan. “Really? All I did was hold on.”

He smiled, blue-gray eyes crinkling at the corners. I’d always liked Osius. He had been kind to me from the start, though somewhat removed, unlike Grig, who felt like a big brother in some ways. I had noticed a relationship blossoming between Grig and Ebb, my lady’s maid, before I left, but I doubted they’d seen each other since. The thought of Ebb, who had been my only friend in New Castle, sent a pang of worry through me. I hoped she was all right.

“You held on well,” Osius amended. “Let me help you get settled.”

Zadie demurred politely. “You should see to the horse, surely. I’ll help make the camp.”

She went to clear the campsite of rocks and debris while I unpacked our saddlebags. If she was experiencing any land sickness, she was doing a remarkably good job of hiding it. I glanced back at Osius, who was still observing my sister, as if he wanted to make sure she was truly all right before he tended to the horses.

“You noticed it, too, then,” Talin said, startling me.

“What?”

“I believe your fair sister may have caught the eye of our captain.”

I turned to stare at him. “Osius? Impossible. He’s all business.”

Osius had moved on to the horses, but he stole repeated glances at Zadie, who was gathering firewood.

“Oh dear,” I said. “I think you may be right. He does know she’s in love with Sami, doesn’t he? That’s why she’s here.”

“He knows. And I don’t think Osius has any plans to marry. Most members of the king’s guard don’t.”

“If he thinks she’s the kind of girl who would betray—”

Talin chuckled and patted my shoulder. “Calm down. He doesn’t. I think he’s just protective.”

“He never behaved that way toward me,” I muttered as we walked to the campsite.

Talin smirked. “But you were never really in need of protection.”

“Hmph.”

“Besides,” he added, tucking me against his side, “he knew all along that if anyone was going to attempt to protect you, it was going to be me.”

I smiled and kissed his cheek. “I may not need protection, but I am in dire need of a shoulder rub.”

“That,” he said with a grin, “I can manage.”

8



By the fourth day, Zadie had adapted to life on land. She had never been sick to her stomach the way I was, which could have been because I was forced to travel in a closed coach with no access to fresh air. She was always eager to cook when we made camp at night, while I preferred to unsaddle the horses and rub them down. I took particular care with Titania, who had proven herself to be an unusually intelligent and loyal animal.

“It’s unnatural,” Grig grumbled, pointing as Titania followed me around camp, which she had taken to doing in the evenings. I suspected she would have happily slept next to me, though even Talin objected to that. He reasoned that she could roll over in the night and crush me, but I knew it had more to do with the fact that it was our only time to be together. He didn’t want to share me, not even with a horse.

“Leave her alone.” I held out an apple core to Titania. “She just likes me.”

“You wouldn’t think anything of it if she were a dog,” Osius said to Grig. “Besides, you’d better get used to it. Where we’re going, I’ve heard the horses practically live in the houses.”

Zadie lifted her head from the cook fire, eyes wide. “What?”

“It’s not true,” I assured her. “Is it?” I whispered to Talin.