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In hindsight, she should have held on to more of her gold earlier in the trip. Still, there was no way to make it across the mountains without a ride while being pursued, so keeping her mare well fed and happy had been important… even if it meant she went hungry.
The walls of the stables were aged red brick that stood out amongst all the other gray buildings. Light shone behind the window by the front gate, and the scent of manure and hay became stronger the closer they came. Gavin fixed the thick, knitted hood of his new clothes over his wild hair and rang the bell twice.
The door cracked open, and a youthful, freckled face peered out from behind it. “We’re closed. Come back later.”
Gavin’s hand shot out and held the door open as the young man attempted to shut it in their faces.
“We want our horses, boy, and we need them now. We’re leaving Scoria before the storm hits.” Gavin sounded friendly and stern at the same time. He exuded the kind of confidence that made Violet’s stomach flutter and caused heat to rush through her body.
The boy’s eyes rounded, bouncing from Gavin to Mios’ giant form, finally landing on her. A healthy dose of panic flashed over his features before he swung the door open.
Dense blobs of snow fell from the sky. No one in their right mind should leave in these conditions. Not unless they were running away.
“Do you have your stall slips?” At their blank expressions he sighed, shaking his head. “I guess I don’t need them, let me take you through.”
Mios didn’t have a horse. He’d assured them he would travel in his animal form, although Violet doubted whether he was equipped to do so. Lion shifters usually lived in deserts, not in snowy forests in the middle of the Obsidian mountains. Regardless, the shifter leaned against the outer wall, keeping watch while Gavin and her stepped inside.
From the outside, the place appeared to be multiple stories high. However, once inside, it was one large space split into stables. Thick wooden beams held up the vaulted ceilings, taller than most temples in small cities like this.
The stableboy pointed them at their horses’ boxes, and Violet and Gavin went off in different directions to fetch them.
It didn’t take her long to find her mare. The beast pressed her snout into Violet’s hand, welcoming her. She was a beautiful palomino that Violet had ridden during many army missions. When she’d left the city, she’d instantly known which horse she’d be stealing.
Twenty-one strutted with the eagerness of a beast that hadn’t been exercised for a while. She shook her head all the way toward the room where the saddles were stored.
Gavin joined her there with a beast with dappled gray fur that stood out against his fine, cognac-colored tack. The stallion was at least eighteen hands, a thoroughbred that dwarfed her own. “This is Hillar,” he said. “He’s been mine since I was eleven.” He brushed the horse’s beautiful, shiny mane before cinching up the saddle.
“You’re from Plume City. Isn’t that a long way from the Iron Kingdom?” she deadpanned. “Wouldn’t it have been easier, not to mention cheaper, to buy another horse than to take him all the way with you?”
Gavin’s cheeks darkened. “It would have—but it wouldn’t have been Hillar.”
“What makes him so special to you?” Her curiosity spiked. She’d never truly attached to a horse like that herself. This mare was the one she’d always been the closest to, but Violet hadn’t even named her yet.
“My sister gave him to me when she was three.”
“She bought you Hillar when she was three years old?” she teased with a growing smirk.
“Well, not like that. She picked him for me from the lineup. And that counts—right? She used to love gray horses… Still does.” He grinned and scratched the horse’s neck.
“You sound close,” she said past the pain surging up the back of her throat. Once upon a time, Violet and her little sister Thalea had been the best of friends, too.
Mina was much younger than Gavin, but now Violet knew they loved each other. And he’d never see her again. She’d ruined this for him.
Would she change the past if she could? Stay in the Iron City, with everything the Crows and Julius had planned to do to her? Could she have settled even though she would have been required to have a baby? Not that Gavin would have forced her to—but the Society of Crows would have.
Violet couldn’t have stayed for long. However, she didn’t have to leave that night, either. Things might have been different if she’d considered that maybe the man she was marrying was honorable and good. That they could work together, instead of against each other.
“We are very close,” Gavin agreed, and cleared his throat from the emotion that distorted his voice. His gaze remained glued on his horse as he finished fixing the saddle. He secured the sacks of food and other supplies Laura had provided for them, actively avoiding looking at her.
“I would change it,” she whispered. “You were right. I was selfish on our wedding day, and if I could, I would’ve stayed and worked with you. I know I’ve said it before, but I’m truly sorry, Gavin. I was very young when I was taken from my family, but I still remember how much it hurt.”
“I’m not angry at you anymore.”
“You should be. I wouldn’t blame you if you were.”
Gavin stepped forward and reached for her chin. Her heart sped up as he traced the edge of her jaw. “I’m thankful to you. Sure, I can’t see Mina right now, but she is alive today because of you.”
“What do you mean?”
