Page 27 of The Bookworm and the Pegasus Tamer

With Echo gone from view, they walked slowly back to their mounts, Bramble prancing along with them, her belly apparently full. When they reached the horses, Aurelia realized they had a problem. Without Echo, they were a horse short.

Danton was already looking at her, an apology in his eyes. “As you’ve already said, you’re the smallest,” he murmured.

Aurelia swallowed. “You want to ride with me?”

She glanced toward Phoebe, thinking her friend might rescue her, but Phoebe was bent over Fable, apparently oblivious to their conversation.

Danton swung onto the back of the strongest of the mounts, reaching a hand down to her. “We’ll take it slow. We don’t have far to go.”

Reluctantly, Aurelia put her hand into his and allowed him to pull her up so that she sat sideways across the front of his saddle, cradled between his outstretched arms.

“Are you comfortable?” he murmured, and she nodded, not trusting her voice.

This was the third time he had held her in something approximating an embrace, and she could no longer fool herself into thinking that she wouldn’t be dreaming of the real thing for years to come.

She held herself rigidly upright as they fell into a single file line, Danton and Aurelia at the back, since they moved slowest on their heavily laden horse.

“You can relax,” Danton said quietly. “I’ve already told you I don’t bite.”

She flushed but allowed herself to unbend a little, shifting slightly into a more comfortable position. Sitting on horseback, the excitement of finding the star leaves behind them, she could feel every ache and pain from her climb and subsequent fall.

She sighed softly, the movement of the horse’s plodding steps making her relax even further. It was so warm inside Danton’s arms, the sense of safety she had felt earlier so complete, that weariness pulled at her muscles. She couldn’t fall asleep, though. She needed to stay rigidly upright, and if she slept, she would be sure to fall back against Danton.

She awoke slowly, her head tucked securely against his shoulder and her side pressed against the breadth of his chest. How long had she been sleeping? Had it been only moments?

She knew she should be alarmed—should force herself to sit upright—but the fog of sleep still pulled at her. Instead, she turned her face questioningly up toward his. He looked down at her, a glint in his eyes that made her heart speed up, her mind coming fully awake.

But his gaze held her in place, still lying against him, her head tipped up toward his. His eyes dropped to trace the shape of her lips, and her breath caught on a soft gasp.

At the sound, he swayed toward her, and her eyes fluttered closed in readiness for his kiss. But as soon as her closed lids cut off the vision of his face, she remembered herself. Bolting upright, she spun to face forward, looking in horror for the other riders.

She could see no sign of them, however, the path ahead hidden by an abrupt bend. Her breath came hard and fast, and neither she nor Danton spoke. At least no one else had witnessed her moment of weakness.

But if he wanted to kiss her, was it so very terrible to let him? The insidious thought wormed into her brain.

She couldn’t trust it, though. He had already pulled her into his arms once due to the emotion of the morning. And now they had potentially found a cure for the royal herd, adding euphoria and gratitude to the mix. It was a potent combination, and she couldn’t trust it. The Earl had made it clear that she wasn’t the sort of girl he liked.

She needed to focus on what mattered—getting back to the estate so that they would be ready to receive word from the capital about the success of the star leaves. Then they should⁠—

She sat bolt upright, her discomfort forgotten. “We need to stop!”

Bramble immediately appeared around the bend, trotting back in their direction, her head cocked curiously.

“What is it?” Danton looked around them, scanning for danger.

“We picked plenty of leaves before,” she said, “but we need to collect some seedlings as well. If the plants work, the palace will want to cultivate them in the royal gardens. We should collect them now, rather than having to come back on a second trip.”

Disappointed, Bramble turned back the way she had come. Apparently the pegasus was uninterested in gardening. But Phoebe was already rounding the bend in her wake, the others close behind her.

“What’s happened?” she asked, and Aurelia explained her idea again.

“I should have thought of that.” Phoebe sounded disappointed in herself. “How many do you think we need?”

The conversation turned technical, the three gamekeepers all having thoughts on the matter. But in the end, they settled on collecting ten seedlings and were occupied for some time in finding likely-looking options.

By the time they had finished gathering, Lady Ophelia had arrived with the rest of their group and the baggage. She delivered Danton’s spare mount to him with an unflappable air.

“We saw Echo flying overhead with a satchel,” she said calmly. “He was heading out of the mountains, so I figured you would need a mount. I assume we can finally go home?”