Page 7 of The Bookworm and the Pegasus Tamer

No humans were in sight, however, so she gathered her courage and crept forward to the closest stall. It was empty.

Moving swiftly along, she peered into the next one, expecting it to be empty as well since she could see no sign of a pegasus over the half-door. But when she peered inside, her breath caught in her throat.

A young pegasus—a yearling from the look of her—lay on the straw, her breathing labored. Something about the sight of such a magnificent creature lying so weak and vulnerable brought a lump to Aurelia’s throat and tears pricking at her eyes.

“So it’s true, then,” she whispered. “They’re sick.”

“Yes, it’s true,” said a somber voice behind her.

An unwanted thrill shot from her scalp to her toes. She had only ever had one conversation with the Earl, but the sound of his voice was already familiar.

She gulped and turned slowly. He must have moved on quiet feet because she hadn’t heard him enter.

“I know I’m not supposed to be here,” she said as she turned toward him. “But I heard the rumors, and I had to see the truth of it for myself.”

When she finally got a good look at him, she drew in another sharp breath. She had feared to see accusation in his eyes, but his gaze was fixed on the young pegasus in the stall. And his expression was so sad and so desperate that her hand reached instinctively toward his in a gesture of sympathy.

She recalled herself in time, however, drawing it back before he noticed.

“Is it so bad, then?” She watched his expression closely. “They’re not…dying?” She didn’t know them like he did, but she already couldn’t bear the idea.

He looked up at her words, his mouth grim. But his expression lightened as his eyes roamed over her face.

“You really care about them,” he murmured. “You didn’t come hoping to find me.”

She immediately drew back, her sympathy for his obvious pain dimming.

“I had no idea you would be here,” she said shortly. Then memory of her situation reasserted itself, and some humor edged into her voice. “Given I don’t have permission to be here, I was rather hoping to avoid running into anyone at all.”

He smiled, his face softening further. “I won’t turn you in, and none of the grooms will question you while you’re with me.”

“Then I suppose it’s a fortunate thing you came after all,” she acknowledged, struggling to follow the abrupt turns of his mood. “I can only assume you’re welcome at the royal stables anytime.”

He bowed his head in acknowledgment.

She regarded him with a stirring of curiosity. Everyone knew the story of how he had saved the future of the royal herd, but what skills had he employed to manage it? When they danced, he had described it as negotiation.

“I come here as often as I can,” he said abruptly. “It’s the only stable for pegasi in the capital.”

“It’s the only one in the entirety of Wynkara,” she said quietly. “I may not be from Wynvale, but I know that by royal decree, only the king may keep a pegasus outside the mountains, where the unbonded ones dwell.”

“It isn’t because of royal pride,” he said quickly, and she gave him an impatient look.

“Of course I know that. The story has spread far beyond the capital. Everyone in Wynkara knows that the old king was the first human to bond with a pegasus after he traveled into the foothills as a young man and convinced a stallion to bond with him. And when they returned to the capital together, with several mares in tow, his success inspired a rush of people searching for pegasi in the mountains.”

“People were hurt.” The Earl sounded sad, as if he had been there, although it had been a long time before he was born. “The mountains can be an unforgiving place. And pegasi were hurt as well.”

“It was a mess, in other words,” she said dryly. “So the old king made his decree.”

“It certainly achieved the desired effect.” The Earl sounded amused, although something else lurked beneath it that she couldn’t read. “People were much less eager to bond with a pegasus when it would mean living alone as a recluse in the mountains.”

“But why didn’t anyone bond with one of the colts born to the royal herd?” Aurelia glanced toward the stall. “Given there’s so much interest in pegasi, there must have been plenty of willing volunteers. I heard most of the mares who followed the old king’s stallion ended up bonding with a groom—or else with someone who subsequently became a royal groom. So why not their colts?”

The Earl shrugged. “We have no idea. You can’t force a pegasus to bond with a human. You’d be foolish to even try. A couple of the fillies chose a human companion, but when none of the colts did so—choosing to depart for the mountains instead—there was nothing the king could do.”

“But without a stallion, the herds’ days were numbered.” Aurelia’s eyes stayed on the stall.

“That was the issue, yes,” the Earl said in a detached voice.