Page 122 of Salt Between the Wolves

The group continued forward, drawing closer as lantern light flickered against dark cloaks and horse tack.

She studied them carefully, trying to guess which one was Leander and trying to understand why an entire household seemed to be holding its breath for one man's arrival.

Footsteps sounded behind her, and Eira glanced over her shoulder.

Finn stood several paces away with his hands buried inside his coat.

For a moment neither of them spoke before he followed her gaze toward the road.

"They made good time."

Eira looked back toward the riders.

"The one in front?"

Finn frowned.

"What?"

"Leander."

A brief silence followed, and then, to her surprise, Finn laughed.

"No."

Eira blinked.

"No?"

He pointed toward the middle of the group, indicating a rider she had barely noticed.

The man was dressed no differently from the others. He wore no elaborate cloak, displayed no obvious signs of rank, and made no effort whatsoever to stand apart from the people surrounding him. If anything, he appeared less imposing than the rider she had initially chosen.

"That's him."

Eira stared.

The rider sat comfortably in the saddle and spoke to one of the others as they approached the estate.

At first glance there was nothing remarkable about him, nothing that demanded attention or openly announced power.

And yet, once Finn pointed him out, her eyes kept returning to him as though some instinct recognized something her mind had not yet understood.

The riders crossed the bridge, passed through the outer gates, and continued toward the main courtyard.

Then, unexpectedly, the man Finn had indicated lifted his head.

The distance between them was considerable, far too great for details and far too great for certainty, yet for a single moment Eira had the unsettling impression that he was looking directly at her rather than toward the overlook or the house.

The feeling vanished almost immediately as the riders continued onward.

The moment should have ended there, but for some reason it did not.

As darkness settled fully across the valley, Eira found herself unable to shake the strange impression that Lord Leander already knew exactly who she was.

By the time Eira returned to the house, the riders had already arrived.

The courtyard she had crossed only minutes earlier had transformed completely.