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“What a puzzle he is,” I tell Meera, moving to the back wall, pleased to see my old saddle and blanket among the selection. “But let’s not think about him today. Let’s have a good ride and get reacquainted with each other.”
Meera stands patiently while I saddle her up, adjusting the straps and stirrups before vaulting onto her back and finding my seat. It feels foreign and familiar all at once as I lead her out into the field behind the barn.
I lean over her neck and give her a pat. “All right, my girl, I’m not after testing Thieran’s limits today. Not after he’s given me such a lovely gift. There’ll be time enough for that later.”
Sitting straight in the saddle, I urge her into a trot and then a canter. It’s been weeks since I sat a horse, but the smooth, strong lines of her are like a dance I’ll never forget. Eager to feel the bite of the wind on my face and the speed and the freedom, however short-lived, I take her up to a gallop and we fly.
Chapter Twenty
“Having any luck with those?”
I look up from the book in my hands to see Kaia walking toward me across the deep red carpet. Her hair is swept up off her neck and secured with jeweled combs that catch the light, and her arms are full of more books.
She’s been bringing me whatever she can find from Rhagana that might aid in my search for answers about the Shadow Realm and its continued weakening. I’ve slacked off on my research in the last week or two since it seemed Elora’s presence had given me everything I needed.
But the feeling on the air when she came so close to the veil the night she tried to escape—the night I let her get too close to succeeding—there was something about it. Something heavy and constricting. The veil reacted to her presence in a way I’ve never seen it react to anyone. Even me.
And I have no idea what to make of it. So I’ve thrown myself back into searching for answers, poring over whatever Kaia brings, debating whether to risk a trip to Fontoss to see if it has what Kaia’s resources cannot give me. Only now my focus has shifted from how Elora crossed to how it’s possible for a mortal to sustain the realm.
So far I’ve come up empty. And until I can find more information about why a mortal’s presence seems to be having such an effect and what that really means, I’ve got to keep Elora here. And it’s better for all of us if she’s comfortable enough that she doesn’t try to escape again.
Which is why I endured a trip into Acaria and nearly lost an arm collecting her horse. That confounding beast tried to take a bite out of me more than once while I had the stable hands prepare her. Stubborn and temperamental. Like her owner.
Never mind that Elora’s smile and the raw emotion in her voice made it all worth it. Or that the sound of her laughter drifting across the open field smooths out a jagged part of me each time it carries on the wind. Or that she seems happier and more content when I see her at dinner every night.
She’s even dragged Hayle, the most private of my judges, out of wherever he often hides. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the man smile or laugh so much in all the centuries I’ve known him. And so far I’ve done a perfectly admirable job of not punching him in the face every time Elora brushes a hand over his arm.
She is settling in and behaving herself, spending most days with her horse and most nights in her room, although I occasionally sense her wandering the halls. She hasn’t tested the wards again. If she does, she’ll find them stronger than before.
She has become exactly what I need her to be. Pliant. And it seems entirely too good to be true. She’s up to something. She has to be. I only wish I knew what it was.
After reading the same paragraph three times, I close the book with a snap and toss it on the pile.
Kaia glances up from the pages she’s thumbing through. “No luck?”
“How did we manage to perform one of the biggest blood rituals in our history and only write the damned thing down in a single book?”
A smile tugs at the corner of Kaia’s mouth, and she starts flipping through the pages again. “Probably a healthy dose of self-preservation. Binding souls and mortals in the way we did isn’t exactly something we should want to repeat often.”
I huff out an annoyed breath and lean back in my chair.
“Any news from your spies in Fontoss?”
Pursing her lips, she slowly closes her book and sets it gently on the top of a stack. She carefully aligns its edges with the book beneath it before speaking.
“Preparations for the winter ball are well underway.”
“Getting started early,” I say, eyebrow raised. “The ball isn’t for another six weeks.”
“Seems like the king might be planning a big surprise.”
That brings me upright, curiosity piqued. “Any idea what kind of surprise?”
She shrugs, moving to the window and staring out into the pitch black. “My spy didn’t know. Only that the queen seems to be spending more time with the king than usual. And she seems…happier when she returns.”
“Kaia—”
“Don’t,” she replies, trying and failing to keep the note of sadness from her voice. “It’s been a long time. I’m fine.”
