I sensed the merest flicker from Caliel.I can assist.
It’s okay,I said.I’ve got this.
He subsided, remaining as a barely felt presence in the back of my mind. I let the sword’s energy wash over me and envisioned my mare self.
The change came on me faster than ever before, driven by my worry for Riggs. In moments, I used my nose to push the sword back into its scabbard. I threaded the strap over my neck, tossed it over one shoulder where it wouldn’t tangle in my legs, and then I was off.
My hooves drummed against the earth in a counterpoint to Riggs’s footfalls, and my Centaur heart supplied the song that matched them. I barely broke rhythm as I followed him onto a much smaller path leading deep into the forest.
Branches brushed against my glossy sides as I gave chase. That our link was real became evident when he sensed me coming, and my heart stuttered as he ran from me.
He didn’t want me out here with him.
But the conflict I also sensed spurred me onward. His desperation added wings to his feet, but his two legs could never outrun my four. I soon caught sight of him shoving his way through the bushes.
When the path emptied into a small clearing, he spun to face me. The expression in his eyes reflected his inner chaos.
I slid to a halt before him. If he wanted me to turn back, he was going to have to give me a good reason to go. I tossed my head. “What are you running from?”
“Everything.” His eyes gleamed metallic.
“You’re going to have to do beetter than that,” I stated.
His lips pulled back from his teeth. “I’m not who you all want me to be,” he growled.
It wasn’t the answer I’d been expecting. “Who are ‘you all’?” I asked.
“The Dragons. Fate. That blasted sword.” He exhaled this last word… “You.”
There was only one of those that I could resolve. I pushed my head up against his torso and breathed him in.
I heard his breath hitch.
“It’s too late to run from mee,” I whispered. He smelled of musky male, but I caught the merest hint of ozone, buried deep. Maybe his Dragon wasn’t as lost as it seemed. I raised my nose to his neck, and exhaled the words, “I will run with you.”
“Are you sure you want to?” His voice broke on the wordwant.
“Wee beelong together,” I whispered.
I expected him to back away, but one big hand fastened into my mane. Then he was vaulting onto my back with his strong legs locking around my ribs.
Having him up there flooded joy through me as I launched myself through the clearing and down the path.
Riggs leaned over, the sword across his lap. “Faster,” he urged, his breath warm against my neck.
I leveled off, flying along the path, branches whipping at us. Riggs hunkered low, his hands sliding up, fingers spread along my neck. He moved with me as though he’d been riding all his life. I’d spoken the truth. Hewaslinked to me. He lived every beat of my hooves, breathed when I breathed, smelled the scents of sap and earth, felt the wind in my mane.
Fate had come for us.
So we ran. And the music in my mind pounded through both of us, weaving us together, slowly, but with intent. Heart, spirit, and soul.
I was barely aware of the ground rising beneath my racing hooves. The trees thinned and opened into a plateau. The sun was sinking below the mountains, painting them with red and gold. I pulled up at the edge of a cliff, and danced as Riggs slid off me.
“Was that Centaur music?” His voice was hoarse, and what pulsed from him robbed me of breath.
“Yes.” I desperately wanted to touch him. I shook the sword loose from my neck and kicked it toward him. “I neeed to shift,” I said.
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea right now.” He left the weapon on the ground.
