While his soldiers might have to put up with it, I don’t.
When we stop by a river to let the horses drink, I don’t return to Leon’s horse, instead waiting by Alastor’s. The blond-haired fae blinks at me, confused.
“Yes?” he asks.
“I want to ride with you,” I say.
He runs a hand through his hair, uncertain.
“You do?”
“Yes,” I say innocently. “Do you mind?”
“Idon’t,” he says. He glances at Leon, who is watching us quietly. “Hemight.”
“I don’t see why,” I say more firmly, crossing my arms in front of me, making it clear I’m not going to change my mind.
Alastor starts to answer. “Well, because he?—”
“Do what you want,” Leon grunts, cutting his friend off with a glare. I’m a little disappointed I didn’t get to hear what Alastor was going to say, but I figure if I ride with him, I’ll have other opportunities to talk.
When Alastor goes to mount the horse, I put a hand on his arm.
“Do you mind if I sit in front? I never learned to ride, but I’ve been watching you two and would like to give it a go.”
I slide a look toward Leon and see that he’s still watching.
“Not knowing how to rideispretty embarrassing,” Alastor agrees, his speech as cheerfully unfiltered as usual. “So I suppose it’s for the best if you can learn the basics.” I smile at him in thanks.
Leon’s gaze burns into my back as I accept Alastor’s hand, and he helps me up onto the horse. Moments later, he’s seated behind me, keeping a respectful distance even as he shows me how to handle the reins.
I’ve noticed that since my fever eased, the thought of being touched doesn’t make me flinch the way it did before. Maybe it’s something to do with being handled so much when I was half-conscious—moved on and off horses and carried into buildings and even changed. Perhaps because I had no choice but to rely on others helping me, I was able to relearn how not to fear it.
Or maybe it was that dream about?—
I stop the thought before it fully forms.
Whatever the reason, it means I’m relaxed as we continue our journey, with Alastor offering little pieces of advice as we go.
“She’s a good animal,” he says. “Trust her to do most of the work for you.”
I nod, letting myself enjoy the journey. It certainly feels less tense than being stuck on the back of Leon’s horse. He’s started riding ahead of us, and I deliberately put him from my mind, focusing on what Alastor’s saying.
“And when we’re on rocky roads like this one, you’ve got to go slower—let the horse feel out the safest route.”
“Wheredoesthis road lead?” I ask, not bothering to hide my curiosity.
“The Wirstone Mountains—look, you can already see the tops of them up above that hill.”
Alastor points to rows of rust-colored ridges in the distance, their tips streaked white with snow.
I gape. “We’re at the Wirstones already?”
I’ve only ever seen them on a map, but it means we’re further south and east than I realized.
“Yes, we know some of the more convenient back roads, so even with you making us run late, we haven’t lost too much time,” Alastor explains.
“Late for what?”
