Lorcan rested his hand on my back. “I can catch him for you. Not now. But eventually.”
Keryn’s laughter boomed like thunder. “Good luck. That stallion is living his best life.” They pointed to the half-grown colts and fillies bearing the clear stamp of Sky’s paternity. They’re not wrong. Sky has been to Beijing and carried my royal backside over endless jumps. Yet he’s clearly happier with his many mares and his progeny than he ever was in the royal stables.
I feel the same way.
“You might have to catch the entire herd while you’re at it.” I wrapped one arm around Lorcan’s waist.
“I’ll help you,” Tahra piped up. “If I can have one of the foals.”
Lorcan caught my eye and smiled faintly. It’s a bold thing to ask for the offspring of a royal stallion, even if he has been running wild for more than a year. In one sense, Saskaya was right. The distance between Tahra and me cannot be measured in years or in social status.
The threat she represents is in her youthful optimism and willing availability. I cannot compete with undimmed hopes for the future. That has to appeal to a man who’s been through as much as Lorcan has.
Storm clouds gathered in my thoughts.
The threat isn’t from her. It’s from Lorcan. What he says he values and wants versus what his actions show. Whether I believe he’ll be true to me, were I to go through with the wedding.
I don’t.
Once he married me, there would be nothing to stop him from taking as many women to bed as he wished. I’d have no more leverage over him than I did the year I was trapped in my castle. I shouldn’t need it; I should be able to count on his loyalty as surely as he can count on mine. Without that, it’s hopeless.
At least I’m clear-eyed about where we stand, now, even if part of me yearns for a scrap of hope.
“Lorcan can handle things, Tahra,” I said gently, “when the time comes.”
BLOOM
CHAPTERFOURTEEN
We spent the night in an abandoned cottage. Tahra and I took the bed. Keryn, Tovian and Lorcan placed their bedrolls on the floor.
Tahra snores; that’s all I’ll say. I would rather share a bed with Lorcan, but for now, we are maintaining decorum out of respect for our companions.
Too much scrutiny would quickly reveal that while our friendship is real, the romance is mostly pretense. I wonder how long we’ll be able to conceal the truth. What Tahra will do if she suspects.
The second and third days of our journey brought a slow evolution to the landscape as we moved down through the Central Valley, following the Great Rielka River through the Grasslands District and then skirting the Boscage. Along the way we passed burned-out farms, the ruins of which were overgrown with vines and moss. An inordinate number of sheep skeletons dotted the landscape.
“Set free during the pirate rampages. Most didn’t survive. What did, have been rounded up by surviving villagers,” Tahra explained. “The predator population exploded.”
An ecological disaster, alongside an economic one.
We encountered numerous wolf-bear packs on our journey. The scientist in me was delighted. The environmentalist wanted to document every sighting. The pragmatic part of me wanted to keep moving.
Pragmatism won out. I took as many photos as I could with my satellite phone. No one will ever be able to confiscate the device from me again. I may not be queen yet, but I may as well be.
This desolate world unnerved me. A little more than a year ago, ours was a thriving population. Now? We came across burned-out wagons and skeletons every few kilometers. Some are dead pirates left to rot in the sun, their modern clothing distinctive for the bright dyes and synthetic fabrics unavailable here.
The rest are my people. We don’t have the time to stop and bury everyone. We’re fortunate not to have been hit with cholera, considering all the bodies.
On the fourth day, I was increasingly overheated and slowly being driven insane by a combination of Tahra’s dogged attempts to flirt with Lorcan and my horse’s constant efforts to graze instead of walk. Only Tovian perked up as we moved deeper into the Grasslands District.
Lorcan took it all in stride. Ever solicitous of me, tolerant of Tahra, and friendly with Tovian and Keryn. He was disgustingly perfect.
I remained Auralia’s reluctant royal. I also remained alive despite one unexpected run-in with a pack of wolf-bears, which Tovian, Lorcan and Keryn handled easily. Tahra did not appreciate the honor of being told to stay back and guard me.
Thanks, kid.
“It’s not you,” Lorcan told me upon their return. “She’s tired of being told to stay behind.”
