“Two or three days, perhaps. We’re making good time since we’re keeping near the path and riding so long each day. But we’d be making evenbettertime if you’d agree to allow your horse to go faster than a walk.”
He gave her a wink, and Aerity glared. “It’s better for their stamina if we don’t push them too hard.”
“I am at your mercy.” He tore a piece of meat from the rabbit and held it out to her. Aerity hesitated before taking it, trying her best not to imagine the adorable animal hopping without a care just an hour ago. She was thankful for the energy it would bring. She was also thankful that the weather was at least ten degrees warmer than in southern Lochlanach.
After they’d eaten and packed, they mounted their horses and set forth again. Aerity let herself fall into her usual daydream of what it would be like to see Pax. In her musingshe was sometimes tentative when he saw her, worried, and then he would soften. Other times she imagined he’d run to her straightaway. Always his reaction ended in happiness. Oh, how she longed for that.
She was in the middle of a particularly honeyed daydream when Harrison suddenly slowed and whispered, “Aer . . .” Her entire body immediately went on alert, tensing, as she stared ahead to where he looked. Deep in the trees to the left of the path was the horse and cart they’d seen earlier, but the three men were nowhere in sight.
It could be nothing. They could have stopped to eat and rest, but where were they? It felt strange.
Turning his head slightly toward Aerity, Harrison whispered, “Follow my lead, and hold on tight to your reins. We’ll get as close as is safe, and then we’re going to gallop into the trees on the right to bypass their camp.”
Aerity braced.Gallop. What if she fell? What if her horse spooked and threw her off? Harrison must have sensed her fears.
“Squeeze with your legs and lean forward. Your horse will follow the lead of mine, but you must keep control of him. You can do this. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
She swallowed.
Her stomach was in a tight knot as she searched the trees for the men. She began looking around her, expecting someone to jump out at any moment, or an arrow to fly at them. They could be bandits or angry Lashed.
“Now.” Harrison heeled his horse hard in the sides andleaned forward, turning them from the path. He took off in a flash, straight into the trees. Aerity followed his form, her heart in her throat as she felt the world go topsy-turvy beneath her. She bit back a scream and held on tight, squeezing her thighs around the creature and leaning forward to help it gain momentum. She watched Harrison and his horse, leading hers right and left to dart around trees, too focused to take notice of their surroundings . . . until an arrow whirred past, just ahead of Harrison, and male shouts abounded from the direction of the path.
“Faster!” Harrison yelled. He hunkered further and shot forward. Aerity gritted her teeth and kicked, spurring her horse with a shout.
They ran and ran for what felt like ages before Harrison peered over his shoulder and finally slowed his steed.
“What do they want?” Aerity asked. She was breathing hard.
“Thieves, most likely. Or outlaws. We’ve got to keep at a quick clip to stay ahead of them. Their single horse won’t be able to keep up, especially pulling three men in a cart.”
Onward they went at a quick trot, staying off the path and winding through trees and brush. Aerity suddenly broke out in a cold sweat and sucked in air raggedly. Her chest felt constricted, like her heart was failing. Harrison glanced back at the sounds and quickly spun his horse around until they were sidled close together.
He cupped her face on both sides and held her with stronghands, forcing her eyes to focus on him. “Breath, Aer. Big breaths. That’s a girl.” His thumbs stroked her cheeks. “You’re in a panic, and well you should be. But it’s all right now. We’re safe. You were amazing.”
Her eyes fluttered closed as she felt her heart righting itself, her breathing regulating.
“You did it,” he said. “You put Vixie’s riding to shame.”
Aerity laughed at the ridiculousness of that idea and took Harrison’s wrists. “I think not. But thank you. I’m sorry—let’s not stop any longer.”
He gave a nod and pulled his horse forward again, cantering off. Aerity took one long look behind her into the vacant trees and then pushed onward. A newfound confidence filled her from head to toe. With each muscle that moved within the horse, her own body responded, moving with him in sync. She found that she could anticipate the animal’s forward-and-back movement and wave of motion in its hips. It felt more natural to her now. Instinctive. She ran a hand down her horse’s mane as far as she could reach and gave him a strong pat.
“Good boy. Good, handsome boy.”
His head bobbed, as if responding to her compliment, and for the first time ever she realized she’d bonded with a horse. Did he actuallylikeher?
“Harrison,” she called out, “what’s this horse’s name?”
“Not sure,” he said over his shoulder. “He’s new to the guesthouse.”
Aerity patted him again. “I shall call you Jude.”
Chapter
10
After five days, Tiern still felt absolutely out of place as a guest in the castle. He’d stayed there once before in High Hall, with the other hunters during the flooding rains, but to have his own room in the guest wing felt . . . strange. His quarters were nearly as large as his family’s entire house. He would have been more comfortable in a spare room in the soldiers’ barracks where he didn’t have to worry about manners and niceties.
