I smiled, but a rush of butterflies burst into flight in my belly. This was it. I was breaking free at last. “Just don’t let me fall, okay? I’m a bit of a novice.”
That was an understatement. I had no idea how to ride, let alone fly, but Saeth wasn’t an ordinary horse. Not for the first time, I got the distinct impression that he understood every word. He wouldn’t let me fall. As though proving my suspicions about his intelligence, he shifted his neatly tucked wing, lowering it for me.
“Okay.” I blew out a breath, shaking the tension from my arms and shoulders. I could do this. I’d flown with him before. Maybe this time I wouldn’t have a burly escort to cling on to, but I could do it. “I’ll just climb up, yeah? Don’t take off yet.”
Saeth snorted. I’d take that as a yes.
Before I could talk myself out of it, I clamped one shaking hand in his mane, planting the other on his broad back. My legs turned to jelly, but I somehow managed to climb up onto the wing joint as Idris had shown me, swinging my leg over Saeth’s round rump.
I was up. Just like my first ride, the ground was horribly far away. Trying not to look down, I shifted myself forward, positioning myself in what I hoped was the best place to sit, and wrapped the surprisingly coarse mane around both hands. With my knees wedged behind the wing joints, I was as secure as I was ever likely to be.
“Right.” Now the moment was upon me, I could think of a thousand reasons to slither down from my silver perch and march straight back to my room with its delightfully solid floor. “Okay.”
Saeth’s ears flickered in my direction, and the great wings inched low and wide. Oh God, I was going to throw up. I was going to die. What was I thinking?
A few decades and she’ll no longer be a problem.
My excuses fell silent.
“East,” I said, my voice as flat and cold as steel. East until dawn.”
When I’d ridden with Idris, Saeth had launched straight into a gallop, flapping his mighty wings until he gained the air, but this time, he broke into a steady, if bouncy trot. My fingers tightened, clinging to his mane as I jolted about on his back. After a few strides he picked up his pace, moving into a gentle, rocking gait. Though faster, it was easier to sit to, though my bottom shifted about hopelessly, and after a few strides, my confidence grew. I leaned forward, as Idris had done, and the wind caught my hair, tugging the downy strands around my hairline as the horse eased into a gallop.
Okay, this was fast.
I screwed my eyes shut, pouring every ounce of will and focus into staying aboard. My arse thudded relentlessly up and down, even with my knees wedged tight. The wings shifted on top of them, and I felt them beat a moment before we lifted into the air. The thud when we landed jolted through me, knocking me forward, but before I had time to panic, Saeth flapped again. And again.
An impossibly smooth motion, rising and falling gently like a boat on calm waves, replaced the thunderous rhythm of hooves. The wind roared in my ears, growing colder with every passing second. I squinted through my lashes and saw nothing but inky black sky and a ghostly mane, streaming before my face.
I’d done it.
I was free.
Despite my long sleeves and trousers, I was frozen solid by the time Saeth landed on a ridge, halfway up the side of a mountain. A dark cave yawned on one side, and a sheer, deadly drop plunged away on the other.
I slid down beside the cave, still clinging to the now tangled mane.
It was a relief to find solid ground, even if it was a little higher than I’d have liked. On the horizon, a faint peachy glow warred against the black of night. The sun was rising, and I was dropping.
Trying not to think of the disgustingly comfy bed I’d left behind, I crept into the cave. Saeth followed, the clop of his hooves echoing off the walls. God, I hated caves, but this one wasn’t the worst I’d ever been in. It was cold but dry, and it kept the freezing wind at bay. There was nothing I could use to light a fire, and the mountainside was barren and, truth be told, a deathtrap, but I could have stumbled upon a stack of firewood and still had no clue what to do with it.
Resigning myself to living with the bone-deep chill caused by several hours soaring through the night sky, I shrugged off my backpack and sank to the floor. My thighs ached and wobbled. Saeth hadn’t flown as high as he had with Idris, which was probably the only reason I didn’t have hypothermia.
“I’m going to try sleeping for a few hours,” I said. Saeth watched me with gentle, blue eyes as I dug my gloves out of my bag, stuffing my numb fingers inside. “Maybe you can fly down and find some grass, if you’re hungry?”
He swished his tail but made no move to leave.
I shrugged, diving back into my bag. “Here.” I tore my iced bun in half and tossed it at Saeth’s feet. He dropped his head, sniffing, and ate the treat in one bite.
I picked at my own half, trying to make it last. I hadn’t dared venture down to the kitchens for supplies, but, with Saeth’s speed, I hoped to be back in the human world by tomorrow. I wouldn’t starve to death in that time, but if I did, well… As Anwir had said, I was mortal. I was only hastening the inevitable. At least if I died now, I’d die free, which had to be better than spending my life living a lie with someone who was counting the days until he could be rid of me.
Sighing, I hugged my knees to my chest and watched the light creep toward my feet. Saeth had chosen an excellent spot. The sunrise bled across the sky, and I had an unrivalled view as the burning orange turned to peach, then gold before finally settling on blue. Only then did I curl up on the bare ground, propping my head on my arm, and try to sleep.
Tired as I was, sleep wouldn’t come. Not proper sleep anyway. I drifted on the edge of consciousness, never quite losing awareness of the unforgiving rock pressing against my hip, or the steady pulse of pain in my puncture wounds. Jacques’ jacket creaked every time I tried to squirm into a more comfortable position, tipping the scales in favour of wakefulness. But I did dream. Nonsense, for the most part, but nonsense that brought unease to my gut, even if I couldn’t grasp why. In the midst of aimless chaos, some parts made sense. I was being hunted. Foes lurked on every side, unseen, unheard, but felt. It was only a matter of time before someone caught me. I wandered, lost in pitch darkness, trying to find my way. Trying to avoid my assailants. Trying to get home.
But I wasn’t alone.
Jacques.
Thank God. I almost wept. A friend. I stumbled toward him, but when he reached out to catch me, his hands were tipped in claws. He lunged for me, opening his mouth wide. A mouth full of razor-sharp fangs.
I gasped, startling from my half-slumber, and found myself inches from a shadowy wall. The cave. I was safe. I’d broken free, and up here in the mountains, nothing would find me.
I took a few deep breaths, slowing my racing heart and taking stock of my body. I huddled in my jacket, curled against the wall for what little warmth I could find, but still chilled to my core, and stiff. Everywhere ached, and I was, if possible, even more exhausted than I’d been before I laid down to sleep.
Screwing my face up at my too-tight muscles, I pushed myself upright. I found myself face to face with a pair of yellow-green eyes.
“Jesus fucking Christ!” I scrambled away, earning myself a crack to the head as I collided with the wall. “What are you doing here?”
Idris, leaning against the mouth of my cave, his hair ruffling in the wind, seemed supremely unconcerned by the situation he’d found me in. He didn’t so much as blink as he said in a slightly accusatory tone, “You stole my horse.”
Massaging my head, I allowed myself a few seconds to compose myself. The prince was dressed for travelling. Gone were the fine, embroidered jackets. He wore a dark green cloak, and the hilts of twin blades peeked over each shoulder, strapped to him by way of a leather harness buckled over his chest. My gaze drifted to his hands, folded in his lap. His split knuckles had all but healed, leaving shiny, raw red skin, but I couldn’t help but notice the bandages peeking out from beneath his leather cuff. Maybe it wasn’t just pathetic mortals like myself who had a hard time healing venomous vampire bites. Satisfaction shot through me.
Idris had no right to accuse me of anything. I was the one who should be angry, and yet, after my unsettling dreams, I couldn’t help but breathe a little sigh of relief at his presence. It was idiotic, really. He was going to drag me back to Nairsgarth and force me to marry his brother, but even as he skewered me with his disapproving glare, I felt safe.
