Chapter 9
Caitlin climbed outof bed the next morning, staggered groggily to her feet, tottered out into early morning sunshine—and stopped dead. A horse was standing outside her tent, idly cropping grass. It lifted its head and snorted at her.
“Um. Hi. Where did you come from?” she asked. It was not one of the horses that had been pulling the wagon.
She held out her hand. The horse sniffed her palm with the velvety end of its nose then went back to cropping grass, swishing its tail to keep away flies.
Caitlin scratched the back of her head. Other than herself and the horse, the clearing was empty. The fire pit was black and cold and four piled bedrolls sat next to it but there was no sign of their owners.
She took a few steps out of the tent—edging carefully around the horse—and spun around as a voice boomed suddenly, “Ah! Good morning, lass!”
A huge man stepped out of the trees, smiling broadly. He was carrying a curry brush in one hand.
Caitlin blinked in surprise. “Magnus?”
She’d only met the man briefly before he’d been charged with escorting Alfred to prison, but she would be hard pressed to forget him. He was muscled like a footballer, tall enough to be a basketball player, and had a chiseled, handsome face, with green eyes and jet-black hair.
He gave her a small bow. “The very same.”
“But...but...when did you get here?”
“Around midnight I reckon. Maybe a bit later. I had to stop to rest the horse for a while or I’d have been here sooner.”
Caitlin had not even heard him arrive. She must have been so exhausted she’d all but passed out.
“Where’s everyone else?”
“On errands. Emeric and Oskar have gone to fetch breakfast, Conall to scout back along our trail.”
“And...Kai?”
He laughed softly, a low rumble like an avalanche. “Dinna worry, lass. He’ll be back soon. He’s scouting ahead.”
Caitlin pointed at the horse. “Is she yours?”
“Technically she’s Alfred’s but seeing as he’s currently sitting in an Order jail cell, I figured he wouldnae be needing her for a while. I was just about to hitch her up to the cart. That prancing beast of Conall’s isnae cut out for pulling a wagon.”
“Oh. Can I help?”
Magnus handed her the curry brush. “Thank ye, lass. Ye can brush her down while I get the cart ready.”
Caitlin nodded and started brushing the horse’s coat. The beast was enormous, with the strong shoulders and hairy fetlocks of a dray horse but she was also friendly and seemed to enjoy the attention, although at one point she leaned against Caitlin contentedly and nearly knocked her onto her backside.
When Caitlin had finished, she handed the brush back to Magnus and together they began hitching the horse to the cart. As they worked, the sound of footsteps reached Caitlin’s ears and she turned to see Emeric, Conall and Oskar striding over with several loaves of bread and strips of what looked like bacon.
“We’ve got breakfast!” Emeric called.
Caitlin’s stomach growled at the smell of freshly baked bread. Magnus wasted no time in starting a fire and settling down to cook breakfast. The men settled around the fire but Caitlin hesitated to join them. She couldn’t help glancing to the north, where Kai had gone.
A branch snapped behind her and she whirled just as the man himself stepped into the clearing. Her heart fluttered but she forced herself to remain where she was and keep a passive expression on her face.
Kai caught sight of her and stopped. An expression flashed across his face so quickly she could almost believe she’d imagined it. It had looked like...longing? Or was that just wishful thinking?
A moment later, he broke into a cocky grin and raised an eyebrow at her. “Well, I must admit, I didnae expect a welcoming party. Missing me already, lass?”
She scowled. “Get over yourself. I was just seeing to the horses.”
He barked a laugh, took her elbow, and steered her over to where the others were sitting by the fire. The smell of cooking bacon and fresh bread was enough to make her mouth water.
