Without another word, we mounted our horses and rode away from Octavian.
It had been years since I’d ridden a horse—not counting the hours I’d spent hanging upside-down when I was taken by Laitha, of course. And the horses were skittish after all the explosions and chaos of tonight, jumping at every noise, jerking their heads toward any sudden movements on either side of us. It was a miracle that I managed to keep my seat in the saddle.
It was different once we exited the town, though. Outside the walls, there were fewer distractions and noises to scare the horses—but the creatures were spooked for a different reason now.
“They can smell the roving beasts,” Radven said, and I wasn’t sure whether he’d read my mind or was simply musing to himself. “The beasts are always wilder when Leonaris is full.”
“Leonaris?” I asked. “The Mythic One?”
“The moon.” He gestured toward the sky, and I glanced up, catching a glimpse of Therador’s three moons before our horses carried us beneath the trees.
Radven went on, “Each of our moons is named for one of the Mythic Ones—Leonaris, Vela, and Erys.”
I whispered those names to myself, committing them to my memory. I didn’t have the time to learn all of Therador’s legends and secrets, but I would hold on to those details I could.
We picked up our pace after that. I clung desperately to the reins of my horse as I bounced in the saddle, praying I wouldn’t fall off.
But it got harder when Radven steered us off the road and through the trees. We had to slow down a little—for which I was incredibly grateful—but the terrain became uneven and unpredictable beneath the horses’ hooves. And it may have been my imagination, but the air shifted, too.
No, it’s not just your imagination, I told myself when I saw the way my horse’s ears flicked back, as if it could hear something on the wind. Behind me, Alastor’s horse let out a low nicker.
I should have asked them for a knife or something. Just in case we encountered one of those roving beasts. After my close calls with the basilisk and the boarlath, I wasn’t eager to learn what other creatures wandered in these woods.
As if in response to my thoughts, a low, keening sound snaked through the trees.
My horse jerked, tossing its head, and if Alastor hadn’t reached out to grab my reins I probably would have been thrown to the ground.
“What was that?” I asked, unable to keep the fear from my voice.
“Something we don’t want to meet,” was all he replied. To Radven, he said, “We need to be quick about this.”
Radven glanced back at me. “How fast can you ride?”
“Uh…” If I was going to be perfectly honest… “Not fast enough.”
“She can ride with me,” Alastor said. He leaned over and took my arm. “Come over here. Quickly.”
It took some clumsy maneuvering, but somehow I managed to climb from my horse onto his, then settle myself in the saddle in front of him. By the time I got my skirts untangled around me, Alastor had tied my horse’s reins to his saddle. Then he slid an arm around my waist.
“Hold on,” he said into my ear.
And we were off.
We charged through the trees, and I clung to the saddle for dear life—though honestly, it was really only Alastor’s arms around me that kept me from flying off. My hair whipped around my face, blocking my vision, so I just squeezed my eyes shut and held on tight and prayed we didn’t have far to go.
At least I’m not sitting in front of Radven, I thought, noting how snugly my butt was pressed against Alastor. If Radven had been pressed against me the way Alastor was now—strong arm around my waist, muscled chest against my back, thighs squeezing mine, crotch rubbing against my butt with every stride of the horse—I wouldn’t have been able to think straight.
As it was, even though I refused to think of Alastor that wayat all, I still found the position incredibly distracting. I could feel far, far too much of Alastor through his pants. And his scent…god, I was drowning in it. Even with the danger all around us, all I wanted to do was lean back against him, breathe deeply, and—
Pull yourself together, Goldie. This isn’t a smut novel.
Alastor jerked the reins, and his arm tightened around me as he steered our horse sharply to the right.
My eyes flew open, and I pushed my wild hair out of my face. Radven rode just ahead of us, but otherwise, I couldn’t see anything but trees and shadows all around us.
But I heard it.
Heardthem.
