“As I'll ever be.” Lori turned her back and threw her apple core into the forest.
Lephas slipped his big hands around her waist and lifted her easily off the ground and onto the horse's back. Lori shuffled herself forward until she was comfortably perched just behind Faye in the saddle.
She wrapped shaking hands around her sister's waist and held her tight. She had ridden a horse before, and had sat with Faye like this on many occasions, but she still felt butterflies swirling in her chest.
“Where is Raxx? I haven't seen him all morning,” Faye asked and lifted the hood of her beautiful dark navy cloak up over her head. Lori followed suit, pulling her hood up but felt embarrassed of how shabby it now looked. The once beautiful white fur was now grey andmatted with dirt, blood and debris.
“Present.” The shadow demon appeared beside Lephas.
Without any warning, Gaia spooked and jumped sideways. Lori yelped and grabbed Faye tightly.
“Whoa! Steady now, steady.” Faye soothed as the horse paced nervously. The princess scowled at Raxx. “Do you mind? You know she hates it when you sneak up on her like that!”
The shadow demon didn't reply, but held his hands up apologetically. Lori saw Lephas cast the man a disapproving look.
“Well, now we're all here, let's get going,” Faye snapped. She tapped the mare with her heels and the horse eagerly walked on through the snow, keen to get as far from the shadow demon as possible.
Lori glanced over her shoulder and watched Lephas and Raxx gather the rest of the equipment before hurriedly following behind them.
“What a prick,” Faye huffed under her breath, patting Gaia's neck. “He does it every time, doesn't he girl?”
The horse snorted in agreement and the wind whistled around them.
“Did he do that on purpose?” Lori asked over her sister's shoulder.
“I don't know, but it's not the first time,” Faye grumbled. “I don't think he really notices he's doing it but it scares the living daylights out of poor Gaia.”
“I suppose it just comes naturally to him. It must be tough being a mostly incorporeal creature of nightmare.”
Faye giggled and clicked her tongue to encourage the mare forwards. Lori listened to rhythmical heavy thumps as the horse walked on. Despite being at peak fitness, Gaia was already blowing hard, struggling through the deep drifts.
“How did you sleep?” Faye called over her shoulder.
“Just fine,” Lori replied, though it wasn't totally true. She had tossed and turned for a long while, although admittedly she had slept soundly once she had managed to drift off.
Lori had been pathetically lovesick for her demon. Though he had been just outside, standing guard, she had found it difficult to relax without his large body beside her.
It was strange how accustomed to his presence she had become already. The tent had felt decidedly empty and lonely without his warm, wide chest and steady breaths. Lori decided she didn't care much for sleeping without him and it wasn't something she intended todo again in a hurry, if she had any say in it.
Her mind wandered yet again to what fate awaited her and her sister when they made it back to Banesteppe. According to the demons they were only two days travel from the demon city now. A cold sense of dread enveloped her.
Lephas didn't seem wholly confident in how King Zelrus was going to take the news that his commander had entered into a relationship with one of Lazuli's daughters. Though she got the impression that Zelrus was a good man and not unkind, he still had a reputation to uphold and a population of people in whom he needed to instil trust.
Lori already understood the reasoning behind the king's concern before she had even met him, yet still she hoped against hope that he was a romantic at heart and would take pity on her plight. She prayed her allegiance and information would be enough to placate any anger he may feel towards the situation.
It wasn't ideal, for Lephas nor for Lori, but then good things very rarely were.
The snow whipped at them and Lori pulled her hood down further in an attempt to shield her eyes. She grasped her fur snood and pulled it up to cover her face as the snow chilled painfully against her cheeks.
Gaia lowered her head and Faye allowed the horse a free rein to pick a safe path through the snow. Though her hooves occasionally met with hidden debris and rocks, the mare remained steady and sure-footed.
The group travelled slowly, the snow was deep and swirled around them making their journey arduous. Every now and then, Lephas whistled sharply at them and they pulled up. He and Raxx talked between themselves about which direction they should head in next before plodding steadily ahead.
The day passed slowly and Lori thought of nothing else besides how cold she was and how her legs ached as they stretched uncomfortably around the horse's wide back.
They strode on and the ground eventually flattened out as the dark pines began to grow steadily closer together. Gaia's pace improved as the large trees shielded the worst of the storm and thinned out the deep snow drifts.
“The forest here feels strange,” Faye muttered, looking around nervously.
