Faye was no stranger to romance. It had been the one secret she kept from her sisters. Whilst Lori was happy to openly dissect even the most intimate of secrets and Sivelle… Well, her eldest sister avoided any form of romantic involvement, Faye preferred to keep her cards to her chest.
Back in Awrelwood, Faye had been having a torrid affair with the travelling blacksmith her father had employed to shoe Faye’s horses. Whilst Faye had been under no illusions they were in a relationship, every four weeks he would visit the castle and every four weeks she would engage in a wild weekend of rampant love making. The blacksmith’s name was Yorrin, and he had proven to be a kind, considerate and gentle lover to her for years.
Lori often boasted, believing she had the most sexual experience out of the three sisters, but Faye knew that not to be true. Lori had slept with two men, but only once each. Faye had just one lover, but she had engaged romantically with Yorrin hundreds of times.
Faye’s eyes shifted to look at Raxx once again, thankful the demon’s attention was elsewhere for the moment. She gazed at him curiously and licked her lips. Yorrin was a simple man with simple tastes. He shared Faye’s love of horses, but besides that and love-making, they talked of little else. Raxx piqued Faye’s curiosity. She longed for someone who would understand the complications of being majborne, who she could share secrets with and who wasn’t afraid of her powers.
Faye looked down at the table. She felt guilty. She should be worrying about her sister, not fantasising about having sex with a strange demon man she had only just met. Though she was sure Lori, of all people, would understand.
“We need to go,” Raxx said.
They stood and Faye gathered her bags together. At the door to the inn, she smiled and waved to the demoness who had been so kind to her. The woman returned her smile with a nod.
Their feet crunched through the frozen snow as they made their way to a large barn that was tucked away behind the tavern. Raxx slid open the door and a loud nicker greeted Faye as she headed inside.
“Good morning,” the princess murmured, skipping to the stable. Her pretty mare had her head over the door and Faye stroked Gaia’s soft nose affectionately, placing a kiss against the mare’s face. Raxx approached and Gaia jerked her head from Faye’s grasp, shying away to the back of her stable. The horse stood still, ears pricked forward and eyes wide with fear.
“Ssh, Gaia, it’s alright. He won’t hurt you,” Faye soothed. She turned to hand her bags to Raxx and the demon took them from her obediently. Faye pulled the bolt across from the stable door and inched inside.
It was no use. Although Gaia allowed Faye to approach and accepted a soft pat on the shoulder, the mare was alert and terrified. Faye sighed.
“Perhaps it would be best if you wait outside for a moment? Just until I get her settled. I’ll introduce you properly once I have Gaia tacked up,” she said.
The demon nodded and vanished into thin air. Gaia spooked, nearly knocking Faye off her feet in her haste to escape the terrifying demon.
“Careful,” Faye growled, darting to avoid the mare’s heavy hooves.
Gaia snorted and began pacing in circles around her stall. Faye hummed, low and soft, stroking the mare’s hind as she passed her. Eventually Gaia began to relax and, with a shake of her head, she nudged Faye with her nose.
“Settled now?” she chided and scratched the mare’s forelock. “I know he looks scary, but I promise you he’s no threat to us.”
The mare lowered her head and grabbed a mouthful of hay, crunching it loudly. Faye slipped out from the stable and located her saddle and bridle. She draped both articles over the stable door and joined Gaia once more. Faye stripped the horse’s rug from the mare and gently placed the leather saddle on Gaia’s back. After fussing to ensure it was in the right spot, Faye pulled the girth around the horse’s middle and tightened it.
Next, she grabbed the bridle and, with a laugh, wrestled the mare’s head up from the pile of hay at her feet. Gaia opened her mouth to accept the bit and Faye hooked out globs of sticky, partially chewed hay from the mare’s mouth before pressing the metal bar between Gaia’s teeth. She gently grasped each of the horse’s ears and slid them beneath the headband of the bridle.
“There.” Faye smiled at her mare. She grabbed Gaia’s reins, pulled her scarf up over her face and pushed the stable door open, leading the mare out of the stable and into the daylight.
At the doorway, Raxx was nowhere to be seen, but the kind old innkeeper was waiting for her.
“Miss, I wondered if you cared to take this.” He held out a large net, filled with hay. “For the journey. Free of charge. Wherever you stop next, that lovely mare of yours will need to eat.”
Faye was touched by the demon’s kindness. She was utterly confused – she hadn’t spent as much time studying their father’s books as Lori had, but she was certain they hadallpainted the picture of how monstrous and evil demons of any kind were. So far, the reality couldn’t have been further from it.
The demon helped her fasten the net to Gaia’s saddle. The mare craned her neck around, inspecting the delicious meal being strapped to her back. Faye and the innkeeper chuckled softly as the mare stretched around and managed to snatch a mouthful.
“Full of character, that one,” the demon muttered and smoothed a hand against Gaia’s neck. “Would you like a hand getting on?”
“No, I should be alright.” Faye grasped Gaia’s reins and lifted one foot up into her stirrup. Hopping on one leg to gain momentum, she launched herself up into the air and swung her leg over the mare’s back, sitting in the saddle. Faye leant forward and adjusted her stirrups and the saddle’s girth before glancing around. Still no Raxx. She frowned.
“Be careful out there, miss,” the innkeeper said, his kind face falling suddenly serious. “There’s all manner of evil and danger lurking in these woods. Tell me you’re not travelling alone?”
“No, I have a chaperone. In fact, have you seen—”
Raxx appeared beside them and Gaia spooked, jumping away to the side and throwing her head up into the air. The innkeeper scrambled away in surprise.
“Whoa girl!” Faye shouted, barely holding the mare back from bolting. Gaia jogged nervously on the spot; her eyes fixed on Raxx.
“Ready to go?” Raxx asked, unfazed by the mare’s response.
