“Yes, let’s go before my horse takes off without me.” Faye huffed. She nudged Gaia forwards and the mare took off in an energetic trot, eager to get away from Raxx.
Faye turned in her saddle to wave goodbye to the innkeeper. The old man smiled and waved back, watching them leave. Raxx was mysteriously absent once more.
It had snowed through the night. Though the sun shone brightly, the track was coated in a fresh, fine layer of dusty snow. Gaia stormed ahead, the snow creaking beneath her hooves. Once the mare had finally started to calm down, Faye pulled her up into a steady walk. It was no use allowing the horse to wear herself out too early. She glanced around and pulled her hood down. Holding her reins in one hand, Faye used the other to shade her eyes from the bright morning light.
Where had that demon got to now?
Faye and Gaia rounded a corner. A dark figure – Raxx – was at the roadside, leaning against a pine. Gaia’s ears pricked forward, but the horse approached cautiously as Faye coaxed her closer with her heels.
“There you are,” Faye said, pulling Gaia to a halt a short distance away. “I wish you wouldn’t just disappear like that.”
“Sorry, force of habit,” Raxx muttered.
He jogged away from the road into the dark forest. Realising Faye hadn’t followed, he glanced back at her.
“Well?”
“We’re leaving the road?” Faye asked hesitantly.
Raxx nodded and gestured for her to join him. It hadn’t occurred to her before, but Raxx could be leading her astray. Sure, he had Lori’s satchel – the bag was currently strapped to his back, along with her own – but that didn’t necessarily mean he had Faye’s best interests at heart. He had sworn he meant Lori no harm, but he hadn’t specified if that promise also extended to Faye herself.
“It’s not far from here,” the demon shouted up to her, recognising her hesitation to follow him.
Faye gritted her teeth and grasped Gaia’s reins. She nudged the horse onwards, guiding her down off the edge of the road. The mare picked her way carefully down the slippery bank.
Faye supposed she had nothing to fear whilst she was on the back of her horse. Gaia was fast and at the first sign of trouble, she could always high-tail it away.
The princess glanced shyly at the demon walking a little way ahead. Despite the strange, unreadable aura that surrounded the mysterious demon, Raxx seemed genuine. He hadn’t given Faye any cause to question his motives. Not yet at least. That being said, she didn’t actually know that much about him.
“So, who are you anyway?” Faye asked, raising her voice so Raxx could hear her above Gaia’s heavy plodding. When no answer was forthcoming, Faye continued to probe.
“Are you going to tell me how this Lephas person came to be with my sister? Or even how you know they’re together? Maybe they got separated.”
“No, they’re definitely together. I’ll show you the tracks.”
Faye scowled. It irritated her beyond belief that the demon responded only to the questions he wanted to answer. She pursed her lips.
“I want to trust you, Raxx, but you’re making me nervous.”
At that, the demon stopped and turned to look at her. His black eyes watched her, intense with indecipherable emotion.
“You can trust me.”
“You saying that doesn’t make it true,” Faye scoffed.
Raxx started walking beside Gaia. The mare shifted nervously, but continued to stride onwards.
“Why are demons interested in tracking down my sister? Unless…” She glanced down at Raxx, feeling a little fearful for the first time since they had crossed paths.
“If I meant you harm, I’ve already had plenty of opportunity.”
That at least was true. Raxx had been trailing her through in the woods last night. If he had wanted to kidnap and murder her, why would he bother to introduce himself? She had seen enough of his disappearing act to know makingherdisappear would be no challenge for him.
“You seem certain Lephas and Lori are together, which leads me to believe he left wherever you’re from—”
“Banesteppe,” Raxx interrupted.
“Interesting, a straight answer at last. Lephas left Banesteppe with the intention of meeting with my sister, didn’t he?” she asked.
