"I'm goin' at a reasonable pace."
"Ye're worried I'll fall off."
"I'm worried yer horse will stumble and we'll both end up in the sea."
Ada's eyes gleamed with challenge. "I'm a better rider than ye think."
"Are ye now?"
"Aye. In fact—" Ada urged her mare forward, moving ahead of Magnus on the path. "I'd wager I'm faster too."
Magnus felt something loosen in his chest. Was she actually challenging him? "Ye want tae race?"
"Why nae? Unless ye're afraid of losin' tae a woman."
"I'm nae afraid of anythin'." Magnus nudged his stallion forward, drawing even with her. "But if we're racin', we should make it interestin'."
"What did ye have in mind?"
"A wager. Whoever wins gets one wish. Anythin' they want, within reason."
Ada's cheeks flushed, from the wind or excitement, Magnus couldn't tell. "Anythin'?"
"Within reason," Magnus repeated. "Dae we have an agreement?"
"Aye." Ada gathered her reins. "Tae that stand of trees there?"
"Aye."
"On three?"
Magnus nodded. "One."
"Two."
They both shouted "Three!" at the same time and kicked their horses into a gallop.
Ada shot forward immediately, her mare lighter and quicker off the mark. Magnus let her have the lead for a moment, enjoying the sight of her bent low over her horse's neck, her braid flying behind her.
Then his powerful horse surged forward, eating up the ground with long strides. Magnus drew even with Ada, then began to pull ahead. He could hear her laughing, actually laughing, as she urged her mare faster.
They were neck and neck as the trees approached. Magnus leaned lower, his stallion responding to the slight shift in weight. Victory was close. He could taste it.
Then Ada's mare stumbled.
One moment they were racing side by side. The next, the mare's foreleg caught on something—a root, a rock, Magnus didn't see what. The horse went down hard, pitching sideways and Ada flew from the saddle.
Magnus's heart stopped.
He hauled on the reins so hard his stallion reared. Ada hit the ground and rolled, momentum carrying her straight toward?—
"No!"
She went into the stream with a tremendous splash.
Magnus was off his horse before conscious thought, hitting the ground running. The stream wasn't deep—maybe waist-high at most—but it was fed by mountain runoff. Freezing. Deadly if she stayed in too long.
He plunged in without hesitation.
