After crossing the empty training yard, Slaide led Hazel alongside the path of wagon wheel ruts carved deep into the mud marking the comings and goings of soldiers and merchants. Before long, the sweet, earthy scent of horse hit her, and Hazel’s spirits lifted. Up ahead, the royal stables awaited.
They entered to the warm greetings of the animals as they nickered upon seeing visitors. An enormous black steed grew antsy, dancing in his stall.
“Hey, Phillip, easy boy.” Slaide approached the beast, speaking in a soft tone that didn’t fit his demeanor. He withdrew something from his pocket and the horse, Phillip, accepted it eagerly. Hazel was seeing Slaide in an entirely different light. As if sensing her attention, he turned to her.
“Do you ride?” he asked.
“I—yes. Well, I mean I used to every day as a girl.”Before we had to sell them to avoid losing everything.
She reached for the nearest horse, a chestnut brown beauty, and offered her hand. The animal nuzzled her affectionately, though he was probably expecting a treat. The inscription on the stall readSorrel.
“Good enough,” was all Slaide replied as he continued tacking up Phillip.
“Which one will I ride?” Hazel questioned, glancing around the barn.
He smirked at her suspiciously, then returned to the task at hand.
“You can’t possibly expect—”I amnotriding double with him. Absolutely not.
“Indeed, I do. Andyoucan’t expect me to trust you on your own horse. Hop on, sweets, we’ve got somewhere to be.” He stepped back, offering her a hand up.
“I can do it myself,” she snapped. And she could, maybe. As she approached Phillip’s side, his withers impossibly higher than she expected, Hazel perceived just how much she’d underestimated his size. She tried to hike her leg high enough to reach the stirrup. On the third attempt, she got her foot in the stirrup but wasn’t quite agile enough to pull herself up. Her body stalled out in mid-air before she fell back down—only to becaught by Slaide’s firm hand. He grasped her leg just below her ass, and she yelped as he hauled her onto the horse’s back with ease.
Sitting atop Phillip, Hazel scowled down at Slaide. “How dare you.”
“You’re right. Next time, I’ll toss you over his back like a sack of potatoes. And Iwon’tbe as gentle about it,” he snapped before hauling himself up behind her. He adjusted his seat and his hard body press into her back as he reached around her to take the reins. It wasveryhot in this stable.
The ride was,thankfully, uneventful. Hazel would have considered it almost pleasant, had her company been anyone else. The scenery and fresh air, combined with the sights and sounds that came with being on horseback again, were a welcome change.I didn’t realize how much I missed this.
Even her locket remained relatively calm, maintaining the same level of warmth she’d come to associate with Slaide’s presence; somewhere between danger and not, as though the pendant itself couldn’t decide.
They arrived in a clearing among pines that reached for the cloud-laden sky, situated along a gently flowing creek. After they’d both dismounted, Slaide unsaddled Phillip and led him to the water. Hazel took the opportunity to stretch her legs.
When Slaide returned, he tossed a practice sword in her direction, and it landed at her feet.
“Something tells me we aren’t dancing,” she stated.
Wordlessly, he unfastened his cloak, discarding it into the grass, and then proceeded to roll his sleeves up to his elbows, revealing forearms tattooed a solid black, fading to his natural skin tone around the wrist.
“Pick it up.” He nodded at the weapon.
Hazel stared at Slaide. Slaide stared back, unblinking. After a few moments had passed, she broke eye contact first, sighing in defeat.Such a grouch.She stooped to pick up the wooden sword, gripping the hilt with two hands and the picture of someone who’d never used a melee weapon in her life.
The corner of his mouth twitched upward, making Hazel’s blood boil. Was she just entertainment for him?
“Are you going to tell me what we’re actually doing here?”
Slaide ignored her. “Widen your stance. More. There.” She complied, shifting her feet a little at a time. “Don’t lock your knees out like that. Good.”
He demonstrated a defensive stance, practice sword at a slightly upward angle before him, his feet planted just beyond his hips, knees slightly bent. Then he bounced with his knees a few times to show her the effectiveness of staying loose.
She watched his muscular form, admiring as he angled his sword in different directions, meeting imaginary blow after blow. His feet moved so effortlessly she almost didn’t notice them as they skirted through the grass. He moved more quickly than Hazel would have imagined possible, demonstrating just how skilled he really was.Showoff.
Slaide composed himself abruptly, halting the demonstration. “Anyway, that’s what it should look like. Takes quite a bit of practice and we are desperately short on time, but we’re going to have to do what we can.”
“First dancing. Now swords. What’s next, breathing fire?” She was getting whiplash.
“Can you? Breathe fire, I mean.” Hazel couldn’t tell if he was serious or not.
