“Yes, I promise,” he said.
“And you give me your word?” I asked.
“You’re quite thorough, aren’t you?” he asked.
“You said my secrets were safe with you; they appear to be thus far. Only time will truly tell, but if you can utter the vow, I will take it at face value, and I will trust that you want to ride with me because you are…bored…or whatever, but if you cannot, then I–”
“I give you my word as a man, Princess,” he said. “Not sure it’s worth what you suspect, but you have it.”
After a moment, I agreed, nodding curtly. “Alright… Alright. Fine then,” I said.
“Aye?” he checked.
“Aye, yes,” I said. “...I suppose I do enjoy a good race, though I am not in the mood to compete, so don’t bother.”
“Another time,” he said.
We smiled at one another, and as soon as I became aware of how dumb that was, I shut it off.
He frowned back. “Now what?” he asked.
“I’m not dressed for riding,” I explained. “This skirt has a lot of tulle beneath it.”
He searched my figure for confirmation, eyeing the fabric. “You could ride side saddled.”
“I don’t want to risk it snagging,” I said. “I just purchased this.”
He nodded. “I will ready the horses while you get changed?”
“That would, um.” I sighed, then started to urge him out of the way to close to the room. “That would be fine, sir, yes.”
“Good. I’ll be at the barn,” he said.
“Good,” I said back.
Cyrus turned, and when the door shut, my chest became a sledgehammer. I had no idea what to wear, but I knew I wanted to look pretty; I just didn’t understand why.
Chapter 17
“What does duty mean?” Cyrus asked.
Our horses strolled happily a few feet apart from each other. He rode Ice for himself and paired me with Tails for the second time, and between how slowly the stallion moved and my own moody dwelling, his question jolted me.
“Beg pardon, sir?” I asked.
I had been thinking about the weeping petaled trees around us, wondering if the oaks back home had gotten their leaves yet. Despite his eagerness for my company, the journey had been mostly silent. I watched Cyrus too closely as he ventured in and out of his thoughts, and I debated sharing mine.
A light wind rustled one of the blossoming branches, carrying its discarded flowers down over us like cherry-kissed snow. I went to ask if he’d felt the same reminder of Ísfjall’s mountains that I had found or if he was evenfromthe higher parts of home, but when I opened my mouth, no words came out. I checked to see if he was watching me, but he was focused on the path ahead.
“Duty,” he said louder. “You said ‘duty never rests’ to Sam this morning.”
I shrugged. “He said it first, sir. In the stables, I mean. I…It’s not important, just a silly prod.”
“I remember that conversation,” he said. “I was there.”
“Ah, yes. I forgot,” I replied.
Cyrus laughed. “You humble me,” he said. “Forgetting an entire person is not an easy thing to do, but I’ll assume you were blinded by the jealousy and did not intend to impale my self-esteem.”
