“Would you like to come in?” I offered, sarcastically.
“Sure, thanks.” She shot me a wry smile as she sunk her teeth into my stolen fruit.
Safiya collapsed onto the settee with an exaggerated sigh, kicking her feet up over the arm. “So, distract me. What does Claudian want with Seren Corso?”
“Hard to say. Claudian was vague as ever, and it doesn’t look like you’ve been much help,” I teased, glad to see some of the tension melting from her shoulders.
The file was much thinner than her usual boon. I shuffled through the meager documents, noting Seren’s general description and her last known residence in the seaside village of Kis Temare. I was used to Safiya providing a whole host of information, but there was little else known about Seren. It was not unexpected given that the girl had been raised in Ordéles, far from the Kingdom of Acsilla.
“Anyway,” I continued as she rolled her eyes at me playfully. “I am to collect Seren Corso and deliver her to Claudian. I’ll be away for a while.”
Safiya raised her brows in question.
“What’s that look for?” I packed my provisions methodically, tucking the papers into my pack and tightly fastening the straps. I made sure to include extra supplies and a second cloak in case Seren Corso needed them for the journey.
“Your missions are usually brief, that’s all. Bribery, threats, and murder don’t tend to take very long, mercenary.” Safiya pulled herself into a sitting position as she considered me, chin resting on her palm.
“Lay off, Saf. This mission is different; I’ll be in enemy territory. Alone.Everyonewill want to kill me. And even if it were a standard mission, it’s not as if I enjoy doing those things. I don’t have a choice.” My throat tightened at the reminder of all I had done in Prince Claudian’s name. “I thought you understood that.”
Our friendship had been founded on our mutual distrust for the royals who employed us and the knowledge that our actions hurt real people. We had bonded over the fact that we were powerless to change our situations, despite the strife they brought us.
Safiya flinched, expression crestfallen, and I knew the same thoughts had passed through her mind. “I’m sorry. You’re right.”
I sheathed my dagger at my side, a motion that was mindless in its familiarity. “Lock up when you leave,” I told her, in place of a goodbye.
“Safe travels, Harkin.” Her voice followed me into the cold.
Equinox whickered softly as I brushed through her silky black coat and laced the straps of my riding gear. I pulled the saddle tight against her taut belly, waiting for her to exhale before I fitted it properly.
“Sneaky girl,” I chided affectionately. I mounted, and with a loving pat on her neck, we began our journey.
Though the air was chilled with a sharp autumn breeze, snow had yet to fall, and the path was steady. We carried on for two days, stopping for rest when our weary bones demanded it.
I rubbed the feeling back into my legs more times than I could count.
Tünécris—sprites that embodied each branch of mágik—crossed our path a time or two. The vestiges of their power drifted overhead in orbs of blue and green and red. I admired them as they dancedabout the sky, but I was grateful they did not pester us with their tricks.
It was too much to hope that we would not stumble upon creatures more fearsome.
Darkness crept along the edges of the woods, casting crooked shadows over the land. The breeze rolled in, chilled and ominous, and a shiver ran down my spine. Sweat beaded in the hollow of my throat despite the cold.
Equinox snorted, ears drawing back tight to her skull. She tossed her head, baring her teeth. She could feel it too, that uneasy shade creeping across our path.
I smoothed my hand over her neck, shushing her as we drew deeper into the night.
The sound of her hoofbeats pounded a steady rhythm on the hard packed earth. Her heavy exhales sent plumes of steam curling through the moonlight.
“Easy, girl,” I murmured, but there was no consoling her.
Equinox reared back, hooves in the air and a high whine rising from her throat.
My grip failed, and I sprawled to the forest floor.
Unforgiving earth met my shoulder, the rocky ground cutting into me with bruising force. The wind knocked out of me—chest hollowed. I coughed hard as my lungs tried and failed to draw in another breath.
My mare was a streak of black as she rocketed through the trees, manók nipping at her heels. She kicked, and her hoof caught one of the elves squarely in the snout.
The creature collapsed limply to the ground, but a dozen more scrambled past to take its place. They converged on Equinox, tittering and leering with their foxlike faces.
