“Morning, Melody. How are you?”
The horse snorted at him, and Tor took this to mean that more treats were needed. Obviously.
“You’ll get fat if you eat all the treats you seem to think you deserve,” Tor pointed out. “And I’d look quite silly if I were trying to climb onto a horse who was round like a barrel.”
Melody whuffed at him, clearly displeased.
Tor got the tack on him and checked it for comfort.
“You’re so greedy. But if you’re a very good boy, I’ll give you an apple or two when we get back,” Tor confided.
“You aresucha softie.”
Tor looked up to see that Pel was watching him from outside the stall. Tor shrugged and offered a rueful grin.
“He’s a big fan of treats.”
Pel rolled his eyes. “All horses like treats. Not everyone indulges them so much.”
“I happen to think that everyone deserves something sweet now and again,” Tor told the other man. “Makes them more agreeable.”
“Is that so?” Pel asked.
Their eyes caught and held. There was a little bit of challenge in Pel’s eyes, along with some uncertainty, and Tor realized abruptly that acting as though nothing had changed wasnot, in fact, the best way to approach the morning.
“Yes,” Tor confirmed, meeting Pel’s gaze firmly. “Every sweet thing they desire.”
“You’ll spoil them.”
“They deserve spoiling.”
Pel rolled his eyes, but his cheeks had gone a little pink, and a smile lurked at the corner of his mouth.
“Come on, if you’re done sweet-talking your own horse, or we’ll be late.”
Grinning, Tor led Melody out of the stall, and they were soon on their way, heading down the roads that had now become very familiar to Tor, just like the man riding beside him.
Tor waited until no one could possibly overhear them before he said, “I had half a mind to tug you into the stall and have my wicked way with you.”
Pel slanted him a look. “Oh, yes?”
Tor hummed a noise of agreement. “But it seemed more than likely that someone would come to investigate the noises—and that Melody wouldn’t like it above half.”
Pel laughed. “I’m pretty sure he would have been more confused than anything, and I’m guessing that a horse trying to figure out what we were doing might have cooled the mood.”
Tor grinned. “Maybe a little. But just so you know, it was a definite temptation.”
“I’ll keep that in mind,” Pel said. “It’s best behavior for you, then, is it?”
“Well, for a given value ofbest,” Tor admitted, and Pel laughed again. “Seriously, though. I’m probably a lot less discreet than I think, but I want to give you choices. Once it’s out, it’s going to beout.”
“What if I want to tell everyone?” Pel asked.
“Then we can start with the first people we come across and just keep telling people until everyone knows,” Tor promised, probably a bit more eagerly than he should have. “I’m thinking it would probably take about two weeks to go from one end of the United Realms to the other. Longer if no one’s riding or in a boat.”
Pel laughed a bit incredulously and conceded, “That might be a little grander than I was thinking. We could get used to the idea a little bit on our own first.”
“Whatever you want,” Tor assured him.
