“Have fun, kids,” Cassian murmurs with a wink before turning back toward the keep and disappearing up the steps.
I don’t take my eyes off the horses. Keiren doesn’t take his eyes off me.
“They’re ready,” Keiren says. His voice is calm, but there’s a glint in his eyes—a warmth he doesn’t bother hiding.
I stop a few feet away. “You saddled him.”
He nods once. “It took nearly half the morning. I know you prefer to ride bareback, but I figured you’d want a saddle for where we’re going.”
“You trust me not to let him bolt off into the wild?”
“No,” he says, flashing me a wicked grin. “I’m counting on it.”
I bite back a smile. “Does he have a name?”
“He will,” Keiren says, “once you give him one.” He holds out the reins. “He’s yours.”
I blink. “Mine?”
He nods, stepping closer and offering his hand to help me mount.
The stallion snorts, nudging my shoulder. I run a hand down his neck, still a little stunned.
“My mother used to say every creature is born with a God-given name,” I murmur. “That every creature’s eyes hold their truth.”
Keiren tilts his head. “She sounds like a wise woman.”
“She was.”
I study the stallion—the way his hooves are scorched dark like coals, the wild defiance in his stance. When I reach out, he lifts his head and presses his velvet-soft nose into my palm. I meet his gaze and swear I see sparks dancing in the depths of his obsidian eyes.
“Brimstone,” I whisper. “His name is Brimstone.”
Keiren’s lips curve into a smile, dimples flashing—turning him from handsome to devastating.
“Fire and Brimstone,” he muses. “Fitting.”
I take the hand he offers—though I don’t need it—and mount Brimstone without hesitation. Keiren swings up onto his own steed, and together, we ride.
At first, it’s quiet. The wind hums through the trees, and the sound of hoofbeats against the earth becomes a steady, grounding rhythm. The kingswood opens like a sigh, cool and green and dappled with shifting light. It smells of pine and moss and something older still.
We trot along, side by side, the canopy parting above us in brief glimmers of blue. I chance a glance at Keiren and suddenly notice he’s strapped a thick saddle bag and a longsword with a sapphire pommel to his saddle.
It’s a surprise,” he shouts back.
“And are these woods so dangerous that you need a sword?”
He keeps his gaze forward. “One can never be too careful.”
I eye him warily.
“You don’t trust me, Fire?”
“No,” I say flatly.
He grins.
“Is this still part of the trials?” I ask. “Testing if I can survive an afternoon in your company?”
