“Actually, it won’t, because we don’t have to scratch.” I held up my helmet and gestured to my riding clothes. “I came prepared.”
“You’re one rider, Queen Leila,” Skye said. “We still need five more.”
“No we don’t, because I have six night mares,” I said.
“What are you talking about?” Lord Linus asked.
“I read all of the race rules in excruciating detail. It says six horses are required per Court, but it never actually says each mount has to have a rider. And I’ve been working with the night mares—they’ll race with me. That’s why I insisted we bring Bagel and Fax, too.”
I gestured to Lord Rigel, who was holding Fax’s lead rope, and hadn’t said more than two sentences since we arrived here via a portal from the night mares an hour ago. The older sun stallion didn’t seem to mind, though. He pressed his giant head into Lord Rigel’s shoulder and happily exhaled.
Lord Linus stared at me for a long moment. “That’s it, you need to take a six pack of healing draughts. First you get yourself engaged to thatassassin, and now you want to ride in a race that is famous among the supernatural community for its cut-throat competition! And you want to do this without anyone from the Night Court backing you up?”
“Frankly, the people of the Night Court have been trying to kill me. I’ll feel a lot better if they’renotthere to ‘back me up,’ as you said.”
“Chase, talk her out of it,” Lord Linus said.
The werewolf gamely stepped up, his yellow eyes bright in the afternoon light. “It will be an unnecessary risk, Queen Leila.”
“Maybe, but as much as I want to quell the game of power in my own Court, I’m aware I need to give in to some of their traditions. This is something I’m actuallygoodat, and I have an advantage with the night mares,” I said.
Chase, Skye, and Lord Linus exchanged glances as I strapped my helmet on, then whistled.
The night mares slunk out of the shadows. Blue Moon was the only one with a saddle—an English style one that Dusk and Dawn had pulled out for me—and a bridle.
“You’ve been planning for this,” Lord Linus said. “That’s why you’ve been practicing with all of your night mares.”
“I figured something like this would happen eventually, but I didn’t think it would with this specific race. I guess I underestimated my ability to annoy my own Court!” I winked.
Skye looked ready to pull out her hair. “Queen Leila, the possibilities of you getting injured are immense. You are an untested rider—the Court can survive another season even if we don’t enter the derby.”
“Hey—you know I can ride!” I protested. “And I’ll be with the night mares. They’ll make sure I’m safe.” I patted Blue Moon’s neck.
“The riding here is on a different level from letting a night mare take you for a stroll around your trails,” Skye said.
“Whydo you want to do this?” Lord Linus asked. “You don’t have to.”
“I don’t,” I slowly agreed. “But I feel like my Court underestimates the night mares, and me. And I want to show them I don’t care what tactics they use.”
“All entries, report to the start line for opening ceremonies!” a man declared through a megaphone.
Skye sighed. “I’ll make arrangements for us to meet you at the end of the line.”
Chase narrowed his eyes at me. If he were in wolf form, I was pretty sure he’d have his ears pinned, but he bowed. “I’ll bring the security around.”
“Thanks, you two. Come on, beauties.” I started in the direction of megaphone guy, and my night mares followed behind me.
“You are such a willful, awful child,” Lord Linus complained as he followed me. “You’re going to send me to an early grave!”
“Yeah, yeah.”
I glanced at Lord Rigel who joined me, walking side by side with Fax happily prancing along.
“Thanks for watching Fax for me while I ride.”
Lord Rigel glanced at me. “I, too, think this is a mistake.”
I pressed my lips together in irritation. “If you say it’s because you think I’m a bad rider, I’m going to tell one of the night mares to bite you.”
