The first old man threw up his hands in exasperation. “You’ve shit for brains, Lloyd. Go git your woman to put together a basket and then find the boat that don’t have the leak to trade for these horses.”
“What do I need riding horses for, Issac?” Lloyd asked, setting aside a finished lure. “My business is fish.”
Issac cast his eyes skyward, then shouted, “Margo!”
An old woman appeared, wiping her hands on her apron. “What do you want that you couldn’t get up to do yourself?”
Ahnna could feel James’s seething frustration from where he remained slumped on Maven’s neck, and only the practicality instilled by Nana kept her from mounting and abandoning this strategy.
“These folks”—Issac gestured at her and James—“Maridrinian and Cardiffian, they are. Fools had the false belief the Harendellians would truck with them and found out the hard way. They want to trade them horses for Lloyd’s boat that don’t have the leak anymore, as well as some supplies, since they lost theirs. But Lloyd says he don’t need horses.”
Margo looked the horses up and down and then gave Lloyd a disparaging glare. “Yeah, all right. What all do you be needing, girl?”
“Food. A pot or a kettle,” Ahnna replied, tears burning in her eyes, because Dippy and Maven deserved better than this. “Bandages.”
Margo nodded, then squinted at James. “You’d be better offheading up north through the Lowlands and into Cardiff, girl. Harendell is full of spiders.”
Ahnna knew that better than anyone, but she only nodded. Leaving Lloyd and Issac to retrieve the boat that hopefully had been repaired, Ahnna led Dippy over to James. “I’ll look at the boat before I agree to it. Make sure it doesn’t leak.”
Then she turned her back on him and stroked her horse’s nose. “I’m sorry, Dippy,” she murmured. “I wish there was another way. But at least here, you will have a break from running. There’s grass to eat. Wouldn’t be that way with me.”
He snuffled at her pockets, and a tear escaped down her cheek.
She felt the warmth of James’s breath on the back of her neck, he having dismounted without her noticing. “You’re a shitty actor,” she muttered. “You’re supposed to be near death.”
“The woman recognizes their worth. They’ll get them sold to someone with a need for saddle horses.” He reached past her to stroke Dippy’s neck. “Once we’re on the far side of this, I can try to buy them back.”
Ahnna didn’t answer, because allowing that sort of hope into her heart seemed like the greatest sort of foolishness whenthe other side of thiswas looking worse with each passing day. “No need for horses in Ithicana.”
No need for you either,her self-doubt whispered from deep in her mind.All you do is make things worse.The thought made her feel shittier, so she growled, “You want to do something for me, James? Get Taryn freed before she jumps off the Sky Palace walls.”
James drew in a breath, but before he could respond, Margo reappeared with a basket.
“Put in as much as would fit,” she said, handing Ahnna the basket. “Boat’s fine—fixed the leak myself, so no fears there. But you’re still getting the raw end of the bargain, girl.”
“Take care of the horses and we’ll call it good.”
“I’ll take better care of them than you, I reckon.” Margo took thereins of both horses, then cast a cool look at James. “Pretty girl like her deserves better than whatever you put her through. Man up and row, and while you are rowing, do some thinking about whatever it is you’ve done.”
“Thanks for the advice.” James muttered the words, hiding his accent. He moved stiffly over to where the two old men stood next to an old rowboat, and Ahnna followed. The boat had seen better days, but there was a fresh patch on the hull. When they lowered it into the water, it floated well enough. And it wasn’t as though they needed it for long.
“Thank you,” Ahnna said to them once they were both inside, the basket at their feet. “He’s Dippy and she is Maven. Treat them well.”
Margo nodded, then Issac gave the boat a shove and the current caught hold of them, drawing them out into the river.
Feeling a sudden rush of unease, Ahnna called to the woman, “Hide them. If anyone comes looking for us, tell them we stole this boat and which way we went.”
The woman’s expression didn’t change, which told Ahnna that Margo had seen right through their story, but she gave a small nod. “Get rowing.”
The current drew them farther down the river, the boat picking up speed like it felt the urgency. There was a bend ahead, and after they were around it, the village would be out of sight.
Don’t look,Ahnna ordered herself.Do not look.
But her heart took over and forced Ahnna to turn her head. A hot flood of tears poured down her cheeks as she watched Margo lead the horses away. Tears that almost immediately dried, because high in the foothills, a cloud of dust rose into the air. The sort of cloud that could only be made by many horses moving at speed on a road.
“James…”
“I see it.” His tone was grim and he reached for the oars, fitting them into the locks. “The Beast is on the hunt.”
