Zara embraced her cousin first before turning to her mother, who whispered something to her and held her tightly. A black mare came forward then, too, and Zara bent her head to touch foreheads, one hand on the mare’s cheek.
“May the Earth Mother keep you and guide you,” her mother said, holding her hand out in blessing.
“I love you all,” Zara said, her voice wavering. “This isn’t goodbye forever.”
But I could see it in her face that was too easy to read. She believed it was. I couldn’t tell her any differently. Even as empress, she would be subject to the whims of the emperor.
They said their goodbyes one last time, and then she and herhorse stepped toward me. “Neo is waiting for us at the edge of camp,” I said, and she nodded.
Lines of people waited for her, holding their hands out as she passed by. “Bless you, First Daughter,” they said, or, “Thank you for bringing us peace.”
She touched everyone who held their hand out to her, sometimes stopping for a few moments to speak with them, and I tried to stay patient, but we had far to travel. I took hold of her arm and guided her away. “We must go now. We have already delayed too long.”
She pulled free in the next instant, her eyes flashing at me. “I can see Neo from here. I don’t need your guidance.”
And then she turned to her horse and was astride in the next breath. She kept her gaze forward after that and wouldn’t look at me again, though she continued to stop to speak to the people who had come to see her off.
When we arrived at Neo’s side, I waited for her to dismount. After a few breaths, I realized she had no intention of getting off her horse. “We will get there faster if we fly.”
Her whole body went tense, and she slowly turned to me. “What about Shazeera?”
I nodded toward Neo. “He’s strong enough to carry us all.”
“Yes, but how?”
I thought it would have been obvious, so the question took me by surprise. “You will ride on Neo’s back with me, and your horse will be carried in his claws.”
“His claws,” she repeated, her face rapidly losing color.
“Yes.”
“No.”
I turned to face her fully. “What do you mean, ‘no’?”
“I mean, no, I will not subject my horse to such a terrifying thing. How could you even ask us to endure that?”
Did she think Neo would puncture her horse with his talons? She must know that her horse could not travel as swiftly as Neo. Her reaction baffled me. “She won’t be injured in any way. It’s much faster to fly, and eventually, when we reach the mountains, it’s the only way to the palace.”
“It doesn’t matter if she’ll be injured—you don’t see how it would be frightening to be held in the claws of a predator? We can figure out what to do then, but for now, I want to leave this camp the way I came into it. On horseback.”
I stared at her in silence, hoping she’d see reason, but her stubbornness was powerful to behold. She merely stared back at me, arms crossed over her chest. I could see that we would waste more time arguing than if she were to ride.
“Fine, but the second you can’t keep up, you’re both being flown the rest of the way.”
She nodded, chin tilted up, a picture of stubborn pride as the mare cantered away.
How long do you think they’ll last?Neo asked as I leaped onto his back and settled just behind his wing joints.
An hour at most.
His laughter went through my mind.That’s assuming I don’t fly as fast as I’m able.
I almost agreed with him—that after her stubbornness, she deserved to be taught a lesson—but then I remembered where we were going. At the palace, she’d be faced with nothing but lessons.
Just fly your normal traveling speed. Let her hold on to her pride while she can.
It would be broken soon enough.
