“Feeling pensive?” he murmured.
My mental shields. I’d been so focused on riding Contessa that they’d slipped. I slammed them back in place, cutting off the view of my emotions.
Raphael quietly guided my movements while we progressed. When I managed to hold the mare at a steady pace for more than ten minutes, or loosened my death grip on the reins, or even just relaxed my body, following Contessa’s swaying rhythm, he offered a word of praise here and there that made my chest warm.
The stars shone overhead. Though we were still in the mountains, the landscape had shifted. Raphael told me bits and pieces of the land we were in, of the creatures the forest held.
“No kobolds here,” he teased. “Or ogres.”
Ogres favored the marshes, kobolds the forests. “Then what else?”
“Griffins aren’t altogether uncommon. They’re diurnal, though.”
Which meant I wouldn’t see them.
“Golems will be out at any time of day,” he offered. “But they’re often camouflaged with the stone.”
“How do you see them, then?”
He pointed past me, off to the right. “See how that boulder is a little too round?”
I nodded. “Is it really…”
“Indeed. They’re somewhat clumsy, so they wind up getting chipped away over time and their edges smooth out.”
I tried to focus on the outline. Itwasa little too round—not just at the top, weathered by the elements, but curving in. I leaned forward, squinting even with my improved vision. The sudden shift unbalanced Contessa, and she stumbled. I started to slip—
Strong arms yanked me back into the saddle.
Arms that didn’t immediately loosen their tight grip from around my midsection.
“Um, Raphael, I’m okay,” I squeaked.
His grip immediately loosened. “Apologies.”
“Besides, even if I fall, I’m not a breakable human anymore.” I meant it to come out as a jest, but the hint of bitterness made its way onto my tongue all the same.
“And yet, I don’t relish the thought of you cracking your skull,” he growled.
It was quiet after that. An hour passed, then another. Although Contessa was obviously doing the bulk of the work carrying us, riding the horse was far harder when I wasn’t the passenger. My body ached, especially my thighs, but I’d never complain. Most children learned to ride by ten or twelve if their family had horses. Sometimes, in Greymere, when I didn’t dare sleep yet, but stayed tucked away, I thought of all the things I would have to do when I got out. I’d need to learn a trade, since rat catching would hardly suffice. Housekeeping, perhaps. I’d fantasized about being a tinkerer, working in a forge. But there were so many other things I’d thought of—needing to learn to cook, to barter, to flirt.
At least now I was learning to ride a horse.
It was still a few hours before dawn when Demos slowed his horse and slid beside us. “The inn is up ahead.”
The words were spoken squarely to Raphael, the general not sparing me even a glance.
Vampires could hold grudges for a very long time.
“What inn?” I asked all the same. Thea would have been proud.
When Demos pointedly didn’t answer, Raphael explained, “We’re going to stop early so everyone can get some rest and relax. There’s no need for a breakneck pace. A day in real beds will do everyone well.”
“And… they’re okay with us staying there?” Or perhaps Raphael and Demos would thrall them all. The thought of the poor minds manipulated into letting predators into their home turned my stomach.
“It’s run by vampires.” Demos rolled his eyes at my obvious look of shock. “It’s not as though every vampire lives in the capital. Especially now that we’re in the southern kingdom.”
I hadn’t even realized we’d crossed the border.
