Well, fuck. RIP Blaze. That’ll teach me to name my horse. I look at the remaining horses. Three left for the four of us.
‘We’ve sorted out the supplies,’ Benny continues, ‘but as for riders?—’
‘Rose will ride with me,’ Kyor says, his tone brooking no argument.
I bristle. ‘The fuck I will!’
There’s no way I can endure being pressed against his body for hours, the scent of him all around me. ‘You’re not in charge here,’ I snap. ‘I am. And if you don’t like it, leave!’ Taking a leaf out of Benny’s book, I ignore Kyor entirely and return to conversing with my friend. ‘It’s fine. I can double up with Ruben.’
Even from the corner of my eye, I can see Kyor’s eyes narrow dangerously. ‘Who the fuck is Ruben?’
Ruben steps forward. ‘That would be me. Rose and I go way back. Right, Rosey?’ He offers me the slightest of grins before turning back to Kyor, a leisurely confidence in his movements that – combined with the comment – tells Kyor exactly what Ruben and I did back in the day.
Kyor’s nostrils flare as the air is suddenly thick with ozone.
‘Don’t you dare!’ I snarl. ‘You strike him with lightning, and I willneverforgive you.’
The prince’s jaw works, but slowly the thickness in the air fades. ‘If you won’t ride with me, then share with Benny,’ Kyor growls. ‘If I seehishands on you again, I won’t be responsible for my actions.’ He glares long and hard at Ruben, but my friend doesn’t wilt under the heat of it. If anything, he straightens his shoulders more.
‘I’ll scout ahead,’ Kyor grunts as he mounts his dire wolf. With that, he and Elska surge forward and away.
‘Well,’ Caz says into the resultant silence, ‘that wasn’t awkward at all.’
She leans towards Benny. ‘Llin said their chemistry was insane, but I actually think she downplayed it.’
Benny squints after Kyor. ‘You think they’ll sort it out?’
Caz laughs. ‘Not before they make the rest of us deeply uncomfortable.’
‘I can literally hear you,’ I complain.
She flashes me a smile. ‘I know.’
‘Let’s mount up,’ Ruben says, ignoring us all. ‘We’ve got a long way to go.’ Heextends a hand to me.
I hesitate and finally shake my head. ‘I’ll ride with Benny. Safer for everyone.’
Ruben’s nostrils flare. ‘Then he’s calling the shots already. I didn’t know you were so easily controlled.’ With a shake of his head, he turns away.
It hurts a little that he’s disappointed in me.
‘Oh good,’ Benny murmurs to me as we settle on the horse together, ‘another love triangle.’ He presses his thumbs and forefingers together to make a triangle with his fingers. ‘I was worried I’d miss Jonas.’
‘Arsehole,’ I gripe.
‘You love me,’ he replies, pressing his heels to the horse’s side so we break into a trot.
Above us the sun is partway into its ascent, but we’ve got a good few hours to go until we hit midday.
Something tells me today is going to be an extremely long day.
Chapter 19
We break for camp after close to ten hours of riding through the jagged hills that surround Wrohelm like sharks’ teeth jutting from the earth. This is the most temperate climate we are likely to face on our journey, and yet despite my furs, the cold seeps into my marrow. Judging by the way Benny, Caz, and Kyor have also flocked around the fire, I’m not the only one. Tomorrow, I will need to layer up even further. Either that or ride with Ruben’s warmth, but something tells me Kyor won’t take kindly to that.
As Caz continues stoking the impressively large fire she built, Elska slinks towards us and flops down directly in front of the flames, hogging a good portion of the heat for herself.
‘Budge,’ Kyor instructs, his look flat. ‘You don’t need it. You’ve got all that fur.’
