Page 180 of A Legacy of the Light

“Morn─oh shit. Sorry!” Reyne calls and ducks back into her tent.

Tavish laughs. “You can come out, Reyne.”

Her head pokes through the canvas, a sheepish grin on her face.

“Good morning,” I smile at her.

“I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“You didn’t, we’re good,” I tell her.

Tavish kisses me once more and then releases me.

I settle on the ground and Reyne sits next to me.

“You look good together,” she comments. She rests her head on my shoulder and lets out a long breath. “I wish you could stay and I could see what this would become.”

“Me too,” I reply softly.

The rest of the guards wake up and we have a small breakfast of bread and dried meat. We should reach Claver tonight, so our dwindling supplies aren’t a cause for concern according to Tavish and Reyne.

The mood around the fire this morning is brighter and we seem to pack up camp in record time. I have no doubt it’s because we know camping in the woods is over. I’m just happy that I will no longer have to see to my needs behind a tree with Reyne in earshot. Safe to say our friendship has reached a new level these past couple of days.

The sky is mostly cloudless and the sun warms my skin as we mount up and trot into the woods.

“What will happen to Mabel when we reach Claver?” I ask Tavish and Reyne, stroking a hand down her dapple gray neck. She huffs in response, enjoying the attention.

“She’ll be given rest for a few days and then she’ll ride back with Reyne and the guards returning from the duty change at the barrier,” Tavish answers me. “She’ll be back in the city by the end of next week.”

“And Atlas?”

“He will remain in Claver until I come back from the human world. He has his own stable for that very reason.”

I nod and we fall back into silence.

After lunch, we break through the forest and onto flat land, Claver glimmering under the light of the sun in the distance.

“We should reach the town by sundown,” Tavish comments then turns to me with a glint in his eyes. “Care for a rematch?”

I smile at the way he stares at me. “Are you sure you want me to embarrass you in front of your men?”

He lifts his chin in challenge. “I think I can take you this time.”

“I think you’re fooling yourself, Prince. But I’m happy to hand your ass to you all over again.”

Reyne laughs behind us. “Now this I need to see.”

The guards around us chuckle.

“Are you really that fast?” one of the guards, Fergal, asks me.

“Shall I prove it?” I reply.

He considers for a minute. “It’s hard to see how anyone is faster than Tavish and Atlas.”

“Reyne, tell us how far we’re going,” I demand over my shoulder.

“The barn,” she says and points to a dilapidated wooden building about a mile away.